Our BoardLead program and online platform introduces executives and employees from our corporate and strategic partner networks to nonprofits seeking governing and young professionals board members.
Apply for BoardLead Today
Learn more from our team about the program and tips for completing the application.
Start your ApplicationHow It Works
We work at the intersection of nonprofits and corporations to connect diverse and talented professionals with nonprofit board service opportunities that make a difference.
1
Identify Vetted and Value-Aligned Nonprofits2
Recruit, Train, and Develop a Pool of Talented Candidates3
Use Our Curated BoardLead Process to Match Candidates with Nonprofits4
Support Candidates Through Vetting, Nomination, and Election5
Governance Training for Your Board Candidates and Ongoing Support after Election6
Measure Your BoardLeaders’ Impact After 1 and 2 Years of ServiceLearn more about how BoardLead connects nonprofits to candidates.
BoardLead Benefits
It may sound campy, but the BoardLead process is a true win, win, win.
Corporations Win
You gain a trusted partner to support your HR-Talent and CSR teams in all things nonprofit board placement, training, and support. Get the support you need to improve employee retention and satisfaction and accomplish your goals.
Professionals Win
Gain leadership experience toward advancing your career goals and connect to new networks while helping advance a cause that’s meaningful to you personally.
Nonprofits Win
Expand and diversify your board development network by accessing cause-aligned and talented professionals to meet your governance needs. Do it all while significantly reducing the time it takes to find, vet, and elect impact-ready board members.
The BoardLeader Way
Our mission is clear: to elevate and transform governance in the social good sector through the collective impact of our BoardLeaders.
Every BoardLead candidate is asked to stretch themselves, committing to a high standard of full engagement. By meeting this standard of excellence, BoardLeaders demonstrate that they have the dedication required to rise to board leadership positions and increase their impact.
BoardLeaders commit to:
Engaging robustly in board meetings
Serving on at least one board committee
Maintaining a near perfect meeting attendance record
Contributing a personally meaningful and sacrificial annual gift
Participating actively in all fundraising efforts
Leveraging their skills and network to drive impact
Using their power to advance diversity and inclusion
Completing each elected term
We set high expectations for nonprofit partners and board candidates alike.
We ask our nonprofit partners to engage board members in ways that capture the full breadth of what each individual has to offer. We ask our board candidates to commit to "The BoardLeader Way."
BoardLead makes connections based on a strong alignment with mission passion and board expectations. We place professionals on boards that resonate with their personal interests and are also aligned with their readiness to meet board requirements in time, talent and treasure.
BoardLead doubles down on governance training so that newly minted board members are equipped to be meaningful contributors at the outset of their term.
BoardLeaders receive robust good governance training at the outset of their tenure and have ongoing access to 1:1 coaching and support.
Our Impact
BoardLeaders Elected
Since 2015 we’ve helped nonprofits overcome challenges to finding candidates who are ready to serve and can be effective immediately. Our BoardLead program helps nonprofits develop and grow their board with talent they might not otherwise find. And we’re just getting started.
Nonprofits Served
Helping nonprofits succeed is at the heart of our mission. We are honored to work with some of the most effective and dynamic organizations in the social impact space and look forward to connecting with many more.
Investment to Impact Ratio
For every dollar invested in BoardLead by our corporate partners, five dollars is driven back into the nonprofit sector.
Kerri Catalano came in like a spark plug and made other people take notice. She quickly ascended to be Vice-Chair of the board and makes presentations at pretty much every board meeting. She is relentless in pursuing fundraising grants from big institutions and unafraid of cold-calling and asking other people.
We were matched with a fantastic candidate who has a passion for education and a passion for the environment - the perfect combination for our board. She is now a full board member! Fabiana brings great skills in HR and a corporate perspective, as well as the international focus that we needed. The BoardLead team was great, handled our questions with patience, and was very supportive throughout the process!
When you start serving on a board, you become so much more aware and smarter about the possibilities around you and how to seize them... I truly believe the more I lean into this opportunity, the more I can get out of it.
I'm excited to be bringing in someone with incredible skills and enthusiasm who comes from outside our current circle of contacts. She'll bring a much-needed fresh perspective to the board. The communication and information provided [from the BoardLead team] vastly exceeded expectations, and we're thrilled with our match. Thank you for this program!
Get Started
Attend an info session for our next round of BoardLead and start your application!
