The Board Meeting Toolkit
Nonprofit Board Meeting Templates
Agenda, Minutes, and Evaluation Templates, in One Kit
Many nonprofit boards send out the same agenda for every meeting, keep minutes that record more than they need to, and never ask whether the meeting was worth the time it took. The Board Meeting Toolkit covers all three: an agenda template that focuses on strategic discussions, a minutes template built around what your board should be recording, and a meeting evaluation that takes two to three minutes to complete at the end of the meeting. Each one comes with a short guide for whoever facilitates the meeting.
An agenda template that prioritizes strategic discussion
A minutes template that helps capture decisions without writing a transcript
A meeting evaluation your board can complete before it leaves the room
A companion guide for each template, written for the board chair or executive director
Download the free toolkit and start using it at your next board meeting.
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The Board Meeting Toolkit
What's Included
Board Meeting Agenda Template and Guide
The agenda template puts governance items first and gives strategic discussion a dedicated block of time.
It includes a consent agenda for routine approvals, a standing place for conflict-of-interest disclosure, and a closing review of action items with owners and due dates.
The guide walks through each section and what belongs in it, and includes a completed sample agenda.
Board Meeting Minutes Template and Guide
The minutes template records what the board decided rather than what everyone said.
It gives every vote a structured motion block, keeps an attendance record, and leaves a place for conflicts disclosed during the meeting.
The guide covers what to include and what to leave out, how to handle executive session, how corrections and approval work at the next meeting, and sample minute entries.
Board Meeting Evaluation Template and Guide
The evaluation is 22 questions your board can answer in two to three minutes before it leaves the room.
Along with the printable template, you’ll receive access to a ready-made Google Form and a Microsoft Form you can copy and start using right away.
The guide explains each question in detail and what to do when a pattern starts to emerge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be on a nonprofit board meeting agenda?
Our recommended agenda includes items such as:
- a conflict-of-interest disclosure
- a consent agenda for routine approvals
- an education moment
- one strategic discussion item
- a review of action items from the last meeting
- a few moments to complete a brief meeting evaluation
Download the Toolkit to get the complete agenda template.
What matters as much as the list is the order. Meetings that open with committee reports tend to spend a disproportionate amount of time on information rather than on decisions.
How detailed should board meeting minutes be?
Minutes should record decisions, not discussion. For each motion, the record shows who moved it, who seconded, and the outcome. You may need to summarize the deliberation in a sentence or two if that context will matter later.
Your bylaws and your state may set additional requirements, so check those or ask your attorney before settling on a format.
Do we have to evaluate every meeting?
A single evaluation won’t tell you much. The value shows up across five or six meetings, when the same question keeps coming back marked Needs Improvement and a pattern begins to emerge.
Our evaluation template should take two to three minutes to complete. We recommend building it into every meeting agenda, compiling the responses in one place, and reviewing them after five to six months of consistent use.
Can we change the templates?
Yes, for your own board's use. A twenty-person governing board and a five-person advisory board don't need identical forms, and the guides flag which pieces are worth keeping if you adapt the rest.
What the license doesn't allow is passing an altered version along to someone else. If you want to share the toolkit with another organization, we ask that you share the link to this page so they can get access to all six files, as well as the most recent updates.
I'm Jeff Smith.
I’ve spent close to twenty years working with nonprofit boards, as a program officer funding them, as an interim executive director reporting to one, and now as a BoardSource Certified Governance Consultant helping them get stronger. I have sat through plenty of board meetings that accomplished little, and read plenty of minutes that were really transcripts of who said what. Very few of those boards ever stopped to ask whether their time together was well spent. I developed this toolkit for board chairs and executive directors who know their meetings could be better but aren't sure how to get there.
ebersmith coaching & consulting is based in Scranton, PA. I work with nonprofits and foundations nationally.
I'm Jeff Smith.
I’ve spent close to twenty years working with nonprofit boards, as a program officer funding them, as an interim executive director reporting to one, and now as a BoardSource Certified Governance Consultant helping them get stronger. I have sat through plenty of board meetings that accomplished little, and read plenty of minutes that were really transcripts of who said what. Very few of those boards ever stopped to ask whether their time together was well spent. I developed this toolkit for board chairs and executive directors who know their meetings could be better but aren't sure how to get there.
ebersmith coaching & consulting is based in Scranton, PA. I work with nonprofits and foundations nationally.