Tiny Essentials of an
Effective Volunteer Board

Ken Burnett, The White Lion Press Limited.
Published 2006. £9.95+postage and packing
(for discounts on bulk orders please see order form).
Softback, 83 pages. ISBN 0-9518971-8-7.

When Warren Maxwell suddenly finds himself propelled into accepting the chair of the medium-sized voluntary organisation on whose board he serves, he has to think and act fast. How can he stop his board from sinking into irrelevance? How can he ensure that his board becomes a beacon of best behaviour, a paragon of all that’s excellent in nonprofit governance?

Warren decides there’s only one way and that’s to uncover and learn as quickly as possible what it takes to build a volunteer board that’s truly effective. Join Warren on his brief yet enlightening quest as he sets out to expose the shortcomings of too strong and too weak boards and so reveals the secrets of what makes an inspiring, balanced and highly effective volunteer board.

For most voluntary organisations identifying, recruiting and developing a truly effective board remains a wonderful but usually distant and elusive dream. This small book has been written for all board members and nonprofit staff whose job it is to deal with ‘the board’. Its purpose is to help any board to do its important job better.

Online articles
Board membership with purpose and fun
A process for a formal governance review and evaluation

‘…very informative. Instead of being a hefty, heavy-going reference book,
this book tells a story. I loved the style, to have a fictional story to read
certainly drove home the salient points far more than a dull, factual
text could have done; I found this approach to be very warm and engaging. Definitely worth a read.’

See also from this author Relationship Fundraising, The Zen of Fundraising, Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board, Friends for Life, The Field by the River and Storytelling can change the world.

THE COMPLETE TINY SERIES:
All eight TINYs now available here.

’The principles set out in Burnett's little book are exactly those that any new board member or the founder of a new nonprofit should know. Plus, there are some bonuses that we enjoyed…

’Throughout the book, Burnett includes information on board diversity, board recruitment, board committee structure and more. In addition, there is a list of “The 21 key aspects of good governance.”

Joanne Fritz, www.About.com

‘This little book is absolutely brilliant; it’s easy to read and is
full of useful information on how to improve the effectiveness of
trustee boards…I loved the style.’

Tracy Saunders, Volunteering Magazine

For more reviews see here.