According to a study conducted by NonProfitPro, 41% of nonprofit organizations struggle to recruit quality board members. In fact, for many years, Foundation for Nonprofits exclusively offered board development services to nonprofits and that one offering was enough to keep us busy.
While there are many reasons that nonprofits struggle to find quality board members, one reason that Foundation for Nonprofits clients bring up again and again is the limitation presented by their own social circles. It simply isn't possible for an individual or a single organization to keep tabs on who is interested in serving on a nonprofit board, who is available to serve on a nonprofit board, and which of those people have the particular skills, experience, and/or background that a specific nonprofit needs to advance the mission at a particular point in time.
The Queue is a “list” maintained by Foundation for Nonprofits of community members who are interested in serving on a nonprofit board of directors. Foundation for Nonprofits uses this list to facilitate making matches between nonprofits and potential board members… And, hopefully, create connections and relationships that will benefit both the organization and the individual.
Joining The Queue gets your name out to nonprofit organizations as a potential board member in an efficient manner and helps nonprofit organizations looking for quality board members find them efficiently too.
Outside of facilitating placement on a nonprofit board, all information Foundation for Nonprofits collects and maintains on individuals is confidential. Foundation for Nonprofits does not sell, trade, or share this information for any purpose outside of facilitating a match.
There are BIG differences between joining The Queue and being a Foundation for Nonprofits Community Corps member.
- The most obvious difference between The Queue and Community Corps is that Community Corps has a program fee that helps Foundation for Nonprofits defrays the Community Corps program cost.
- Community Corps members receive “preference” in placement on nonprofit boards. Foundation for Nonprofits offers preference to members because one of the benefits members receive is support in their role as a board member. Foundation for Nonprofits provides members with access to confidential advice, support, and/or training on an as needed basis.
- Community Corps members go through an application process and acceptance is selective. Foundation for Nonprofits considers Community Corps members to be representatives of the organization and Community Corps members are sometimes asked to assist with provision of services to client organizations. Given that Community Corps members may be involved with clients or have access to client information, Foundation for Nonprofits carefully cultivates Community Corps to ensure that any Community Corps member asked to participate in a client engagement is qualified and that the overall Community Corps membership is diverse in terms of skills, areas of expertise, social circles, lived experiences, perspectives, backgrounds, etc.
Generally, provided all else is equal, nonprofit organizations prefer the board members we match them with are Community Corps members because of the resources Foundation for Nonprofits provides to Community Corps members increases their value for the organization.
Well, YOU ARE!
Foundation for Nonprofits welcomes all members of the Arizona community to join The Queue.
While Foundation for Nonprofits welcomes all members of the Arizona community to join the “Queue”, Foundation for Nonprofits cannot and does not guarantee that joining “The Queue” will result in placement on a nonprofit board. Matching a nonprofit organization with a board member is very much about finding the right match. There is no such thing as a universally “perfect” board member. The right board for you may not come to Foundation for Nonprofits immediately or at all. As community leaders and future community leaders, the expectation is that you understand that the needs of the community come first.
Your Foundation for Nonprofits The Queue profile is mostly made up of short answer questions. In addition to these short answer questions, we request a PDF copy of your resume. Unlike when employers request a copy of your resume, we want the long version! We ask for this level of detail because it is often some random experience or combined set of experiences that give you a unique point of view that would make you an asset to a particular nonprofit organization. So please, include every educational experience, every form of community involvement, every publication, every membership, every award, every professional experience, and every side hustle (to the extent practical and feasible).
ABSOLUTELY!
Foundation for Nonprofits encourages all members of the Arizona community with an interest in service and community leadership to join The Queue. There are a small number of prominent, mature, large nonprofits in the community that tend to dominate our collective awareness. Board service in these “prestige” organizations tends to be what people think of when they think of board service. These organizations have a minimal time commitment from their board members, staff to do the work directed by the board, and there is an expectation that board members will make large financial gifts or facilitate large financial gifts through their network. Most nonprofits are not those organizations.
Looking beyond that small group of “prestige” organizations, every organization’s board composition and requirements are unique. There are organizations that require there to be a minimum number of board members to have once been eligible for services (for example, a homeless shelter may have a requirement that 25% of their board have personally experienced homelessness or an organization working with probationers may have a requirement that at least 2 board members have gone through the reintegration process). There are organizations that require a large time commitment and organizations with minimal time commitments. There are organizations with required minimum donations and organizations that require participation only. There are no universal rules, so we encourage everyone to take a leap and see if together we can make some magic.
That said, Foundation for Nonprofits cannot guarantee that we can place any particular person on a board. As community leaders and future community leaders, the expectation is that you understand that the needs of the community come first. You may be unique enough that the right fit for you doesn’t come along for a long time. That is not a rejection or judgement of you. Foundation for Nonprofits simply cannot be everything to everyone all the time. Nevertheless, Foundation for Nonprofits is a community resource. We will keep you updated regarding possible opportunities. We will keep your information current. And if you reach out to us, we will respond in a timely manner. The Foundation for Nonprofits team knows that kindness begets kindness and will make every reasonable effort to nurture your passion for our shared community.
Once you hit submit, you will be in The Queue! It is as easy as that.
Feel free to reach out to us at info@foundationfornonprofits.org or (480) 269-3740.