by Ben Parris

Created on: June 02, 2009   Last Updated: June 03, 2009

It's not snails and puppy dog tails, but a board of directors that non-profit organizations are made of. Getting an advisory board is a matter of rounding up a variety of experts in your field. The real challenge is in building what I will call the central board that funds and oversees the organization. The composition of this board is key in fund raising, and they may end up taking such an active role in management that every other aspect of your efforts will be dwarfed by the importance of who you chose for the board. You want them active, responsible, and primarily involved in development.

This essential task begins at the bylaws. I recommend that your rules include language to the effect that board members be replaced by annual vote in terms that are both limited and staggered. In practice you'll ask them to commit to one, two or three years. This is a means to help insure independence and reduce conflicts of interest, which are at the heart of many bad decisions.

With your rules in place, you want to start looking for the most prominent or prosperous people in your community with the best reputations for honesty. Aim high and understand that the most desirable people may take a long time to recruit if ever. Approach them in a straightforward manner, preferably leading with someone who knows them or is in their circles.

You when think you have a suitable and desirable candidate, and they are amenable to a meeting on the subject, you should discuss the position with them in a relaxed atmosphere, preferable over lunch or dinner. Arrange for the most private conversation possible. If they have a personal assistant that must come along, however, you can live with it. You want to be respectful and circumspect in any case.

These are important people to you, and often to the world at large. They are offering to volunteer their limited time and energy in your cause, or you are asking them to do so. Either way you don't feel like treating them like it's a job interview. However, it is an extremely important job interview. The wrong person can do an unforeseeable amount of damage even if they are term-limited.

Do not rely on the board's vote to decide. There is an assumption that if they got to the table it was by strong recommendation. You must not risk putting a candidate up for a vote if you already think something is wrong.

The most significant warning signs that something is wrong are:

They are on other boards already, but their

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