LEADING WITH INTENT

An Index of Nonprofit Board Governance Practices

Key Findings

About Leading with Intent

As the leading organization focused on strengthening and supporting nonprofit board leadership, BoardSource has been tracking and analyzing trends in nonprofit board leadership since we launched our first national study in 1994.
Leading with Intent reports on nonprofit board composition, practices, performance, and culture. This year’s study is BoardSource’s eleventh, with earlier studies conducted in 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2021. Leading with Intent is unique in that it collects responses and feedback from both chief executives and board chairs, creating opportunities to compare and contrast these perspectives.
This dashboard provides an interactive way to explore data from the latest Leading with Intent study. It is not exhaustive and does not include all survey data. For complete survey results, please refer to the Databook.
You can group organizations by size and mission area. Use the guides for a quick tour and tips on navigating different components.
When grouping responses by size or mission area, some categories may only include a few organizations. Users should be cautious about generalizing findings to the entire nonprofit sector.
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Number of nonprofit leaders

Number of unique public charities

Median CEO Tenure

Median Board Chair Tenure
Participant Profile

The organizations represented in the 2023 Leading with Intent (LWI) survey span a wide range of mission areas.

The largest proportion, 44%, focus on human services, while others are dedicated to public and societal benefit (13%), health (12%), arts, culture and humanities (11%), education (8%), and environment (7%).

Participant Profile

Survey respondents were well distributed by region.

Organizations also varied in size. Thirteen percent had annual income below $250,000, while 36% fall within the $1 million to $4.99 million range.

More than 71% of organizations have annual income below $5 million, and 35% below $1 million.

Participant Profile

Seventy three percent of organizations in our survey were direct service providers while 8% were advocacy organizations.

Respondents selected which category best described their organization

Participant Profile

Survey respondents were well distributed by region.

Organizations also varied in size. Thirteen percent had annual income below $250,000, while 36% fall within the $1 million to $4.99 million range.

More than 71% of organizations have annual income below $5 million, and 35% below $1 million.

Board Composition

Consistent with past results, nonprofit executives and board chairs remain overwhelmingly white. Our results are similar to those from the Urban Institute's nationally representative survey which found that 79% of chief executives and 79% of board chairs are white.

Board Composition

Consistent with past results, nonprofit executives and board chairs remain overwhelmingly white. Our results are similar to those from the Urban Institute's nationally representative survey which found that 79% of chief executives and 79% of board chairs are white.

Board Composition

Consistent with past results, nonprofit executives and board chairs remain overwhelmingly white. Our results are similar to those from the Urban Institute's nationally representative survey which found that 79% of chief executives and 79% of board chairs are white.

Board Composition

Consistent with past results, nonprofit executives and board chairs remain overwhelmingly white. Our results are similar to those from the Urban Institute's nationally representative survey which found that 79% of chief executives and 79% of board chairs are white.

Board Composition

Consistent with past results, nonprofit executives and board chairs remain overwhelmingly white. Our results are similar to those from the Urban Institute's nationally representative survey which found that 79% of chief executives and 79% of board chairs are white.

Board Composition

Consistent with past results, nonprofit executives and board chairs remain overwhelmingly white. Our results are similar to those from the Urban Institute's nationally representative survey which found that 79% of chief executives and 79% of board chairs are white.

Learn more about Recruitment

Most executives and board chairs recruit from board members’ and the executive’s personal or professional networks, leaders of the communities served by the organization or individuals referred by community leaders.

To expand the potential pool of candidates beyond the organization's current network, nonprofits can recruit board members using publicly posted ads and use external headhunters or board matching programs.

Recruitment Priorities

Knowledge of work or field and membership within the community served ranking above being able to contribute financially reflects a shift away from recruiting people of wealth or with access to wealth above all else and an embrace of the principles of purpose driven leadership.

