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board-management relationship

Financial Dashboards Field Guide: Focusing on Key Indicators

By |2024-01-22T17:45:07-05:00January 22nd, 2024|

A dashboard can help boards of directors pay attention monthly to key indicators of financial health. This dashboard review can occur in between the quarterly monitoring reports on the board’s "financial conditions" policy. A dashboard is intended to supplement, not replace, monitoring reports; those reports are the place for more detailed information about the key indicators and the longer-term trends.

CBLD Field Guide: Handling Board Resignations

By |2024-01-30T12:43:01-05:00January 22nd, 2024|

Over the years I have worked with and served on governing boards, I have observed many director resignations, some sudden and unexpected, others more drawn-out and planned; some fiery and dramatic, and others typically routine. I myself resigned from a board I had served on for many years!

Board Training Evolves: Enter CBLD Academy

By |2023-11-16T15:28:27-05:00October 31st, 2023|

This fall, consultants at Columinate will launch CBLD Academy, an on-demand learning loaded with revitalized and accessible content. Cooperators can expect three courses within the “Foundation Series” at the outset, with more courses planned to round out this base of co-op training. “It's a natural and a march towards progress in how we provide a framework for learning about the co-op business model,” said Leslie Watson, governance at Columinate.

Agency and Stewardship: Understanding the board’s dual roles

By |2023-09-01T16:26:25-04:00September 1st, 2023|

Why do boards of directors exist? We take a lot for granted when we think about serving on the board of an organization. If asked, we might describe the role as being one of a fiduciary, entrusted with its care, and we might be aware that being a member of a board confers responsibilities for the success of the organization in some fashion or another.

Prompts from a Racial Equity Challenge: A Tool for Board Engagement

By |2023-06-27T17:35:56-04:00June 27th, 2023|

I serve as a co-chair of the board of directors of PFC Natural Grocery and Deli in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a co-op that identifies as being anti-racist. Dismantling systemic oppression is an ongoing journey. As the primary organizer of our board’s work together, I aim to make sure we are holding ourselves accountable for this work. I don’t want it to get lost or forgotten amidst all of our other roles and responsibilities.

Mining the Library: “What Resources Do Our Clients Need?”

By |2023-05-05T20:04:37-04:00March 22nd, 2023|

Shared challenges in board governance have perennially driven co-ops to establish shared resources and services. Consultants and collaboration around governance and leadership development have been key to building cooperative identity and local community impact. From the early days of the Cooperative Board Leadership Development (CBLD) program, consultants serving co-op boards and other mission-driven organizations have been asking the question, “What resources do our clients need?”

Board Trainings Tackle Trust and Conflict: January webinars build leadership skills

By |2023-05-05T20:04:43-04:00January 9th, 2023|

Welcome to 2023! As your co-op board of directors reflects on the past year and refreshes for the upcoming one, don’t forget that Columinate’s Cooperative Board Leadership Development program (CBLD) is here to support your work. For nineteen years, this award-winning program has been a resource to co-op boards across the country, providing monthly consulting, facilitated board retreats, and a robust lineup of engaging, relevant webinars. In January, CBLD is kicking off its fresh slate of webinars with sessions focused on building trust and navigating conflict.

Board Self-Monitoring: Replacing Surveys with Discussion

By |2023-05-05T20:04:46-04:00December 29th, 2022|

At the Moscow Food Co-op, all C policies (Board Process) and D policies (Board-Management Relationship) are currently monitored using categorical surveys sent out to each board member with either a “How much do you agree with the following statement?” scale or, “With this sub-policy, is the board in compliance or not in compliance?” For each global policy and sub-policy, there is a comment option where a board member can express their thoughts and can explain why they answered as they did.

Governance for Co-op and Nonprofit Boards Part 2

By |2023-05-05T20:04:49-04:00October 10th, 2022|

In 2014, Columinate introduced co-ops to the Four Pillars of Governance in an effort to show how the Policy Governance model fits in a broader framework of governance. As part of his work as a Visiting Scholar at the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop on Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Art Sherwood collaborated with Marilyn Scholl and others from Columinate to create this model to help organizations govern flexibly and effectively. A model is a way of framing so that the parts and processes make sense. Our Four Pillars model is not about changing systems but is a new way of making sense of governance. In the eight years since we introduced it, we have found that it helps organize board thinking about the complex task of governance. It does not supplant other theories or systems of governance, but rather provides a framework for boards to use in developing and applying those systems.

Governance for Co-op and Nonprofit Boards Part 1

By |2023-05-05T20:04:50-04:00October 10th, 2022|

Often challenges within the board stem from a lack of agreements about governance. Cooperatives and nonprofit organizations differ in key ways from private corporations. Perhaps most importantly, operating within a defined social purpose requires skillful and conscientious governance by the board of directors—and the board’s leadership is felt throughout the entire organization. Governance is the act of steering an organization toward success. It consists of answering key questions, defining roles and responsibilities, and establishing processes for setting expectations and ensuring accountability.

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