|
|
10 Most Common Board Shortcomings
What governance shortcomings have you discerned in Christ-centered organizations and churches?
Click here to view this content.
|
10 Questions to Ask Before Joining a Board
CEOs and board members are asking for more help on board member recruitment strategies.
Click here to view this content.
|
2 Big Differences: Decision-making and Conflict Resolution
There is a difference between how a "secular" board governs and how a "Christ-centered" board governs
Click here to view this content.
|
27 years — 27 Board Chairs!
How will you inspire and remind your board members (and especially your board chair) to view their colleagues around the table as part of a parade, not a crowd?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
3-Point Talk: Right, Wrong, or Inappropriate
What are we doing year-round to ensure that we are recruiting the “right composition” of men and women onto our board?
Click here to view this content.
|
5 Technology Advances for Governance Excellence
This document, authored by Vonna Laue and Michael Martin, offers five strategies some churches and ministries utilize to reap the benefits of technological advances.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
7 Questions to Measure Your Board’s Engagement Level
Of the four phases of board member recruitment (cultivation, recruitment, orientation, and engagement), the most critical is engagement.
Click here to view this content.
|
7 Reasons Why Strategic Pans Fail
Proverb 16:3 says, “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” What might be the second reason your plans may not succeed?
Click here to view this content.
|
7 Ways to Avoid a Financial Train Wreck
The clear communication and understanding of church finances is a key to avoiding a financial train wreck and helping a church be a positive witness for Jesus Christ.
Click here to view this content.
|
A Blunt Board Member Blesses His CEO!
What’s the trust level between the board and the CEO? Is hard truth spoken frequently, sometimes, rarely or never?
Click here to view this content.
|
A Board Prayer
“Dear God . . . Grant us the joy of arriving at adjournment closer to one another because we are closer to You.”
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Accountability and the Great Commission
Steve Douglass powerfully communicates how accountability supports fulfilling the Great Commission. As Steve suggests, “When people perceive a ministry and its leaders are accountable, they believe in them more.”
Click here to view this content.
|
Address Absentee Board Member Syndrome
There are three unhealthy ways that many church boards respond to empty chairs at board meetings.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be Intentional About Your First 30 Minutes
Does your board meeting need a refresh—so you experience holy moments more frequently?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Begin With the End in Mind
If you begin with the end in mind, you’ll likely build deeper relationships and help board members leverage their strengths and spiritual gifts more intentionally.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best Board Books #15: Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom (Second Edition)
Best Board Books #15: Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom (Second Edition)
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Best Board Books #5 – Owning Up: The 14 Questions Every Board Member Needs to Ask
Best Board Books #5 – Owning Up: The 14 Questions Every Board Member Needs to Ask
Click here to view this content.
|
Best Board Books #6 – Serving as a Board Member: Practical Guidance for Directors of Christian Ministries
Best Board Books #6 – Serving as a Board Member: Practical Guidance for Directors of Christian Ministries
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Best Board Books #8 – The Practitioner's Guide to Governance as Leadership
Best Board Books #8 – The Practitioner's Guide to Governance as Leadership
Click here to view this content.
|
Best Board Books #9 – Called to Serve: Creating and Nurturing the Effective Volunteer Board
Best Board Books #9 – Called to Serve: Creating and Nurturing the Effective Volunteer Board
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
Beware the Emotional Effects of Transitions
How sensitive are your board members, CEO, and senior team members in recognizing that the decisions you make can trigger a variety of emotions and responses among the staff, volunteers, clients/customers, and donors you serve?
Click here to view this content.
|
Big Rocks, Pebbles, and Sand
Church boards have a natural gravitational pull toward issues that should be reserved for the church staff.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Board Chairs: Our Single Greatest Need
At your next board meeting, ask each person (including the CEO) to write out and then share their answer to the question, “What is our board’s single greatest need?”
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Board Input Versus Board Output
“What would you say are the one or two things your board did in the last 12 months that really made a difference for your ministry?”
