BLI Module Resources
2026 Cohort #1 (Ventura County) - Board Leadership Institute
WELCOME LETTER
WHAT TO EXPECT & IMPORTANT DATES
ZOOM LOG-IN INSTRUCTIONS
AGENDA
BLI Team Roadmap
BLI LEAD FACILITATOR BIOS
2026 COHORT #1 (Ventura County) Contact Roster
2026 Cohort #1 (Ventura County) Mission matrix
Module Overview & Agendas
Powerpoint Slides - Session I
Powerpoint Slides - Session 2
Module Case Studies
Community Guidelines / Meeting Agreements
About our Sector
2025 STATE OF THE REGION REPORT
About the Cohorts
2026 COHORT 1 (VENTURA COUNTY) CONTACT ROSTER
2026 Cohort 1 (ventura County) MISSION MATRIX
Resource Materials
BASIC BOARD OBLIGATIONS & FUNCTIONS
- The California Attorney General's Guide for Charities
- Guide for Charities Webinar
- What Board Service Entails (BoardSource)
- The 3 Duties of Care
- 10 Basic Board Responsibilities
- Nonprofit Lifecycle
BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE BOARD
- Board Development Matrix
- Board Recruitment Matrix
- Sample Board Member Agreement
- Sample Board member Agreements with Give & Get
- Board Orientation Checklist
- Table of Contents for a Board Handbook
- BoardSource: What Goes Into A Board Manual?
- Committee Structure
- Sample Board Evaluation
- Sample Advisory Council Invitation
- Board of Directors Calendar
- Board Profile Worksheet
- Sample Board Officer & Committee Descriptions
- Onboarding New Nonprofit Board Members (NonprofitReady.org)
- Five-Step Guide To Onboarding New Board Members
- Board Orientation (National Council of Nonprofits)
- Guide To A Purpose-Driven Board (BoardSource)
KEEPING THE BOARD ENGAGED
- Strategic Board Agenda Sample
- Consent Agenda
- Effective Meetings - 10 Tips
- The POP model
- Keirsey Temperament Sorter
- Decision-making Methods
- Sample Board Evaluation
- AAA model
- Carver Model for Nonprofit Board Bovernance
STRATEGIC RECRUITMENT
- Blue Avocado - Ditch Your Board Composition Matrix
- Blue Avocado - Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee for your Board
- BoardSource - CEOs Dos and Don'ts
- Boardsource - Perils of Groupthink
- Board Recruitment Matrix
- Board Development Matrix: The Pros and Cons
- Board Composition Matrix
- Board Orientation Template
- Board Orientation Checklist
- Template for a Great Board Orientation (Joan Garry)
- Board Agreement Contract
- Board Self-Evaluation
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION
- Building Boards for 21st Century Nonprofits (CNL 2018 Study)
- The Impact of Diversity: Understanding How Nonprofit Diversity Affects Philanthropy, Leadership and Board Engagement
- Awake to Woke to Work: Building a Race Equity Culture
- Leading with Intent, 2017 National Index of Nonprofit Board Practices
- Taking Action on Board Diversity: 5 Questions to Get You Started
- Beyond Political Correctness: Building a Diverse Board
- Different is Better – Why Diversity Matters in the Boardroom
-
TED Talk: How to Recognize Your White Privilege, Peggy McIntosh
- White Privelege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack
- TED Talk: How Racial Bias Works, Jennifer L. Eberhardt
- Eight Ways to Make Racial Justice Part of Your Organizational Culture
- For Our White Friends Desiring to be Allies
- Operationalizing Racial Justice in Nonprofit Organizations
- Building an Inclusive Culture: Spreading and embedding an equity lens at the Bush Foundation
- Webinar Recording: Tips & Tools for Building a Diverse Board Virtually
BoardEffect
POWER AND PRIVILEGE
- Resources on Power and Privilege
- Civic Love Toolkit
- Addressing Privilege Within Your Organization
- The High Cost of Power Problems in the Workplace, Diamond Leadership
- Making Change Happen: Power, Just Associates
- Leading with Intent: Reviewing the State of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Nonprofit Boards. BoardSource, 2021
- Four Priniples of Purpose-Driven Leadership (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
- Sphere of Influence Worksheet
- Begin with Trust, Harvard Business Review
- Extreme Negotiations, Harvard Business Review
- How to Close the Gender Gap, Harvard Business Review
- Strategic Planning Like a Futurist, Harvard Business Review
- What Makes a Leader, Harvard Business Review
NONPROFIT ADVOCACY & LOBBYING
- Bolder Advocacy Program Yes, Nonprofits, You can Lobby
Recommended Reading
Great Meetings! Great Results by Dee Kelsey and Pam Plumb
The 5 Life Stages of Nonprofit Organizations by Judith Sharken Simon
Module Overview & Agenda
Powerpoint Slides - Session 1
Powerpoint Slides - Session 2
Session I Case Study
Session I Handout - Worksheet
Session II Handout - Worksheet
Group Output - Effective Partnership Worksheet
Resource Materials
GOVERNANCE VS. MANAGEMENT
- The Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership (BoardSource)
- Board Passages: Three Stages in a Nonprofit Board’s Lifecycle
- The Roles and Responsibilities of the Board Chair and Executive Director by Joan Garry
Apply to download the “Who Decides” Chart PDF - The Governance/Support Model for Nonprofit Boards
- Sample Agenda for a Weekly Board Chair/CEO Meeting
- Effective Board Chair-ED Relationships
- Board-Staff Roles in Governance
- HBR: The Sorry State of Nonprofit Boards
- SSIR: Spotting and Fixing Dysfunctional Nonprofit Boards
- The 4Ws (and an H) of Board Self Assessment (BoardSource)
- When Boards Look the Other Way: Power, Accountability & the Risk of Toxic Board-ED Relations (LinkedIn)
