Clay County Board Member Development

What is the Clay County Board Member Development?

The top priority of Clay County organizations in the 2020 survey was the recruitment of a high-quality board of directors. This cohort program, designed to increase the pipeline of potential and diverse Board members and support new Board members for Clay organizations, is held over three program days and focuses on preparing Board members for their Board service. The curriculum includes roles and responsibilities, fundraising, strategic planning and thinking, finances, risk management, and meeting facilitation from a Board member perspective. It is specifically for volunteers who are new to Board service, because we believe that better trained Board members will lead to stronger, more strategic organizations.

Why does the Clay County Board Member Development focus on diversity?

Finding and recruiting the right pool of board members plays a significant role in the sustainability of a nonprofit organization. Many organizations struggle to effectively recruit diverse pools of board members because they rely heavily on the social and professional networks of current board members to find new candidates.

Significant research shows that composing a diverse board is crucial for the long-term success of organizations. Diversity is often reduced to singular factors, such as race or ethnicity, but is much more complex and layered. A truly diverse board should contain not only a mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds, but also diversity of experience, ability, social identity, connection to community, leadership style, and diversity of thought and background. The Nonprofit Center believes that board diversity is a crucial issue for local nonprofits to address.

"While board composition is not one-size-fits all, a board that is homogeneous in any way risks having blind spots that negatively impact its ability to make the best decisions..." -- Leading With Intent, 2017

What happens in the Clay County Board Member Development?

The Clay Board Member Development Program is designed to recruit, train, and orient community members seeking to begin or advance their board service. Program participants will work with Nonprofit Center experts to:

Understand the important role of board service in strengthening nonprofit organizations and the nonprofit sector as a whole
Participate in 3 program days that include training on nonprofit board roles and responsibilities; the different types of nonprofit boards, and how to develop individual strengths and expertise in order to communicate their unique value to a nonprofit board. The planned dates for the 2024 cohort are:
- Tuesday, June 18 - 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 9 - 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 30 - 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Identify their community interests in order to be matched with a local nonprofit to fulfill a one-year Board Fellowship
- Note: If you are new to/already serving as a board member for a Clay nonprofit, you can use this current placement for this part of the program. We will just ask your current board to identify a mentor and work with you on program learning and expectations.
Maximize opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and networking

Applications have closed for the summer 2024 cohort but if you want to share your interest for future programs, contact Senior Director of Partnerships & Programs, Callan Brown at CBrown@NonprofitCtr.org for more info.

Are you a Clay Nonprofit interested in hosting one of our 2024-2025 Clay Board Fellows? Submit an Interest Form Here.