By Laura Bruney, Arts & Business Council

We know that a solid board of directors is the foundation an arts group needs to succeed in this tough economy. An engaged and enthused board of directors can make all the difference in helping a group move forward. Now more than ever, our local arts managers need the skills to learn how to build their boards with individuals committed to carrying out their mission and programs. Identifying and recruiting the right board members for your organization takes a lot of hard work behind the scenes. Each group needs to create a strategic and deliberate recruitment plan that will offer a solid infrastructure.

There are two things nonprofit managers say they need from their board; simply, money and time. Before we invite someone to join a board we want to know if they will show up and if they will write a check. We don’t, for the most part, scrutinize potential candidates much more than that. In such a climate, one would think that putting more thought into the recruitment (and then training) of board members would be accepted thinking for every organization. Yet it seems to me we have been spending a lot of time complaining about the makeup of our boards and the accomplishments of our boards rather than emphasizing the need to be strategic and smart in our board planning.

Terrie Temkin is founding principal at Miami based management consulting group, CoreStrategies for Nonprofits. Her advice is compelling “Look beyond the usual suspects. Recruitment is a year-round job. The generation of names and the cultivation of prospects should be continuous. Many organizations ask their board development or governance committees to spearhead this activity, but every board member should be contributing to the process on an ongoing basis.”

In addition she emphasizes the importance of being clear about the needs of the organization and why you are asking the prospective board member to think about joining. “Bring up the expectations when you first speak with potential board members, when you ask them to join the board, when you officially welcome them to the organization and when you orient them. You can’t stress these often enough”. It is better to know early in the process of the person is a good fit.

Are you ready to end Bore-dom for your organization? The Building a Better Board program can help. Developed by the Arts & Business Council of Miami, this workshop is customized for arts executives and board chairs to develop a board recruitment strategy, create recruitment materials and provide an overview of governing models. Each participant will leave with a tool kit of materials and resources designed to help them find and keep great board members. Here’s the best part – every arts group participating in the program will receive a one year subscription to be featured on Arts Board Match, the dynamic new resource arts executives cannot ignore! The first Building a Better Board workshop is August 21 in Miami.

Arts Board Match is an engaging interactive website designed to help the arts recruit new board members and better manage their existing board. It’s like a “”Match Up” social network for arts leadership. Being launched in the fall of 2012 the website will showcase participating organizations to hundreds of top professionals from the corporate and private sectors looking to “match up” with the right group and give back through board participation.

Are you ready to ignite your board and find members that are passionate and involved? The building blocks for board success are in your hands.