Run a nonprofit board that governs, not one that only meets
The Nonprofit Board Governance Pack gives chairs, secretaries, treasurers, executive directors and trustees every file for the governance year: roles, recruitment, meetings, conflicts, policies, risk, money, the chief executive and filings.
- A 16-sheet Board Governance Workbook: board register with terms and declarations, skills matrix and gap scoring, calendar, meeting log, actions and resolutions, conflicts, policy, risk and filings registers, evaluation scores and three dashboards
- An 8-sheet Reserves and Board Finance Dashboard for non-finance trustees: funds by type, budget vs actual, cash forecast and months of free reserves
- 5 fillable PDF forms (16 pages): board application and skills, declaration of interests, self-evaluation and governance health check, chief executive appraisal, induction
- A board handbook, board pack and minutes templates, 35 messages and letters, 29 AI prompts, a worked example of a full governance year and a dated country rules sheet
The Nonprofit Board Governance Pack · Bodhih Pro Kits · 261 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do you run an effective nonprofit board?
Keep the board on four questions: what the organisation is for, whether it is on track, whether it is safe and solvent, and who leads. Write roles and delegation down, recruit to a skills gap, send packs a week ahead with a consent agenda, register conflicts, policies, risks and filings, and read reserves in months. The Nonprofit Board Governance Pack from Bodhih Training gives you a file for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Run an Effective Nonprofit Board: Roles, Meetings, Oversight.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Meetings that do not decide
Packs arrive the night before, routine items eat the evening and the budget gets nine minutes at the end. The minutes say 'discussed' and nothing more.
Paperwork nobody can find
Who is on the board, when their term ends, whether they declared an interest, which policies are out of date and when the annual return is due all live in different inboxes.
Money only one person understands
Restricted funds, designated funds and free reserves sound alike. When only the treasurer understands them, the board cannot oversee them.
The same friendly faces
Recruitment by personal network leaves skills gaps and a board that does not reflect the people the organisation serves.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Picture your next board meeting. The pack goes out a week ahead with the governance dashboard on page 2: terms ending soon, declarations missing, overdue actions, policies due, high and rising risks, filings due. Every paper has a cover sheet that says what the board is asked to decide.
As the meeting starts, the routine items pass together on the consent agenda in a few minutes, and the board spends its evening on the decision that matters. When the treasurer reaches the finance item, everyone can read the same page: budget to date, the full-year forecast, restricted funds and months of free reserves against the policy range.
Then imagine the governance year running itself a little more each month: declarations collected in April, the skills audit in June, accounts approved in July, the AGM in September, the appraisal in March, each one on the calendar with an owner.
Whether you start with the board register tonight or the consent agenda at your next meeting, the kit gives you a file for each step, so your board can build the habits one meeting at a time.
20 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Nonprofit Board Governance Pack (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: board governance map
Two-page map: the governance job in twelve steps with the file for each, your first hour, brand it in five minutes, your first week and a 30/60/90-day plan.
Board Governance Workbook
16-sheet governance workbook driven by Settings: board register with terms and declarations, skills matrix and gap scoring, annual board calendar, meeting log with attendance and quorum, actions and resolutions, conflicts register, policy register, risk register, filings calendar, evaluation scores by year and three dashboards.
Reserves and Board Finance Dashboard
8-sheet finance oversight workbook for non-finance trustees: funds by type with restriction warnings, budget vs actual with variance flags and forecast, 12-month cash forecast, months of free reserves against your policy, a one-page board finance summary and twelve questions to ask.
Board member application and skills form
Three-page fillable form for board candidates and existing members: motivation, skills self-rating on the eleven matrix skills, time commitment, eligibility and conflicts, and the nominations committee's notes.
Declaration of interests form
Two-page fillable annual and on-appointment declaration of interests, related parties, gifts and hospitality, with the board secretary's record of how each interest will be managed.
Board self-evaluation and governance health check
5-page fillable form: Part A, an individual self-evaluation with 18 scored statements in six areas plus reflections; Part B, the annual governance health check of 21 items for the chair and secretary.
