Board Development Board Building Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations
Board Development Board Building Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations A Self-Guided Workbook
The Right to Copy this Workbook Permission is given to any not-for-profit organization to photoopy any or all of this workbook for use within their organization, provided redit is given to the soure. An Important Note Before You Get Started Not-for-profit organizations vary onsiderably in their makeup, their objetives and their methods of operation. The information in this workbook is written generally and may not exatly fit the needs of your organization. It is meant to be a starting point for you to deal with some of the issues whih fae many not-for-profit organizations. The publisher does not give legal or other professional advie. Therefore, if you are doubtful about ating on any information in this workbook or want larifiation, you may wish to seek professional advie to make sure it answers your onerns and issues. The Muttart Foundation and the Government of Alberta are not liable if you use any of the ontents of this workbook. Make sure you have the benefit of professional advie whih relates diretly to your organization. The Muttart Foundation and Alberta Culture and Community Spirit ISBN 0-9697939-5-2 Printed in Canada First Printing 1995 Revised Edition 1997 Revised Edition 2003 Revised Edition 2008 Published by: The Muttart Foundation 1150 Sotia Plae 10060 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3R8 Phone: (780) 425-9616 FAX: (780) 425-0282 Alberta Culture and Community Spirit Board Development Program 907, 10405 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4R7 Phone: (780) 427-2001 FAX: (780) 427-4155 Aknowledgements This workbook was developed (1995) and revised (2008) by Wendy MaDonald for the Board Development Program of Alberta Culture and Community Spirit in ollaboration with The Muttart Foundation. The ontributions of all those involved in the Board Development Program, inluding Grant MaEwan College, the Wild Rose Foundation, and the volunteer instrutors who deliver the program to not-for-profit agenies aross Alberta, are also aknowledged. 2
Introdution An effetive board, ommitted to a purpose and skilled in governane and guided by an effetive vision, is perhaps the greatest asset of a not-forprofit organization. While dediated and talented staff and/or frontline servie volunteers are also a ritial part of the team, their time and energy would be wasted without the fous, diretion, and resoures that a board provides. Reruiting, developing, and retaining appropriate individuals to serve in board roles is a diffiult and timeonsuming job. Healthy organizations are willing to make a major investment of time and effort in these ativities to build a strong organization. The ontinuing Board Building yle for the lifespan of the organization inludes: Evaluating the urrent and future leadership needs of the organization Reruiting board members with the neessary qualities Developing board members so that they beome effetive organization leaders Sustaining board members interest and ommitment 3
Board Development SYMBOLS This workbook has three setions, eah a part of the Board Building Cyle. You will find information, tools and tehniques, referenes to other parts of the guidebook, and summaries in eah setion. The symbols shown below will help you find the information you require. This symbol and/or message tells you where you an find more information related to the topi you are reading about in other areas of the book. This symbol tells you that there is an ativity you may wish to do. This symbol indiates a summary of the setion. 4
Table of Contents Chapter 1 7 Reruiting for Suess Setting the Stage: Preparing to Reruit 8 Reruiting: A Year- Round Ativity 8 Who Should Reruit? 11 Rebuilding the Board 13 Consider the Changing Needs of Your Organization 13 Consider the Composition of the Board Team 16 Consider Individual and Board Member Qualities 17 Investment of Working Capital 20 Six Competenies of Governane: Working Together 21 Board Composition Analysis Tool: Reruitment Criteria 23 Why Board Members Say Yes 24 The Desire to Serve 25 The Desire for Mutual Benefits 25 Benefits of Being a Board Member 30 Where and How to Find Board Members 30 Information for Prospetive Board Members 37 Reruiting Tips 39 Reruiting: Issues to Consider 40 Hard-to-Reruitto Boards 44 Summary 45 Chapter 2 16 Orienting, Training and Developing the Board Orientation 48 Training/Dialogue 52 Reognition 54 Motivation and Board Retention 55 Summary 56 Chapter 3 57 Evaluating the Board Board Meetings 61 Individual Board Members 63 The Board as a Team 67 Summary 73 APPENDICES 74 GLOSSARY 84 RESOURCES 85 index 87 5
