In my experience, most nonprofit boards practice a self-selection principle toward filling their board seats. There is much to be said in favor of the self-selection principle (who better to identify prospects who will carry-on mission with similar passion; tapping into one's own network for new members is less exhausting than trying to recruit unknowns). Of course there is just as much to be said against the self-selected board as well. But rather than arguing the pluses and minuses of self-selected boards, I want to highlight a New York Times article focused on the future of Family Foundations.
This NY Times article centered around the dilemmas or opportunities facing community foundations as generations of the elders pass-on. In addition to the aha's introduced in this article, steps about planning and training were also examined. I believe these steps are useful and applicable to many nonprofits as they too should be strategic about filling board seats in the years ahead.