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A scale to assess board member motivations in...
Journal article

A scale to assess board member motivations in nonprofit organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for identifying the motivations of board members in nonprofit organizations. Building on previous work of board member motivations (Searle, 1989; Inglis, 1994) and motivations of direct service volunteers (Clary and others, 1998), the results of the current study support a framework consisting of six components: Enhancement of Self‐Worth, Learning Through Community, Helping the Community, Developing Individual Relationships, Unique Contributions to the Board, and Self‐Healing. We discuss contributions by the panel of experts who reviewed the instrument and by the respondents who offered additional reasons for joining the board in view of how they can add validity to scale development. Frameworks such as the one reported in this article are valuable for understanding the complex involvement of attitudes and motivations as they relate to individuals' decisions to join boards. These insights may be applied in areas such as board member recruitment, training and development, and retention.

Authors

Inglis S; Cleave S

Journal

Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 83–101

Publisher

Wiley

Publication Date

January 1, 2006

DOI

10.1002/nml.132

ISSN

1048-6682

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