During Campbell & Company’s 45+ years, we have debated whether nonprofit boards should have term limits. And in the larger nonprofit community, this is a widely debated topic. Essentially, I favor term limits. I believe that by having term limits, an organization is forced to have to continually work on building and developing its board, and as a result this leads to stronger board development and engagement practices. Among the many benefits of having term limits include: fresh energy and perspectives from new board members, avoiding “board member burnout”, and expansion of constituency and expertise.
Here are a few board development tips that will impact the engagement level of your governing board:
It is true, a board can do all these things whether the organization has term limits or not. But the recruitment cycle term limits impose tend to focus boards more toward board development, and good board development is a critical key to creating and sustaining an engaged board.