Sample of a Board of Directors Committee Work Plan
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2008.
Adapted from the Field
Guide to Developing and Operating Your Nonprofit Board of Directors.
One of the best ways to ensure effective board committees is through use of a committee work plan. The plan specifies goals for the committee, strategies to meet the goals and timelines for completion of the goals. The goals of the committee should be closely aligned with achieving the strategic goals determined during strategic planning. Essentially, the work plans specify the operational goals of the committee for the year.
A work plan is the plan that each Board committee and relevant staff members reference to guide completion of their portion of the organization's strategic plan, e.g., the Finance Committee works from Finance work plan, Marketing Committee from a Marketing work plan, etc. The plan references the related goal(s) from the strategic plan. Work plans include objectives that, in total, implement the respective strategy. For example, the following work plan describes two strategies, 3.1 and 3.2, which, together, meet Goal 3 from the strategic plan. Each of the two strategies has five objectives, including 1.1 to 1.5. (See Strategic Planning.)
The following sample represents one example of the format and content of a work plan. This sample should be customized to the particular culture and purpose of the organization.
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| Strategy 3.1: Develop Strategic Plan | ||||||
| 3.1.1. recruit consultant help |
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| 3.1.2 planning with chief executive |
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| 3.1.3 draft first version of strategic plan |
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| 3.1.4 board review of plan |
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| 3.1.5 obtain board approval of plan |
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Strategy 3.2: Implement
Strategic Plan Responsibility: Board |
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| 3.2.1. Reach strategic goal #1 |
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| 3.2.2 Reach strategic goal #2 |
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| 3.2.3 Reach strategic goal #3 |
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| 3.2.4 Reach strategic goal #4 |
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| 3.2.5 celebration! |
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Return to Free Complete Toolkit for Boards
For the Category of Boards of Directors:
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
For-Profit ("Corporate") Boards of Directors
For-Profit ("Corporate") Boards of Directors
The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.
Nonprofit Boards of Directors
Field Guide to Developing and Operating Your Nonprofit Board of Directors
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to organize, operate and sustain high-quality nonprofit Boards. Includes roles and responsibilities, how to get the best members and also how to train and organize them, ensuring high-quality meetings, evaluating Boards, and much more! Includes guidelines to improve a Board that is struggling and also guidelines to evaluate and/or replace the Executive Director. Many materials in this Library's topic about Boards are adapted from this book.
Field
Guide to Leadership and Supervision With Nonprofit Staff
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides step-by-step, highly practical guidelines to recruit, utilize and evaluate the best staff members for your nonprofit. Includes guidelines to effectively lead yourself (as Board member or staff member), other individuals, groups and organizations. Includes guidelines to avoid burnout -- a very common problem among nonprofit staff. Many materials in this Library's topic about staffing are adapted from this book.
Field
Guide to Consulting and Organizational Development With Noprofits
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Provides complete, step-by-step guidelines to identify complex issues in nonprofit organizations and successfully resolve each of them. This book is also helpful to organizations that are doing fine now, but want to evolve to the next level of performance. This is one of the truly comprehensive, yet practical, books about this complex subject! Includes online forms that can be downloaded. Many materials in this Library's topic about guiding change are adapted from this comprehensive book.
Field
Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation
- by Carter McNamara, published by Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Step-by-step guidelines to customize and facilitate planners to implement the best strategic planning process to suit the particular nature and needs of their nonprofit. This is one of the few books, if any, that explains how to actually facilitate planning. Includes many online forms that can be downloaded and used by planners. Many materials in this Library's topic about strategic planning are adapted from this book.
