Consulting on Board Governance

How well your nonprofit’s board of directors governs is the single largest determinant of your success in achieving your mission effectively and sustainably. Over the years, we have worked with a lot of boards – all of them passionate about and committed to the organizations that they serve.

At the same time, so many board leaders and members tell us that they don’t fully understand their roles and responsibilities – and they don’t know how to leverage the expertise, networks, and passion of the members sitting around the table. These gaps are holding them back.

Our consultants offer several ways for your board to review, refresh, and recommit to practices that will improve their ability to govern and drive mission success:

• Presentation on Board Best Practice. A 90-minute presentation on board roles and responsibilities, structure, and best practice.
  
  
• Board Self-Assessment Survey. Board members take a 20-minute online survey, rating the board’s performance from their perspective. We compile the responses and interpret the results at a board meeting. Our assessment (a) identifies where the board can improve its function and (b) provides a thorough refresher of the roles and responsibilities of the board and board members. (Learn more about our assessment tools here.)
  
  
• Board Development Plan. Board members complete the Board Self-Assessment Survey (above); we help to produce a board development plan based on the survey results. This process typically involves (a) an extended review of the survey at a board meeting, identifying the board’s development needs and (b) a follow-up meeting with an ad hoc board committee to develop the plans goals, objectives, and timing.
  
  
• Board Development Seminar. A six-hour, in-person seminar (or three two-hour virtual sessions) presented to the entire board on board function, roles and responsibilities, and best practices. The seminar is a blend of presentation, case studies, and discussion.
  
  Topics include:

• Nonprofit 101: Nonprofit basics and the need for board governance
• Mission, vision, and values
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Nonprofit board structure and function
• Fiduciary responsibilities of board members and boards
• Nonprofit board and organizational strategy
• The board’s role in generative thinking
• Effective meetings
• Effective board member recruitment and orientation
• Leadership, management, and governance and the role of the board

To learn more about CNPE’s consulting services or to retain one of our consultants, contact Ed Cortas, VP of Strategic Initiatives & Consulting, at ecortas@cnpe.org or 502-618-5329.