Click here to view this content.
|
Board Meeting Body Language
What are your unwritten rules about board behavior? What guidance do you get from Scripture when confronting character or behavioral flaws?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Board Retreat Engagement Reading
If you gave a Pop Quiz at your next board meeting, how many board members would be able to intelligently articulate your organization’s strategy?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Board Service Word Association Game
Does your board service inspire other family members to invest their lives in Christ-centered board work?
Click here to view this content.
|
Board Service: “Easy when . . .”
Before you invite prospects to join your board, what process do you use to spiritually discern if they have passion for your cause?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Board Warts
What are you doing—in every board meeting—to build God-honoring trust, conflict (the good kind!), commitment, accountability, and results?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
Called to Serve #1: What Will You Measure?
As you measure outputs and outcomes, are your board members, board chair, CEO, and senior team members all on the same page?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #10: What's More Important Than Structure?
Discuss the theological values that undergird your ministry—and assess if the relational values of the Good News are alive and well in your boardroom and in your 24/7 year-round board culture.
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #11: Do Not Censor What the Board Receives
How frequently does our CEO deliver bad news? How appropriately does our board respond to bad news?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #12: Coherence With Corrals
Is our policy document (corral) current and crystal clear? Does it result in the natural fecundity of a God-honoring organization?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #13: The Prospect Pipeline
Agree on how many names should be in the “board prospect pipeline” (at various stages in the “dating” process) at any given time.
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #14: There Are No Committee Statues!
“Culture is evidenced in specific and measurable behaviors. People consistently perform according to what is measured.”
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #15: SILENCE!
Before (way before!) you entrust the board chair position to the next “likely suspect,” discuss the high bar that both De Pree and McKenna set for the “call” of the chair.
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #16: Board Member Self-Measurements
Before your next meeting, ask board members to read De Pree’s chapter, “What Does a Trustee Promise?” and then write a confidential, self-assessment, “How will I know if I’m doing a good job?”
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #17: Be a Frantic Learner!
Before you order your next “everyone read this book before the board retreat,” take time to discern where frantic learning is needed. Seek God’s voice—not the hype from the bestsellers list.
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #18: If No Progress—Skip the “Progress Report"!
At your next board meeting, present a gift card to the first committee chair who courageously announces, “We have no progress to report, but we are working on our three to five annual SMART Goals that the board approved at the last meeting. Thus ends our report!”
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #19: The Phone-Book-Size Board Packet Syndrome
Do pre-meeting materials, reports, and minutes arrive with adequate time to reflect and discern next steps?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #2: Violence and Committee Meetings!
De Pree notes the story of the English visitor who watched his first American football game and observed, “The game combines the two worst elements of American culture—violence and committee meetings.”
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #20: Use White Space to Practice Hospitality
Do we practice God-honoring hospitality before, during, and after our board meetings?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #21: When Your Organization Is Bleeding and Boring Board Members
Do we address governance tensions appropriately?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #22: The Ten-Foot Pole Tension
Has your board addressed this common tension—board member evaluation and assessment? How long is your board’s pole?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #23: Board Meddling on Management’s Turf
Think back to your last board meeting. Did your board chair halt discussion that spiraled down into management and operational items?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #24: Max’s Most Memorable Message (1924–2017)
Ask your CEO, “What do you want to be remembered for? And what should we measure?”
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #25: What the Board Owes the CEO
Question 1: What is our ministry’s strategy? Question 2: Is our strategy crystal clear to our CEO?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #26: The Error of Leadership Indifference
“How many errors in organizations are due to leadership indifference?"
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #27: Give Space…But Plan Sparingly
Does the board allocate adequate space to the CEO—or does the board meddle and micro-manage?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #28: Don’t Neglect Your CEO’s Growth
Christ-centered boards should have the same mindset: inspiring their CEOs to thrive by providing an adequate budget and time for personal and professional growth.
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #29: Goal No. 1—Keep Your CEO Alive!
What the board might consider a helpful resource or benefit may not speak to your CEO’s unique needs.
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #3: Loyalty Is Never Sufficient
What Bible verse or passage would enrich the meaning for us as we reflect on these standards of governance effectiveness?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #30: No Board Detail Is Too Small (Index to 30 Blogs)
Max De Pree: “…my experience has convinced me that no detail is too small to consider carefully when it comes to thinking about the important work of nonprofit boards and the people who serve on them.”