Resources

Purpose Driven Board Leadership

Recruitment Challenges

Nearly twice as many chief executives and board chairs say it is difficult or very difficult for their boards to recruit board members compared to those that say it is easy or very easy for their boards to recruit members.

Resources

Board composition and recruitment

Reasons for Difficulty

The most cited reasons were a limited supply of individuals interested in board service, a lack of individuals with the desired skill set, and time commitment necessitated by board-related activities.

Resources

Board composition and recruitment

Board performance

Boards rate themselves strongest in oversight and mission while fundrasiing was the weakest performance area.

A board assessment is an opportunity for your board to assess its own performance and can be used as an opportunity to identify training opportunities that would help board members fulfill their roles.

Resources

Board Meeting Effectiveness Assessment
Board Support Program

Over 40% of chairs reported their board doesn't spend enough time learning about the organization's programs and almost 60% said they don’t spend enough time understanding the context, funding landscape, public policy environment or other organizational players.

Over 60% don’t spend enough time building relationships within the community that helps support and inform the organization's work.

This data, more than the others, underscores the need to build a purpose-driven board.

Resources

Purpose Driven Board Leadership

Fundraising was the weakest performance area and more than 3 in 4 executives and chairs reported their board doesn't spend enough time on fundraising.
Fundraising is a partnership and requires an intentional processes, plan, and understanding of roles.


Resources

Fundraising
Fundraising FAQs
Board performance

Boards that spent more time on strategic work reported a more positive impact on organizational performance and higher performance in many performance areas.

Resources
Generative Governance Boardroom Conversations
Board Impact

Better knowledge of the organization’s programs and spending more time on strategic work compared to operational issues could lead to a more positive impact of the board on organizational performance.

Resources
Board Roles and Responsibilities Strategic Board Meetings Structuring Board Committees Strengthen Board Leadership by Understanding Programs
Board Size

There is no right number for board size other than enough people to accomplish the board's work. Larger boards allow more communities to be represented, provide more people to do the work, and potentially provide the organization access to more networks.

Resources
Structure and Practices
Board Committees

If a significant amount of your board meeting time is taken up with committee discussions and committee reports, it may be an opportunity to revise your committee structure to ensure that board meetings can focus on more generative and strategic work.

Resources
How to Structure Your Nonprofit Board and Committees Executive Committees
Board Meetings

There is no right number for the number of meetings. Both the number of members and frequency of meetings should be based on the work the board is trying to accomplish.

Resources
Board Meetings FAQs Using Generative Governance Principles for Better Boardroom Conversations
Governance Policies and Practices

While many organizations have written vision and mission statements, only 34% report having a written purpose statement.

Our results show that most organizations lack a written succession plan for both expected and sudden executive departures. An even larger proportion (86%) of organizations don't have a documented plan for board officer succession.


Resources
Succession planning task force Chief Executive Employment Contract Emergency Leadership Transition Plan
Governance Policies and Practices

While many organizations have written vision and mission statements, only 34% report having a written purpose statement.

Our results show that most organizations lack a written succession plan for both expected and sudden executive departures. An even larger proportion (86%) of organizations don't have a documented plan for board officer succession.


Resources
Succession planning task force Chief Executive Employment Contract Emergency Leadership Transition Plan
CEO Job Satisfaction

Nearly 84% of chief executives are moderately or extremely satisfied with their role.

Chief executives with a good working relationship with a current or former board member/board chair and those who had mutually agreed goals with their board were much more likely to report extreme job satisfaction.

Learn more
Resources
Board Chair & Chief Executive Partnership Chief Executive Performance Evaluation Board Chair & Chief Executive Responsibilities
Board Impact on CEO Job Satisfaction

Nearly 7 out of 10 chief executives report a positive effect of their board on their job satisfaction while 20% report a negative effect.

Executives at the largest nonprofits (with annual incomes exceeding $10 million) and those at health-focused organizations were more likely to report a positive impact of their board on their personal job satisfaction

Learn more
Resources
Board & Staff Partnership