Building
An Effective Board of Directors
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
President/CEO CAPITALVENTURE SM
Is your board of directors a diverse group
of people with a real passion for the organization's
mission, broad civic connections, deep pockets
and no fear of giving and asking for donations
to your organization? If not, here are some
tips on recruiting board members with the three
C's, the three T's, and the three W's, by using
the 3 G's Method.
Enough alphabet soup for you? (Just in case
you haven't heard these qualities before-the
Three C's are Cash, Clout and Contacts; the
3 T's are Time, Talent and Treasure; and the
3 W's are Work, Wealth and Wisdom.
Using the method below (the Three G's) will
help you recruit an effective Board.
The First G-Gather
Gather your Board together
to determine what the Board needs in the way
of skills, talents and diversity, and how
these attributes can help the organization.
Often bringing in an outside
person to do this assessment is useful. Either
a paid consultant or perhaps a volunteer from
another nonprofit (one with a dynamic, effective
Board) can help objectively assess your Board's
performance.
Have the Board do a self-assessment
of their performance as a whole and as individuals.
This assessment should be done on an annual
basis.
The Second G-Get Ready<
Once the Board has assessed
its makeup and performance, it will need to
develop a plan for filling any gaps.
A Board Development, Board
Resource, or Governance Committee must be
in place year round to coordinate all the
activities involved in Board development.
The best Board member you have should chair
this committee.
Educate the entire Board on
the role and responsibilities of Board members
and the importance of the Board recruitment
process. It is in the recruitment process
that good Boards are created, or that terrible
ones result!
The Third G-Grow
Once a Board profile has been
completed, a list of potential Board members
who fill the needs required by the Board must
be developed. It is critical that every Board
member understand that Board recruitment is
never done by only one person on the Board,
and that all names must be submitted for approval
to the full Board before they are invited
to join the Board.
It is also essential that
Board positions description outlining roles
and responsibilities of individual board members
be reviewed with each candidate before they
are invited to serve on the Board.
Provide an exciting, compelling
Board Orientation for new board members as
well as an ongoing education program for all
Board members.
If you need help with your Board Development needs,
contact the experts at CAPITALVENTURESM to help you through
the 3 G Process.
Please
contact CAPITALVENTURE sm
for your Capital Campaign needs!
