Resources
Nonprofit Board Skills Matrix Template
Map the skills, connections, and perspectives already on your board, see exactly where the gaps are, and recruit for them. Free printable PDF and editable Google Sheet.
Insights for using a board skills matrix
Tailor the rows first
Cross out what does not apply to your organization and use the blank lines for what does. A camp board needs a facilities row. A day program board does not.
Count honestly
A director who took one accounting class is not finance coverage. Tick the box only where someone could chair the committee tomorrow.
Rank before you recruit
Every empty row is a gap, but not every gap matters now. Rank them by the next two to three years, not the last two, and recruit for the top three.
sample
Nonprofit Board Skills Matrix Template
What a board skills matrix looks like
A board skills matrix (sometimes called a board composition matrix or a board recruitment worksheet) is a grid. Your directors run across the top, one per column. The skills, resources, connections, and perspectives your organization needs run down the side, grouped by category. You tick every box a director genuinely covers, count each row, and the rows with zero or one tick are your recruitment targets.
This version is built for nonprofits, camps, and youth-serving organizations, and it adds three things most templates leave out: a count and gap flag on every row, a priority column so you decide which gap to fill first, and a prospect column so every gap gets a name next to it.
The six categories, and the rows under each
Expertise. Finance, accounting, or audit. Fundraising and major gifts. Legal. Marketing, communications, or PR. Human resources and compensation. Strategic planning. Governance (prior board service). Technology and data. Real estate, facilities, or construction. Youth development or education. Camp or seasonal program operations. Health, medical, or risk management.
Resources. Capacity and willingness to give. Access to donors, foundations, or corporate funders. Time for committee work and events.
Community connections. Camp alumni or former staff. Current or former camper parent. Local business and civic leaders. Faith or affinity community you serve. Education and school systems. Government or public agencies. Media.
Lived experience and representation. Reflects the community your programs serve. Under 40. 40 to 60. Over 60. Lives within an hour of the site. Lives in a region you are expanding into. Two blank rows for the demographic goals your board has set for itself.
Personal qualities. Mission commitment, shows up. Consensus builder. Strategist. Willing to make the ask. Willing to say the hard thing.
Board service. Officer role. Term ends. Eligible for another term. These three rows turn the matrix into a light succession view: you can see who rolls off when, on the same grid you recruit from.
How to score it
Write each director's name at the top of a column.
Work down the rows and tick every box a director covers. Be strict.
Count each row. In the Google Sheet this happens automatically, and any row at 0 or 1 is flagged GAP.
Rank the gaps 1 to 3 by how much they will matter over the next two to three years.
Write a prospect's name next to every priority-1 gap. If you cannot, that is the first thing to fix.
Bring it to a board meeting and have every director score it independently before you compare. The disagreement is the useful part.
The matrix is step one of the recruitment process in How to Recruit Board Members for Your Nonprofit. If your board is also preparing to hire its next executive, pair it with the Leadership Search Readiness Assessment and How to Prepare Your Board for a Leadership Search.
sample
Nonprofit Board Skills Matrix Template
What a board skills matrix looks like
A board skills matrix (sometimes called a board composition matrix or a board recruitment worksheet) is a grid. Your directors run across the top, one per column. The skills, resources, connections, and perspectives your organization needs run down the side, grouped by category. You tick every box a director genuinely covers, count each row, and the rows with zero or one tick are your recruitment targets.
This version is built for nonprofits, camps, and youth-serving organizations, and it adds three things most templates leave out: a count and gap flag on every row, a priority column so you decide which gap to fill first, and a prospect column so every gap gets a name next to it.
The six categories, and the rows under each
Expertise. Finance, accounting, or audit. Fundraising and major gifts. Legal. Marketing, communications, or PR. Human resources and compensation. Strategic planning. Governance (prior board service). Technology and data. Real estate, facilities, or construction. Youth development or education. Camp or seasonal program operations. Health, medical, or risk management.
Resources. Capacity and willingness to give. Access to donors, foundations, or corporate funders. Time for committee work and events.
Community connections. Camp alumni or former staff. Current or former camper parent. Local business and civic leaders. Faith or affinity community you serve. Education and school systems. Government or public agencies. Media.
Lived experience and representation. Reflects the community your programs serve. Under 40. 40 to 60. Over 60. Lives within an hour of the site. Lives in a region you are expanding into. Two blank rows for the demographic goals your board has set for itself.
Personal qualities. Mission commitment, shows up. Consensus builder. Strategist. Willing to make the ask. Willing to say the hard thing.
