Once you've recruited talented and passionate people to serve on your CHC's Board of Directors, you'll want to give them every tool they need to be successful and efficient in guiding the organization. The following tips and resources will help you prepare new members for their duties as Directors, and to make their experiences on your board as rewarding as possible.

Please click or scroll down for:
Orienting Board Members
Retaining Board Members


ORIENTING HEALTH CENTER BOARD MEMBERS

Orientation is vital!
All new board members should be oriented with a positive attitude and clear expectations. An effective orientation will make sure these new members are as prepared as possible for their new roles, and will incorporate a face-to-face component as well as a notebook of important documents. This process should be pre-planned and documented so everyone performing board member orientations covers the same material.

The face-to-face portion of orientation might include:

• How a non-profit board works, including the special characteristics of:
  
  • A Community Health Center (see the About CHCs and CHC Terms & Acronyms pages for useful information)
  • A Community Health Center's Board of Directors (see the Board Composition and Recruitment page for useful information)
  • Non-profit governance (scroll down to the online orientation resources for a link to a searchable governance glossary)
• History of the organization
  
• Board responsibilities, including participation and attendance requirements (see the Board Roles and Responsibilities page for useful information)
  
• Organizational goals and update of current Strategic Plan
  
• Site visit, including a meeting with the Executive Director and Board President
  
• Introduction of new member at his or her first board meeting
  
• Time for a question-and-answer period
  

The Board Member Notebook should include information about the organization, such as:

• Mission statement & values
  
• History/background
  
• Program information (services, activities, etc.)
  
• Articles of incorporation & bylaws
  
• Strategic plan
  
• Staff & board member directory
  
• Agendas & minutes (past 3-12 months)
  
• Budgets & financial reports
  
• List of current and planned board committees, with written descriptions
  
• Meeting rules (see the Effective Board Meetings page for useful information)
  

For more board orientation information, visit these online resources:

ManagementHelp.org
Orienting New Members to Boards of Directors

Nonprofit Good Practice Guide
Governance Glossary

Richard Male & Associates
Archived Rich Tips Newsletter: The ABCs of Orienting New Board Members

Retention Tips

• Make sure board members know one another, know the management team, and know what is expected of them
  
• Get them involved quickly (signed up for a committee), but don't overextend the members
  
• Provide targeted training & technical assistance regularly
  
  • Might need to be individualized, based on member needs (e.g. communication skills, technical issues, the nature of health care and health centers, etc.)
  • Group training could be some sort of continuing education at each board meeting (10-15 minutes), such as role playing, an expert/guest speaker, watching a video or webcast
  • Consider hiring an experienced board trainer to provide guidance to the entire board on a regular basis
  • Visit the Continuing Board Education page for useful training resources.
• Involve them in special events; offer volunteer opportunities
  
• Incorporate term limits - so members know when they will complete their service to the organization
  
• Avoid micro-management
  
• Experienced board trainers can help prepare the board for possibly difficult transition periods. For example, the board of new start CHCs often has organizational management duties before the staff is hired; however, once the organization has hired personnel to take care of management, the board must transition to governance
  

For more board retention tips, visit the online resource below:

GuideStar.org
Top Five Ways to Show Your Board That You Value Them