Find Your Nonprofit Fit: 10 Questions to Ask Before Serving on a Nonprofit Board

Behind every great nonprofit organization is a great board of directors. While many business and community leaders pursue board positions because they genuinely want to make a difference, research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, in collaboration with BoardSource and GuideStar, suggests that far too many boards lack the sufficient skills, resources and experiences to meet the needs of most nonprofit organizations. Serving on a nonprofit board is about much more than an attractive designation on a resume — it’s a legal and ethical responsibility that has critical implications for nonprofit performance and community impact.

So how do you know if you’re ready to serve on a nonprofit board? How do you choose a nonprofit organization that’s right for you? Ask yourself these 10 questions to find your nonprofit fit.

1. Where’s your passion?
What activities or interests light a personal fire within you? What do you enjoy spending your time doing?

2. Who helped you?
In your life and career, who has been most influential to you? Is there a mentor, supervisor, family member or friend who shaped the person you’ve become today?

3. What’s most important to you?
What issues do you care about most deeply in your community and/or the world?

4. What makes you angry?
What frustrates you most every time you see or hear about it?

5. What makes you hopeful?
What are the things that make you feel positive about the future?

6. What makes you cry?
What brings out your deepest feelings and moves you emotionally?

Thinking through these first six questions will help you identify issues and causes that reveal the nonprofit organization that’s right for you. But serving on a nonprofit board isn’t just about your passions. It must also be a fit for the nonprofit organization as well. To ensure you’re really ready to commit to serving on a nonprofit board, think through the value you can bring to an organization based on what they need.

7. Talent: My talent is ________________.
What are your greatest strengths and skills? What are you best at?

8. Time: I can devote ____ hours per month to a nonprofit and board service.
Given everything you have going on in your life personally and professionally, what kind of time commitment can you honestly make to be fully engaged?

9. Treasure: I am willing to contribute $____ personally.
Think about the financial resources you and your family would/could contribute to support the nonprofit organization. If you’re looking to join a nonprofit board, make sure the organization is among your top three philanthropic priorities.

10. Ties: I am able to connect a nonprofit to the following resources ___________.
What doors can you open to help the organization and what relationships are you willing to call upon to do so? This may include introductions to community leaders, asks to other corporate supporters, connections to major donors, etc.

Serving on a nonprofit board is a serious responsibility that requires serious thought. By thinking through these questions and being thoughtful about your answers, you can help the right nonprofit organization accelerate its mission while advancing the community issues you care about most.