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #4: Challenged With Measurable Work
If you’re “called to serve,” how are you enriching your board service competencies?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Called to Serve #6: Governance Through the Prism of the Agenda
Do our board agendas align with our philosophy and theology of governance?
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #7: The Bell Curve of a Board Meeting
At your next meeting, ask one board member to observe and plot the bell curve for the entire board meeting—and then share an end-of-the-meeting analysis if the most critical agenda items were discerned at the top of the bell curve.
Click here to view this content.
|
Called to Serve #8: No Reading Allowed!
Peter Drucker said, “At least once every five years, every form should be put on trial for its life.”
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Caution! Understand the Governance Pendulum Principle
You have limited time to act when the pendulum oscillates in a positive direction.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conducting Effective Board Meetings
Outlines the important role of the board chair in planning and leading effective board meetings
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Conflict of Interest/Related Party Questionnaire
Questionnaire for employees concerning conflicts of interest and related-party transactions
Click here to view this content.
|
Conflicts of Interest and Related-Party Transactions for Churches
Discusses conflicts of interest and related-party transactions – includes a sample conflicts of interest policy and related documents
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Covenant of Confidentiality
Nonprofit boards may use this sample covenant of confidentiality to protect the confidentiality of a ministry
Click here to view this content.
|
Creating the Vision for the Next Board
Creating a vision for and drawing the blueprint for the future board is one of the most important legacies of a board.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Effective Board Governance in Turbulent Times
The furthest thing from your mind is a collapse of Wall Street that significantly impacts Main Street—a collapse that impacts many of your donors and funders, and in turn, impacts the budget of the ministry you serve.
Click here to view this content.
|
Eight Best Practices for Recruiting New Board Members
Have you ever served on a board when a prospect was nominated for board service because he was a friend of a friend of someone’s Cousin Eddie?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Enhance Harmony by Clarifying Your Participant Hat Expectations
Understand the three board hats: Governance, Volunteer, and Participant.
Click here to view this content.
|
Equal Opportunity Talkers
When your board members exited your last board meeting, what percentage of them would have said, “I made a very significant contribution today on an important topic”?
Click here to view this content.
|
Every Church Needs a Conflict of Interest Policy
Boards often become convinced they are making a decision in the best interest of the church, but they fail to consider how the decision will appear on the internet and social media.
Click here to view this content.
|
Executive Compensation Policy – Church
A board’s determination of the church’s senior staff members’ compensation is one of its key tasks.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forget the Plaques!
When you honor your next departing board member or board chair, how will you meaningfully connect the dots between faithfulness and Kingdom impact?
Click here to view this content.
|
From the Pen of Olan Hendrix
ECFA is pleased to offer excerpts from Olan Hendrix's writings as a part of our Knowledge Center. Please find below many great topical articles that we hope will be a blessing to you in your ministry.
Click here to view this content.
|
Getting Your Board Through the Wilderness
Nonprofit ministry and church boards are always facing changes—planned or unplanned (the economy, CEO transitions, shifting loyalties of donors and much more).
Click here to view this content.
|
Good Thing Pilots Are Life-long Learners!
Inspire your board members to be trustworthy stewards as they hear from God and pilot the direction of your ministry.
Click here to view this content.
|
Governance for Christ-centered Ministries
What are the transformational distinctives of Christ-centered board governance? What is different in Christian-centered board governance compared to the secular governance models?
Click here to view this content.
|
Governing Board Culture
We are confident we need to address our current governing board culture but we are not sure when and how to proceed. What do you suggest?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
Guarding Your Pastor’s Soul
Senior pastor moral failures are devastating to churches. Wise boards invest time—up front—to ensure the pastor’s soul is not neglected.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How to Avoid Obliteration
On the planning process continuum between “foggy confusion” (and perhaps obliteration) and God’s guiding light…where is your organization?
Click here to view this content.
|
How to Avoid Three Common Board Mistakes
You may have been on a board where one or more of these three mistakes were made. Avoiding these mistakes will improve the effectiveness of your board.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Individual Board Members - Sample Position Description
Describes responsibilities and characteristics for individual board members
Click here to view this content.
|
Integrity Slipping?
