Last month, I gave you tips on how to jumpstart your nonprofit career in seven days. Then Michele Martin asked me in the comments if I had done all of these professional development tasks myself, and I realized I had done all of them except one: join a nonprofit board of directors. So I followed my own advice and set out to join a board as my goal before the end of the year. I will walk you through the steps I have taken so far to help you in your own process of developing your leadership skills through board membership. Most of you will consider this a stretch assignment, especially if you do not already play a leadership role in your current nonprofit job. But for young nonprofit professionals, this is a win/win/win: 1) you gain valuable skills 2) you get to volunteer for one of your favorite causes, and 3) you can reap the benefits of the respect from your peers and colleagues that comes with being a board member. So here’s how you can follow the path of what I have done so far to achieve my professional development goal of joining a nonprofit board. I hope it works for you! Let us know about your experiences in the comments, or drop me an email if you are thinking about taking on this stretch assignment.
Make Sure You Know What You’re Getting Into
I reviewed the responsibilities of being a nonprofit board member on the BoardSource website. I was pretty familiar with the duties of board leadership, but I wanted to make sure I was clear that I could sign on to each one of them. Although I know the experience can be rewarding, the truth is that nonprofit boards of directors are not all fun and games. It takes hard work and integrity just like a full-time job. As the leadership body of public stakeholders in a particular community, it is the board’s duty to govern the organization in the best way possible. Among the responsibilities I would have:
- Provide proper financial oversight. The board must assist in developing the annual budget and ensuring that proper financial controls are in place.
- Ensure adequate resources. One of the board’s foremost responsibilities is to provide adequate resources for the organization to fulfill its mission.
- Ensure legal and ethical integrity and maintain accountability. The board is ultimately responsible for ensuring adherence to legal standards and ethical norms.
- Ensure effective organizational planning. Boards must actively participate in an overall planning process and assist in implementing and monitoring the plan’s goals.
- Enhance the organization’s public standing. The board should clearly articulate the organization’s mission, accomplishments, and goals to the public and garner support from the community.
- Support the chief executive and assess his or her performance. The board should ensure that the chief executive has the moral and professional support he or she needs to further the goals of the organization.
Reflect on Your Passion
Next, I thought about which causes I was passionate about outside of the organization where I work. In the Washington DC area, there are over 4,000 nonprofits I could volunteer with. So I came up with a short list of criteria that I felt fit within the personal vision I am developing to merge my personal mission with my nonprofit work. The three criteria I came up with were that I wanted to serve on a board of a nonprofit that a) worked in populations of high poverty, b) served communities of color, and c) was small or start-up in nature or could benefit from my skills in nonprofit management. In terms of causes, there are so many I would be committed to: homelessness, youth and education or the arts, advocacy, civil rights, women’s issues, among others.
Evaluate Your Current Skills
I took a few moments to list the skills I would bring to a nonprofit board. I took a glance at my LinkedIn profile just to remind myself of the various positions I have held and reflect on the strengths I have gained along the way. I decided that I wanted to be able to use my skills in fundraising, human resources, financial management, writing and communications, and education/training to help strengthen a nonprofit’s management functions. I would also be willing to fundraise on behalf of the organization and develop a strong case for support to the community.
Then I also starting thinking about what I could gain in my skill set that I wasn’t already good at. Where am I weak that I could get stronger? One of the things I came up withwas that I would want to enhance my public presence and communication/speaking skills by acting as a spokesperson for the organization out in the public. I would be willing to testify on behalf of the organization in City Council or give quotes to the media on the nonprofit’s issues. I’d also like to write op-eds in the papers to advance our cause and mission.
Put Yourself Out There
The first thing I did was to create an account and profile at boardnetUSA to find listed board opportunities in my area. It only took about 30 minutes to fill-in the requested information, especially since I had already thought about the kind of nonprofit I wanted to work for and the skills I wanted to utilize.
I also completed an application with the African American Nonprofit Network’s Board Initiative. They match board candidates of color with nonprofits who need their expertise. I filled out the questionnaire, sent in my resume, and chose an opportunity from their list of board vacancies.
In addition to these formal application processes, I made sure to let my key mentors and peers know verbally that I’m looking for leadership opportunities on nonprofit boards. My hope was that if something came up that fit what I wanted to do, someone might think of me and send me a tip.
Results So Far
Somebody said that when you take action and put your efforts out there, the universe responds. Within a week after posting my profile on boardnetUSA, I found an opportunity with a small nonprofit working with at-risk African American youth in a creative writing afterschool program. I applied, met with their Executive Director and Board Chair, and have just been nominated to the full Board.
A few months before I signed up for boardnetUSA, I had been approached by the President of a well-respected nonprofit that serves the homeless and provides job-training to apply to their board. I had done so, but hadn’t heard anything back. I received a call from their CEO to let me know he was sending my information to the nominations committee next month.
From my efforts so far, I’m currently in the process of being nominated to three boards in the DC area that all fit my criteria. I’m hoping at least one will pan out and I can begin a volunteer leadership position outside of the organization I work for that will help prepare me to lead a nonprofit in the future. My experience with the process of joining a nonprofit board has been a definite stretch, but I know it will be a valuable learning experience for me. You can be sure that I’ll keep you updated on the process and, when I’m actually serving as a board member, the inside scoop.
Now is anybody stretching with me or thinking about board membership? A little effort goes a long way!
