A strong board helps a small nonprofit raise money, make good decisions and keep going when staff change. Recruiting works best when you treat it like hiring.
Start with what the board needs
List the skills and connections you are missing: finance, law, fundraising, marketing, ties to the community you serve. Recruit for those gaps rather than for whoever is available.
Write a short board role description
- Meeting schedule and expected time each month.
- Committee or project expectations.
- Your giving and fundraising expectations, stated plainly.
- Term length.
Where to find candidates
- Your best volunteers and donors, who already know the work.
- Local business groups, professional associations and young professional networks.
- LinkedIn for Nonprofits and Idealist (both in our Toolkit).
- Ask current board members to each suggest two people.
Bring them on well
- Meet each candidate for coffee and invite them to see your work in person.
- Have them attend a board meeting before they are voted in.
- Give new members a short orientation: mission, budget, bylaws, key people.
- Pair each new member with an experienced one for their first year.
Put a “Join our board” note on your Volunteer or About page so interested people know you are looking.
See how your site does: run the free Website Checkup. It takes about ten seconds.