White Paper - Board Composition in an Aging Sector

Approximately 57% of nonprofit board members are age 50 or older, and more recent data suggests the figure may be closer to 60% for members 55 and older — compared with roughly 61% of the general population being 40 or older, nonprofit boards skew meaningfully older than the communities many of them serve. Only 17% of board members are under 40. This concentration is not, on its own, a problem — experienced board members bring real institutional knowledge and stability. But combined with widespread board recruitment difficulty, inconsistent term limit practices, and a near-total absence of structured board succession planning at most organizations, it describes a governance renewal problem running in close parallel to the staffing crisis affecting the same sector's paid workforce.