How often does your board and ED explicitly revisit shared goals? • Annually • Quarterly • Only during planning cycles • Not formally • Unsure What would improve alignment in your organization? We'd love to hear from you!

In your organization, how clear is the boundary between governance and management? Be honest. - Crystal clear - Mostly clear but occasionally blurry - Frequently confusing - Depends on the situation If you’re comfortable, share one example where the line felt unclear.

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 📅 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟲, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 ⏰ 𝟭:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠 𝗘𝗧 ⏱ 𝟰𝟱 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 🎟 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 👉 Register Now! Strong nonprofit organizations are built on strong relationships between the 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗘𝗢, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. Yet many board leaders struggle with questions like: • Are we being supportive or stepping into management? • How do we raise concerns without damaging trust? • Are roles and expectations truly clear, or just assumed? • How do we partner more effectively during change, growth, or challenge? When the board–ED relationship isn’t aligned, even well-intentioned boards can create friction, confusion, or missed opportunities for impact. That’s why we’re hosting this 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 focused on what actually helps boards and executive leaders work together well. 👥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 This session is especially valuable if you are: • A current nonprofit board member • A board chair, officer, or committee lead • Working closely with an ED or CEO • Navigating growth, transition, or change within your organization • Interested in strengthening collaboration and communication at the leadership level Whether you’re new to board service or deeply experienced, this conversation will meet you where you are. 🎯 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨’𝗟𝗟 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡 By the end of the session, you’ll: • Learn practical strategies to 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 between the board and ED/CEO • Gain clarity on 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 • Hear how other boards navigate trust, tension, and alignment in real situations • Walk away with 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆, regardless of your organization’s size or stage 🧭 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 This is 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 and 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. This is a 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 where board members learn from one another’s experiences. The session will include: • Brief framing to set context

𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗨𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 What a great session. Thank you to everyone who joined us live! 🎉 The energy, honesty, and generosity in the conversation made this one especially fun and impactful. If you were there, you already know this wasn’t a presentation-heavy session. It was a 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹, 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 with thoughtful insights and a strong breakout discussion that sparked practical ideas many people said they want to take back to their boards. If you couldn’t join us live, here’s a snapshot of what you missed 👇 💬 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 Participants shared real-world challenges and ideas around onboarding, including: • How to define success for new board members in the first 6 months • The importance of clarity around expectations early on • Ways to help board members connect with staff and the mission beyond meetings • Thoughtful discussion about peer mentors or board buddies, what works and where it can go wrong • Recognition that onboarding looks very different depending on the stage of the organization, start-up versus large, established nonprofit One participant summed it up perfectly: ❝ ┃ “I love the mid-year check-in. It sets the stage for ongoing engagement and growth.” ❞ 🔥 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 While not everything shows up in the chat, the breakout rooms sparked some of the strongest discussion of the session. Members shared: • Practical ways they’ve handled attendance, accountability, and engagement challenges • How empathy and accountability can, and should, coexist • Ideas for involving board members early without overwhelming staff or leadership Several attendees shared afterward that they’d love more time in group discussion, a great signal for future sessions. 📌 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 A few themes rose to the top: • Onboarding isn’t a moment. It’s a process. • Clear expectations early prevent frustration later • Engagement grows when board members understand how they add value • There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Context matters.

We've just added a comprehensive Executive Summary of our recent onboarding event to the Classroom. This summary was created so you can: - Revisit the key ideas and takeaways from the session - Share highlights with fellow board members who weren’t able to attend - Use it as a conversation starter with your board chair or governance committee The summary integrates insights from the presentation and the peer discussion, with practical guidance boards can apply right away. 👉 You’ll find it now in the Classroom alongside the slide deck. The presentation is also here attached.