How to Persuade a New Generation to Join Your Nonprofit’s Board

Highlighting the personal and professional benefits of serving on your nonprofit’s board can help you make the role more appealing to younger candidates.

Discover the strength of “the pleasure principle.”

Let me share a story: When I was a senior in high school, the only other candidate for the presidency of our church group was someone who was…well…difficult. My friends convinced me to run; I agreed — and won. For the next year, I planned projects, met people, ran meetings, created events, and worked hard on teams. It was a whirlwind, and most of the time I was smiling.

This profound experience revealed a fundamental truth about nonprofit service: It was fun. It lit a neuron in my brain that felt great and led to decades of service on several boards. I believe that this episode demonstrates the strength of the pleasure principle. Let’s talk about how you can use it to recruit board directors.

But first — what is the pleasure principle?

More than a century ago, Freud explicitly recognized that humans inherently seek pleasure and avoid pain. Based on my experiences as a college student, this is perhaps not a very surprising conclusion — but a conclusion supported by science, nonetheless.

Of course, this human characteristic sometimes gets us into trouble, but it can also act as a powerful motivator. And as we present a new generation with the possibilities of nonprofit board membership, it is crucial to tap into this principle’s universality.

Selling Pleasure, Not Boring Meetings

When a board opportunity is presented to a candidate, it is often framed as a sales “ask.” Basically, you’re saying to a candidate: We represent a worthy organization, and we are asking you to contribute your time, treasure, and talent to help us.

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