Useful Tools
Please investigate the following tools to see if they could benefit your organization. In our work we use them to help organizations assess their readiness for new opportunities or identify areas of strength and weakness.
Click titles to download individual tools
Alliance Readiness Questionnaire
Questions to sort out whether an alliance makes sense for your organization
Board Composition Worksheet
A worksheet to evaluate the composition of the Board as a whole
Board Job Descriptions
Descriptions of different roles on the Board
Board Recruitment Process Checklist
A guide to Board recruitment steps
Board Self-Assessment
A self-appraisal for the Board to acknowledge its strengths and identify areas for improvement
Creating Ground Rules
A guide to creating effective rules for regular and controversial meetings
Executive Director Hiring Process
A walkthrough and checklist for hiring an executive director
Facilitator Tips
Tips for facilitating effective group conversations
Five Minute Board Survey
Allows a quick scan of the various components of board leadership and serves as a "check-in" to see how the board is performing
Making our Alliance Work Better
This set of questions guides a discussion among partners that can identify ways to improve the effectiveness of a working (or barely working) alliance
"Mini" Organization Assessment
Designed to help you determine if an organization assessment would benefit your organization
Organization Life Stages Chart
A chart of organizational growth stages and their associated indicators of change
Prospective Board Member Information Worksheet
A worksheet to gather information about prospective Board members
Presentations
Click titles to download individual presentations
Dumping Robert's Rules, Let's Focus on Participatory Decision Making
Presented by Monica Herrera at the Alliance for Nonprofit Management Conference in Los Angeles, California
Forming Alliances: Ways to Support NPOs in Working Together to Achieve Mutual Goals
Presented by Emil Angelica at the Alliance for Nonprofit Management Conference in Los Angeles, California.
Forming Alliances: Working together to Achieve Mutual Goals
Presented at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 2005 Conference, and based on the ideas developed in the Forming Alliances: Working together to Achieve Mutual Goals" fieldguide published by Fieldstone Alliance. The PowerPoint gives an overview of how to understand and effectively talk about the continuum of possible alliances, decide what kind of alliance you should create given your circumstances and needs, plan and start and alliance, and strengthen an existing alliance.