What is one of our greatest dangers for injury? An issue that tops the charts is the potential for a spiritual 911-type injury is when our integrity slips.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Invitation for Improvement
With an eye on eternity, how will you inspire your board members to be looking for more “invitations for improvement?”
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
Is Your Board Crisis-Ready?
The day will come when the board faces a big challenge, be it financial, moral, spiritual, or relational.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
It Takes a Village to Raise a Board’s Effectiveness
Almost 1,100 CEOs, board chairs and board members participated in the 2011 Governance Survey of ECFA members.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Keeping Up With the Joneses
How about your board? How much better—how much more God-honoring—could you be if you focused not on the Joneses but on God’s unique call for your important ministry?
Click here to view this content.
|
Leverage the 80/20 Rule in the Boardroom
Invest 80% of your board work on future ministry opportunities—not rehashing the past.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Looking for Consensus but Finding Division
Finding consensus on challenging issues requires deft handling and a flexible approach by the board chair.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Micromanaging Board Members: Ego Satisfaction?
What drives your board's actions: ego satisfaction from micromanaging or ensuring that Christ is on the throne for each board member—and then, as a group, spiritually discerning his voice?
Click here to view this content.
|
Mission Statement Pop Quiz
All the literature, all the books, and all the resources hammer us on the importance of aligning everything we do with our mission.
Click here to view this content.
|
More Huckster Than Holy?
Is fundraising the greatest need in your organization? If so, what might you learn by digging deeper into this subject?
Click here to view this content.
|
Musical Chairs
If we are to spiritually discern God’s direction, as board members, how important is it that we really know each other?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Nice Farewell Dinner, But Where’s my Plaque?
What is your CEO’s love language—and how do you regularly express appreciation to him or her?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
Policy: The Board’s Chief Occupation
At the beginning and end of each board agenda item, are you asking the key question: Is our policy on this issue current and clear, or does it need to be amended?
Click here to view this content.
|
Pop Quiz on Your Elevator Speech
So…what is your ministry’s elevator speech? Does it prompt the listener’s next question, “Wow! Tell me more!”
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Public Access to Church Board Meetings or Board Meeting Minutes
Discusses any legal requirements and the propriety of granting public access to church board meetings or board meeting minutes
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Quick Fix Tools for Board Self-Assessments
How will you inspire your board members to measure and monitor their own effectiveness?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Recording Church Board Minutes
Outlines the importance of and procedures for recording board meeting minutes, including a sample set of minutes
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rumsfeld’s Rules on Meetings
If you asked the Lord for a give-it-to-us-straight assessment of your last board meeting, what improvements might He suggest?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Serving on a Ministry Board with Excellence
Boards seem to give little thought to qualities that separate good boards from the very best
Click here to view this content.
|
Seven Best Practices for Cultivating New Board Members
Recruiting the right people onto the board bus must be a high priority for boards. As the board goes, so goes the organization.
Click here to view this content.
|
Spiritual Discernment
Dr. Stephen Macchia is one of the leaders of a growing spiritual discernment movement. As Steve says: “No matter who joins you at the discernment table, they bring with them their hearts . . . the condition of their hearts directly impacts the discernment process.” May you bring a burning heart to the discernment table.
Click here to view this content.
|
Staff and Volunteer Ethics Sample Policy
A nonprofit's staff and volunteers' commitment to biblical, ethical, businesslike, and lawful conduct
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: “Appointment Without Anointment Always Led to Disaster”
Do you agree that “appointment without anointment” will lead to disaster?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Succession Planning: “My Heart Had Left the Building”
“The number one issue for me was passion. My heart was no longer engaged in my job—the fire had gone out. My heart had left the building.”
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: “One Size Fits All” Is Bad Counsel
What are some foundational biblical principles you can glean from David and Solomon or Paul and Timothy or others?
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: “Wise People Know When to Quit”
Does our board regularly practice spiritual discernment for fork-in-the-road decisions, or are our prayer practices more superficial than transformational?
