Saturday, April 25, 2009

YNPN Leaders Conference: Would you ask Bill Gates to serve on your nonprofit’s Board of Directors when he was 25 years old?

Most nonprofits would say no. Yet many emerging leaders are well on their way to becoming future “Bill Gates” types in the nonprofit sector and eager to participate on a nonprofit Board of Directors.

Yesterday, Alexis Terry from BoardSource discussed common barriers emerging leaders face when trying to serve on nonprofit boards.

She said, many boards are looking for the C-suite types and do not see the benefit of adding young nonprofit professionals to the Board of Directors.

In order to change this, she encouraged emerging leaders to be proactive, influence, and pursue organizations.

Alexis also provided suggestions for successful board service. She said, once emerging leaders connect with organizations, we need to stick around (2-3 years) to show we are committed to the organization and make the personal touch (beyond the use of technology), like send a hand written letter to a donor.

For more information read BoardSource's Next Gen Governance Report.

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