Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board

Ken Burnett, The White Lion Press Limited.
Published 2006. £9.95+postage and packing
(for discounts on bulk orders please see order form).
Softback, 83 pages. ISBN 0-9518971-8-7.

When Warren Maxwell suddenly finds himself propelled into accepting the chair of the medium-sized voluntary organisation on whose board he serves, he has to think and act fast. How can he stop his board from sinking into irrelevance? How can he ensure that his board becomes a beacon of best behaviour, a paragon of all that’s excellent in nonprofit governance?

Warren decides there’s only one way and that’s to uncover and learn as quickly as possible what it takes to build a volunteer board that’s truly effective. Join Warren on his brief yet enlightening quest as he sets out to expose the shortcomings of too strong and too weak boards and so reveals the secrets of what makes an inspiring, balanced and highly effective volunteer board.

For most voluntary organisations identifying, recruiting and developing a truly effective board remains a wonderful but usually distant and elusive dream. This small book has been written for all board members and nonprofit staff whose job it is to deal with ‘the board’. Its purpose is to help any board to do its important job better.

Online articles
Board membership with purpose and fun
A process for a formal governance review and evaluation