Have you found your match?
Raymond Castile
Of the Suburban Journals
O'Fallon Mo Journal
03/15/2006

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, ST. LOUIS, MO

If singles can use Internet matchmaking to find a date, nonprofit organizations can use it to find volunteers.

That is the principle behind www.boardlinkstl.org, a Web portal that matches interested volunteers with nonprofit boards and committees.

"Different organizations have different needs, based on their target population," said Denise Liebel, executive director of the Community Council of St. Charles County. "They may need an accountant, or someone with a passion for the arts."

Liebel said there seem to be a lot of nonprofit board vacancies.

"It is difficult to recruit and retain board members," she said. "Part of it is not knowing how to recognize people with the strengths that would benefit your organization. Also, individuals may want to offer their help, but they cannot find organizations that can use their talents."

Individuals create profiles listing their talents, interests and experience. Organizations list their mission, needs and skill requirements. The system compares the profiles to produce a match.

But first, individuals must pay a $50 annual fee and attend a two-and-a-half-hour workshop on the role and responsibilities of a board member. Organizations pay a sliding annual fee of $100 to $300, depending on budget size. The organization's leaders must also attend a workshop before using the online system.

Since the Web site launched in October, 218 volunteers and 80 organizations have added their profiles. The online program is just one component of BoardLinkStL, an alliance of eight organizations including the United Way of Greater St. Louis.

"We have been working for a year-and-a-half to put together a program that will link diverse and energetic people who want to serve on board and committees," said Rick Skinner, vice president of the United Way of Greater St. Louis volunteer center.

"Our workshops will provide a good framework to prepare people for the nonprofit board experience. They will also help strengthen nonprofit boards so they will attract strong leaders."

Another alliance member is the Washington University School of Social Work. Barbara Levin, the school's program coordinator, said BoardLinkStL is a tool she can use in teaching nonprofit agencies how to build capacity.

"A whole lot of the calls I got from nonprofit organizations dealt with how do you find new board members," Levin said. "Other alliance partners were hearing the same thing. So we decided, if Match.com can do it, why can't we? We are basically Match.com with readiness training."

Levin said the online system will replace the board bank that the United Way closed three years ago. The United Way kept volunteer resumes on file, using telephone networking to connect them with agencies.

The other six BoardLinkStL alliance members are Family Support Council/Family Resource Center, FOCUS St. Louis, Nonprofit Services Consortium, Regional Arts Commission, University of Missouri-St. Louis Nonprofit Management & Leadership Program, and Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts.

Raymond Castile can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it