Customized or reviewed against best practices
Board Governance Documents
Board governance documents are the written rules of board service: the job description that says what a board member's role requires, the expectations that say what serving on your board specifically involves, and the agreement each member signs committing to both. Every built board runs on them, and many boards either don't have them or haven't updated them in years.
the idea behind the documents
Role, Then Conduct, Then Commitment
These are three different jobs, and they work best as three different documents. Most boards try to condense all three into a single page, but keeping them separate is what lets each one do its job.
Role: The job description answers “What does board service require?” It sets out the duties that come with any nonprofit board seat: the fiduciary responsibilities, the oversight, the legal duties of care and loyalty. This is what you hand a prospect first, when the question is still “what does a board member actually do?” It gives them the honest baseline of what they’d be taking on.
Conduct: The expectations answer “What do I need to know about serving on this board?” How many meetings a year, how much preparation, the fundraising expectations, committee service, ambassadorship, how the board communicates. Once a prospect understands what board service requires, this is what tells them whether the commitment fits their life: they can look up the general duties anywhere, but only you can tell them the specifics of what your board asks. It’s where someone weighing the commitment decides.
Commitment: The agreement answers “Do you commit?” It is the duties and expectations set down as an individual commitment, signed at appointment and re-signed every year.
Three Documents, Built Around Your Board
Customized Governance Documents
Your board is unlike any other, and these three documents should be too. We start with a conversation to understand how your board is structured and how it operates day to day. Then we build the job description, the expectations, and the agreement around what we learn, each one written specifically for your board rather than borrowed from someone else’s.
We'll start with an intake conversation, up to 60 minutes, to understand your board’s culture and structure. Upon completion of the engagement, you'll receive:
- A customized board member job description, a set of board member expectations, and a board member agreement
- A 60-minute walkthrough call of the drafts
- Final documents delivered in Word and PDF
investment details
$750
Invoiced at booking.
Typical turnaround is three to four weeks, depending on how quickly an intake conversation can be scheduled.
questions?
Not sure what makes sense for your board?
Your Documents, Measured Against Best Practice
Governance Document Review
We review your existing governing documents against best practice and provide you with a report of what is missing, what is outdated, and what to fix first. For the gaps we find, you also get the relevant best-practice policy templates to close them, so you leave with a starting point for the fixes rather than just a list of them.
We'll start with an intake conversation, up to 60 minutes, to get context on your board. Upon completion of the engagement, you'll receive:
- A review of your existing governing documents against best practice
- A prioritized checklist of the missing and outdated policies and procedures we find
- Best-practice policy templates for the specific gaps we identify
- A 30-minute findings call where we walk you through the checklist and answer your questions
Our review provides recommendations on what should be changed or revised and provides you templates for the common gaps. If you’d prefer custom-drafted policies written and tailored to your organization, they can be scoped on their own or folded into a Board Foundations or The Board Build™ engagement.
investment details
$300
Invoiced at booking.
Typical turnaround is one to two weeks, depending on how quickly an intake conversation can be scheduled.
what we do, and what we don't
Where Our Work Ends
We provide a best-practice starting point, not legal advice.
Every template and document we provide reflects general best practice in nonprofit board governance. It is not a substitute for legal, financial, or other professional advice specific to your organization.
For most governance policies, we give you a best-practice template as a starting point, flagged where it should be reviewed by your attorney, accountant, or other professional, if necessary, before you adopt it. True legal instruments, like drafting or amending bylaws, should be handled by your attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are nonprofit board governance documents?
They are the written documents that define board service: a job description covering the role and its fiduciary duties, an expectations document covering what serving on your specific board involves, and an agreement each member signs committing to both.
What documents should every nonprofit board have?
At minimum: current board member job descriptions, written expectations, signed member agreements, committee charters, and bylaws reviewed within the last few years.
What is included in a board member agreement?
The member's commitment to the role and expectations in signed form: meeting attendance, preparation, committee service, fundraising participation, conflict-of-interest disclosure, communication norms, and confidentiality.
Can existing documents be reviewed instead of rewritten?
Yes, and for many boards that is the right starting point. The $850 review measures your existing documents against best practice and tells you what to fix first. We'll also provide templates for the gaps. Full customization is recommended if your documents are missing entirely or they no longer fit how the board operates.
How often should we review our governance documents?
Review them whenever something significant changes: a new executive director, new board officers, or a shift in how committees are structured. Give them a full look every two to three years even if nothing has changed. You don't need a formal process: when board members re-sign their agreements each year, take ten minutes to review whether the documents still describe how the board actually operates.
Not sure what makes sense for your board?
What's next
Where the Documents Lead
A document review often surfaces more than a missing policy. Seeing role expectations revised and in writing can bring the question of board composition into focus. When it does, this work folds naturally into a Board Foundations or The Board Build™ engagement, the next step when you’re ready for it.
Board Foundations: A 3-month focused engagement on one or two priority areas the Board Health Check surfaces.
The Board Build™: A 6-month flagship engagement built around the full picture of governance health.