How Queer Board Match connects LGBTQ+ Nonprofits with Board Members
TurnOut’s most recent virtual Queer Board Match event
For many LGBTQ+ nonprofits, having the right board members can make or break the organization. Board members bear the ultimate responsibility for making sure the nonprofit has the support and resources it needs to achieve its mission - it is a vitally important role. Yet many LGBTQ+ nonprofits have trouble finding new board members, let alone making sure they have the skills and training they need. This is where TurnOut’s Queer Board Match comes in.
Each virtual QBM event opens with a presentation on demystifying nonprofit board service. We dispel the misconception that board service is just for wealthy individuals who have already reached the “pinnacle” of their careers, illuminating the many different ways folks in early- and mid-career can make a powerful impact for nonprofit boards. We then introduce participants to a diverse range of LGBTQ-focused nonprofits who are currently looking for new board members. After a Q&A with our participating nonprofits, participants are invited to inquire about board service and to connect with TurnOut’s Queer Board Match community, where members receive monthly email updates on newly opened board seats at a wide variety of queer and trans nonprofits, as well as educational and networking opportunities centering around board service.
As a self-described “TurnOut superfan,” Vera Hannush has participated in Queer Board Match from both sides. As Development Officer at Covenant House of California (a non-profit youth homeless shelter with locations in Oakland and Los Angeles), she’s successfully connected with potential board members via recent virtual QBM events. At one of our first Queer Board Match events, which she attended in her former role as Board Chair for the Pacific Center (an LGBTQ+ community center and mental health services provider in Berkeley), she recruited three “amazing” board members for the organization. And, via TurnOut, she’s successfully connected with corporate donors who contributed care packages for the young people at Covenant House.
“I’ve seen Queer Board Match program be really successful from the get go,” says Vera. “TurnOut is unparalleled in its ability to truly match people with volunteer and board opportunities - the folks who joined the Pacific Center’s board after Queer Board Match were perfect fits. And you get that extra background about what being a board member is, which I wish I had when I joined a board. When I joined the Pacific Center’s board, I was just asked at the White Horse, and I said ‘Sure!’”
For Vera, serving on a board is a way to connect more deeply with her community. She’s now a board member of Oaklash, which creates an annual festival in addition to yearlong programming dedicated to drag & queer performance. “Being an ambassador for an organization doing great work is like the ultimate honor to me. You really have to believe in the organization and find yourself aligned with its mission - that’s a beautiful cohesion. It’s enriched my life to know that maybe because of me, more people know about Oaklash or the Pacific Center and all the incredible work they’re doing.”
“I don’t know of any other organization doing this work to connect queers with volunteer opportunities. When you donate to TurnOut, you’re effectively donating multiple times, because the impact just multiplies across queer & trans organizations in the Bay Area.”
Interested in hosting a Queer Board Match event with your company, or finding an organization in need of board members? Learn more here.