Boards of Trustees

Nonprofit boards are often fruitful and receptive audiences for civic reflection. Nonprofit organizations attract talented, thoughtful people to their boards and staffs in part because they express and transmit particular values within our society; they appeal as places of meaning-making in a mostly money-making world. Yet these same organizations can find it difficult to invite reflection on the values that brought members to the board in the first place, or to open up conversation about the organization's work in light of those values.

Board meetings that bring together executive staff and trustees offer a natural opportunity to cultivate the practice of civic reflection—to create meaningful conversation about difficult questions at the heart of nonprofit work, questions such as Whom do we serve, and to what end? What expectations should we really have of those we serve? Of ourselves in our common work? What basic values and assumptions guide us individually and as a group?

Civic Reflection Toolkit for Boards

Civic Reflection: A Toolkit for Foundation Boards: This toolkit for using civic reflection with board members, developed by the Association of Small Foundations in partnership with the Project on Civic Reflection, is available as a free download through the ASF website. It contains tips for leading the conversation, sample readings and questions, and a list of resources for further learning.

Sample Program Descriptions and Reading Lists

• Cross-organizational conversations aimed at building relationships and strengthening the nonprofit sector. The "Uplifting (Nonprofit) Leadership" series, which has been convened in Jacksonville, Florida by the Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida since 2003, uses civic reflection to bring nonprofit organizations together to address common values and challenges. Read a program description here.

• A retreat or series of stand-alone conversations for a board in transition. Hilltop Neighborhood House, a daycare provider serving economically disadvantaged families in Valparaiso, Indiana, used civic reflection at a board retreat to redefine the organization's mission and prepare the way for a major expansion. Read the program description here.

• Conversations integrated into the ongoing work or culture of the board—e.g., as part of the regular board meeting agenda. A community service organization in Chicago, Family Matters, found that civic reflection fostered closer relationships, deeper trust, and better understanding among members of its very diverse board. Read the program description here.

• Conversations that bring trustees and leaders or members of an organization together. Donors Forum (formerly Donors Forum of Chicago) did civic reflection with its board for a year, then expanded the program, a series of luncheon sessions, to include members. Read the program description here.

Additional resources are available on our Philanthropic Leaders and Sample Materials pages and in our Resource Library.

Benefits

Boards are often so busy and board agendas so packed that adding "just one more" item can seem overwhelming. But given a chance to explore key questions and ideas with fellow trustees and staff leaders, board members often not only accommodate these conversations but come to anticipate them as a rewarding part of their service. Ultimately, the organization benefits as well, from leaders who can better articulate the complex ideas and values at the heart of their work.

A board member for a Chicago community service organization puts it this way: "Civic reflection has helped us talk more openly and frame the issues in a way we hadn't been able to do before."