Advancement · Grants & Funding

How engaged is
your board, really?

A yearly self-assessment gives a nonprofit or school foundation board a shared picture of where it is strong and where it is coasting. Tag each item with an area of board work, print the anonymous survey and enter the averages when members have answered. The tool adds giving participation and attendance and names the area to work on first.

Add a board surveyWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Grant writer’s desk, $49 for 60 items.

Board surveys

The worked example is made up: a school foundation board strong on mission and weak on fundraising, a youth arts board with low attendance and a new board in its first year. Saved on this device only.

Loading the board survey form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · Grants & Funding$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per board self-assessment: seats, responses, members who gave and average attendance, each item’s average tagged by area, and five process checks. Prints the anonymous member survey; works out the response rate, averages by area, the strongest and weakest areas, giving participation and attendance; flags giving under 100%, attendance under 75% and items under 3.
Who it is for
Board chairs, governance committees, executive directors and development staff at nonprofits and school foundations.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per survey. Prints the member survey, one year’s results, every year in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Grant writer’s desk ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Grants & Funding space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Write items for each area.
  2. Print or send the survey anonymously.
  3. Add giving and attendance.
  4. Enter each item’s average.
  5. Take the weakest area to the retreat.

Add a board survey

Reading a board self-assessment

A board self-assessment year1Choose the itemsSame core items each year2Collect anonymouslySomeone other than the chair3Ask the executive tooSame items, one more view4Discuss at a retreatThe weakest area first5Set personal goalsOne per member6Repeat next yearAnd compareA board self-assessment year1Choose the itemsSame core items each year2Collect anonymouslySomeone other than the chair3Ask the executive tooSame items, one more view4Discuss at a retreatThe weakest area first5Set personal goalsOne per member6Repeat next yearAnd compare
A self-assessment is only as useful as the conversation it starts.

Five areas of board work

Most governance guides group a board’s job into a few areas: setting mission and strategy, running useful meetings, overseeing finances and the chief executive, raising money and building a healthy board culture. Tagging each item with one area lets the tool average them, so a board can see that it is strong on mission and weak on fundraising, rather than reading a list of scores.

Giving and attendance

Many foundations and major donors ask whether every board member makes a personal gift; the amount matters less than full participation. Attendance below three in four meetings usually means the schedule, the length or the materials need to change, and it is worth asking members directly. Small boards make every response count, so follow up in person with anyone who did not answer.

Sources

  1. BoardSource. Leading with Intent, 2021 national study of nonprofit board practices (boardsource.org).
  2. Ingram, R. T. (2015). Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards, 3rd edition. BoardSource.
  3. National Council of Nonprofits. Board roles and responsibilities, and board self-assessment (councilofnonprofits.org).
  4. Internal Revenue Service. Form 990, Part VI: governance, management and disclosure (irs.gov).

The worked example is made up, including the organizations. The 75% attendance, item-under-3 and one-point thresholds are working rules stated on the page. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.