Building a Five-star Board

What is a five-star board member?

Every nonprofit wants to have five-star board members, right? So, what makes a good board member? While there is a myriad of books written about the topic, it comes down to five simple criteria:

• Board members believe in the mission of the organizations
• They understand the difference between governance and management
• They know their roles and responsibilities
• They are willing to support the organization with their time, talent, and treasure
• They are eager to support the organization's fundraising efforts

In this book, we will show you how to find board members who enthusiastically support your mission, vision, and values. We will teach you how to get them to understand the difference between governance and management and show you how to help them understand their roles and responsibilities.

We'll talk about the importance of board giving and how to help them bring the bear their time, talent, and treasure to help your organization grow. We'll dispel the myth of Give, Get, or Get Off and teach you a new way to think about your board members' contributions to your organization.

We discuss board recruitment as well as retaining good board members.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: What is a Five-star Board Member?

Chapter Two: How Do Your Board Members Measure Up?

Chapter Three: Building a Board That Engages in Fundraising

Chapter Four: What Do You Need to Look for in Board Members?

Chapter Five: Creating Position Descriptions

Chapter Six: Where Do You Find Good Board Members?

Chapter Seven: Whose Job is It to Recruit Board Members?

Chapter Eight: What is the Process for Recruiting Board Members?

Chapter Nine: Retaining Good Board Members

Chapter Ten: Bringing It All Together

Written as part of the Nonprofit Quick Guide ™ series, Building a Five-star Board focuses on creating a board that will take your nonprofit to new heights. Other books in the series address other areas of fundraising, such as development planning, grant writing, business contributions, fundraising communications, finding and keeping donors, volunteerism, and career advancement, among others.

If you want to grow revenues to keep up with increasing costs, improve financial performance and stability, or have greater ability to meet unmet or growing client demand, the Nonprofit Quick Guide ™ series is for you.