Our board is ready to lead.
Recruit the right people, get them fundraising, and make governance something the board actually does.
What it looks like from the inside
Meetings that run long and decide nothing. Three people doing everything and twelve people attending. Nobody's quite sure when anyone's term ends, because nobody wrote it down. Board members who love the mission and have never made a gift, or asked anyone else to. And an executive director who spends the week before every meeting preparing a report that nobody reads.
What it's costing you
Your board is supposed to be your largest source of leverage and instead it's your largest consumer of staff time. A board that doesn't give makes every funder conversation harder, because the first question is always “what percentage of your board gives?” A board that doesn't govern leaves the executive director exposed. And a board with no succession plan means the day your ED leaves, the organization has a crisis instead of a transition.
What fixed looks like
A composition matrix that tells you who you have and who you're missing. Term limits, a giving expectation, and an annual self-assessment, all written down and all followed. A retreat that produces decisions. Board members who know how to ask because someone taught them. And a succession plan sitting in a drawer that you hope you never need and are glad you have.
How we work on it
We've sat on boards, chaired them, and reported to them. Get a plan: a board assessment with specific recommendations on structure, recruitment, and governance. Get it built: we facilitate the retreat, train the board to fundraise, and write the policies. Get a team: ongoing coaching for your executive director and your board chair, so the changes stick after we leave.
- Board recruitment and composition strategy
- Board fundraising engagement and training
- Board retreats and facilitated planning sessions
- Executive director transition and succession planning
- Board assessment, structure, and governance policies
- Executive coaching for EDs and development leaders