Same Begets the Same: The Self-Replicating Board

One challenge to building an inclusive board of directors is the fact that your board members are most likely to have connections to people that are similar to themselves. In charging that board to diversify itself while maintaining a traditional board recruitment process of asking board members to tap into their friends and colleagues and/or individuals already donating to your organization, you are likely to come up with a board that might have some new people, but not a lot of new perspectives. 

How do we fix this? A recent Stanford Social Innovation Review article proposes an open application process as part of the solution. This can be part of a strategy for diversification when the call includes explicit criteria for diversification (e.g., lived experience with the services you provide/systems you influence and communities you work with) and the board experience is shaped to promote meaningful engagement for board members (this might require new meeting spaces, times, or communication methods).

 Open-application board recruitment isn’t a guaranteed path to inclusive leadership, but it’s a significant shake up of one of the key forces that can keep nonprofits stuck.