Print out this Guide for your use as you complete your profile and navigate boardnetUSA.  After printing, return to our home page to register and begin your application, using this Guide.

Completing your Online Profile at www.boardnetusa.org is a critical component of connecting with a potential candidate.  Candidates seeking nonprofit board positions will critically look at your profile and board listings in order to determine whether your organization meets their volunteer objectives.  They will also assess your interest and commitment by the completeness of your profile.  

While all information called for are important, five items that are critical in completing your profile include: 

1. Board Development Plans – how you plan to develop your board through the addition of new members

2. Organization mission and programs

3. Listing of current board members, and

4. Desired skills you are seeking for your board

5. List at least one board position

Step 1 – Register
You will need to have your organization’s EIN (tax identification number) and ruling year of your 501 (c) (3) status to register. If you have any problems getting past this first step, please call our office at 919-969-1667. 

Step 2 – Completing Your Board Profile
Completing your nonprofit’s online Board Profile at www.boardnetusa.org is a necessary step to begin recruitment with Triangle BoardConnect. Potential candidates are interested in what your nonprofit does, how they might contribute and who serves on the board.  The completion of all aspects of your profile reflects on your seriousness in building a better board. 

To complete your Board Profile:
1. Login to boardnetUSA and click on the My Profile button on the left side of the screen. 

2. boardnetUSA should prompt you to complete your profile at that point.  There are seven main sections to complete, from Org Information down to Search Status. After filling in the appropriate information for each section, click on the Update or Add button to move on to the next. 

3. To make changes or updates to your profile at any point in the future, simply login and click on My Profile, then click on the appropriate tab on the right side of your profile. Be sure to click Update once you have made the changes! 

One of the most important sections of the Board Profile is the Board Development Plans part of Search Status, which appears close to the top of your profile when viewed by candidates. The instructions state, “Describe how you plan to develop your board through the addition of new members.” Some questions you might consider addressing in this section include:

• To what projects or committees could a board member commit his/her time and energy?

• What is the personality of your board? Are current trustees interested in their work?

• What is the board’s current composition (parents, educators, artists, etc.) and how is the nonprofit using Triangle BoardConnect to expand?

• What upcoming events or annual events do board members help to plan and execute?

• What skills is the board seeking?

• Is the nonprofit experiencing any special challenges a particular candidate’s skills could help to address?

• How does this nonprofit contribute to the community? Why would a new trustee want to be involved?

Example: We have space on our board for three additional people. We are specifically looking for people skilled and interested in working on fundraising and PR with our Development Director, as well as other staff and board members, and volunteers. Our organization must develop an annual campaign and a marketing/PR plan. We are quickly outgrowing our office space, so are thinking about other options with regard to space. Through the addition of new members, we hope to develop a more active board that is willing to assist staff in carrying out the mission either through the donation of time, money, talent, or a combination of these.

A sample profile is available as a link on our home page. After you have completed your profile, compare it to the sample and complete items you overlooked.

Step 3 – Creating Board Openings 

You must create at least one opening to have your Profile and Board Opening accessible to prospective Candidates.

To help focus your search, you’ll want to create specific Board Openings. Use this function to advertise specific “job openings” for your board. For example, you would create three different Board Openings if you are seeking finance, legal and marketing skills. You might title these Board Treasurer, Legal Expert and Marketing for Board, respectively. 

Following are step-by-step instructions for creating a Board Opening on boardnetUSA:

1.  After logging in at www.boardnetUSA.org, select the Find a Candidate tab located on the left side of the screen.
2.  Select Post or Announce a Board Opening.
3.  Read the instructions, then select the Add button (found on the bottom right of the screen).
4.Scroll down to the first of two red-outlined boxes:
               -Enter a title for the position: e.g. Board Treasurer, Legal Expert, etc.
               -Enter a description of the board opening: Select View Examples for ideas on how to describe your board opening.
5.  Go to the second red-outlined box. There are two sections to this box – Skills and Service Interests:
                  -Skills: Enter a maximum of three skills needed to fill this Board Opening.
                  -Service Interests: By default, the Service Interests you listed in your profile should already be selected.
6.  Once you have completed the two red-outlined boxes, click on the Save button found on the bottom right. You will be directed back to the Post or Announce a Board Opening page, where the Board Opening should now be listed.
7.  Click on the edit button associated with the Board Opening just created.
8.  Select the Active check-box (found near the top of the page), then select the Save button again.

Your Board Opening should now be listed as Active. You can create, edit or change the status of any Board Opening at any time. We suggest you have no more than three Board Openings active at a time, for a couple reasons. First, you do not want to come across to a candidate as if you are in complete disarray and are desperately in need of board members. While some might view this as intriguing, most will not. Second, after you complete your composition analysis, you should prioritize your needs in order to address the board’s most pressing issues and concerns. Post the top two or three on boardnetUSA – once one position is filled, replace it online with the next position on your priority list. 

Step 4 - Searching for Candidates 

The initial contact with a potential board member is often the most important. Board service is a big commitment, and newcomers want to be welcomed by current trustees with professionalism and warmth. Contacting candidates directly through the online interface is one way to initiate a conversation about board membership. Following are step-by-step instructions for candidate searching on boardnetUSA: 

1.  After logging in at www.boardnetUSA.org, select the Find a Candidate tab located on the left side of the screen.
2.  Select from the following search options:

• Candidate Search – Search boardnetUSA’s database of candidates by city, state, interests, and other specifications. This is the broadest and most flexible search function available.  Recommended – put in your zip code and a 50 mile radius to explore all candidates.

• Use the Enhanced Search Form link found near the bottom of the screen to incorporate a larger number of parameters in your search, which will result in more focused search results.

• Perform Candidate Match – Match your profile with candidates in your local area. This method uses the desired skills and interests directly from your nonprofit’s profile – you need not select manually from a list or characteristics. The results are categorized by the percentage of skills shared between the candidate and your nonprofit profile.

• Announce or Post a Board Opening – Create Board Openings (see previous section). You can also send an announcement to all candidates interested in certain service areas and with certain skills. The Board Opening announcement will appear in the candidates’ board search results for two weeks from the date emails are sent.

• boardnetUSA Search Agent – Set up an automated search agent that will comb through boardnetUSA’s database for candidates that match your requirements and email you the results every 3 days. This service is free indefinitely.

3.  After viewing candidate profiles from the results of your search, send compatible candidates to the My Candidates folder by selecting the Add button located at the top right of their profile or on the initial results page to the right of the candidate job title and ID number. You will need to assign each candidate to a specific Board Opening (they can be re-assigned at any time).
© 2006 NEW - BoardConnect® www.boardconnect.org 

Key Suggestions for Success

• Be as responsive as possible in completing your profile and board positions being sought.  Your thoroughness reflects a lot about your commitment to this process.

• List at least one Board position being sought.  Otherwise your interests will not be listed and seen by prospective board candidates

• Be responsive in a timely manner to inquiries of prospective candidates.  If you have an interest, a timely response gets the relationship off to a good start.  If you don’t have an interest, you may still have an opportunity to win a friend by the timeliness of your response (they did express an interest in your mission).

• Assign someone in your organization to review the profiles of new candidates signing up, a process that we recommend be done at least every few weeks. We have new candidates signing up continuously. A timely email to a candidate of your interest offers your organization the best chance for a successful match.

• Let us know when you have a successful match.  Your success is our success!