Do your Board meetings have those "same old agenda" blues?
Do issues get discussed without any resolution? Are your directors
torn between current operational decisions and future organizational
planning? Does the future get short shrift?
All types of nonprofits can benefit from a Board retreat, not just
the ones with line item in their budgets for such an expense. The
newly created civic organization, the established social-service
agency, the revived arts group, the restructured foundation - they
all can identify reasons for their Boards to spend a day together.
Purpose
Why retreat? Several reasonable goals have emerged from our experience
in facilitating hundreds of Board retreats.
- To conduct a Board orientation. Thoroughly introduce
the Board to each other, and train them in their roles, responsibilities
liabilities, and expectations.
- To evaluate the past and plan for the future. Assess
organizational strengths and weaknesses, affirm your mission,
and determine the future's goals and objectives.
- To discuss an evaluative report or management audit.
Invite the consultant or report's author to present findings,
so that you can discuss them and decide on a plan for implementing
them.
- To determine a vision. Often as a prelude to strategic
planning, a Board needs to identify tomorrow's threats and opportunities.
An examination of the environment ahead should precede a detailed
blueprint for the organization's future.
- To resolve a conflict. However, the retreat itself should
not be the controversy!
If you've decided to retreat, then there are a number of factors
to consider. If the retreat is not merely a two-hour addition to
the regular Board meeting, it needs to be carefully planned. Consider
your retreat as an internal special event and organize it thoroughly
as you would your annual benefit.
... to be continued ...
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Donors Forum of Chicago,
Chicago - Illinois
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