Chief executive appraisal form
Four-page fillable annual appraisal for the chief executive or executive director: self-review, objectives and evidence, the board's view, development, wellbeing and support, and agreed objectives for next year.
New board member induction checklist
Two-page fillable induction plan for a new trustee or board member: welcome pack, legal and governance basics, finance, safeguarding, people and places, a buddy, and a three-month review.
Board handbook: roles, committees, code of conduct and policy outlines
Brand-ready Word board handbook. Part 1: matters reserved for the board, 7 role descriptions (board member, chair, vice-chair, treasurer, secretary, committee chair, lead for safeguarding), the chief executive relationship, 4 committee terms of reference and a scheme of delegation. Part 2: a one-page board code of conduct (13 commitments), a one-page conflicts of interest policy, a policy register starter of 18 policies and an outline of what each should cover.
Board pack, agenda and minutes templates
Brand-ready Word templates in 13 parts: annual agenda plan, board agenda with consent agenda, paper cover sheet, chief executive, finance, safeguarding and risk reports, minutes with resolutions, resolution wording, written resolution, AGM notice and committee report.
Governance message library
Brand-ready Word library of 35 messages, letters and conversation openers: board recruitment, offer and welcome letters, meeting notices, AGM notice, conflicts, difficult conversations with a board member, the chief executive, funders and regulators, and retirement thanks.
Worked example pack: a youth charity's governance year
One fictional youth charity's governance year, completed: skills audit and gap scores, open recruitment, induction, attendance, an October board pack and cover sheet, a conflict minuted, policy and risk reviews, Q2 finance and reserves, CEO objectives, board evaluation and the AGM.
AI prompt pack for nonprofit boards
29 tool-agnostic prompts grouped by the governance cycle (recruitment, induction, meetings, minutes, conflicts and policies, risk and incidents, finance, chief executive and evaluation, filings), each with what to paste in and what to check.
Governance vs management decision card
One-page decision card: the four board questions and 14 'if this happens' situations showing what the board does and what management does.
Mistakes boards make
One-page card: 20 common governance mistakes and what to do instead.
Numbers that matter: board KPI card
15 governance and finance numbers with plain-words definitions, exact formulas, where each lives in the workbooks and what to do if it moves.
Governance rules by country (October 2026)
Dated orientation sheet: duties, regulators, filing rules and governance codes for England and Wales, the UK code, the US, India, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and others, with official sources to check.
Annual governance cycle calendar
31 dated reminders across a 12-month governance year: declarations, calendar, policy and risk reviews, recruitment, appraisal, evaluation, budget, accounts and AGM. Import, then move dates to your year.
Board governance task board
44 governance tasks with category, owner and month, ready to import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + PDF cheat sheets + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 20 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 63 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar
- Best for
- Small and mid-size nonprofits, charities, NGOs, trusts, Section 8 companies and social enterprises with a formal board
The Board That Met but Did Not Govern
Why boards meet without governing, the twelve-step method and how to use the kit.
What a Board Is For: Governance, Management and the Legal Duties in Plain Words
The four board questions, the duties of care, loyalty and obedience in plain words, and drawing the line between governance and management.
Roles That Make a Board Work: Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Committees and the Chief Executive
Chair, vice-chair, treasurer, secretary, committee chairs, a safeguarding lead and the chief executive, with committees only where they earn their keep.
The Right People: Skills Matrix, Diversity, Recruitment, Induction and Term Limits
A skills matrix with gap scoring, diversity handled respectfully, open recruitment, three-month induction and term limits.
The Governing Document and the Annual Board Calendar
Your governing document in plain words and an annual board calendar built from your financial year.
Meetings That Decide: Agendas, Board Packs, Consent Agendas, Minutes and Quorum
Board packs seven days ahead, cover sheets, consent agendas, quorum, online and hybrid meetings, and minutes that record resolutions.