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: 11 Principles (Index to 11 Posts)
Board members should discern not only what CEO competencies they need for the next few years, but what kind of situation their new leader will inherit.
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: Decide If You Need a Search Firm
Michael J. Lotito: “If you spend a lot of time figuring out who you’re going to hire, you’ll have to spend far less time figuring out who to fire.”
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: Does Your CEO Need a Coach?
According to Soderquist Leadership, “92% of executives who received coaching said they would be willing to be coached again.”
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: Hire Slower and Fire Faster
What do board members fear the most? They fear having to terminate a CEO on their watch.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Succession Planning: The Five Stages of CEO Abandonment
Surprise…and maybe shock! While you thought your CEO would serve until retirement, today she called your board chair to announce her resignation!
Click here to view this content.
|
Succession Planning: The Ongoing Continuous Process
“Are there appropriate board-approved succession policies to guide the work of the Succession Planning Task Force?”
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
The “Quieter” Pool of Board Members
What methods do you leverage to tone down your noisy board members and encourage your quieter board members to speak up?
Click here to view this content.
|
The 6 D's: Doer
Do you have a written pathway to the board that includes reference-checking? What questions do you ask others about a prospective board member?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
The 6 D’s: Diligent and Faithful Participant
How many board prospects are you currently dating and who is observing them, up close, to discern if they meet Criteria No. 4: Diligent and Faithful Participant?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
The 6 D’s: Documented Team Player
How will we conduct our due diligence on future board members to ensure that they are competent team players and not Lone Rangers?
Click here to view this content.
|
The Board and the Bachelor Farmer
What stories of management faithfulness and governance faithfulness are you using to inspire and motivate your board members?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
The Connection Chasm
Does your board have a Pathway to the Board Checklist? How are you communicating board service opportunities to younger board members?
Click here to view this content.
|
The Cousin Eddie Syndrome
How does your board avoid the Cousin Eddie Syndrome—and when is the last time you’ve reviewed board recruitment best practices?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
The Impact of Founder's Syndrome
Visionary leaders do not just experience personal stress but can also cause great organizational distress. Founder’s Syndrome occurs when an organization is driven more by the personality of the founder than by its own mission. It is an organizational problem more than a personal one. All institutions face this danger, but it is especially complicated in Christian settings, where founders often function as spiritual leaders as well.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
The Meeting Before the Meeting
How will you know the perspective of your board members, if you don’t have some form of “the meeting before the meeting” (lunch, phone call, Skype call, etc.)?
Click here to view this content.
|
The Nothingness Syndrome
Are you guilty of receiving (and even reading) emailed board reports—but not hitting “REPLY” with a short encouraging note to the CEO?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
The Peaceful Urgency Continuum
What do you do, in your board meetings and day-after-day, to forge a Peaceful Urgency as your board stewards God’s work?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
The Powerful Potential of Tab 10
What’s your next step for leveraging the God-honoring heart and passion of former board members?
Click here to view this content.
|
Then and Now
“If ECFA had not been formed, another organization would have been needed to fill its role,” said Lauren Libby, former ECFA board member.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
TOOL #1: The Pathway to the Board
Give this internal document to your Governance Committee to guide them along the six steps…from suggestion to election.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #10: The 5/15 Monthly Report to the Board
Use this tool to keep the board informed and inspired between meetings. Once formatted, it takes just 15 minutes to write and 5 minutes to read.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #11: Monthly Dashboard Report
Use this tool to update the board and senior team on the CEO’s or senior pastor’s Top-5 Annual S.M.A.R.T. Goals. (Send updates at least monthly.)
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #12: Quarterly Board Meeting Agenda and Recommendations
Use this agenda template to signal the board, seven to 10 days in advance, that this board meeting is important—and their insights are needed.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #13: Board Retreat Read-and-Reflect Worksheets
Prior to your next board retreat, create a “Read-and-Reflect Worksheet” and inspire the board to read one governance book in preparation for your retreat.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #14: The Rolling 3-Year Strategic Plan Placemat
Roll-up your sleeves and gather the strategically-gifted board and senior staff around the table—and begin with this: “What is our strategy?”
