Board Evaluation – It’s a Great Way to Engage your Board!

How can I get my board engaged? It’s a question I hear frequently from nonprofit executives. To quote Stephen Covey “accountability breeds response-ability.” In other words, does your board know what their work is and do they know how to be accountable for their work? A great tool and opportunity for defining responsibilities is to craft a well -thought -out board evaluation.

In our June Coffee Cup Conversation, we discussed the following approach to board self-evaluation:
• Creating a culture on the board that embraces an evaluation process
• Crafting the right assessment tool
• Using the findings from the evaluation to create an action plan for the board

If the board has never conducted an evaluation, spend some time educating board members about the importance of holding each other accountable for their work. Establish trust among the board by sharing a how the results can be used and why it’s important for board members to look at their work and performance as a team. Use the research from BoardSource’s “Leading with Intent” report. Their findings clearly show that board performance is significantly improved when boards self-assess their own performance within a 3 year time frame.

Your board may want to consider utilizing an outside facilitator who can help you craft the questions and deliver the survey and share the results with the board independently of staff or a board member. There are also examples of board surveys that can be deployed electronically using a tool such as Survey Monkey, and the results collected by the designated board member or staff. Whichever method you choose, you should craft meaningful questions customized for your organization. Be sure to include open-ended questions.
Share and use the results with board and staff to craft an action plan for the board going forward. What were the board’s strengths and how would you make sure those strengths continue to be reinforced? What were the areas of needed improvement and what is your board willing to do address deficiencies. How will they measure and monitor improvement? This can be incorporated in the strategic planning process or used as part of an annual retreat activity.

Creating and following a board action plan based on their evaluation will increase their level of engagement and give them a framework for accountability and response-ability!

-Debra Box, SKC Executive Director


About the Author


Support KC


For the benefit of the nonprofit sector everywhere, we wanted to provide resources for ways we can continue to operate and grow within this era. And once social distancing begins to fade, what lessons can we take from this to improve our operations permanently. Come back often for more updates.

Accounting & Fiscal Management

  • Structure general ledger, chart of accounts, setup assistance
  • Monthly accounting support: accounts payable, accounts receivable, deposits and receipts, bank reconciliation
  • Payroll preparation
  • Preparation of management reports
  • Financial report preparation for board meetings
  • Grant tracking and reporting
  • Preparation of IRS Form 990
  • Preparation of annual 1099’s
  • Preparation of schedules for independent audit, assistance with audit completion
  • Cleanup of past accounting records
  • Budget preparation assistance, reporting and analysis
  • QuickBooks training

Governance & Strategy Development

  • Governance training
  • Executive mentoring and coaching
  • Board retreat facilitation
  • Strategic planning documents
  • Outcomes and impact measurement and reporting
  • Survey assistance

Database Management

  • Database design and development
  • Gift and demographic data entry
  • Donor acknowledgement letters
  • Import and export of data; mail merges; exports to mail house
  • Data and donor analysis
  • Integration with accounting systems, fund development and social media activities
  • Database training
  • Ongoing support and technical assistance

Fund Development

  • Create annual fund development plan
  • Fund development plan audits
  • Board Training
  • Capital campaigns
  • Grant management: research, writing and reporting
  • Major gifts and planned giving
  • Special event planning and support
  • Annual fund drives
  • Annual appeal mailings