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There is no easy way or quick way, but it can be if you follow these four steps:
1) Change the role of your nominating committee from a group that simply fills empty board seats to a “Committee on Trusteeship” charged with evaluating the performance of the overall board and each individual board member. This committee also must work to identify weaknesses of the overall board and correct them.
Make your strongest board member the chair of this committee. This gives the committee the clout to get its job done and demonstrates that it is a priority. Far too many nominating committees meet once a year — an hour before a board meeting — to decide who they can get to serve on the board. The Committee on Trusteeship, by contrast, is a year-round, working committee that constantly is evaluating the needs of the organization and the ability of the board to meet those needs. It also should cultivate prospective board members who have the abilities to fill board needs and, when properly cultivated, recruit those people to serve.
2) Make certain that new board members come in with their eyes wide open. The recruitment process should include a frank and thorough explanation of what is required of the board as a whole and what would be the expectations of the specific member being recruited. If someone is being recruited because of his ability to give and get money, he needs to know that expectation up front. If he agrees to serve on the board knowing what is expected, you likely have a good board member that will serve you well over time. If he doesn’t agree, then he wouldn’t have been willing to do the things that you needed from him had you lured him onto the board by not fully disclosing your expectations.
Do not bargain with your expectations. I routinely encounter organizations that have created side deals with a number of board members during the recruitment process. We often hear comments such as, “Bob is on our board, but we promised him he did not have to come to meetings” or, “Betty is on our board but we promised her she did not have to ask for money.” These side deals often lead to boards in which everyone has basically agreed to do nothing, and therefore nothing can or will get done.
3) Approach the process of board recruitment just as strategically and thoroughly as you would the cultivation of a major-gift prospect. Begin with research to determine if the person in question has an interest in your area of service and the talents that you need on your board. If you’re looking to build fundraising strength, determine if she has regularly given to and solicited gifts for other organizations. Then begin the cultivation process. Anyone who agrees to serve on your board that has not been thoroughly cultivated and educated about your organization is not coming in with his eyes wide open. You don’t want board members who agree to serve simply because they could not refuse the solicitor. You want board members with a genuine interest in your mission (although it helps to close the deal if the recruiter is someone they can’t refuse).
4) When the prospective board member is cultivated and educated, it’s time for the request. This should be done face to face — just as any good solicitation — by a team of people that have a relationship with the prospect. This team should have a plan for the meeting, a job description that shares the general responsibilities of board members and any specific skills that the prospective board member is expected to bring to the board.
If he agrees to serve, with eyes wide open, you have a good board member. If he doesn’t agree, you have avoided frustration for both parties.
So, if your organization needs to raise money, in good economic times or bad, the best thing you can do is to build a strong fundraising board. It won’t be easy and it won’t be fast, but it is one of the greatest investments that you will ever make in strengthening your organization for the future.
David H. King, CFRE, is managing partner and president of Atlanta-based fundraising consultancy Alexander, Haas, Martin & Partners. He can be reached via www.ahmp.com
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