Success Stories
A Leader in LGBTQ+ Healthcare
Carl Gaines shares on the meaning of his board service with Callen-Lorde, a New York City-based Community Health Center.Working to End Social Isolation for Middle School Students
Kerri Catalano highlights how a personal connection to a nonprofit's mission impact enhances her presence and leadership in the boardroomConnecting Nonprofits to Corporate Resources
An Account Executive at Google jumpstarts new initiatives with a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and educating girls through sports and academic programs.A Dance Company's Organizational Challenge
An organization discovered that the boardroom was a meaningful path to achieve meaningful growth and enhance its services.Growing Our Impact
We’re growing our reach to help thousands more nonprofits connect with talented professionals who will help them move their mission forward.
Annual Hours of Board Service by BoardLeaders
Annual Fundraising by BoardLeaders
Corporate, Foundation and Strategic Partners
Adobe
Allstate
Apollo Global Management
Ares Capital
Barclays
BlackRock
Burt’s Bees
Capital One
Comcast
ConEdison
Credit Suisse
Cushman & Wakefield
Dell Technologies
Fidelity Investments
Genentech
Goldman Sachs
Google
JPMorgan Chase
LinkedIn
Macquarie Group
MasterCard
Merck
Mizuho Group
Motorola Solutions
NBCUniversal
S&P Global
Salesforce
Sidley Austin
Slalom
PwC
United Airlines
Workday
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Edwin Gould Foundation
- Heckscher Foundation for Children
- Joyce Foundation
- New York Community Trust
- Poses Foundation
- UJA Federation of New York
- Other global philanthropic foundations
- Activate Good
- America's Charities
- Cause Effective
- Center for Excellence in Nonprofits
- Center For Social Change
- Chicago Committee
- Chicago Urban League
- Community Foundation of South Jersey
- Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
- DANA
- Disability Lead (formerly ADA 25 Advancing Leadership)
- Fairfield County's Community Foundation
- Forefront
- Greater Houston Community Foundation
- Howard Gilman Foundation
- Human Service Chamber of Franklin County
- Jobs That Help
- Leaders of Color
- Massachusetts Nonprofit Network
- Mayor's Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service
- Mission Capital
- National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) Chicago
- National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) New York
- Nonprofit New York
- NYC Service
- POINT
- Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta
- PYXERA Global
- Research Triangle Park Foundation
- San Jose Mayor's Office
- Social Innovation Forum
- Surge Institute
- The Alford Group
- The Joyce Foundation
- The Miami Foundation
- Tipping Point
- United Way of Greater Atlanta
- United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
- United Way of Northern New Jersey
- United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania
- National Urban Fellows
FAQs
Get more information about the BoardLead program and platform.
BoardLead hopes to make board matching as seamless as possible by getting to know a nonprofit’s recruitment gaps and the interests of the professionals we place. Diversity needs on one board may look different on another, and we strongly believe that a commitment to authentic leadership on boards considers the whole of an individual’s identity. By working with corporate partners and strategic partners, we are proud to share that 42% of BoadLeaders matched identify as persons of color, 51% identify as women, and many others identify as LGBTQ+, veterans, or individuals with a disability.
Our team makes matches considering a number of factors, including the number of available board seats each organization has, mission passion as expressed by candidates, skill alignment, and diversity needs that nonprofits highlight. We do so with the hopes that we are able to make connections that strengthen board leadership and ultimately have the highest chance of election. While we cannot promise that we will be able to identify a candidate that meets each specific diversity need for each organization, we do keep this top of mind as we make introductions.
BoardLead candidates have been identified by their employer as being high-performing and high-priority professionals. They’re coming with considerable management experience, and are often in management positions with on average 10-25 years of experience. They are mostly in their 30s or 40s and come to the table with a range of expertises, from finance and strategy to HR, IT, marketing, legal, and so on. While this is often their first board experience, they tend to be passionate and seasoned volunteers that have self-selected for this program. BoardLead is a great way for these professionals to find board placement opportunities and receive wrap-around training and support to be impactful board members.
BoardLead is offered free of charge to our nonprofit partners. Costs are generously covered by our corporate partners and other funders.
BoardLead is currently designed to work with Governing Boards with fiduciary oversight responsibilities. For organizations interested in recruiting for Young Professionals or Advisory boards, our brand new track, BoardLead Young Professional, might be a great fit for your organization as well. Check out our full FAQ for more details.
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