logo
Donate
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
    • Glossary
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Magazine
  • Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Speed Dating: A Board Leadership Strategy?

Jennifer Amanda Jones
February 21, 2014

speed-date-hearts

February 19, 2014; San Francisco Business Journal

Earlier this week, more than 150 Bay Area nonprofit organizations and 1,000 potential board members convened for the ninth annual Board Match event hosted by the Volunteer Center serving San Francisco and San Mateo counties. In a philanthropic version of “speed dating,” nonprofit executives staffed booths, shared their mission, answered questions, and interviewed potential candidates on the spot.

Speed dating for board members and volunteers is not a new concept; we have reported on similar events that have been held in other cities. But since many nonprofits still struggle to find effective board members, this idea may be worth expanding. It is certainly having an impact in the Bay Area. When the Board Match event was initiated in 2005, only a few hundred potential board members were in attendance. Now, with more than a thousand candidates present, many of the nonprofits return year after year to meet and recruit new directors.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Such events may also help combat some of the leadership challenges of running a self-perpetuating (or self-nominating) board. Self-perpetuating boards are tempted to recruit new board members from amongst their friends and colleagues and thereby run the risk of becoming unrepresentative of the target population and service area. The ability of self-perpetuating boards to develop a strong board culture may also increase the risk of becoming too insular and unresponsive. Speed dating events like Board Match can help self-perpetuating boards meet and recruit candidates they would never otherwise have considered. Self-perpetuating boards, unlike an elected or appointed board, also have the opportunity to recruit for specific skill sets. At the Board Match event, nonprofits could use the opportunity to advertise for and recruit board members with specific knowledge, such as legal, financial, or technical expertise.

Of course, the situation is not either/or, self-perpetuating or speed dating. In fact, to extend the metaphor, if we went into personal speed dating with the idea of simply installing someone we met there as our boyfriend or girlfriend with a term of service, we would likely be disappointed. If your nonprofit has a strategy wherein it engages stakeholders in committees and otherwise, it will have a diverse, tested, and committed pool to draw from at all times. Maybe we all need to reconsider those engagement strategies more generally.

In the end, successful board service is about finding the right match. More than 200 matches were made at the 2013 Board Match event, but for those participants who didn’t find a few true loves, it’s important to keep searching. “Board service is for everyone,” the Volunteer Center indicates on its website. “Whether you’re just starting out, a mid-career professional, or a seasoned philanthropist, there is a nonprofit that will value your talents.”—Jennifer Amanda Jones

 

About the author
Jennifer Amanda Jones

Jennifer Amanda Jones, Ph.D. is the Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the University of Florida. Her research interests include nonprofit management, philanthropic giving, and social enterprise initiatives. She is a member of Nu Lambda Mu, the international honor society for nonprofit scholars. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Jones was involved in research projects benchmarking the nonprofit sector in San Diego and in the State of California. Additionally, Dr. Jones has spent more than 15 years working with nonprofit organizations of various types and sizes. She also served on the board of directors for a community foundation.

More about: Board DevelopmentBoard Governance and LeadershipHuman ResourcesNonprofit NewsStakeholder Engagement

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
How the Wealthy Took Control of Nonprofits
Ananda Valenzuela
Cultivating a Liberatory Board
Ananda Valenzuela
A New Framework for Governance Duties: Loving Accountability and Abundant Resourcing
Ananda Valenzuela
Women of Color Leaders: Shifting Power Dynamics within the Board–Executive Relationship
Tiloma Jayasinghe
Nonprofit Boards Efforts to Diversify
Aracely Muñoz
Liberating Human Resources: Finding a Path to a New HR Paradigm
Jean Lobell

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
May 27th, 2:00 pm ET

Ask the Nonprofit Lawyer

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register

    
You might also like
US Capitol Building
Tax Provision Would Give Trump Administration Unilateral...
Rebekah Barber and Isaiah Thompson
A piggy bank wearing a graduation hat and standing on a pile of cash, symbolizing how endowments for academic institutions can be accessed in difficult times.
Endowments Aren’t Blank Checks—but Universities Can Rely...
Ellen P. Aprill
Saving AmeriCorps: What’s at Stake and Why We Must Act Now
Hillary Kane

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.