Since 2019, Mizuho Americas, partnering with Cause Strategy Partners, provides its senior leaders in all U.S. offices the opportunity to utilize their professional skills to help nonprofit organizations locally and nationally by serving as board members. The program has been a welcome addition to the firm’s community engagement program, as an opportunity to invest further in the development of both community organizations and Mizuho leaders.
Nonprofits play a critical role in society by addressing social and economic challenges that are often underserved by the public and private sectors. Strong leadership on nonprofit boards is essential to provide strategic direction, ensure accountability, and effectively drive the organization's mission forward.
However, according to a 2024 Nonprofit PRO study, nonprofits often struggle with recruiting board members. It is crucial to fill these positions rapidly while ensuring they are staffed by qualified and skilled individuals. Cause Strategy Partners, through its BoardLead program, harnesses the expertise and resources of corporate citizens for the benefit of staffing nonprofit boards with talented leaders. Through the program, newly recruited “BoardLeaders” receive the necessary training to help ease the transition to serving in a role encompassing the scope and unique challenges facing a nonprofit.
“There is a pressing need to address the quality and quantity of nonprofit board members,” says Erin Pierson, Chief Growth Officer at Cause Strategy Partners. “Over the past several years, we have built dozens of long-term partnerships with the world’s leading corporations and professional services firms to create a robust pipeline of board talent, while our training programs are helping to ensure our BoardLeaders are well-prepared, passionate, and skills-aligned for the boards they sit upon.” BoardLead’s thoughtful matching process considers an array of nonprofit needs and potential directors’ strengths and skills before arranging introductions.
Mizuho Americas Chief Human Resources Officer Liz Ceisler personally appreciates the opportunity to be on the board of The Arthur Project, a community-based therapeutic mentoring program focused on students in under-resourced middle schools. She also recognizes the value that BoardLead brings to Mizuho. “Board members of nonprofit organizations contribute largely by providing guidance in their own areas of expertise. At the same time, they have the opportunity to build new skills that are often useful at work,” said Liz. “This program is helping to build better communities externally and better leaders internally.”
In addition to connecting companies with board candidates, BoardLead offers a wealth of resources designed to educate and empower boards. From training programs on governance best practices to workshops on leadership and strategic planning, BoardLead equips boards with the tools they need to operate effectively. A BoardLead-led presentation to prospective BoardLeaders outlines the general roles, responsibilities, and expectations of the program. General training principles are supplemented with BoardLearn, an online learning platform with hours of helpful content.
Nicole Nelson, Compliance Officer at Mizuho, chose Concrete Safari, a nonprofit in her old neighborhood of East Harlem that provides safe outdoor spaces as well as gardens for kids to learn about planting and have a greater understanding of where food comes from.
“I like the board for its diverse contributions to solving problems,” explains Nicole. “The team is comprised by passionate individuals from all walks of life.” The experience has also brought her a greater appreciation for her role at work. “The varied demands of serving on a board brought a professional appreciation for the importance of looking beyond the day-to-day operations of my job and considering a bigger picture.”
Sean Smith, Head of Mizuho's Multi-Asset Distribution, is a BoardLeader for the Reading Team, a nonprofit that helps children at high risk of reading failure in underserved communities. The program employs a full-time director and paid teaching staff to focus on PreK to 5th grade. “I joined shortly after Covid and, as you can imagine, it really changed the landscape of schooling, especially among disadvantaged students,” said Sean. “While I have no education experience, I did know what it was like to manage effectively in the aftermath of Covid. BoardLead helped me effectively translate my experience in a nonprofit board setting.”
In the ever-changing nonprofit landscape, robust and efficacious governance is increasingly essential. BoardLead is leading this transformation by equipping organizations with critical tools and networks to develop high-functioning boards. By prioritizing diversity, refining recruitment strategies, and delivering continuous support and resources, BoardLead is not merely altering traditional board governance methods; it is setting a new standard for the future.
Cause Strategy Partners works with companies across the US to recruit senior level staff and match them with nonprofits locally or nationally (for virtual board placement). To date, they have placed over 2,800 BoardLeaders on 1,500+ nonprofit boards. To date, Mizuho has placed 31 staff on boards. The program offers a spring and fall cohort each year which includes an orientation and board governance training when BoardLeaders are matched with a nonprofit.