Meeting Board Training Requirements while Doing More with Less Paul Carlson, Skip Ferris, Beth Peterson Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency

Session Objectives Participants will gain an understanding of: Why board training is important to the health of community action Various methods for performing board training Board training tools available at no cost AEOA’s model for providing board training on a limited budget Challenges and opportunities around providing board training

Why do we do Board Training? The Board of Directors sits atop your community action agency. Board members do important, necessary work for the organization. Community Action’s Organizational Standards require that we do Board training and document same. CAPs running Head Start programs require documented Board training as well. Individuals do not have access to formal Board training in other educational settings. There are benefits to having trained Board members.

Duty of Care A board member must be active in organizational planning and decision making. Board members must exercise reasonable care when he/she makes a decision for the organization. Reasonable care is what an “ordinarily prudent” person in a similar situation would do.

Duty of Loyalty A board member must never use information gained through his/her position for personal gain and must always act in the best interests of the organization. Board members must avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts.

Duty of Obedience A board members must be faithful to the organization’s mission. He/She cannot act in a way that is inconsistent with the organization’s goals. The public trusts the board to manage funds to fulfill the organization’s mission.

National Organizational Standards Governing board members have been provided with training on their duties and responsibilities within the past 2 years. “In order to meet Organizational Standard 5.8, there is no specific curricula requirement, or training methodology required…The organization needs to have documentation that the training occurred (including content) as well as documentation that each board member has been provided with training opportunities…As with orientation, volunteer board members may choose to not participate in these opportunities but attempts by the board and staff to ensure everyone had the opportunity to participate is critical.”

Fiduciary Responsibilities As noted above, IM 82 addresses board orientation and recommends that “Board members need to be trained to carry out both the legal, or fiduciary, aspects of their service and their leadership responsibilities to help guide the agency toward "success." At a minimum, it is recommended that board training cover the following topics: Fiduciary Responsibilities Orientation to statutory and regulatory requirements (CSBG Act, other Federal, State or local statutes and regulations, including non-profit board requirements; Agency articles of incorporation, bylaws, etc. Overview of Board functioning - appointment, representation, meetings, committees, conflict of interest policy, relationship to executive director and staff, etc. Role and Responsibilities of the Executive Director Role and Responsibilities of the Board regarding the employment, retention, and compensation of the Executive Director and key agency staff Overview of agency administration and financial management policies and procedures - oversight role and responsibilities of the board Orientation to, and how to oversee, agency mission, long-range and annual plans Orientation to, and how to oversee, agency programs and services Orientation to, and how to oversee, agency evaluation and reporting policies and procedures - role of the board in program and personnel performance evaluation.

Agency Leadership - Board Roles and Responsibilities and Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA) Agency Development – Needs Assessment Agency Mission determination Agency Planning - Strategic Long-Range Planning Annual Planning - performance expectations and targets Forming Partnerships with other resources in the community Program Implementation – Tracking of Milestones, interim performance results and reports Making mid-course corrections to improve performance Evaluation - (Results Oriented Accountability) Result-Focused Evaluation - clients and community Results-Focused Evaluation - agency and staff Using Information for Planning Using Information for Additional Funding and Advocacy

Models For Board Training There are numerous ways of providing board training Full-day retreat(s) Multiple half day sessions Web-based training One-to-one (e.g. orientation, new Board members, etc.) Embedded in regular board meetings Others?

Why We Chose This Model Board members reside throughout our geographically large service area increasing reimbursement costs for holding meetings. Board members with long tenures, vast experience. Board members have limited time available for Board training. Board members shared that they would prefer this model. We wanted interaction from numerous agency departments with the knowledge needed to share with our Board. Short chunks of training with follow-up resources and handouts is the most effective way for Board members to retain the knowledge.

AEOA’s Board Training Model All new Board members are provided an individualized orientation with the Executive Director. Developed a Board Training Committee to pull expertise from numerous departments and to share the opportunity to present. Board training is provided at each regularly scheduled Board meeting. Fiscal training happens at every Board meeting. Webinars and online resources are provided between meetings. Developed handouts for board members to keep for future reference. Developed a three year schedule of rotating topics. Targeted topics to events relevant at the time (i.e ROMA reporting, audit, Head Start)

Head Start Head Start National Standards require specific board training as well. Program Governance Administration Sec. 642 (d)(3) “Training and Technical Assistance – Appropriate training and technical assistance shall be provided to the members of the governing body and the policy council to ensure that the members understand the information the members receive and can effectively oversee and participate in the programs of the Head Start agency.” 45 CFR §1301.5 Training “An agency must provide appropriate training and technical assistance or orientation to the governing body, any advisory committee members, and the policy council, including training on program performance standards and training indicated in §1302.12(m) to ensure the members understand the information they receive and can effectively oversee and participate in the programs in the Head Start agency.”

Example Schedule of Training

Example Handouts Given

Resources Used https://nascsp.org/ - CSBG T/TA Resource Center https://communityactionpartnership.com – Tools and Resources https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF6YVIo3SJngWzTSgCcBFVw - Playlists https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMVDY93WCekqzYtF_TUostM98dBD 1il3T https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJI6GxPfx39Xg7GyZwj_SNiNMg6EnjZ Qk https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VgOM6vmuIL3W7rlSbHJtbNg690XLZm2M https://virtualcap.org/ https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/organizational-leadership/article/program- governance-head-start

Lessons Learned Know your Board members and get continuous feedback Know your agency’s schedule of events (i.e. 990 submission, strategic planning or CNA schedule, ED evaluation, etc.) Training must be pithy and succinct Vary your speakers and training techniques Use resources that already exist Plan ahead and carefully, but be flexible Notify Board members that training is an expectation of serving on the Board

Questions?

For more information: Paul Carlson paul.carlson@aeoa.org 218-748-7319 Skip Ferris skip.ferris@aeoa.org 218-748-7335 Beth Peterson beth.peterson@aeoa.org 218-735-6834