COMMUNICATION
- Giving and Receiving Criticism
- Handling Conflict During Board Meetings
- 20 Solutions for Navigating Nonprofit Board Conflict
- Resolving Board Conflicts: Marion Peters Angelica
- TED Talk: Five Ways to Listen Better: Julian Treasure
- Book: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
- Book: Difficult Conversations
CHIEF EXECUTIVE EVALUATION
- Evaluating the Executive Director
- Executive Director Evaluation Survey Form: Print out MS Word Doc linked at end
LEADERSHIP SUCCESSION
RESILIENCY AND BURNOUT
- Supporting Resiliency and Preventing Burnout in Nonprofits (McKinsey & Co)
- Avoiding Burnout and Preserving Movement Leadership (Nonprofit Quarterly)
- Nonprofit Burnout (Donorbox)
- Why Nonprofits Are Burned Out and Ways To Beat (Candid)
- From Burnout to Balance: Transforming the Nonprofit Workplace for Sustainable Success (LinkedIn)
HEARTMATH
Module Overview
Powerpoint Slides - Session I
Powerpoint Slides - Session II
Breakout Discussion Questions - Module 3a
Board Recruitment Roadmap
SOAR Handout
Resource Materials
STRATEGIC PLANNING
- BoardSource - Strategic Planning: Is You Board Ready
- BoardSource - Charting a New Path Forward
- BridgeSpan - Strategic Planning
- BoardSource - 5 Phases of Strategic Planning
- HBR - How to Do Strategic Planning Like a Futurist
STRATEGIC RECRUITMENT
- Blue Avocado - Ditch Your Board Composition Matrix
- Blue Avocado - Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee for your Board
- BoardSource - CEOs Dos and Don'ts
- Boardsource - Perils of Groupthink
- Board Recruitment Matrix
- Board Development Matrix: The Pros and Cons
- Board Composition Matrix
- Board Orientation Template
- Board Orientation Checklist
- Board Agreement Contract
- Board Self-Evaluation
Additional Resource Materials
- (Book Recommendation): "Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations" by Michael Allison and Jude Kaye
- (Book Recommendation): "The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution - Real Time Strategic Planning in a Rapid Response World" by David La Piana
- (Book Recommendation): "Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability"by Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka and Steve Zimmerman
- (Book Recommendation): "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works" by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin
- (Book Recommendation): "Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change" by William Bridges and Susan Bridges
- (Book Recommendation): "The Thin Book of SOAR: Creating Strategy the Inspires Innovation and Engagement" by Jacqueline M. Stavros and Gina Hirichs
- (Book Recommendation): "Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Why Business Thinking is Not the Answer" by Jim Collins
- “Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Planning for Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders” by TCC Group
- “Ten Keys – Ten Years Later” by TCC Group
- “The Strategic Plan is Dead. Long Live Strategy.” by Dana O’Donovan and Noah Rimland Flower. Stanford Social Innovation Review:
- “Strategic Planning: Failures and Alternatives” by Jan Masaoka
- “Alternatives to Strategic Planning” by Jan Masaoka
- “Strategic Planning, Taught by a Two-Year-Old” by Suzanne Elliott
Module Overview
Powerpoint Slides - Session I
Powerpoint Slides - Session II
Session Handouts
Resource Materials
- The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong. Dan Palotta TED Talk
- Nonprofit Financial Management by David Greco from Nonprofit Management 101 textbook
- The Sustainability Mindset. Jeanne Bell & Steve Zimmerman. All the worksheets are downloadable from this site.
- Who Handles the Finances BoardSource
- Financial Fundamentals Self Assessment Nonprofit Finance Fund
- Are You Ready for the FASB Changes? FMA Fiscal Strength for Nonprofits
- Resources for Financial Management. The Wallace Foundation
-
Strong Nonprofits (www.StrongNonprofits.org) from the Wallace Foundation and Fiscal Management Associations provides a wealth of free financial tools and resources of financial management.
-
Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation (www.NonprofitReady.org) – a library of free online training on everything finance to governance to human resources.
-
Propel Nonprofits (formerly Nonprofit Assistance Fund) (www.propelnonprofits.org) provides training, tools and a great resource library on financial health and sustainability.
-
Fiscal Management Associates (www.fmaonline.net) provides consulting and advisory services around accounting and fiscal management as well as outsource financial management services.
-
Nonprofit Finance Fund (www.nff.org) provides financial consulting services and lending to nonprofit organization across the country.
-
National Council of Nonprofits (www.councilofnonprofits.org/) is a national advocate for the nonprofit sector and is leading the effort to have government increase overhead rates. Great tools, resources and research. #OwnYourOwnCosts
-
StrongNonprofits.org
Understanding Audited Financial Statements
Propel Nonprofits
- Income Statement Basics – What’s Behind the Bottom Line: https://youtu.be/-wd39AABPiE
- Balance Sheet Cheat Sheet
- Reporting Financial Information to the Board
- Reading Nonprofit Balance Sheets: https://youtu.be/tW8yiBxRFp8
Board Leadership Institute Program Evaluation:
2026 COHORT #1 (ventura county) CONTACT ROSTER