Board service. Officer role. Term ends. Eligible for another term. These three rows turn the matrix into a light succession view: you can see who rolls off when, on the same grid you recruit from.
How to score it
Write each director's name at the top of a column.
Work down the rows and tick every box a director covers. Be strict.
Count each row. In the Google Sheet this happens automatically, and any row at 0 or 1 is flagged GAP.
Rank the gaps 1 to 3 by how much they will matter over the next two to three years.
Write a prospect's name next to every priority-1 gap. If you cannot, that is the first thing to fix.
Bring it to a board meeting and have every director score it independently before you compare. The disagreement is the useful part.
The matrix is step one of the recruitment process in How to Recruit Board Members for Your Nonprofit. If your board is also preparing to hire its next executive, pair it with the Leadership Search Readiness Assessment and How to Prepare Your Board for a Leadership Search.
What a board skills matrix looks like
A board skills matrix (sometimes called a board composition matrix or a board recruitment worksheet) is a grid. Your directors run across the top, one per column. The skills, resources, connections, and perspectives your organization needs run down the side, grouped by category. You tick every box a director genuinely covers, count each row, and the rows with zero or one tick are your recruitment targets.
This version is built for nonprofits, camps, and youth-serving organizations, and it adds three things most templates leave out: a count and gap flag on every row, a priority column so you decide which gap to fill first, and a prospect column so every gap gets a name next to it.
The six categories, and the rows under each
Expertise. Finance, accounting, or audit. Fundraising and major gifts. Legal. Marketing, communications, or PR. Human resources and compensation. Strategic planning. Governance (prior board service). Technology and data. Real estate, facilities, or construction. Youth development or education. Camp or seasonal program operations. Health, medical, or risk management.
Resources. Capacity and willingness to give. Access to donors, foundations, or corporate funders. Time for committee work and events.
Community connections. Camp alumni or former staff. Current or former camper parent. Local business and civic leaders. Faith or affinity community you serve. Education and school systems. Government or public agencies. Media.
Lived experience and representation. Reflects the community your programs serve. Under 40. 40 to 60. Over 60. Lives within an hour of the site. Lives in a region you are expanding into. Two blank rows for the demographic goals your board has set for itself.
Personal qualities. Mission commitment, shows up. Consensus builder. Strategist. Willing to make the ask. Willing to say the hard thing.
Board service. Officer role. Term ends. Eligible for another term. These three rows turn the matrix into a light succession view: you can see who rolls off when, on the same grid you recruit from.
How to score it
Write each director's name at the top of a column.
Work down the rows and tick every box a director covers. Be strict.
Count each row. In the Google Sheet this happens automatically, and any row at 0 or 1 is flagged GAP.
Rank the gaps 1 to 3 by how much they will matter over the next two to three years.
Write a prospect's name next to every priority-1 gap. If you cannot, that is the first thing to fix.
Bring it to a board meeting and have every director score it independently before you compare. The disagreement is the useful part.
The matrix is step one of the recruitment process in How to Recruit Board Members for Your Nonprofit. If your board is also preparing to hire its next executive, pair it with the Leadership Search Readiness Assessment and How to Prepare Your Board for a Leadership Search.
FAQ
Frequently
asked questions
What does a board skills matrix look like?
A grid. Directors run across the top, one per column. Skills, resources, community connections, lived experience, and personal qualities run down the side, grouped by category. Each cell is a checkbox. A count at the end of each row shows how many directors cover it, and rows with zero or one are the gaps to recruit for. Most matrices fit on one or two printed pages.
Is there a free board skills matrix template?
Yes. The template on this page is free in two formats: a two-page printable PDF and an editable Google Sheet that counts coverage and flags gaps automatically. Both include the same rows and can be tailored to your organization.
What is the difference between a board skills matrix and a board recruitment matrix?
Nothing meaningful. The same tool goes by board skills matrix, board composition matrix, board recruitment matrix, and board recruitment worksheet depending on who published it. BoardSource popularized the worksheet version. Whatever you call it, the job is the same: show what the board has, so you can see what it is missing.
How many rows should a board skills matrix have?
Enough to describe what your organization actually needs, and no more. This template ships with about 35 rows across six categories, which is more than most boards will use. Cross out what does not apply. A matrix with 15 rows that the board takes seriously beats one with 50 that nobody fills in.
How often should we update the board skills matrix?
Once a year, at the same board meeting, whether or not you have a vacancy. Boards that update it on a calendar build a bench. Boards that pull it out when a seat opens recruit in a panic.