Board Members Succession

  • The current Board Member gives notice that he or she will not be seeking re-election to the Board approximately one year out, so that orderly planning can occur.
  • The Board discusses the need for succession and invites all that are interested to submit their names to the Board Committee Members.
  • If no names are submitted or if the Board Members feel that a more diverse candidate pool is desired, the Board Committee will discuss alternatives and will seek out candidates for the open role.
  • Normally the person selected to be a new Board Member will have served as a volunteer with the organization for a period of at least 6 months before election.
  • The whole Board reviews the candidates that have been identified, discusses them thoroughly (asking the nominees, if present, to recuse themselves from this discussion).
  • The new role is elected by majority vote of the Board.
  • The new role elected works closely with the current Board Members for the remainder of the current Board Member’s term to essentially apprentice for up to 1 month.
  • Normally, the minimum planned service as a Board Member is two years (although they need to be reelected, according to the by-laws). Exceptions to this norm can be made by the Board, but the goal is to allow consistent leadership over time, not allow the Board Committee and the organization to have “institutionalized” its own leadership.