Strategic board recruitment is essential. Too frequently, this strategic board priority is overlooked, and the opportunity to ensure a diverse, dynamic, healthy board is missed. Whether your Board is functioning optimally or needs improvement, spring is an excellent time for board member recruitment planning.

In “Mastering Non-Profit Board Recruitment: 6 Steps to Success”, we identify Board Recruitment as a core board function. A function made easier when the board communicates well, makes informed decisions, and oversees operations reasonably and responsibly. In other words, acts as a healthy board. Before starting your recruiting journey, there are a number of pre-planning activities to complete. Do you know what they are?

Before recruiting new Board of Director members, doing an internal Board Evaluation to assess your Board's strengths and areas of improvement is helpful. Knowing how effective your board is, what strengths it brings, and the areas of improvement to focus on in the coming months, provides potential recruits and existing members with confidence that the board is self-aware and committed to ongoing learning and improvement.

Serving on a non-profit Board of Directors in Canada comes with important legal and fiduciary responsibilities. Under the BC Societies Act and Canadian legislation, Board members must exercise care, act in the organization’s best interests, manage resources responsibly, and make informed decisions. Good governance starts with understanding those duties. Does every member of your Board know what they’re legally responsible for?

Non-profit Board recruitment doesn’t have to be stressful. A strategic approach helps your Board find people with the right skills, expertise, perspectives and community connections while strengthening Board engagement, diversity and succession planning. The key is recruiting for what your organization needs—not simply filling an empty seat. Is your Board recruiting the right people for its future—or just whoever says yes?