Be sure you're recruiting the right person to the board—not just “checking a box”

The nonprofit sector broadly has been making inroads in diversifying their boards, and for good reason. Research shows that having diverse perspectives that reflect a range of ethnicities, ages, genders, backgrounds and political viewpoints adds value to a nonprofit's work in many ways, including better decision‐making, and programming that serves the organization's community of constituents. However, for some nonprofits, the quest for diversification can sometimes mean simply finding someone that fills a demographic niche instead of bringing someone on board that will truly add value to the organization.