Hiring a new CEO or Executive Director is one of the most important responsibilities a nonprofit board will undertake. The person selected will influence organizational culture, financial stability, staff retention, community relationships, fundraising, and the organization’s ability to carry out its mission.
According to BoardSource, hiring and supporting the chief executive is one of a nonprofit board’s central responsibilities. While an executive search firm can manage much of the process, the board remains responsible for choosing the right search partner and making the final hiring decision.
The best executive search firm for a nonprofit is not necessarily the largest or most widely known firm. It is the firm that understands your organization, your mission, the communities you serve, and the leadership challenges your next executive will face.
The following checklist can help boards compare nonprofit executive search firms and make a well-informed decision.
Does the Firm Have Relevant Nonprofit Experience?
Nonprofit executive recruitment is different from corporate recruitment. Nonprofit leaders must often balance board governance, donor relationships, grant requirements, community expectations, limited resources, and multiple stakeholder groups.
Ask each firm:
- How many nonprofit CEO or Executive Director searches have you completed?
- Have you worked with organizations similar to ours?
- Which nonprofit or healthcare sectors do you know well?
- Can you provide references from comparable organizations?
- Do members of your team have firsthand nonprofit leadership experience?
Relevant experience should extend beyond placing candidates. The firm should understand how nonprofit boards operate and how leadership decisions affect staff, donors, funders, clients, and community partners.
Glick Davis & Associates brings more than 25 years of experience in nonprofit CEO and Executive Director recruitment. Former nonprofit CEOs and Executive Directors are directly involved in its executive search services, providing practical insight into the demands placed on nonprofit leaders.
Who Will Actually Lead the Search?
Boards sometimes select a firm based on a senior consultant’s presentation, only to discover that most of the work is assigned to someone else.
Ask for the names and roles of everyone who will work on the search. Find out who will:
- Lead organizational assessment conversations
- Communicate with the board or search committee
- Conduct candidate research and outreach
- Interview and assess candidates
- Check references
- Support offer negotiations and onboarding
The board should also ask how many other searches the lead consultant is managing. A firm may have a strong reputation, but the quality of your experience will depend heavily on the people assigned to your organization.
The AESC Client Bill of Rights recommends that clients receive clear information about the lead advisor, consulting team, scope, timing, fees and expected deliverables.
How Does the Firm Learn About Your Organization?
A strong search should begin with an organizational assessment rather than a recycled job description.
The firm should take time to understand:
- Your mission, vision and strategic priorities
- Current financial and operational conditions
- Organizational culture
- Board and staff expectations
- Community and stakeholder needs
- Skills required for the next stage of the organization
- Challenges the incoming leader will inherit
The National Council of Nonprofits recommends identifying both current and future challenges before deciding which leadership qualities the organization needs.
Ask how staff, board members, funders, community partners and other stakeholders will contribute to the assessment. Their feedback should inform the leadership profile without turning the search into an open vote.
What Is the Candidate Recruitment Strategy?
Posting a position on job boards is rarely enough for a senior nonprofit search. Many qualified executives are not actively applying for new roles.
Ask each firm how it will identify and approach:
- Active applicants
- Passive candidates
- Leaders from related nonprofit sectors
- Candidates with transferable experience
- Leaders who reflect the communities your organization serves
- Candidates outside the firm’s existing network
The firm should be able to describe a clear outreach plan, not simply promise access to a large database.
Boards should also ask how the firm builds a broad and inclusive candidate pool. This includes examining job requirements for unnecessary barriers, reaching candidates through different professional networks, and applying the same evaluation standards consistently.
How Will Candidates Be Evaluated?
A résumé can show where someone has worked, but it cannot fully demonstrate how that person leads, makes decisions, manages conflict, works with a board, or responds to financial and organizational pressure.
A thorough evaluation process may include:
- Structured interviews
- Leadership assignments or presentations
- Skills and competency assessments
- Reference checks
- Employment and education verification
Glick Davis uses a multi-stage process that includes interviews and candidate assignments. This allows boards to evaluate more than professional history alone.
Ask whether every candidate will be assessed using the same core criteria. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recommends structured interviews, standardized questions and objective decision criteria to reduce subjectivity in hiring.
The search firm should guide the assessment process while making it clear that the final decision belongs to the board.
How Will the Firm Work With the Board?
An executive search can place significant demands on volunteer board members. The search firm should provide enough structure to keep the process moving without taking decision-making authority away from the board.