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C h a p t e r Reruiting for Suess Board Building: Evaluating; Reruiting; Orienting, Training & Developing How we reruit and develop board members, by identifying, interesting, involving and inspiring individuals, has a great deal to do with whether members serve or sit. Board Development Information Bulletin (1993) Renewing the board begins with assessing urrent board members qualities and ontributions. Some questions that you also need to answer are: What skills, attitudes, and values do board members bring to their roles? Are urrent board members able to fulfill their ommitments? How is the present board representative of the ommunity that your organization serves? Whih board members will be leaving at the end of the urrent year? Whih board members will be leaving next year? What qualities, experiene, and onnetions to the ommunity will be missing from the board when these board members leave? What is required to restore the balane of qualities, experiene, and onnetions on the board? How will new board members be hosen? Who will oordinate the reruitment and development of new board members? When should reruitment and development of new board members take plae? How will your organization make sure that the board is effetive and ommitted? How does your organization attrat and keep effetive board volunteers? 7
Board Development CHAPTER 1 Reruiting for Suess It s pretty diffiult to ask someone to support your ause, when you re not really sure what that ause is. Diane Dua go to See Appendix 1 on page 75 for guidelines you an use to write bylaws and poliies for reruiting and eleting new board members. go to See Appendix 2 on page 79 for a sample job desription you an use to larify board members roles and responsibilities. Setting the Stage: Preparing to Reruit Before attempting to reruit new board members, make sure that your organization has a strong foundation in plae to attrat and support the best prospets to the board. Some questions that you need to answer are: Does the ommunity understand the purpose and sope of your organization? In what ways is your organization s mission relevant to, and valued in, your ommunity? What is your organization s trak reord for meeting ommunity needs effetively and effiiently? What kind of reputation does your organization have? For example, do you have a positive reputation for treating and involving volunteers and board members well? What kind of strutural framework is in plae for the operation of the board (e.g., bylaws, poliies, job desriptions, strategi planning)? How learly defined are your expetations of board members? How have you onsidered and dealt with reasons why people may not want to join your board (e.g., the organization s poor image, expetations of board members that are too high, liability issues that may sare the board, inreased ompetition from other organizations)? Reruiting: A Year-Round Ativity Effetive reruiting takes time and effort, and needs to be an ongoing ativity. Quality reruitment planning and ativities are key to building a healthy organization. All members of your organization must reognize the importane of having skilled and ommitted leadership. Everyone must then invest the neessary time and resoures to plan for reruiting board members. When is Reruitment Important? Why evolve a board when willing individuals want to ontinue to serve over a long period of time? While some organizations annot fill vaant positions, others annot vaate those that are filled. Consider the need to reate limited terms and reate hange to: Better reflet the diversity of your ommunity Create new opportunities for others, inluding youth to share diverse perspetives Provide opportunities for leadership development and suession planning Balane board member qualities required for urrent goals At the same time a retention strategy and plan for suession are ritial in sustaining a funtioning board. 8
Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations Reruiting: A Year-Round Ativity While eah organization is unique, an Annual Board Reruitment Plan might inlude these tasks: 1. Early in the year, the board appoints individuals to serve on the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee first reviews the bylaws and poliies related to board reruitment. Their reruitment plan must not ontravene the organization s bylaws. 2. The Board Chair identifies those board members who are leaving the board beause they have ompleted their terms. The Board Chair also onsults with members who have not fulfilled their responsibilities and asks them about leaving the board, if appropriate. Individuals who qualify for an additional term are evaluated before being invited to serve a seond term. Note: A seond term should not be automati. For additional information turn to: Who Should Reruit? Page 11 Board Member Self Assessment Page 64 66 & Assessing the Work of the Board Team Page 67 3. The Nominating Committee assesses the qualities of urrent board members, and onsiders what strengths will be lost as members omplete their terms. Consider the Composition of the Board Team Page 16 Consider Individual Board Member Qualities Page 17 4. The Nominating Committee onsiders the short-and long-term plans of the organization, and any speial board qualities that are required to arry out these plans. Consider the Changing Needs of the Organization Page 13 9
