When the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG) was formed in 2009, we initially struggled to identify qualified board members who were willing to serve. Early directors were often people well known to the original founders or members who were willing to “pitch in and help out.”

While this method provided many strong directors who were passionate about our mission and who helped provide strong foundations for growth and expansion, it often created a homogenous board with gaps in skill sets necessary for strong strategic leadership.

Per our bylaws, our board is composed of 10 members: five directors elected by members from each of five geographical regions, as well as an equal number of board members elected by the existing board. The term length for each director is three years, and they can serve for a maximum of two terms (six years). The positions have been staggered so that there are no more than two new board members per year.

Over the years, as our organization grew and became more stable with a larger staff, it has become easier to identify and recruit qualified candidates, both for member-elected and board-elected positions.

Because of this, we worked with our nominating and governance committees to develop a multistep process to screen applicants for the member-elected positions and identify recruiting needs for those elected by the current board. Here’s a look at how creating a skills matrix has benefited MQG.

Skills and Self-Assessment

The first step in this process was to create a list of skills that we felt were needed by our board based on what they’re responsible for. While MQG has a staff of four full-time and four part-time employees to manage the day-to-day operations, the board is primarily tasked with strategic planning, approving the budget and major expenditures, providing support and training to chapter leaders, and supervising the executive director.

With these responsibilities in mind, we worked with the nominating and governance committees to create a simple matrix. Each current board member then used the new matrix to evaluate their skills on a scale of 0 to 3—from no experience to expert knowledge based on extensive experience.

The nominating committee then combined the results of this self-review with other data, such as years remaining in each term, state or country of residence, and other demographic information to identify current and upcoming gaps in desired and needed skill sets.

Our first board started their terms at the same time so when those terms expired, we lost a great deal of institutional knowledge and had a full board of new members. We have worked to stagger our members’ terms so there are no more than two or three new members at a time. When identifying potential gaps, we consider the skills of the individuals who will be exiting the board soon and prioritize replacing those skills. This allows a new member and an existing member with similar skills to overlap a little and share knowledge and workload.

Additionally, as an international organization, we want to ensure our board includes voices from geographically diverse areas. Any board is stronger with diverse membership, so we try to account for various demographic factors, such as race, gender, and LQBTQ+ identification when we are evaluating potential new members.

The Matrix in Practice

For member-elected positions, the nominating committee, per our bylaws, is tasked with reviewing the applicants and selecting the top three to be put forth for member election.

As part of the process, all applicants were asked to complete the same skills matrix used by the existing board. They then chose the two or three skills that they felt were their strongest and provided additional information on their experiences in these areas.

Next, the nominating committee used this data to rank applicants and choose the candidates who would participate in the member elections. Candidates who could fill the existing skills gaps received high ratings and were selected to participate in the election. The use of a matrix provides an objective application scoring process that is more transparent than review methods we have used in the past.

Continuous Review

As our organization continues to evolve, we plan to review our skills matrix each year to ensure that they are still the right ones and will add or remove items as needed. Each board member will also complete the self-review process every year, and the new data will continue to feed our board recruitment and review processes.

For example, we currently have one certified public accountant serving as board treasurer, who is responsible for ensuring our tax forms are filed accurately and helping us prepare for an eventual audit. Since she will cycle off our board after 2024, finance skills are high on our list for next year’s recruitment. Additionally, we have three members who are highly experienced in nonprofit governance with several years left on their terms, so that is not a skill we are prioritizing right now.

Ultimately, we hope the skills matrix will help us improve the overall diversity of our board members. By focusing on specific skills and experiences, we are likely to attract a more varied slate of board candidates.