10 Factors That Influence Board Effectiveness Based on our research and experience, the following ten dimensions influence how you approach your work and how this plays out in your boardroom

The report presents findings and recommendations from community and organizational leaders about ways to improve board functionality and effectiveness. We also propose discussion questions to facilitate conversations between staff and board leaders about their roles and responsibilities in maintaining the culture and values of the organization.

This workbook is designed to help you and your board: 1) understand the cultural and developmental context of your organization, 2) recognize strengths and challenges related to how you work together, and 3) consider alternative strategies that build on your strengths and guard against your challenges. This is a tool to guide board discussion—there are no right or wrong answers. Our goal is to provide you with a useful framework for being intentional about how you function as a board.

This report includes lessons learned and remarks gathered from 50 interviews of nonprofit chief executives and senior staff leaders that were conducted from February through June 2008 (see Appendix A for a list of interviewees). It is part of the Next Generation and Governance project, one aspect of a new strategic initiative at BoardSource. The project is designed to stimulate thinking and action among nonprofits regarding the roles they can play to engage Generations X (born 1965-1979) and Y (born 1980-2000) in good governance