Ask how the firm will support:
- Formation of the search committee
- Agreement on decision-making roles
- Interview preparation
- Candidate discussion
- Confidentiality
- Staff and stakeholder communication
- Scheduling and search timelines
- Offer development and negotiation
Communication expectations should be established before the search begins. Boards should know how often they will receive updates, what information will be included, and who will respond when questions or concerns arise.
A good search partner should also tell the board when expectations are unrealistic, compensation is not competitive, or the candidate profile is too broad.
Are the Fees, Terms and Restrictions Clear?
Executive search proposals should be compared based on total value and scope, not price alone.
Request a written explanation of:
- Professional fees
- Payment schedule
- Advertising or candidate travel costs
- Assessment and background-check expenses
- Cancellation terms
- Replacement guarantees
- Confidentiality requirements
- Ownership of candidate information
- Potential conflicts of interest
- Off-limits restrictions affecting candidate recruitment
An off-limits agreement may prevent a search firm from recruiting executives from certain current or former clients. Boards should understand whether those restrictions could narrow the available candidate pool.
Glick Davis uses a retained search model that supports an end-to-end leadership transition. Under a retained model, the firm is engaged for the full assignment rather than being paid only when a candidate accepts the position.
What Happens After the Candidate Accepts?
The search should not end when an offer is signed. The first several months can strongly influence the relationship between the new executive, board, staff, and community.
Ask whether the firm provides:
- Onboarding planning
- First-90-day goal setting
- Board and executive role clarification
- Transition communication
- Follow-up meetings
- Coaching or additional leadership support
Both AESC and the National Council of Nonprofits identify deliberate onboarding as an important part of an executive transition. Glick Davis includes onboarding support as part of its broader transition-management approach.
Nonprofit Executive Search Firm Comparison Checklist
Boards can use the following questions when reviewing proposals and interviewing firms:
| Evaluation Area | Questions for the Board |
| Nonprofit experience | Has the firm completed comparable nonprofit or healthcare searches? |
| Assigned team | Who will lead the work, and how available will they be? |
| Organizational assessment | How will the firm learn about our mission, culture and leadership needs? |
| Candidate recruitment | How will active, passive and underrepresented candidates be reached? |
| Evaluation process | Which interviews, assignments, assessments and checks are included? |
| Board support | How will the search committee be guided through decisions? |
| Fees and terms | Are all fees, expenses, restrictions and guarantees explained? |
| Onboarding | What support continues after the new leader accepts? |
| References | Would similar nonprofit clients hire the firm again? |
Warning Signs to Watch For
Boards should be cautious when a search firm:
- Guarantees an unrealistically fast result
- Cannot explain who will work on the search
- Provides vague information about fees
- Relies mainly on job advertisements
- Uses the same process for every organization
- Cannot provide relevant nonprofit references
- Avoids questions about conflicts or off-limits restrictions
- Treats onboarding as entirely separate from the search
Choosing a Search Firm That Fits Your Mission
The right nonprofit executive search firm should act as a partner throughout the leadership transition. It should help the board understand what the organization needs, reach qualified candidates, make fair comparisons, and prepare the selected leader for a strong start.
Glick Davis & Associates works directly with nonprofit and healthcare boards through organizational assessment, candidate recruitment, multi-stage evaluation, selection and onboarding. Our retained search process is grounded in each organization’s mission, culture and long-term direction.
To discuss your organization’s next leadership transition, contact Glick Davis & Associates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a nonprofit executive search firm do?
A nonprofit executive search firm helps the board define its leadership needs, develop the position profile, find candidates, conduct initial assessments, coordinate interviews, check references and support the final selection. Some firms also assist with offer negotiations and onboarding.
How long does a nonprofit executive search take?
The timeline depends on the position, candidate market, stakeholder involvement and board availability. A comprehensive search often takes several months. Boards should ask each firm for a proposed schedule while remaining cautious of guarantees that do not account for the complexity of the assignment.
What is the difference between retained and contingency executive search?
A retained search firm is engaged exclusively to manage the full search and is generally paid according to agreed project stages. A contingency recruiter is usually paid only when a candidate is hired. Retained search is commonly used for CEO and Executive Director roles that require organizational assessment, targeted outreach and extensive candidate evaluation.
Who should select the executive search firm?
The board or an authorized search committee should evaluate and select the firm. Staff and the outgoing executive may provide useful organizational context, but the board remains responsible for overseeing the chief executive search and approving the final appointment.
What should a nonprofit prepare before contacting a search firm?
Helpful materials include the strategic plan, organizational chart, current job description, compensation information, recent financial statements, succession plan and a summary of major organizational opportunities and challenges. The board should also identify who will serve on the search committee and how staff and stakeholder feedback will be collected.