Conflicts of Interest, Code of Conduct and the Policy Register
Declaring, deciding and recording conflicts and related parties, a one-page code of conduct and a policy register that keeps every policy in date.
Risk, Safeguarding and Serious Incidents
A risk register the board uses, safeguarding as a board duty and a written route for serious incident reporting.
Finance Oversight for Non-Finance Trustees
Five numbers every board member should know, restricted and unrestricted funds, reserves in months, full cost recovery and audit.
Supporting and Appraising the Chief Executive, and Succession
Supporting and appraising the chief executive, emergency and planned succession, and founder transitions.
Evaluation, Filings, Hard Moments and AI in the Boardroom
Board evaluation against a governance code, filings with two owners, difficult board dynamics and AI in the boardroom with a human review rule.
A Board Worth Joining
What a board worth joining looks like after one full cycle.
The Annual Governance Cycle Month by Month
The governance year month by month, with an every-meeting checklist.
Plain-Words Glossary
Plain-words glossary of board and finance terms.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
E-book
- The Nonprofit Board Governance Pack e-book: about 9,900 words, ten chapters, six diagrams, an annual governance cycle and a plain-words glossary
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Board-Governance-Map: the governance job in twelve steps with the file for each, your first hour, brand it in five minutes, your first week and a 30/60/90-day plan
Workbooks
- Board Governance Workbook (16 sheets): start here, settings, board register, skills matrix, skills gaps, board calendar, meeting log, actions and resolutions, conflicts register, policy register, risk register, filings calendar, board evaluation, dashboard, attendance view and risk view
- Reserves and Board Finance Dashboard (8 sheets): start here, settings, funds, budget vs actual, cash flow, reserves, board finance summary and twelve questions for trustees
Forms
- Board member application and skills form (3 pages)
- Declaration of interests form (2 pages)
- Board self-evaluation and governance health check (5 pages)
- Chief executive appraisal form (4 pages)
- New board member induction checklist (2 pages)
Word templates
- Board handbook: matters reserved, 7 role descriptions, 4 committee terms of reference, scheme of delegation, board code of conduct, conflicts of interest policy and a policy register starter of 18 policies with outlines
- Board pack, agenda and minutes templates (13 parts): annual agenda plan, agenda with consent agenda, cover sheet, CEO, finance, safeguarding and risk reports, minutes, resolutions, written resolution, AGM notice, committee report
- Governance message library: 35 messages, letters and conversation openers
- Worked example pack: a youth charity's governance year, completed
- AI prompt pack for nonprofit boards: 29 prompts with what to paste in and what to check
Cheat sheets
- Governance vs management decision card (14 situations)
- Mistakes boards make (20 mistakes and what to do instead)
- Numbers that matter: board KPI card (15 numbers with exact formulas)
- Governance rules by country (dated October 2026)
Calendar and import
- Annual governance cycle calendar (31 reminders, ICS)
- Board governance task board (44 tasks, CSV for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira)
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- Draw and write down the line between governance and management for your board
- Keep every board member's term, declaration, induction and background check in one register
- Score your board's skills gaps and recruit openly against them
- Run meetings with seven-day packs, cover sheets, a consent agenda and minutes that record resolutions
- Declare, manage and record conflicts of interest and related parties
- Keep every policy, risk and filing in date with an owner
- Read the budget, restricted funds and months of free reserves with confidence
- Appraise and support your chief executive and plan succession
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
A taste of Chapter 5
A good meeting has a pack that arrives at least seven days ahead, a cover sheet on every paper saying what the board is asked to decide, routine items taken together on a consent agenda, most of the time on one or two strategic items, and minutes that record decisions, reasons, conflicts and actions. The consent agenda groups routine items that need no discussion, such as approving the last minutes, noting committee minutes and renewing policies with no material change. The board approves them in one resolution. Any member can move an item to the main agenda, without giving a reason. It can give a board back twenty or thirty minutes for real discussion. Quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present for decisions to be valid. It is set in your governing document. If a meeting is not quorate, it can still talk, but decisions made may not be valid: take advice on how to regularise them.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | A board minutes template or a single policy | The whole governance year: roles, people, meetings, conflicts, policies, risk, money, chief executive, evaluation and filings |
