Should board members have a set length of term and a set number of terms?
The Center recommends that all boards have defined terms for their board members. Terms generally range from one to four years in length. Board terms give both the board member and the organization a regular opportunity to determine if continued board service is desirable to both parties. It is not unusual where there are no stated terms for board members to serve 20-30 years; this can sometimes limit the organization’s ability to recruit new board members and to be flexible and responsive to changing needs. Nonprofit organizations vary in their use of term limits. In some cases, there is no limit to how many terms a board member can serve. The rationale is that if you have solid, active, contributing board members, you want the organization to benefit from this continued involvement. The case for term limits is that the organization may need to have fresh approaches, be able to recruit board members who are very busy, and rotate board service through the community. Most provisions for
