Many experienced professionals would say yes to a board seat if someone asked, and boards keep saying that good people are hard to find. That gap is the story of board service: boards are looking for good people, and good people are waiting to be asked.
Boards are looking, too
Nonprofit leaders have said for years that recruiting is hard. In BoardSource's 2015 Leading with Intent study, 58% of nonprofit chief executives said finding board members was difficult, up from 44% in 2012. A May 2026 survey of Canadian charities by Carleton University's CICP found that 58% of the participating charities had open board positions, and 43% called recruiting qualified, interested board members difficult or very difficult.
Corporate boards fill fewer seats, and they are cautious. Spencer Stuart's 2025 U.S. Board Index counted 374 new independent directors on S&P 500 boards, and 31% of them were first-time directors. Fewer seats means the people who are ready, visible and known get the call.
Many seats are filled through people a board already knows. If no one knows you want to serve, you are not on the list, no matter how qualified you are.
Why qualified people never get the call
- They have never said out loud that they want a board seat.
- Their experience is described as a job title, not as the problems they can help a board solve.
- They are not sure what directors actually do, so they hesitate to raise their hand.
- They wait for the "right" seat instead of starting with a first one.
Six steps to stop waiting
- Decide your why. A paid corporate seat and a nonprofit mission you love are both worthy goals. Knowing which one you want shapes every next step.
- Learn the job before you ask for it. Know the difference between oversight and management, your duties of care and loyalty, and how a board reads a budget. Board Director Institute courses teach exactly this.
- Write a board bio, not a resume. One page that leads with the problems you can help a board solve: finance, risk, technology, fundraising, your sector.
- Raise your hand. Tell your network, your mentors and the organizations you support. Our own BoardMatchHQ, a board-matching site now in preview, is meant for this, though it is still in development. (Michael Barrick, who founded Board Director Institute, also founded BoardMatchHQ.)
- Start where you can contribute now. A nonprofit board or an advisory board is often the first seat that leads to the next one.
- Do your homework before you say yes. Read the bylaws and the latest financials, ask about the time commitment and insurance, and meet the chair.
Corporate seat or nonprofit mission?
Corporate board service is usually paid, and at large public companies it can be meaningful: Spencer Stuart reports average total pay of $336,352 for an S&P 500 director in 2025. Those seats are competitive and often go to sitting or recently retired executives. Many nonprofit board seats are volunteer roles, but they offer something different: a chance to serve a mission you care about and to build real governance experience.
Neither path starts with waiting. Both start with knowing the job and letting the right people know you are ready.
Board pay figures describe averages at large public companies. They are not a promise of a seat or of any level of pay.