Board Development CHAPTER 1 Reruiting for Suess 5. The Nominating Committee develops the seletion riteria for prospetive board members, and disusses the seletion riteria with the entire board. Consider the Composition of the Board Team Page 16 6. The Nominating Committee requests suggestions for suitable prospetive board members from a variety of soures. Where and How to Find Board Members Page 30 7. The Nominating Committee researhes all of the prospetive board members in more depth, and hooses suitable andidates to nominate. Rebuilding the Board Page 13 8. The Nominating Committee may ask the board to approve the list of board nominees, although the board usually simply aepts the Nominating Committee s reommendations. 9. The Nominating Committee designs a ustomized approah for reruiting eah individual nominee, and assigns a reruiter or reruitment team to approah eah board nominee. Reruiting Tips Page 39 10. The reruiters arry out the reruitment plan and invite interested board nominees to stand for eletion Reruiting Tips Page 39 11. If the bylaws allow, members outside of the Nominating Committee may nominate additional prospetive board members. Reruitment Bylaws and Poliies Appendix One Page 75 12. The members of the organization elet the board at the annual general meeting (AGM). Reruitment Bylaws and Poliies Appendix One Page 75 10
Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations 13 The Board Chair welomes new board members to the board. New board members are oriented to the board and assigned speifi roles. Orientation Page 48 14. The board may invite unsuessful nominees to fulfill other roles within the organization that omplement their qualities. The board may also refer unsuessful nominees to a more suitable organization. Reruiting: Issues to Consider Page 40 Who Should Reruit? In most inorporated not-for-profit organizations, the members elet the board (depending upon how the organization is inorporated). The membership of most groups exeeds the number of people on the board. However, when an organization is new, the board may be both the founders and the only members. During that early phase of development some boards simply replae themselves as board members leave, without a membership vote. A Nominating Committee or Board Development Committee is often used to identify prospetive board members, and to sreen these prospets as nominees for the membership to onsider. The Nominating Committee: Is appointed by the board Inludes several board members, as well as other members of the organization Is often haired by a past Board Chair who has a good understanding of the organization Note: In many ases, the membership elets a Nominating Committee or Board Development Committee from the general membership at the Annual General Meeting, rather than using the board for this proess. The omposition of the Nominating Committee should allow for a mix of perspetives, inluding opportunities for new members with diverse links to the ommunity. A Nominating Committee omposed exlusively of past board members may have a narrow view of the hanging ommunity. The role of the Nominating Committee may be simply to find willing and able prospetive board members to fill board vaanies. However, many organizations reognize the need for a year-round Standing Committee to make sure that the board is effetively renewed and developed. 11
Board Development CHAPTER 1 Reruiting for Suess Businesses have their reruiters and searh firms and professional sports teams have their souts; for us it s the Nominating Committee. Brian O Connell The Nominating Committee: Ats as a personnel or human resoure entity with respet to the board and its internal/ self- management issues Is often referred to as the Leadership Development Committee or the Board Development Committee Liaises with the staff as appropriate in order to effetively use the skills of, and maintain the ommitment of, existing volunteers and members Following is a list of duties for the nominating ommittee that you an use as a basis for this ommittee s terms of referene. Duties of the Nominating Committee To develop and maintain reords of board and board ommittee members inluding information on skills, interests, experienes, boardrelated orientation and training, and terms of servie To work with the Board Chair to identify future board needs To analyze the strengths and weaknesses within the urrent board To identify neessary seletion riteria for reruiting new board members To gather and to generate names of prospetive board members To researh and to sreen prospetive board members To reommend a list of possible board nominees to the board To work with the Board Chair to make sure that proper nomination and eletion proedures are followed To review bylaws, poliies, and proedures on reruitment, seletion, assessment, and training of board members and to make reommendations for hange to the board on an annual basis To make sure that orientation, training and other development opportunities are available to the board and to individual board members To make sure that the effetiveness of both the board and individual board members is assessed on a regular basis Individual board members ontribute to board reruitment by: Providing suggestions for prospetive board members Cultivating future prospetive board members Helping with reruitment ativities as needed Members of the organization ontribute to board reruitment by: Providing suggestions regarding prospetive board members to the Nominating Committee Carefully onsidering whom to vote for Considering letting their own name stand for eletion 12
Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations The Board Chair may: Be a member of the Nominating Committee Assist the Nominating Committee by offering his or her opinion about what member qualities the board may require in the future Assist with approahing board nominees Note: Staff members should not be involved formally in nominating ativities. However, onsider onsulting them in the proess. Diret involvement is seen as potential onflit of interest. REBUILDING THE BOARD Developing seletion riteria is the first step in the searh for the right individuals to fill board roles. As with any major deision, reating a shopping list of riteria makes the job easier. Seletion riteria help to: List the member qualities that the board needs in order to operate effetively Identify prospetive board members who have these qualities and an best fill the role When identifying qualities your board requires, onsider the possible biases that may be refleted in your riteria. Do the riteria reflet the needs of the organization and the make-up of the ommunity it serves, or is the shopping list likely to build a board very similar to the existing board? Seletion riteria to onsider inlude: The hanging needs of your organization The omposition of the board team Individual board member qualities Consider the Changing Needs of the Organization Organizations are dynami; they grow and hange with emerging ommunity needs. As a result, the seletion riteria used to reruit new board members needs to be re-evaluated on a regular basis. Employers modify their seletion riteria eah time they hire new staff. The board s seletion riteria should also hange based on urrent needs, resoures, and situation. While basi member qualities are not likely to hange dramatially, some seletion riteria may need to hange to meet the urrent needs of your organization. Changing organizational needs that an reflet board reruitment inlude: Type and model of board Level of deision-making Development stage Fous and goals Speial projets and ampaigns Senior staff s abilities Image and profile in the ommunity These hanges and their potential impat are desribed in more detail below. 13
Board Development CHAPTER 1 Reruiting for Suess Type of board The sope of work performed by board members differs in organizations that are operated solely by volunteers, and in organizations that have a paid senior staff person responsible for management. All types of boards must arefully hoose board members based on their ability to govern. They must have skills related to the model of governane pratied in the organization. These might inlude planning and poliy-making. However, organizations operated solely by volunteers must also onsider the management skills of board members who are being onsidered for the Exeutive Committee. Board members, who are on the Exeutive Committee or organizations with no paid or senior staff person, must also have skills and abilities in oordinating and implementing the day-to-day operations of the organization (e.g., bookkeeping, supervision, and program development). Level of Deision-Making The bylaws and poliies of your organization desribe the role of the board. They define: Who makes deisions in the organization The sope of those deisions The amount of responsibility that is delegated to the senior staff and/ or to the Exeutive Committee Prospetive board members will be interested in your organization s philosophy of governane. Board members must be prepared to make deisions, and to let staff or servie volunteers make deisions, aording to the poliies of your organization. Development stage Organizations hange and grow in stages. In eah stage, the organization has unique needs and harateristis whih require appropriate board involvement. New organizations need speifi skills, a lot of support, and lose supervision. For example, a new organization may need board members who have experiene in developing bylaws, reating publi awareness, designing systems, and seuring ore funding for the organization. Board members in new organizations are often involved in a hands-on apaity. As the organization matures, it needs a different set of skills and member qualities. In more mature organizations, the full board beomes more involved in governane issues and less involved in the day-to-day operation of the organization. Those board members who derive satisfation from hands-on management may beome frustrated or disruptive when the board begins to shift the fous to governane issues. These board members may find it more satisfying to serve in a servie volunteer apaity. The board needs to help volunteers hoose the role that is most satisfying to them. 14
Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations All organizations, regardless of age or maturity, go through stages of innovation and hange followed by a period of stability. Effetive board members possess qualities that meet the needs of the organization regardless of the stage it is in. Fous and goals Both the short-and long-term plans of your organization influene the speifi qualities needed at a board level. If your board is onsidering a major hange in mission, image, or lientele, onsider adding new board members who an help to support the new diretion. For example, an organization that previously foused on treatment and rehabilitation hanges its mission to prevention. For example, an organization that previously foused on the needs of older people expands to provide ounseling servies for the entire family. For example, a sports organization that previously served elite athletes deides to offer rereational sports opportunities for young people. For example, a loal non-fition writers group broadens its fous to beome a provinial organization. Speial projets and ampaigns Sometimes organizations need board members with speialized tehnial skills in order to suessfully take on speial projets. If your organization is going to do a apital fund-raising or building ampaign, fous your reruitment efforts on individuals who have extensive speialized experiene in these areas. Consider how they an frame and failitate effetive dialogue with less experiened board members related to the projet. If your board plans to restruture the organization extensively, or to revise bylaws, onsider reruiting people who have the neessary knowledge and skills to meet this hallenge. While they should not be expeted to undertake these ativities alone, they do need to be able to guide foused dialogue with others on the board related to these deisions. Note: During a speial projet or ampaign, your board needs to maintain all on-going board responsibilities. Make sure that, if ertain board members fous on the speial projet, the remaining board members have the ability to arry out the on-going tasks and ontinue to maintain some onnetion to the speial initiative. Senior staff s abilities A paid manager, suh as an exeutive diretor, fulfills different funtions than the board does. However, you must onsider the ways in whih the qualities of the staff and the board omplement eah other. It is ritial to onsider ompatibility when seleting a paid manager. 15
Board Development CHAPTER 1 Reruiting for Suess The board may need to perform a oahing, supervising, and managing role if your organization has: Less experiened staff Limited resoures Senior staff who are hired on ontrat or part-time basis. For example, a dayare board hooses to hire a part-time manager to deal with staff supervision and other personnel issues, while the dayare board takes responsibility for managing the finanes of the organization. Small business fuels your ommunity s eonomy, but your organization has never reruited individuals who operate businesses that support your organization s mission. One of your board members, a loal elebrity who assisted you with speial fundraising events, has been harged with fraud. A board member frequently expresses personal views that are often mistaken as the philosophy of your organization. Image and profile in the ommunity Board members are your organization s formal link to the ommunity and to the people that your organization serves. Board members ations and their relationship to the ommunity an influene the suess of your organization. When reruiting members to make an effetive board, understand the linkages that your organization requires, and the image individual board members and your board omposition reflets. What impliations would eah of these situations have on the organization involved? The board of a soial servie ageny is omposed exlusively of individuals from the same politial party. Consider the Composition of the Board Team The boards of not-for-profit organizations are omposed of individuals who eah bring diverse gifts and levels of ommitment. The overall balane of the board is as important as the abilities of eah individual member. You annot base effetive reruitment exlusively on finding eight exellent prospetive board members. The Nominating Committee must onsider: How the prospetive board members and the existing board will work together How the qualities of eah prospetive board member will influene the rest of the board team 16
Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations Consider Individual Board Member Qualities When seleting prospetive board members, onsider the qualities that they need to serve the board effetively. These qualities inlude: Speifi skills Ability to ommuniate Level of ommitment Willingness to invest working apital Reruitment must be based on speifi riteria that relate to your organization s needs. Choosing board members is an art as well as a siene. Many essential board member qualities are impossible to label and assess objetively, so they are diffiult to inlude in job desriptions and heklists. These qualities inlude: Good judgment Compassion Respet for others Consider prospetive board members by using a variety of seletion riteria that inlude: An interest in your organization s mission and the people that your organization serves A sense of integrity The skills to work effetively with others A willingness to learn and grow A sense of a wider ommunity An orientation to the future Enthusiasti support for your organization Geographial loation A ommitment of time A willingness to use speial skills An ability to support board fundraising ativities A sphere of influene