With nearly two million nonprofit board seats open, good board members are hard to find. Yet, according to Taproot Foundation, most professionals want to be on boards.*
How do nonprofits attract the right professionals to their boards, the ones who want to do the job and who have the particular skills needed by the organization? Well, the simple answer is – just ask. The longer answer is you need a conduit to professionals who care. LinkedIn Board Connect now provides that conduit for nonprofits, at no cost.
Ensure your success with 7 tips from board governance and LinkedIn pros, Marc Halpert, Maria Semple and Geri Stengel.
*Taproot Foundation estimates 87% of human resources professionals and 92% of marketing professionals are interested in board service but far fewer actually serve on boards.
On LinkedIn, nonprofits must take seven steps to reach and recruit board members:
- Determining the skills and expertise you need on your board
- Look your best
- Build your network before you need it
- Experiment with search
- Be introduced or go direct
- Build relationships
- Orient nonprofit board members to ensure their success
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Maria Semple is Principal of The Prospect Finder LLC, an organization that helps nonprofit organizations and financial advisors identify their best matches for donors or client prospects. Her firm specializes in prospect research on high-net-worth individuals, foundations. and corporations. She also provides training seminars and webinars for staff members who wish to augment their prospect research skills. / Semple is a highly sought-after speaker whose past speaking engagements have included the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement, the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, and New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising. In 2007, she authored two downloadable and interactive prospecting tools, which include an extensive compilation of research resources. |
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Marc W. Halpert is Managing Partner, Your Best Interest LLC and its divisions: e-giving and connect2collaborate. Halpert specializes in offering paperless electronic payment services to optimize the cash flow of and speed collections to both for profit and nonprofit companies. In his latest business, Connect2Collaborate, Halpert uses his skills in networking and his LinkedIn evangelism to train and coach others. / He has been recognized for client service and is a frequent speaker at national, regional, and local conferences for small businesses and nonprofits. He has also authored articles on innovations in cash flow technologies, and on LinkedIn as a powerful branding power. He volunteers as a counselor at the award-winning Norwalk, CT chapter of SCORE where he provides expertise in e-commerce, nonprofits, and social media. He also teaches LinkedIn to job-seekers at Connect to Care at Westchester Jewish Community Services in Westchester County, NY. |
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Geri Stengel is president of Ventureneer and Stengel Solutions. She is a Kauffman FastTrac GrowthVenture facilitator and former adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship at The New School. She is on the board of Praxis Housing, former vice chair of Governance Matters and past board member of the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. A graduate of the corporate world, Geri worked for The Wall Street Journal and headed marketing for Dow Jones’ online services and launched Physicians’ Online before the Web. |
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