Over the last four decades, I've spent a lot of time working with Boards of Trustees and Boards of Directors of nonprofits. And I have a little bias on the type of person that makes a great board member, and it's quite different than how a lot of organizations recruit board members. But I believe that you should recruit board members that have these three characteristics: 1. Extremely committed to your cause. They understand your mission, they've shown support for your mission in different ways. 2. I like to recruit for boards business people who have successfully built businesses as entrepreneurs, particularly those who didn't inherit a business but built it from the ground up. They have had to miss their own paycheck in order to take care of their employees and provide payroll. They're risk takers. 3. I like board members that are generous. They've proven in their giving that they're generous to support others and support missions. And so, I really encourage college presidents--while many of them will have restrictions on certain seats on their board--but I really encourage college presidents to recruit board members that have those three characteristics.
