Field Guide for Greater Governance

Good governance is a practice, not a checklist. This guide is for board members and executives navigating the real work: asking better questions, holding hard conversations, and building board cultures that can weather the hard things. You’ll get practical frameworks alongside the nuts and bolts of how nonprofits operate at their best. I teach governance at Seattle University, wrote Nonprofit Boards for Dummies, sat on four boards myself, and advised many many more. This is what I wish someone had told me.

This is a living field guide and will be expanded every month with new pieces.

If you are a paid subscriber, as a thank you for helping keep this publication free for all, you also get access to some tools and templates!

⭐ Your First Reads

• The Four Modes of Nonprofit Governance - What stage of maturity is your organization at?

• The Myth of ‘Best Practices’

• The Four Pillars of Greater Governance

• Three Practices That Separate Good Boards From Great Ones.

📍Contents:

Board Leadership

• The Four Pillars of Greater Governance
  Ethical, Excellent, Enduring, and Equitable.

• Board Chair Basics: What High-Functioning Board Chairs Do Differently

• Beyond the Basics: 3 Advanced Practices for Every Board Chair

• Annual Practices That Every Board Should Do to Be Effective
  Including self assessment, executive evaluation, and recruitment

• The Root Causes of Board Dysfunction
  And practical fixes you can implement to correct course.

• Dissent is your Duty

Board Structure & Operations

• How Big Should a Board Be?
  Yes, there is a right answer.

• Term Limits Done Right
  If you don’t have term limits, you’re hurting the organization.

• Fix your Boring Board Meetings
  Engagement isn’t rocket science; Tested ways to get your board to lean in.

• Hybrid Meetings are Hurting your Boardroom
  The case for ditching the middle ground — and what good governance actually requires.

• Building Strong Committees
  Create a strong engine using tools like charters and workplans

• How to Write Good Meeting Minutes
  And ensure your organization is protected!

• The Anatomy of a Great Board Meeting (8/23)

Board Recruitment, Onboarding, and Engagement

• The Cohort Model for Board Recruitment
  Recruiting and building your board, one class at a time.

• Board Recruitment 101 for Every Board Member
  What individual board members can do to help with recruitment

• Creating a Board-Meeting Survival Guide for First time Board Members
  Help new directors feel more comfortable and welcome at their first meeting

• Getting Ready for Gen Z in the Board Room
  Everything you need to know about the next generation of leaders

• Board Recruitment in 2026: An Era of Disruption
  What’s changing in 2026 and how to build a board that will keep up with the times

Executive Management & Staff

• Executive Retention Strategies:
  If You Want a CEO Who Stays, Become a Board Worth Staying For.

• Equitable Hiring Tips
  Moving Beyond Performative Diversity in Executive Hiring

• Hiring an Interim
  Conversations to have Before You Hire an Interim Executive

Boards & Fundraising

• Why you probably can’t fundraise your way out of a deficit.

• The Essential Gala Field Guide!
  Board members host their gala — and here’s how to get it right!

Boards & Technology

• No AI Notetakers in the Boardroom, Please!

• AI in the Boardroom: The Non-Negotiables

FAQs & Challenges in Governance

Have a question? Send me an email at Caitlin.Pontrella@gmail.com

• What to Do When a Board Member Applies for a Staff Position