BoardSource, formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1988. Its mission is "to inspire and support excellence in nonprofit governance and board and staff leadership". BoardSource offers consulting services, publications and a membership program to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations by strengthening their boards of directors.

History

In the early 1980s, the

Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges The Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) is an organization focused on empowering college, university, and foundation boards to govern with knowledge and confidence. AGB provides leadership and counsel to member board ...

and Independent Sector conducted a survey and found that 30 percent of respondents believed they were doing a good job of board education and training, with the rest of the respondents reporting little, if any, activity in strengthening

governance Governance is the process of interactions through the laws, norms, power or language of an organized society over a social system ( family, tribe, formal or informal organization, a territory or across territories). It is done by the gove ...

. As a result, the two organizations proposed the creation of a new organization whose mission was to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit boards. With a lead grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation as well as funding from five other donors, the National Center for Nonprofit Boards opened its doors in 1988 with a staff of three and an operating budget of US$385,000. The National Center for Nonprofit Boards changed its name to BoardSource in 2002.

Current status

BoardSource is based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and has an annual budget in fiscal year 2013 of approximately $6 million. It maintains a staff of more than 40 employees. In addition, the organization has an affiliated pool of associates who conduct consulting and training engagements around the country on behalf of the organization. BoardSource collaborates with organizations such as the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...

, the

American Association of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, the

Boys and Girls Clubs of America Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a national organization of local chapters which provide voluntary after-school programs for young people. The organization, which holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, h ...

Habitat for Humanity International Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...

, the

National Council of La Raza UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) (La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citizen ...

and the

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

of America to provide guidance on what constitutes

good governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

and to offer educational opportunities in new approaches to governance. According to its website, "BoardSource supports a community of more than 90,000 individuals with customized diagnostics, live and virtual trainings, membership programs, and a comprehensive library of governance resources and publications that include original content."

Initiatives

In addition to its own web portal, BoardSource managed the online platform Exceptional Boards (now defunct) and the online portal Leading with Intent. Leading with Intent is a rolling annual report on nonprofit board governance across the United States that captures and compares social sector governance data since 1994.

Board of Directors

BoardSource's own board of directors includes: *Rick Moyers - Independent Consultant (Board Chair) *John Griswold - Founder
CommonFund Institute
*Phillip Henderson - CEO, Surdna Foundation *Yanela Frias - Senior Vice President, Head of Structured Settlements (Prudential Annuities), Prudential Financial *Carol A. Goss - Fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative Program,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

*David B. McGinty - Leader of the Human Development Innovation Fund with Palladium International *Sharon Rossmark - Chief Executive Officer, Woman and Drones LLC *Mark Shamley - President & CEO, Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals
ACCP
*Cathy A. Trower, Ph.D. - President, Trower & Trower, Inc. and author of The Practitioner's Guide to Governance as Leadership: Building High-Performing Nonprofit Boards (Jossey-Bass 2012) *Judy Vredenburgh - President & CEO,

Girls, Inc. Girls Inc. (established in 1864) is a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which encourages girls to be "Strong, Smart, and Bold" through direct service and advocacy. The organization prioritizes equipping girls with the skills to na ...

*Sylvia Mei-ling Yee, Ph.D. - Senior Advisor, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund *Julia R. Wilson, Chief Executive Officer
OneJustice

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.BoardSource.org/
Independent Sector

Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.