This is an archive of CharityVillage NewsWeek. To find a word on the page,
use your browser's "find" feature (CTRL-F or CMD-F).
To view other articles in the archive, use our Chronological Index.
Please note: While we ensure that all links and e-mail addresses are accurate
at their publishing date, the quick-changing nature of the web means that some
links to other web sites and e-mail addresses may no longer be accurate.
Boards of Directors: Strategically and creatively attracting talent
September 22, 2003
By Louise Chatterton Luchuk
Statistics tell us that volunteering on boards and committees is the
second most common volunteer activity (2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering
and Participating). Yet, anecdotal evidence suggests
that recruiting
talent to sit on boards is a challenge for many nonprofit
organizations.
Why the dichotomy? And in what strategic and creative ways
are organizations
addressing the challenge?
Untapped talent
Sol Kasimer, CEO of Altruvest Charitable
Services has looked at these questions from several
different angles
during his thirty-two years in the voluntary sector - a
tenure that includes
being the past president and CEO of YMCA Canada, the
co-chair of
the Voluntary Sector Initiative Capacity Joint Table,
and a member
on numerous boards and committees. While it may be true that
many people
choose to volunteer on boards and committees, Kasimer points out that
many more people are really needed. Fortunately, he believes
that there
is "no shortage of talent out there. There are lots of
bright, energetic
people but they just don't know how to get involved."
That's where Altruvest's BoardMatch
program fits. BoardMatch, which launched in 2000 and moved
online a year
ago, is a program that introduces charities to qualified, interested,
and informed volunteers who are willing to lend their
expertise to a nonprofit
board of directors. BoardMatch staff approach corporations to recruit
board talent and they recruit on the strength of the fact
that there are
very few places for private sector executives to learn about
governance.
Nonprofit board experience provides the opportunity "to learn
new skills,
to see the big picture, to experience consensus-building, to
develop presentation
skills and to learn the pulse of the community," explains Kasimer.
However, the program isn't just about making a match; it's
about training
and supporting board recruits, too. Online learning modules introduce
board members to roles and responsibilities, fundraising,
human resources
capacity and, coming soon, to strategic planning and
evaluation techniques.
The BoardMatch program started in the Toronto area and
recently expanded
to Vancouver. So far, more than 500 successful board
placements have been
made in the GTA and another 300 candidates are close to being
placed with
265 charities. Kasimer has his sights on expanding the program but is
very particular about having suitable local sponsors. "We
have the web-based
technology so we could go national very easily but we want
to have both
the high touch and the high tech in place."
Think strategically!
Even without access to a program such as BoardMatch, boards of
directors can attract
new talent by thinking strategically. Kasimer encourages organizations
to approach board recruitment as strategically as they would a capital
campaign. "Start with your mission or strategic plan and
determine what
skill sets and competencies you need. Then ask, 'who are the
top people
with these skills and who knows them?' Go to people with
large networks.
Who is asking is important."
Getting the house in order
The United Way of Canada also
provides board
development support, but recently it also took a serious look
at its internal
board development. Eva Kmiecic is an executive on exchange from
the federal government filling the position of senior vice president of
strategic management for the United Way of Canada. Last fall,
the organization
undertook a board effectiveness study and looked at how they attracted
and retained national board members. As a result, they are looking more
and more to recruiting from the "champions of our movement,"
says Kmiecic.
There is also a more enhanced board orientation training session and package
in place that matches new board members with seasoned board members as
mentors. The orientation looks at the role of board members as well as
the larger role of the board within the United Way movement. Self-evaluation
is increasingly important as well. However, Kmeicic notes that sensitivity
is needed and an abbreviated self-evaluation process was started last
fall. The national office of the United Way is also listening to ideas
from local boards who are grappling with the same recruitment and retention
challenges and the national and local boards are learning from each other.
Talent in action
What are the individuals who sit on boards of directors saying? What attracted
Bill Adams to the board of Angels
Anonymous Connection , a national wish granting
foundation for adults?
Or, Bebe Ivanochko to the Pahksimon
nuye ah Library System (a Northern Saskatchewan regional
board), the
Saskatchewan
Literacy Network,
and the national board of Frontier
College?
Adams was raised with the philosophy that you "put more in
than you take
out." That philosophy, coupled with a conversation with the founder of
Angels Anonymous Connection, led to Adams' involvement. He
believes that
the "personal ask" is an important recruitment tool. "There
are so many
worthwhile causes. People get asked so often but if they know you, it
makes a difference." Public awareness is important to an organization
for many reasons, but the exposure is also a board
recruitment tool. The
more exposure for the Angels Anonymous Connection, Adams explains, the
more people come forward as members and the pool of
passionate people
to recruit from grows.
Ivanochko is the literacy coordinator at Northlands
College
in Saskatchewan. She represents her college on the PNLS board,
represents the north on the Saskatchewan Literacy Network,
and represents
her province on the Frontier College board. Overall, she is attracted
to boards that reflect her personal and professional
interests in books,
learning, research, and basic education for all. "I
appreciate being recruited
for my personal expertise. I experience a raised profile by
being associated
with a highly creditable organization - plus I'm always
learning. I also
can stay on top of new initiatives in my field of
literacy...and the networking
is fantastic."
These are the types of perks that organizations can
strategically incorporate
into their board recruitment messages. As Kasimer indicates,
there truly
are passionate, talented, educated people out there suited
for board memberships.
Organizations need to think strategically and creatively in
their attempts
to orient, recruit, and train these people.
Louise Chatterton Luchuk is a freelance writer and consultant who
combines her love of writing with experience at the local, provincial
and national levels of volunteer-involving organizations. For more information,
visit www.luchuk.com.
