Most boards recruit by asking the people in the room who they know. Then they wonder why the room never changes.
I understand the habit. Trust matters on a board, and it’s natural to start with people you already trust. Personal networks have brought many excellent trustees to many organizations. But networks tend to be made of people like us: similar schools, similar jobs, similar neighborhoods, similar ages. A board built only from them will keep missing the people closest to the mission, and it will keep making decisions without the perspectives it most needs.
Changing that takes three things: knowing what you need, looking in places you haven’t looked, and making sure the people you invite are welcomed as full partners. Here’s how I’d approach each.
Step one: map what you have and what you need
Before anyone suggests a name, build a matrix. It turns “we need more diversity” (true, but vague) into a specific list of gaps the whole board can see.
A useful matrix has two kinds of rows.
Skills and expertise. The know-how the board needs to govern well over the next few years: finance and audit, law, fundraising, marketing, human resources, real estate or facilities, technology, strategic planning, and expertise in your field.
Perspectives and lived experience. The views the board needs to make good decisions about the people it serves: people who have used your programs, families, alumni, people from the neighborhoods you work in, and a range of race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, disability, age, language, and income. A school might add parents, alumni, and former faculty. A community organization might add program participants and neighborhood leaders.
Two cautions. First, let current members fill in their own perspectives, voluntarily, and keep that information private to the governance committee. Nobody should be categorized by someone else’s guess. Second, the perspective rows are not quotas. They help you see who is missing from decisions about your mission, and they keep the conversation honest about whether the board reflects the community it serves.
Then add a column for where the organization is heading. If your strategic plan calls for a capital campaign, a new site, or a new program, the board will need skills it may not have today.
Step two: look beyond personal networks
With your gaps named, widen the search on purpose. Some places to look:
- Your own community. Program participants, alumni, parents, longtime volunteers, and former staff who left on good terms. These are people who already know the work from the inside.
- Committees and advisory groups. Invite non-trustees to serve on a committee first. It builds relationships both ways and gives everyone a chance to see whether board service fits.
- Partner organizations. Ask the leaders of groups you work with to suggest people who would care about your mission.
- Professional associations. Ask whether associations of lawyers, accountants, nurses, educators, and other fields, including those organized by and for people of color, women, LGBTQ+ professionals, and people with disabilities, offer board placement programs or member networks.
- Board matching programs. Ask whether a nonprofit center, community foundation, volunteer center, or university alumni group near you offers a way to connect people interested in board service with organizations seeking members.
- Public posting. Post a board position description on your website and in your newsletter, just as you would a job, and say plainly who you hope will apply.
Also look at what might be keeping good candidates out. A large required personal gift, meetings only at midday on weekdays, no remote option, or an expectation that every member brings wealthy contacts can screen out exactly the people you say you want. Consider a “give or get” range sized to each member’s means, rotating meeting times, a hybrid option, and support for childcare or transportation where you can.
Step three: invite and welcome without tokenizing
Tokenism is what happens when someone is recruited to represent a group rather than to govern. It shows up when a new member is asked to speak for everyone who shares their identity, is never put on the finance committee, or is the only person in the room like them. Most people can tell within a meeting or two.
Invite for the whole person. Tell candidates what specific skills and perspectives drew you to them, and what you hope they’ll contribute to the board’s work as a whole. Be honest about the time and the giving you expect.
Recruit more than one. Bringing on new members in pairs or small cohorts, when you can, means no one carries the weight of being the only one.
Give real roles. Offer committee seats and leadership paths, including finance, governance, and executive, on the same terms as everyone else.
Pair each new member with a mentor. A mentor explains the unwritten rules and makes the introductions an outsider can’t make alone.
Check your board culture. If a new member’s ideas are always “interesting” and never adopted, the board hasn’t changed. Ask new members, privately and after a few months, what it has been like.
The Board Skills and Perspectives Matrix
Copy this into a spreadsheet. One column per current member, then columns for needs and gaps. Mark each cell with an X, or leave it blank.
| Member A | Member B | Member C | Member D | Need in next 3 years (High / Med / Low) | Gap? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skills and expertise | ||||||
| Finance and audit | ||||||
| Law | ||||||
| Fundraising | ||||||
| Marketing and communications | ||||||
| Human resources | ||||||
| Facilities or real estate | ||||||
| Technology | ||||||
| Strategic planning | ||||||
| Expertise in our field | ||||||
| Perspectives and experience (self-identified, optional) | ||||||
| Has used our programs or services | ||||||
| Lives or works in the community we serve | ||||||
| Alum, parent, or family member | ||||||
| Race and ethnicity | ||||||
| Gender and gender identity | ||||||
| Disability | ||||||
| Age range | ||||||
| Languages spoken | ||||||
| Service | ||||||
| Term ends (year) | ||||||
| Committee roles |
Questions to answer with the finished matrix.
- Which three gaps matter most for the next three years?
- Which members’ terms end soonest, and what leaves with them?
- Where will we look for each gap, beyond our own contacts?
- What about our expectations or meeting schedule might keep strong candidates away?
- Who will mentor each new member, and when will we ask them how it’s going?
Review the matrix once a year, before your nominating season begins, so recruitment starts from need rather than from whoever comes to mind.
If you want help building a board, and a leadership culture, where new voices are heard and acted on, that’s our Inclusive Leadership and Team Building work.
– Mary-Ellen
Featured photo: Photo by Redd Francisco on Unsplash.
