Service
Board Assessment
An honest, benchmarked read on how your board governs, gives, and opens doors, and a practical path to the board your mission deserves.
Every strong fundraising program sits on a board question
Campaigns stall, plans underperform, and executive directors burn out for the same quiet reason: the board's role in fundraising was never designed, only hoped for. An assessment replaces that hope with a clear picture of where your board is strong, where it's stuck, and what to do about it.
We use a leading assessment framework trusted by major institutions, adapted to the realities of fundraising boards, and we pair the scores with confidential conversations that surface what surveys alone never catch.
What we assess
- Governance fundamentals: clarity of mission and strategy, meeting quality, committee structure, and the board-versus-staff line.
- Composition and recruitment: whether the board you have matches the board the next five years require.
- Personal giving: participation, patterns, and whether the board's own generosity sets the standard donors look for.
- Fundraising engagement: who opens doors, who thanks donors, who would solicit with training, and who never will (and how to use every one of them anyway).
- Culture of philanthropy: whether fundraising is treated as the development office's chore or the whole organization's work.
How it works
Full-board survey
Every member scores the board against benchmark dimensions, anonymously, so the results reflect the room and not the loudest voices.
Confidential interviews
Officers, the executive, and selected members. This is where the real dynamics show up.
Findings and facilitated session
We present the scores and themes to the full board and facilitate the conversation boards rarely have on their own, respectfully and without ambush.
Improvement roadmap
Specific commitments with owners and dates, including a fundraising engagement menu that gives every member a real role, from hosting and thanking to making asks.
Is your board an asset or an audience?
Describe your board honestly for 30 minutes. We've served on boards, reported to them, and rebuilt them, and we'll tell you what we hear.