Presented by Alliance Partner Nonprofit Connect

How do we help new board members feel welcome, understand their responsibilities, and contribute meaningfully from the start of their board term? Through intentional onboarding and training!  

Effective onboarding connects people to the organization’s mission, culture, and work while preparing them for their important governance role. In this webinar, participants will assess their organization's current orientation practices, explore a practical first 90-days onboarding pathway, and identify ways to connect each member’s strengths, interests, and lived experience to create meaningful board contributions, so board members feel welcomed, valued and mission-committed. We will also examine how ongoing learning opportunities for the collective board strengthens the entire board.

Through a guided self-assessment, real-world scenarios, and action planning, participants will identify practical improvements they can adapt to their organization’s size, structure, and resources. 

Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Assess current onboarding practices. Use a practical checklist to identify strengths, gaps, and priority improvements in the new board member experience.
• Design a first 90-days onboarding pathway. Outline a sequence of learning and relationship-building activities that introduce essential governance documents, mission and strategy, organizational finances, board culture, and member responsibilities.
• Connect individual strengths to meaningful engagement. Identify opportunities that align members’ skills, interests, lived experience, and availability with committee service and other board responsibilities.
• Plan for continuous board learning. Identify ongoing development practices and select one improvement to implement, with a clear owner and timeline.