Board Assessment for Nonprofit Organizations
The board of directors is a critical component of a nonprofit organization. Because new members
join the board and others rotate off, it is important for the executive director and board chair to
continually monitor the expectations of the board and ensure that the Board is aligned to the
mission and vision of the organization.
This Topic of the Month addresses how a board assessment can be used to evaluate the
effectiveness of both individual board members and the board as a group in order to strengthen
your board’s performance.
When Should You Conduct a Board Assessment?
Cathedral recommends using a board assessment as a continuous best practice. Since a board is
a dynamic entity that does not meet more than a few times a year, implementing a board
assessment once a year or every other year can help establish the standard of evaluating
performance, preparing for the future, and measuring progress on goals. In addition, because of
the ever-changing composition of the board, it is important to make sure the expectations of board
members are aligned with those of the executive director and staff. Lastly, feedback received will
outline how each board member perceives his/her role and identify priorities for board activities
going forward.
If the same (or similar) assessment is used on an on-going basis, it will allow the organization to
measure growth in the effectiveness of the board and the development of organizational systems
and structures that support board work
A board assessment can also be particularly useful during times of significant change in a nonprofit
organization. Some of these may include:
1. Appointment of a new executive director and/or board chair.
2. Development of a strategic plan.
3. Major change in programming, funding or strategy.
In addition, a board assessment can be a good way to gather board member’s perspectives prior
to a board retreat or annual planning session.
Assessment Format
While the assessment process should not be burdensome, it is important to include enough
questions that will structure the feedback provide by board members in a meaningful way. A typical
board assessment will have three sections:
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1. Assessment of performance of the board on its core responsibilities.
2. Assessment of key board responsibilities for the next 1-2 years.
3. Assessment of the nonprofit’s systems and structure as they relate to supporting the work
of the board.
Board members are busy, so it is important to keep assessment questions short and to the point.
We also recommend using three choices on the survey, which forces responders to indicate if they
are positive, negative or neutral about a specific issue. As a reminder to keep the form as simple
as possible, if you use acronyms or other terms that may not be familiar to all board members,
make sure you use a separate handout with these commonly-used terms.
Current Performance of the Board
The first section of the assessment should ask board members to assess their current performance
on the core functions and expectations of the board. These may include activities such as
overseeing financial performance, participating in fundraising, clarifying the organization’s mission
and vision and improving board performance. If your organization has a job description for a board
member, these specific responsibilities should also be incorporated into this first section of the
board assessment.
Sample Assessment Questions*:
Key Responsibilities for the Next 1-2 Years
Next, the assessment should ask board members to reflect on the short-term future of the
organization (1-2 years) and rank the importance of key board responsibilities. Most of these
responsibilities will be the same as in the first section. An organization may want to add any new
strategic priorities, such as increasing evaluation of programs, increasing marketing and PR,
building the organization’s reputation in the community, or transitioning from a hands-on working
board to a policy board.
This part of the assessment is critical, because it will help the board prioritize its activities over the
coming year to best meet the needs of the organization.
1
The Board Self Assessment Tool- Short Form as provided by McKinsey & Company was utilized as a foundation for all sample
questions: http://www.prolifica.org/uploads/Board_self_assessment_short.pdf.
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Sample Assessment Questions:
Organizational Systems and Structures
Finally, board members need to assess how the internal systems and structure of the organization
are helping them fulfill their responsibilities. This includes issues such as board size, composition
and nominating process. For example, if the organization is relying on the board to provide
technical expertise on investments but no one on the board has any experience in investing, then
that would be identified as a structural problem that can be fixed – you need to find a board
member with expertise in this area.
The functioning of the board meeting can also be assessed at this time. This includes issues such
as whether or board agendas and materials provided in advance of meetings and the over-all
efficiency and effectiveness of board and committee meetings.
Sample Assessment Questions:
Logistics of the Assessment
Now that you have created an assessment, the board chair should send the assessment to the
board members via email or snail mail. This should be provided alongside a cover note from the
board chair that explains the importance of the assessment and that the results will be reviewed by
the entire board. The cover note should include deadline of approximately 5-10 days and where to
send the assessment when completed. The executive director or the board chair should decide
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who will follow up with board members who do not complete the assessment within that timeframe.
Cathedral also recommends having the executive director and 1-2 staff members complete the
assessment as well. This can help gauge the relationship between the board of directors and key
staff as well as point out any differences in strategic vision or assessment of systems.
Reviewing Results
The results of the assessment can be used to facilitate a discussion among board members
around the governance activities that will result in the greatest benefit for the organization. We
recommend the following process to evaluate the data received:
1. Compile the results and review them for consistency. Identify questions that have a wide
range of responses and highlight these as potential issues to discuss. For example, if you
have 5 board member who “disagree” that board size is appropriate, 5 who “strongly agree”
and 2 staff who “somewhat agree,” there needs to be a discussion in which the “disagrees”
can explain to the “strongly agrees” why they feel the board composition is not appropriate.
In facilitating conversations like this, it is important to focus participants on solutions that are
beneficial to the organization, and it is the role of the board chair and executive director to
provide structure and guidance around this process.
2. Look for areas of alignment. In general, we find that the typical organization has significant
alignment on 60-75% of the assessment questions. This means that while one or two
people may answer differently than the others, there is a clear majority who responds in
one way.
3. Review the results for outliers. Is there one board member who is responding with very
different answers than anyone else? Does one person have a particular issue over which
they are especially passionate? It can be helpful for the board chair or executive director to
follow up individually with these board members to get additional feedback and clarification
on their responses.
4. The board chair and executive director should review the results. It is important for the
executive director and board chair to be unified on the report and recommendations they
present to the board. Cathedral also recommends limiting the viewing of all responses to
the executive director and board chair to ensure that the opinions of individual board
members remain confidential.
5. Executive director and board chair present a summary of the data to the entire board of
directors. We do not recommend distributing all results, as people can get distracted trying
to determine each person’s response to specific questions, and it is important to maintain
the confidentiality of individual responses.
a. The summary report should highlight 5 areas of alignment that are important, such
as:
We all agree that our board composition is improving, but we still need a
few younger members.
Clarification of vision needs to be one of our priorities for the coming year.
We all feel that board meetings are effectively run.
b. A few key areas of disagreement should be summarized, such as:
There was split opinion over whether or not the board size was
appropriate. Some felt that it was much too small while others felt that the
current size allows us to efficiently make decisions.
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Based on survey results, it was evident that we do not all have a clear
understanding of staff vs. board roles.
6. Facilitate a conversation on how to overcome some the areas of disagreement and build on
the areas of alignment. Again, these should ultimately tie back into the organization’s
strategic plan and fulfillment of its mission.
Again, Cathedral recommends this process a s a continuous best practice. Building an
assessment into your regular board strategy can help strengthen your organization’s capacity and
ensure that your board is equipped to advance your organization’s mission and strategic priorities.
Additional Information
1. Sample nonprofit assessment tools are part of the Nonprofit Resource Center’s offerings:
http://www.nprcenter.org/resource/evaluating-board
2. A variety of articles and resources on the topic of board assessment are listed on the
National Council of Nonprofit’s website: http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/node/5677
Kimberly Reeve is a Managing Director and Michelle Fitzgerald is a former Senior Associate in
the New York Office of Cathedral Consulting Group, LLC.
For more information, please visit Cathedral Consulting Group LLC online at
www.cathedralconsulting.com or contact us at info@cathedralconsulting.com.
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