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #15: Board Retreat Trend-Spotting Exercise
Use this trend-spotting template to generate insights and interaction on a key hot topic at your next retreat—each person presenting one article.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
TOOL #17: Board Policies Manual
Use this tool to create a Board Policies Manual (BPM)—and finally, you’ll have all your policies in one document and always updated.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #18: Job Descriptions for the Top Leader and Board Chair
Review these sample job descriptions for the Board Chair and the CEO (or Executive Pastor) and then use these insights to refresh your documents.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
TOOL #2: Board Nominee Suggestion Form
Give this suggestion form to board members to help them discern who to recommend for board service.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #20: Tent Cards and Tools for Leveraging Board Member Strengths
Inspire your board to complete the online CliftonStrengths® assessment and then create tent cards and tools to leverage strengths at every board and committee meeting!
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #21: Board Member Annual Affirmation Statement
Share this document with board prospects to communicate your high commitment and generosity standards. Plus, require re-commitments annually from all board members.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #22: Straw Vote Cards
Use red and green straw vote cards to discern if you have consensus or division on big and small issues—and save valuable time!
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #3: Board Nominee Orientation: Table of Contents
Inspire qualified board prospects to consider board service by giving them a comprehensive overview of your governance documents.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
TOOL #5: The Board’s Annual Self-Assessment Survey
Select the board self-assessment survey option that best fits your board’s culture and your board’s aspirations for continual improvement.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #6: The Board’s Annual Financial Management Audit
Use this TRUE OR FALSE audit annually as a first step in assessing your ministry’s financial health and integrity.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #7: The Board’s Annual Legal Audit
Use this TRUE OR FALSE annual audit as a first step in assessing your ministry’s compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #8: The Board’s Annual Fundraising Audit
Use this TRUE OR FALSE annual audit as a first step in assessing if the ministry is communicating giving opportunities with integrity and accuracy—and whether or not the board understands and affirms the ministry’s current fundraising practices.
Click here to view this content.
|
TOOL #9: The Board’s Annual Evaluation of the Top Leader
Review these templates—and then customize your annual process so it fits your unique situation and your unique top leader! (One size doesn’t fit all.)
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Travel Expense of Board Members and their Spouses
Outlines the issues surrounding board member and spousal travel reimbursements
Click here to view this content.
|
Try “Stoppage Time” at Your Next Board Meeting
At the end of your next board meeting, read this tongue-in-check post to the board and then ask for feedback.
Click here to view this content.
|
Two Prayers and a Poem Are Not Enough!
How will you raise the significance of the devotional thoughts at your board meetings and retreats?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Two Things Boards Should Never Joke About, Part 1
Oswald Chambers wrote that prayer is “the vital breath of the Christian.” Is that vital breath evident both in your board meetings and outside of board meetings?
Click here to view this content.
|
Two Tools for Improving Communication
Has your board agreed on the template and standing topics that your CEO should report on each month (and the report frequency)?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We All Need Feedback
God is honored when we ask for feedback—and when we practice what we preach, our CEOs will ask for feedback.
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
|
|
What Drains Your Board Members?
This subject arrested my attention when a good friend, Jim Galvin, asked in a recent eNewsletter, “What’s Your Kryptonite?”
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Where Two or Three Are Gathered on Social Media
Conflicts of interest always sound more questionable on the internet and social media.
Click here to view this content.
|
Why Do Board Members Micromanage?
What would be the upside if the board and senior team agreed on a two-page strategy document?
Click here to view this content.
|
|
|
Your Board’s Fair Share of the World’s Burden
How many of us really get it right—a holy balance in bearing our due share of the world’s burden?
Click here to view this content.
|
Your CEO’s Worst Mistake!
What are the top three things you need to accomplish in the next six to 12 months to give your organization the best chance of long-term success?
Click here to view this content.
|
Your Designated Dicernmentarian
When we’re facing a fork-in-the-road decision, do we have the spiritual tools at hand to truly hear from God and practice “indifference” to our own personal views?
Click here to view this content.
|
Your Greatest Need: Money or Discernment
What’s the most important need in our ministry right now? Raising money to do our work or discerning what work God wants us to do?
Click here to view this content.
|