4 Tips for Recruiting Board Members

If your nonprofit is in need of more board members, you’re like a lot of nonprofits. Many organizations struggle to find people who are willing, able, and most importantly aligned with your mission. Recruiting the right board members takes some proper thought and strategy around both the short and long term effects of who sits on your board. Below are some tips that can help you strengthen your board recruitment process and bring in people who will stay engaged and contribute meaningfully, financially or otherwise.

1. Start with Clarity: What Does Your Board Actually Need?

Before you reach out to potential candidates, do some of the upfront internal work of clarifying exactly what your board needs. Use a skills matrix or board composition matrix to identify gaps in expertise, demographics, networks, or perspectives. Maybe you need someone with financial literacy, legal expertise, marketing experience, deep connections in the community you serve, or lived experience of the issues your mission is tackling. The makeup of where the gaps are is going to look different for every single organization.

When you clearly articulate what roles need to be filled, your recruitment becomes much more intentional. You can craft targeted messages about what you're looking for. And just like asking for money, the ask becomes more compelling because it’s not vague , i.e. “we always need board members”. Making it specific, like “we need someone who can help with strategic communications and has strong ties in the neighborhoods we serve” will allow you to be far more efficient with your recruitment.

2. Set and Communicate Expectations Upfront

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is letting board service become a surprise package. What is communicated on the front end sometimes doesn’t reflect what is actually expected of those who serve on our board. This is not usually done maliciously, but more through a lack of intention about what onboarding and expectations look like from the outset. Expectations shift or people assume duties that weren’t clear from the start. That’s how disengagement from good people on your board happens.

From the very beginning, share a clear Board Member role description (or job description) that outlines responsibilities like attendance, committee work, fundraising involvement, term length, meeting frequency, etc.

Also consider instituting a Letter of Agreement or Board Member Commitment Agreement where new (and existing) board members formally acknowledge their responsibilities. Doing this helps avoid misunderstandings later, and ensures everyone is on the same page from day one.

When board member prospects can see exactly what’s expected, they’re more likely to say yes as well as more likely to stay engaged because there were never any hidden surprises.

3. Use Interviews, Committees, and a Preview Period as Appropriate

Recruitment shouldn’t be a straight up “ask and seat” process. Implementing a thoughtful screening, light interview, and preview phase gives both your organization and the candidate time to see if it’s a good fit.

• Use a governance or nominating committee to lead the recruitment process if applicable to your organization. This ensures you have a structured approach, multiple perspectives, and safeguards against selecting based solely on personal connections.

• Interview candidates with consistency: use the same set of questions and criteria. That helps compare fairly and ensures alignment with mission, time commitment, and values.

• Consider a “preview” step: invite board candidates to sit in (non-voting) on a committee or attend a board meeting before they commit. It lets them see your governance in action and helps you see how they might or might not fit.

• If someone isn’t ready for full board membership yet, consider inviting them to serve on a committee or advisory group first. Over time, we have seen committee members transition onto the board when the timing and fit are right after further exposure to your mission over time.

This approach reduces the risk of mismatches, and often yields higher engagement because candidates have already begun to feel part of the mission before fully committing.

4. Provide a Strong Onboarding and Early Engagement Experience

Recruiting someone is just the first step. Just like with asking for money, what you do after they accept is critical to retention and effectiveness. A strong onboarding process helps new board members feel welcome, informed, and capable of contributing from early on.

• Hold a board orientation or training for new members. Walk through your mission, programs, finances, board policies, bylaws, and strategic goals. Give them a board manual or handbook with any essential documents.

• Consider pairing new board members with a mentor who is a seasoned board member who can guide them, answer questions, and help them integrate. Mentorship helps bridge the gap between newcomer uncertainty and board effectiveness.

• Assign early, manageable tasks or committee roles so new members can contribute quickly and see impact. Avoid throwing them into the deep end if you can.

• Keep communication open. Their early experience will set the tone for how engaged they’ll be long term.

Recruiting board members can be easier if you have the right planning and systems around bringing new people in. By doing a little bit more on the front end than is normal, you’ll attract board members who are more likely to stick, engage, and contribute.

Need help with board recruitment or training for your nonprofit organization? We can help you with that. Reach out to us and we would love to learn about how we could help your nonprofit!