Board approval dates:

• Created on: 03/01/2024
• Most recent update: 03/01/2024

The board should hold an annual retreat for its own members, designed to provide time for examination and evaluation of institutional mission-related strategies and planning, outside of the regular board meeting schedule, and to allow for review of its own governance activities and policies.

The retreat should allow board members flexible time outside the regular board meeting format to explore and discuss high-level perspectives on institutional function and planning. It should ideally last at least half a day (4 hours), and may be held online or in person. High-level planning should include attention to the structures of and processes of governance, a review of the college’s mission, vision, and values, an assessment of finances, and review of the state of strategic planning goals and ongoing initiatives. Succession planning, board development discussions, onboarding and training of new members are other helpful topics for any retreat agenda. Discussions should include an evaluation of the board’s own functioning.

Nonprofit Board Retreats (boardable.com)

The following information is from: Joan Garry Consulting:

FIVE KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BOARD RETREAT

1. The “WHY” is clear and strategic. When I say “strategic,” I mean it broadly. It could mean that the board really needs to dig into its own makeup – how to transform the board to reflect the changing needs of your organization. Or perhaps there is significant change in the sector that will impact your program strategy. You talk about it some at your regular board meetings, but it demands a deeper dive.

Or maybe you’ve come to a point where you really need to dig into how to diversify your revenue.

There should be something central to the retreat that everyone agrees is important and requires a full conversation.

2. Each board member feels a sense of ownership of the success of the retreat. Every board member should be asked a few key questions ahead of time and the answers should shape the design of the agenda:

• This retreat will be successful for our org if . . .
• This retreat will be successful for me if . . .
• The 3 most important goals for this retreat should be . . .

Share your ideas for possible agenda items that would help us to meet the goals above.

3. The work must come to life at the retreat. There are lots of ways to do this but talking about it is NOT enough. Not during a full day your board members have donated. They need to see it; they need to feel it. It must engage them at an emotional level.

4. The staff must authentically engage and value the input and insights of the board members. One way is to do this is for the staff to tee up an issue and then outline possible paths or raise a series of questions that the board and staff can then grapple with together.

5. The board should leave feeling a real sense of camaraderie with fellow board members. Sorry to break it to you folks but this is where icebreakers and team building comes in. Gotta do it. BUT that doesn’t mean they have to be cheesy.

BONUS: Task a small group of board and staff with follow up from the retreat. Updates should be part of board meeting agendas, perhaps quarterly. These should be real updates with real evidence of momentum.