Board recruitment influences how your museum operates and who it serves. You want to build a board that’s ready for what’s ahead. Strategic recruitment is the key, but it does require a bit of organized thinking.
If you need convincing, look no further than the American Alliance of Museum’s 2024 report on national museum board leadership, which notes: Boards widely can improve their performance regarding fundraising, outreach, advocacy, and government relations. Average director “grades” for their board’s performance in these areas range from C to D+, and board members agree that these are the greatest areas in need of improvement.
The composition of your board is critical, and there are some specific things you can do to address this. Ultimately, you’re trying to match your board’s skills and perspectives with your museum’s goals, and to widen the circle of voices for maximum positive impact.
This week, Museum 411 looks at practical steps that can help you recruit with intention.
1. Develop or update a board matrix
If you don’t already have a board matrix, it’s worth creating one. Many museums maintain one to track board composition, but is it actually being utilized? Create a board matrix that lists:
- Current board members
- Skills and expertise areas (legal, finance, fundraising, DEIA, education, conservation)
- Demographics (age, race/ethnicity, geography, lived experience)
- Networks and community affiliations
Then compare your current composition to your strategic needs as outlined by your museum’s goals. Note: When talking goals in this context, identify what your museum needs now and what it’s likely to need in the next 3–5 years.
2. Guide succession planning
Anticipation is an important part of any successful strategy. Here, it keeps things from stopping down in times of transition.
Use your newly refined board matrix to:
- Identify skills or community ties that will be lost when current members term off.
- Forecast what your museum will need in 2–5 years — particularly people skills around fundraising, advocacy, and new projects/exhibitions.
- Build a leadership pipeline by cultivating future board candidates now. (more on this below)
3. Conduct a gap analysis
Top three areas to look critically at: underrepresented voices or stakeholder groups; missing skill sets that will be valuable to your museum’s next phase; over-reliance on a narrow type of influence (is your board all donors, no connectors?). Once you know what you’re missing, you can begin to prioritize recruitment efforts that fill those gaps with intention.
4. Look beyond wealth
Everyone should know this by now, but it’s still worth mentioning: Beyond a big checkbook, you want advocates who can speak publicly and passionately about your mission. Look to recruit connectors who can bring in new partnerships, funders, and audiences. Invite trusted community voices who reflect and represent the people you serve. Recruit for diversity of background, thought, and lived experience.
To go back to AAM’s 2024 report, modifying the recruitment efforts is what 61% of museums struggle with. As AAM points out in the report:
In recent years, there have been strides to increase diversity in board rooms. However, there is significant room for improvement in further diversifying museum boards. The vast majority of board members today are white. This homogeneity persists despite a majority of board members and directors recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion to their museums’ missions.
So, it sounds like effectively modifying recruitment strategies is a pain point. Let’s explore some specific ways you can begin to adjust:
Name the change you’re seeking (“diversity” or “community voice” are too broad).
- Are you seeking lived experience in a specific community your museum serves?
- Are you missing programmatic expertise (STEM equity, climate justice, Indigenous cultural stewardship)?
- Do you need connections to civic leaders or underrepresented communities?
- Are you missing younger perspectives?
Take a look at your pathways to board participation. This is a great place to start adjusting.
- Look at committee and advisory council participants as future board candidates.
- Invite community leaders, educators, and local activists to serve on panels or task forces first. It starts the process of building mutual trust.
- Partnering with local nonprofits, neighborhood associations, and/or cultural groups is a good way to identify candidates.
- Don’t dismiss younger professionals with emerging community influence, even if their financial capacity is limited. There can be tremendous upside to such a candidate.
Realistically and honestly discuss fundraising.
Fear of losing fundraising power often blocks change. Isn’t this the crux of it? Giving is important. But so is getting (… introductions, new audiences, community credibility). Could you focus on value-adds in the “getting” arena?
And for those incoming board members who more provide non-monetary contributions, you can still communicate giving expectations, but adjusted slightly to account for flexibility. Something like, “We ask each board member to give at a personally meaningful level and to support fundraising efforts in ways aligned with their networks and skills.”
Museum 411 will be exploring more board strategies in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for actionable insights!
