Three Myths About Joining a Board


The best and most fulfilling professional development experiences of my career have come from serving on nonprofit boards. When I speak with professionals about the opportunity they usually say that it never occurred to them that they would be a fit for a board. When you unpack their assumptions, it turns out that they are carrying around at least one of these three myths.

#1 Board are only for old white guys.

When asked to imagine the membership of a board, most people still think of old white men. They conjure up an image of a table filled with guys like Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show – cranky old white guys heckling the stars of the show from the balcony. You don’t need to be old, white or a man to serve on a board. Most boards actually prioritize recruiting the exact opposite.

#2 Boards are only for the wealthy.

New Lincoln Center trustees are expected to donate $250,000. Most other boards have a much lower expectation. The average American donates 3.2% of their income to charity. If you serve on a board, you should make it your largest community investment. So, if you make $50,000, perhaps you donate $1,500 to charity per year and of that half would be your board donation, $750. More importantly, the largest source of contributions by most board members isn’t cash but pro bono services (e.g. marketing, legal, tech) that board members recruit from their network.

#3 You need to wait to be contacted.

There are well over 2 million open board seats right now. Most nonprofits have at least 3 vacancies per year and tend to go to the same network for new members every time to fill these seats. Odds are that the leadership of the perfect board for you doesn’t know that you exist and if they do they don’t know that you would be interested.

There is a board out there that would be lucky to have you join their ranks. Get yourself out there and find it! Tell your network that you are looking for a board opportunity and it won’t take long before leads start emerging from your network. Post it to your LinkedIn profile. Share the desire at lunch with co-workers or with friends over drinks.

More tips.

George Tyler

Ecosystem Developer | Emerging Technology | Product Management | Marketing/Sales | Channel Development | Certified Alliance Manager | Board advisor/member

11 年

I couldn't agree more. I can't seem to do enough for "my" non-profit. Now I am looking for new board members. Interested, please contact me. We are can't accept everyone, but it is worth talking about.

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Ann Evanston, MA

Showing women in business how to find their voice and live their best life!

11 年

I agree, my board service has been some of the most rewarding work I have ever done!

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Shirli Kirschner

Co-Founder and COA Elker

11 年

Great conversation starrer

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