Re-election to the board should not be automatic. The first step before renominating a board member is to check your organization’s bylaws regarding term limits. Any members who are at the end of the number of terms allowed by the bylaws cannot be re-elected to the board.

If a member is eligible for re-election under the bylaws, then the member should be carefully evaluated both in terms of the person’s past performance and in terms of the needs of the board (as spelled out in a board matrix). In addition, it is always important to ask the board member whether he/she is willing and able to serve an additional term.

We’ve distilled the process down to four key steps and included a sample self-evaluation for the board member to take as well.

Download the board member re-election resource at BoardSource.