Find Candidates
Once you have identified what you need to round out your board’s overall 
composition, you can start looking for candidates who meet those criteria.
LinkedIn allows individuals to indicate whether they are interested in serving on a nonprofit board, so you can now find interested individuals who meet your search criteria. In order to access this advanced search option, join LinkedIn’s Board Member Connect.
Below is a list of some professional profiles to help get you started, with links to how you can find individuals who meet these profiles within your own professional network — thanks to our friends at LinkedIn.
Financial Experts
Expertise in reviewing and interpreting financial information and understanding complex financial reports.
Why you need them:
To ensure that your board has enough financial expertise to provide meaningful oversight of the organization’s finances.
To bring a financial lens to strategic planning and decision making.
Legal Experts
Expertise in corporate law and legal transactions.
Why you need them:
To ensure the board pay attention to relevant legal issues as a part of strategic planning and decision-making.
To provide guidance about when outside legal counsel might be necessary.
To help access pro-bono legal resources.
Advocacy Experts
Understanding of how advocacy strategies and campaigns can support a particular issue or cause
Why you need them:
To help your board think through how expanded board participation in advocacy could help support your mission
To help connect your staff with key decision makers
Marketing Experts
Understanding of effective branding and communications
Why you need them:
To help the board think about your organization’s brand and identity as a part of its overall strategy
To help think through strategies to improve outreach, increase access and leverage resources
To help access pro-bono marketing resources
HR Experts
An understanding of talent and change management, as well as HR best practices, which can be applied to how the board manages itself and the CEO
Why you need them:
To help the board apply HR best practices in its management of the CEO
To bring a human resources lens to strategic planning and decision-making, including talent and change management
To help the board manage itself and its own talent
Technology Experts
An understanding of technology as a tool for greater impact
Why you need them:
To help identify how technology could be leveraged to meet programmatic needs as a part of strategic planning and decision making
To help access pro-bono technology resources
Real Estate Experts
Expertise in commercial real estate
Why you need them:
To provide expert opinion in significant real estate decisions, such as a capital campaign or major leasing decisions
To help connect the organization with strategic opportunities for expansion or low-cost space options
Targeted Expertise
Expertise relevant to your mission, programs, and strategic direction
Why you need them:
To bring defined expertise and relevance to strategic planning and decision making
To help the organization identify and connect with leaders and stakeholders in targeted areas
Ready for the next step?
In addition to finding board candidates on your own, consider posting board positions to help board candidates find you.