What could you achieve if your board got better?
As a volunteer board member you have questions.
- Are we doing what we are supposed to be doing?
- Are we functioning as well as we could?
- Should I speak up about my concerns or let them go?
- Where can I go to learn more?
You care deeply about the organization and its mission, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like you are getting anywhere.
If you can imagine a more well-functioning board, where the board’s responsibilities are more evenly shared and handled more effectively, where meetings are more productive, and between-meeting communications are more efficient, then you have come to the right place.
Working together, we can identify action steps you can take to improve the board’s performance and therefore achieve more of your mission.
The road to better board health starts here.

ASSESSMENT
The Board Doctor has created two different self-assessment tools to help board members determine what, if anything, can be done to help their board get better.

COMMUNITY
The Board Doctor offers tons of curated and original resources through the network of board members (and staff, too!) in The Board Doctor’s Community. It’s everything you need to make sure you are on the right track.

DIRECT SERVICES
The Board Doctor offers customized training for your board or association, document review, and support for board development and growth planning.
The Board Doctor is a very different kind of “consulting” practice. Because my focus is on very small, often unstaffed, nonprofits, I have developed ways to deliver help in smaller packages that are readily available right here on the website. To me, a live or virtual presentation in your boardroom is not a way to hook you for a bigger project later. That presentation IS the help. A one-hour Office Visit IS the help. Same with the board self-assessments. No upselling. Nothing you don’t need. Just help at an affordable rate.

Ten Attributes of a Healthy Nonprofit Board
“If you have seen one board, you have seen one board.” This is true. No two nonprofits are alike and no single path exists for a group to grow, get one notch better, or achieve more. But it is possible to paint a picture of what a well-functioning board looks like. Click below to download the FREE document from The Board Doctor and see what healthy boards have in common.
REGISTER NOW FOR UPCOMING WEBINARS
GOVERNANCE 101:
The Roles and Responsibilities of Board Members
(FREE/Open to all)
Throughout 2023 we will be offering this one monthly for those who just need a primer on the basics. Come alone or bring your board colleagues. Following the presentation, those wishing to learn more about The Board Doctor’s Community can stay on the line for a short tour. Select a date below for more information and registration.
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 | 7:00-8:15 pm

THE GOVERNANCE SERIES
The Governance Series live webinar events is offered quarterly (two per month). The six webinars in the rotating series do not have to be completed in order. Join anytime and stay for all six. Everyone who registers will get access to The Board Doctor’s Community!
$100 for series of six or $35 each
Free for members of The Board Doctor’s Community.
Webinar topics:
- The Board’s Role in Fundraising
- The Ten Attributes of a Healthy Nonprofit Board
- Strategies for Effective Committees
- Building and Maintaining a Great Board of Directors
- The Complete Board Handbook; Establishing Your Organization’s Policies
- Governance is the New Nominations: The Role and Function of Modern Governance Committee
next webinar:
Recruiting and Maintaining
a Great Board of Directors
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 | 10:00-11:00 am
Have a quick question?
Same day appointments are available!
Sometimes all you need is an hour with The Board Doctor to pick her brain and get answers to your burning questions. Maybe you need a quick prescription to solve a crucial problem.
Use this option to schedule an office visit with Cathy for just $99. Come alone or bring members of the board—up to five participants total. Same day appointments are often available.

Meet Cathy Allen
“The Board Doctor”
How did a nature-loving justice fighter like me become an ardent advocate for board members of small nonprofit organizations? Well, it is a natural extension of my early career in government and politics, the product of a deeply-held belief that every person in our country has an obligation to participate in some way. We each have a duty to give back and to make sure the quality of life we enjoy now is preserved and made even better for future generations. A nonprofit organization is one way to advance that work. The people who step up and give of their time, talent and treasure to promote a cause they care about are the very best people I know, and I want to help them. My small part of promoting the greater good is to study what makes nonprofit boards of directors function well and effectively, and to impart that knowledge to others. If I do my job well, like ripples in a pond, the good can spread throughout organizations and into society. I accomplish my mission as you accomplish yours.

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