An interest in your organization s mission and the people that your organization serves The underlying values that inspire and motivate ommitted prospetive board members are: Passion for a ause Care and onern for the needs of individuals or groups Desire to make the world a better plae These values are diffiult to develop and nurture if the volunteer has no real ommitment to your organization s mission. Prospetive board members are not likely to sustain interest in your organization or to follow through on ommitments unless they are interested in and onneted to your ause. A sense of integrity A sense of integrity means that the prospetive board member: Is willing to plae the good of your lients or organization above his or her own self-interest Ats as a steward or trustee for the values and resoures that belong to your ommunity Performs his or her role aording to high ethial standards 17
Board Development CHAPTER 1 Reruiting for Suess The skills to work effetively with others Working on a board requires prospetive board members to be team players. Produtive board disussion and deision-making are based on the prospetive board members ability to: Respet eah member s viewpoint Respet the demorati proess Work effetively in a group Bring a reasonable dose of self-onfidene to their role Share their viewpoint without bowing to peer pressure Aept publi srutiny and ritiism Communiate with tat and diplomay Fous on building produtive relationships A willingness to learn and grow Prospetive board members who have a positive attitude toward ontinued learning are ritial for developing a dynami board that is able to deal with hange and development. Individuals who value lifelong learning will support appropriate board development ativities. A sense of a wider ommunity Prospetive board members who have a broader view of the ommunity and the world are an asset to most organizations. Prospetive board members who understand your organization s onnetions to various groups in the ommunity are better able to be an advoate for your organization. Beause board members have a wider irle of ontats, they are also more likely to be able to assist in resoure development, planning, and board and membership reruitment. An orientation to the future The role of a board is to: Guide the organization into the future Make sure that there are resoures for future development Prospetive board members need to be interested in the growth and development of your organization. Enthusiasti support for your organization Prospetive board members must be: Enthusiasti supporters of your organization Ambassadors for your organization s mission and for the people that your organization supports While prospetive board members may not agree with every aspet of the operation, they should have a strong desire to support and develop the work of your organization in a positive way. 18
Reruiting and Developing Effetive Board Members for Not-for-Profit Organizations Geographial loation Consider the prospetive board members geographial loation if: It affets the pratial operation of the board Representation by loation influenes the views of the prospetive board members Geographial loation is a partiularly important onsideration for a provinial or regional assoiation. In these ases, onsider the mehanis of traveling to meetings, ommuniation, and equitable representation. A ommitment of time Prospetive board members must be both willing and able to arry out their responsibilities. This requires them to ommit a speifi amount of time to board ativities. Consider prospetive board members ability to: Manage their own shedule Handle the number of ommitments they already arry Be available at ritial times in your organization s year Be suessful based on their past reord with other organizations Set lear expetations for time ommitment, and inform prospetive board members of this early in the reruitment proess. Prospetive board members an then judge more aurately their ability to serve your organization. A willingness to use speial skills The need for speialists on the board hanges with the needs and staffing of your organization. The speial skills that eah prospetive board member brings to the board are worthwhile only if the individual is willing and able to use them. An ability to support board fund-raising ativities A major responsibility of many boards is to make sure that there are adequate resoures available to arry out the work of the organization. Some boards delegate aspets of resoure development to staff or other volunteers. However, the board must be prepared to atively work to seure finanial support for your organization. Prospetive board members must be in a position to assist by giving or generating funds. In other words, they must be prepared to play a leadership role in one or more of the following: Donating to the organization Partiipating in fund-raising ativities Using their skills, time, and onnetions to seure funding through external soures Every prospetive board member may not be able to ontribute finanially. However, eah individual must be willing to aept responsibility for developing resoures. You must be lear about the expetations for resoure development for eah prospetive board member. 19