Dipping from the Same Well: Why Finding and Retaining Board Members Is Getting Harder

For many nonprofits, June brings the end of the organization’s fiscal year. It’s a time when organizational leaders are deep in the process of approving budgets, planning summer retreats, and preparing for a new set of challenges in the year to come.

This season also serves to activate the annual reset of board rosters and committee assignments. For nonprofits that follow a calendar-year nomination process, summer is the time to assess who will be leaving and what gaps will need to be filled. And that task seems to be getting more difficult.

At Next Stage, we’re digging into this governance challenge as part of our broader nonprofit leader listening series. Our current survey focuses on board engagement, and we’re eager to hear from both executive teams and board leaders. Please consider sharing your perspective and forwarding the survey to your governance committee or board chair to help ensure the findings are grounded in a diversity of voices.

But before diving into the data, it’s important to set the stage. Because we’re observing how leadership is evolving in real time, shaped by growing uncertainty and mounting pressure on the systems designed to support sound decision-making.

The Challenge of Recruitment

Serving on a nonprofit board has never been an easy ask. It requires a commitment of time, energy, and personal capital; the kind of service that doesn’t always show up on a résumé or come with applause. And yet, it’s long been a vital part of the social contract for those in positions of influence and capacity. It’s a way to contribute to the greater good by providing oversight and strategic guidance to institutions that serve the public.

Lately, though, the pool of people willing to take on that responsibility seems to be shrinking. Nominating committees are spending more time recruiting. Executive directors are voicing concern about lagging engagement and unclear expectations. And in some cases, boards are operating well below their full complement; not by choice, but by default.

What’s driving this shift? Part of it may simply be math. Each year, thousands of new nonprofits are launched across the country, and each one requires at least a handful of board members to satisfy basic IRS requirements. Add to that the growing number of advisory councils, task forces, homeowner associations, PTAs, and professional associations — each with its own board, its own meetings, its own call for service — and you begin to understand the larger context. We’re drawing from the same well of talent, but more buckets are being dipped.

At the same time, people are recalibrating how and where they spend their time. The post-pandemic world has prompted a new clarity around bandwidth. A growing number of would-be board members are either stretched too thin or opting out altogether, choosing more flexible forms of volunteerism or simply declining the request when it comes.

This has also gotten worse in recent months, as people who would normally lean into community needs are instead sitting this moment out. The politicized environment, coupled with real concerns for the economy, is having a chilling effect on civic engagement. It’s reflected in diminished audiences for cultural institutions, lower-than-expected attendance at fundraising events, and sluggish response rates to digital calls-to-action. A general malaise has settled into social good, and it spells trouble given the enormity of the task ahead.

What’s at Stake

This would all be less concerning if boards were being asked to do less. But in fact, the opposite is true. The road ahead for nonprofit organizations is full of complexity, and boards will play a central role in navigating it.

We believe three key issues will dominate nonprofit boardrooms in the months ahead:

Budget Shortfalls. First and foremost, revenue uncertainty is real. While it may still feel like the early click-clack of a wooden roller coaster climbing the first hill, the signals of an impending plunge are hard to ignore. Pandemic-era funding is drying up. Major donors are re-evaluating their portfolios. State and local governments are signaling pullbacks and reprioritization as a result of federal policy changes. For many nonprofits, this will be the first real budget reckoning in years, and boards will be tasked with making sense of it all. That includes recalibrating fundraising strategies, reviewing reserve policies, and approving cuts that will impact the communities they serve.
Leadership Transitions. Executive turnover is an inevitable part of organizational life, but it can feel more disruptive when layered on top of other changes. The executive turnover that was predicted five years ago is beginning to show up in practice. Executive directors and CEOs who led organizations through the pandemic are stepping away. Burnout is real, and for some, the time has come to pass the baton. In those moments, the board must be ready to not only hire a new leader but to stabilize the organization during a period of change, reassure staff and donors, and provide vision and clarity amid transition.
Strategic Integrations. We’re hearing more and more interest in integration, including collaborative ventures, shared back-office services, co-location strategies, and full-on mergers. These ideas require careful consideration, risk assessment, and a vision for what could be gained or lost. Board members will be asked to engage in that ambiguity, serving on working groups that require extra meetings and reflective critical thinking. That’s a tall order for even the most committed volunteers, especially while their own sectors and industries wrestle with the impact of tariffs and policy change.

The Skills That Matter Now

Board service has always called for dedication. But what’s needed now is something more. We need board members who have the time to meaningfully engage, who bring expertise in finance, strategy, fundraising, and organizational health. We need board members who lead with empathy, who understand the real impact of their decisions, and who are willing to show up during difficult seasons.

Above all, we need board members who care.

These skills are available. The people who can lead nonprofits through these challenges are out there, but they must be cultivated, invited, supported, and equipped. This work takes time and requires a strong board culture, clear expectations, and a governance committee that takes its charge seriously.

What Comes Next

If this all sounds like a big ask, that’s because it is. But the alternative is to let boards drift toward ineffectiveness at a time when organizations need them most.

Next month, we’ll publish the findings from our current survey on board engagement. We’ll also share some of the creative ways organizations are finding and supporting strong board members along with actionable recommendations for strengthening your own board.

Please consider completing the survey if you haven’t already. Your experience matters, and your response will help shape the future of nonprofit governance.

Take the 2-minute survey now.

Next Stage CEO Josh Jacobson launched Next Stage as a social enterprise in 2014, bridging his professional experiences as a nonprofit practitioner with his consulting expertise. He has led Next Stage’s work with 225+ clients, including nonprofits, private-sector companies, municipalities, faith institutions, philanthropies, and community-based organizations. Josh’s skills in strategic positioning and tactical design help clients achieve their goals. He guides Next Stage’s work in strategic planning and collaboration management and is a major contributor to the company’s thought leadership efforts.

See a comprehensive report of our previous nonprofit leader survey results here, and follow us on social media to stay in the loop on future findings.