governance consulting for nonprofit boards
Build the Board Your Mission Needs
For executive directors and board chairs who want to stop managing the board they have and start building the board their mission actually needs.
the 5-minute diagnostic
In five minutes you'll know what kind of board you're working with.
our framework
Assembled or Built?™
Most nonprofit boards weren’t designed. They were assembled over time. Seats opened, someone knew someone, and the vacancy got filled with a competent person who was never chosen for a strategic reason. Nobody made a bad decision. Nobody made a particularly deliberate one either. Board composition drifts from what the mission actually requires, and the same dynamics keep reasserting themselves.
A built board starts somewhere different. It begins with what the mission needs over the next two to three years, then names the gap between that and the current roster. Recruitment becomes strategic instead of reactive. The shift from assembled to built doesn’t happen after just one workshop. It’s how the board approaches its own composition, every cycle.
common board patterns
What's Surfacing on Your Board?
We're Stuck in The Same Patterns
You’ve done the workshops and you’ve recruited new members. Yet the same dynamics keep showing up year after year.
I Didn't Build This Board
You’re the new executive director. The board was here when you arrived, and the way they operate is the way they operate.
We've Never Stopped to Ask
Your board has never formally assessed how it’s actually doing. You’re governing on instinct rather than data.
the method
From Assembled to Built
01. Get a Quick Read
Take the free five-minute quiz. Ten questions, and you'll know which of five archetypes describes your board. You'll also leave with recommended next steps you can share with your board chair.
02. Look Closer
The Board Health Check gives you a structured read on composition, culture, and the chair-ED partnership. A free discovery call after the results helps you decide what comes next.
03. Close the Gap
A focused engagement moves the board from assembled to built. Board Foundations and The Board Build™ are for board governance. The Inherited Board™ is built for executive directors in their first year.
our services
Build an Intentional Board
Board Health Check
The structured assessment we begin every engagement with. Available on its own, too. Two versions: a Lite for the chair-ED gap, and a Full version for the whole board.
Board Foundations + The Board Build™
Ongoing governance consulting that moves boards from assembled to built. Two options: 3 months targeting one or two priority areas, or 6 months of sustained development.
The Inherited Board™
A 90-day engagement for executive directors in their first 6 to 18 months. Produces a 12-month plan for working with the board you didn’t build.
Speaking & Workshops
Single-session work for conferences, individual boards, and annual retreats. Built around the topics your board or audience has already named.
Ongoing support
Annual Governance Retainer
For graduates of any engagement. Ongoing governance advisory for the board or continued coaching for the executive director. Monthly calls, review of board materials, and guidance on decisions as they come up.
what's next
Ready to Start Building?
Not sure which engagement is the right fit for the board you have right now? Schedule a free 30-minute discovery call. There's no prep required on your end, and no expectation that we end up working together.