1. If you are the board chair
2. If you are the chair of the nominating or board development committee
3. If you are another board member
4. If you are the executive director

1. If you are the board chair

• Discuss causes of board inactivity and strategies for improvements at a board meeting with those members who are active.

• Meet individually with board members to find out what keeps them on the board and what their assessment of board service is at this time.

• Develop a questionnaire that board members can complete anonymously and return to you or the executive director.

• Work with a board consultant to develop a board self-assessment instrument and process.

• Bring in a board member from another board that has had to overcome this same problem to learn about how they accomplished this goal.

• f. Reflect on how your style might encourage, or discourage, board involvement.

2. If you are an officer, or the chair of the board development/governance committee

• Work with the board chair and/or the executive committee to determine the best approach for raising this situation with the full board and gathering data from individual board members.

3. If you are another board member

• Talk to the board chair about your concerns and suggest that there be a discussion at the meeting. If the chair is not responsive talk to the chair of the board development/ governance committee or the vice-chair to see if you can find another leader to support the need to address the problem directly.

• Offer to do the data gathering if s/he is reluctant and there is no board development/governance committee.

• Find a core of people like you who want to work on the situation. You may only find two or three others in the beginning. Work with this group to craft an approach to the situation that you will bring back to the board.

4. If you are the executive director

• Talk to the board chair and suggest ways that the situation might be discussed with the full board.

• Work with the chair to develop a data gathering approach to suggest to the full board.

• If the board chair is unwilling or unable to move forward, suggest that you will work with the executive committee or the board development/ governance committee, or a small group of board members to craft an approach to the situation.

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