Board Explorer

Nonprofits rely on passionate, thoughtful, committed board members to inform strategic direction, provide fiscal oversight, bring creative ideas, and make connections. Boards play a vital role, ensuring that organizations stay true to their purpose and are accountable to stakeholders and the general public. 

Persistent Challenge

Maine nonprofits consistently name board recruitment as a top challenge. On the flipside, many community members are interested in sharing their skills and perspectives and growing as leaders through board or committee service, but aren’t sure how to find an opportunity that is the right fit.

Simple Solution

MANP's Board Explorer is a free service to facilitate connections between individuals interested in serving on a board and organizations looking to enhance their boards/committees with new perspectives and talents.

How It Works

1. Share:
   • MANP member organizations complete a questionnaire about mission focus, board structure and culture, and the skills and attributes sought. (Find all the questions here to help you prepare – you cannot save your form in progress. Note that you are writing for a public audience - what you enter is exactly what individuals will see.)
   • Individuals complete this questionnaire about motivations, skills, experience and goals. (Find all the questions here to help you prepare – you cannot save your form in progress.)
   • MANP staff are also happy to help you submit your information over the phone. Contact membersupport@nonprofitmaine.org to set up a time.
2. Browse: Those who submit a questionnaire receive access to the results of the other list to browse. 
3. Connect: From there, organizations and individuals can identify potential matches and reach out to one another directly to discuss opportunities, assess fit, and formalize board placements.
4. Repeat! New organizations and individuals sign up ongoing, so if you don’t see a clear match, check back regularly. 

Nonprofit Questionnaire     Individual Questionnaire

^{By submitting a form, both individuals and organizations are granting permission to be contacted about board service opportunities. No timeline or match is guaranteed in this process. It is up to organizations and individuals to discuss opportunities, assess fit and formalize any board placements. MANP reserves the right to remove an individual’s or organization’s information if it is not in alignment with the intention of this service.} 

Eligibility + Cost

• Nonprofits: This service is free and exclusively available to MANP member organizations.
  • MANP members represent nonprofits from all 16 counties and range widely in terms of location, size, mission area, lifecycle stage, and board model.
  • Not sure if your organization is a member? Current members are listed in our directory. Learn more about nonprofit membership.
• Individuals: This service is free to use and there are no experience requirements. (In lieu of a fee, donations to MANP’s Scholarship Fund are welcome!)

Additional Support

• Nonprofits: We encourage organizations to learn about MANP’s other governance training and resources, including articles in our resource library, our one-hour Board Roles + Responsibilities webinar (check event listings), and MANP’s web-based Strategic Board Recruitment toolkit.
• Individuals: To learn more about what it means to be on a board and how to assess opportunities, individuals are encouraged to check out MANP’s free All Aboard sessions (check event listings). We also recommend these Questions to Ask Before Joining a Board.
• Employers: Interested in supporting your employees to deepen their community engagement and build leadership skills? Host a lunch & learn about nonprofit board service! Contact Molly at moconnell@nonprofitmaine.org. 

Questions? Need Assistance?

Contact us at MemberSupport@NonprofitMaine.org or 207-871-1885.