Nathan Cummings Foundation (“NCF”) seeks the services of an experienced executive search firm to lead the search for candidates for NCF’s Board of Trustees and to support the Board in building a pipeline of future candidates.
Review the full request for proposal.
NCF seeks a firm that can provide simplified, flexible approaches for this engagement to meet its unique needs. The retained firm will lead the end-to-end logistics of a search and work in partnership with the Independent Trustee Search Committee (ITSC, an ad hoc committee of the Board), the Board Chair, the CEO, the Governance Committee Chair, and assigned staff. NCF expects a process involving the following high-level milestones:
- Convene the ITSC to confirm a job description (pre-drafted by staff and the ITSC) and priorities in the experience and backgrounds of candidates.
- Establish a process to manage internal candidate referrals.
- Review candidates with the ITSC using a shared evaluation rubric tied to the job description, to align on priority candidates.
- Establish interview meetings, develop protocols, and provide guidance on the interview process.
- Manage communications with candidates until the selection and election of trustees occurs.
- Conduct background checks on selected candidates.
- Provide a closing report and recommendations for managing a candidate pipeline.
NCF seeks search firms that can speak to the quality, breadth, and depth of their candidate networks, with a particular focus on candidates based in or with deep roots in the U.S. South, reflecting the geographic concentration of NCF’s programmatic partnerships. NCF seeks candidates whose backgrounds reflect the socio-economic diversity of the communities most affected by racial, economic, and environmental injustice, including candidates with lived experience navigating the issues NCF’s mission addresses.
As a foundation rooted in REEJ, NCF extends our commitment to equity in how we build our Board, welcoming candidates of all backgrounds and evaluating them without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law.
The selected candidates could be elected as early as November 2026, pending confirmation of a final timeline.
Please submit your proposal in electronic format (PDF suggested) to Katherine White, Board Liaison, by August 10, 2026, to: ncfpresidentsoffice@nathancummings.org
