Build the Bench Before the Board | Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.

"Minneapolis has obviously been under a ton of stress in all of the national ways, the industry has been under a lot of stress, and there's this huge opportunity to recreate not only public media in our area but throughout the nation....So what I really felt like is, by the end of the [board] interview process, whether it was the finalists who ended up on the board or whether it was the folks that were in the screening process throughout, we had ascertained the fact that they, in fact, cared and...were getting really excited about being a part of something."

"But we had also connected them with each other and with a number of executive team and board members, so they were beginning to feel like they were part of it before they even formally had an offer to join the board. And I think that that was part of what allowed us to then put folks who we consider bench strength to be in other positions that aren't yet board of trustees positions....We even had folks that came through the interview process that are [now in] leadership roles in those advisory committees."

"There were folks that were, for instance, super-excited, super-interested in the current [events] or the classical [music programming]-where we do more classical music distribution than anybody in the country. And a third one where we found a lot of specific interest was Marketplace, where that just happens to be something that people throughout the country in the business community, including very small businesses and family-owned businesses, are very, very interested in."

Minneapolis faced significant stress across public and industry contexts, creating an opportunity to rebuild public media locally and nationally. A board interview process focused on confirming genuine care and excitement among finalists and screening candidates. Candidates were connected with each other and with executive team and board members, helping them feel part of the organization before any formal offer. This approach enabled the organization to place strong “bench strength” candidates into roles beyond board of trustees positions. Some candidates later led advisory committees, while others showed specific interest in programming areas such as classical music distribution and Marketplace, which attracted attention from business communities nationwide.

Read at Nonprofit Quarterly | Civic News. Empowering Nonprofits. Advancing Justice.