Watters & Associates
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Watters & Associates
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BUILDING A BETTER BOARDOne of the essential components for a successful development program is an enthusiastic, influential leadership group. A foundation board offers any charitable, non-profit organization an excellent opportunity to involve key community leaders in their mission. By attracting visible, influential individuals who represent important community constituencies, the development program and the parent charitable organization create a huge resource for raising friends and funds. Sadly, many organizations limit their board selections to retiring trustees or the more affluent members of the community. Instead of seizing the opportunity to broaden the organization’s circle of friends, the focus shifts to honoring existing supporters. So……what’s a better way to build a board? We believe that the first step should be to create a desired board profile. Whether it is an initial board or simply part of the ongoing replacement process, the nominating committee needs a framework to identify appropriate new members. The profile describes the composition of the board but not the individual member. It includes representation from essential groups, age, gender, race, residence location, relationships with significant donors and needed expertise. Hospital foundations might want to consider the following areas. Group Representation:
Age:
Gender:
Race:
Residence:
Expertise:
The next step is to analyze the current membership and identify what attributes are missing from the desired profile. The ideal new member may be a young minister from an outlying community. While the chances of finding such a candidate are remote, the nominating committee can focus on identifying some combination of the profile. Regardless of the specific attributes of the profile, all candidates should meet general criteria. These criteria address the values, enthusiasm, visibility and judgment that are essential for becoming an effective member. Examples might include:
This process will help in identifying effective board members. Remember to recruit the prospective members in much the same way you solicit your donors-show them how they can help their community! Finally, let me offer a few caveats:
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