| Registers | Separate lists, if any | One workbook with terms, skills, attendance, actions, conflicts, policies, risks and filings, driven by your own settings |
| Finance | Accounts only the treasurer reads | A one-page board finance summary with months of free reserves and twelve questions any trustee can ask |
| Countries | One country's rules presented as universal | Practice that travels, with a dated sheet naming regulators and filings for several countries |
| AI | Not mentioned, or 'let AI write your minutes' | 29 prompts with a human review rule; AI drafts, people decide |
Made for you if…
- Chairs and vice-chairs of nonprofit, charity and NGO boards
- Board secretaries, governance officers and company secretaries
- Executive directors and chief executives who want a stronger board
- Treasurers and finance leads who report to a board
- Founders setting up or renewing a board, including Section 8 companies, trusts and societies
- New trustees and board members who want to understand the job
Probably not for you if…
- Anyone looking for legal advice or a legally valid constitution: templates are starting points to adapt with your adviser
- Informal clubs and associations without a formal board (see the Community Organisers kits)
- Writing grant applications or impact reports (see The Grant Lifecycle Kit and The Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Report Kit)
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
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- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Give your board one place to govern from
Open the Start-here map, set your rules on the Settings sheet and send your next board pack with a consent agenda. Whether you begin with the board register tonight or the reserves dashboard before your next finance item, each file is ready for your next meeting.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use, including within your own organisation with your board, staff and volunteers. Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
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The Nonprofit Board Governance Pack: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkWhat does a nonprofit board actually do?
It answers four questions: what the organisation is for, whether it is on track, whether it is safe and solvent, and who leads it. It does that through strategy, oversight of money and risk, appointing and supporting the chief executive, and looking after its own membership. Day-to-day management belongs to the staff.
Can I use this with my board, staff and volunteers?
Yes. Under the personal licence you can use the templates and workbooks within your own organisation, with your board, staff and volunteers. Company, network and multi-organisation licences are available from solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method is universal: duties, roles, meetings, registers and oversight work the same way almost everywhere. The dated country sheet names regulators and filing rules for England and Wales, the US, India, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and others, correct at October 2026. Laws and deadlines need checking with your regulator and adviser.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is educational governance practice. Templates are starting points to adapt, not legally valid documents. Your governing document, your regulator and local law decide the rules; check your adviser before appointing or removing board members, changing your constitution or reporting to a regulator.
Do I need Excel?
No. The workbooks open in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice, with formulas that work in all three. Forms open in any PDF reader, and the Word templates open in Word or Google Docs.
How do I work out months of reserves?
Take unrestricted general funds, subtract the part tied up in fixed assets to get free reserves, and divide by a month of unrestricted spending (the annual unrestricted budget divided by 12). The Reserves sheet does it for you and compares the result with your policy range.
How do I measure my own starting point as a board member?
Measure your starting point with the AssessAll Board Readiness Assessment, then test your judgement in meetings with Meetings That Decide Things and Ethical Leadership and Judgment. They are separate products on assessall.com.
How do I turn this into a development plan?
Pick the two or three habits from the book that your board most needs, and write each as an if-then plan: 'If a paper has no cover sheet, then it goes to the next meeting.' Jobulary's guide to if-then plans that make habits stick shows how.
Can we use AI to write our minutes?
AI can help draft minutes from notes, in a tool your AI policy approves and without confidential personal data unless the policy allows it. The secretary checks every line and the board approves the minutes. The prompt pack shows what to paste in and what to check.
How is this different from free templates?
Free templates usually cover one document. This kit runs the whole governance year with linked registers, dashboards, forms, letters, a worked example and a book that teaches the method, all driven by your own settings.
How much does The Nonprofit Board Governance Pack cost?
₹999 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $29 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
