Building boards is one of the major preoccupations of board chairs and executive directors everywhere. Perhaps the organization is new and just building its first board. Or the board is small – 12 or fewer members — and as research shows, the organization could raise more money if it were larger. Or a number of trustees (including perhaps the founder) are rotating off in a year or two, and the pipeline of potential members could be increased.

We offer a planning, research and recruitment process that is targeted and rational, backed by experience and the latest research to distinguish your organization from peer organizations, all of which are competing for the best board members.

We apply the principles of Appreciative Inquiry to all aspects of our work. People support what they help to create, so the whole board and senior management are encouraged to engage in this process, to not only recruit but also retain new board members. An organization grows in the direction in which it focuses its attention, so we focus on the organization’s strengths rather than its problems in building the case for attracting new board members. And we keep the end in mind; high-performing boards drive and support the organization’s strategic agenda, creating a board experience that is valued, fun and important.

Counsel and services include:

Governance and Recruitment

• Board self-assessments
• Composition and capacity assessment of the current board and recommendations for the optimal composition going forward
• Prospect research and approach strategies
• New or refined governance and gift acceptance policies
• Refined structure, role and criteria for board and committee membership
• Development of a new board recruitment and orientation package

Leadership Training

Leadership trainings help ensure consensus, clarity and commitment to your organization’s mission, case for support and strategic goals, and the Board’s role in meeting those goals. Each training is customized, with topics such as:

• Governance and the role of volunteer leadership
• Research on high-performing nonprofits and boards
• Ethics, advocacy and the law
• Relevant legislation, trends
• Principles of cultivating and soliciting prospects
• Benefits of planned giving
• Uses of the case for support as a tool for individual meetings and group presentations
• Strategies for specific major gift prospects and potential board members

Each training combines teaching, role-playing, case studies, and real-time prospects.