Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board

When Warren Maxwell suddenly finds himself propelled into accepting the chair of the medium-sized voluntary organization on whose board he serves, he has to think and act fast. How can he stop his board from sinking into irrelevance? How can he ensure that his board becomes a beacon of best behaviour, a paragon of all that’s excellent in nonprofit governance?

Warren decides there’s only one way and that’s to uncover and learn as quickly as possible what it takes to build a volunteer board that’s truly effective. Join Warren on his brief yet enlightening quest as he sets out to expose the shortcomings of too strong and too weak boards and so reveals the secrets of what makes an inspiring, balanced and highly effective volunteer board.

For most voluntary organizations identifying, recruiting and developing a truly effective board remains a wonderful but usually distant and elusive dream. This small book has been written for all board members and nonprofit staff whose job it is to deal with ‘the board’. Its purpose is to help any board to do its important job better.

Reviews for Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board

"The principles set out in Burnett's little book are exactly those that any new board member or the founder of a new nonprofit should know. Plus, there are some bonuses that we enjoyed…

Throughout the book, Burnett includes information on board diversity, board recruitment, board committee structure and more. In addition, there is a list of “The 21 key aspects of good governance.”

- Joanne Fritz, www.About.com

 "It is not often you come across a fascinating book on governance, but Tiny Essentials is one. It tells the story of Warren Maxwell, who has just become chair of a medium-sized voluntary organisation and genuinely wants to make his board exciting, balanced and effective. Using almost Dickensian caricatures of chairs of volunteer boards, Burnett explains the difference that a well-balanced and supportive board can make. How can Warren lead? How can he enable his board to govern effectively? How can he relate to his staff in this new role? It is a well-packed, entertaining joy to read."

- Tesse Akpeki, Third Sector, governance supplement.

"This little book is absolutely brilliant; it’s easy to read and is full of useful information on how to improve the effectiveness of trustee boards…

The book begins by examining the possible motivations of trustees. Burnett then discusses some very important issues – why the trustee board exists, what value it adds to the organisation and how it would function without the board. These lead him to identify the function of the trustee board and he differentiates between the board’s role, which is governance, and the management’s, which is to manage the organisation’s daily operations…

I found this book to be a very informative resource. Instead of being a hefty, heavy-going reference book, this book tells a story. I loved the style, to have a fictional story to read certainly drove home the salient points far more than a dull, factual text could have done; I found this approach to be very warm and engaging. Definitely worth a read."

- Tracy Saunders, Volunteering magazine online, issue no. 118.

"Small enough to fit in your pocket but with more than 70 pages of practical tips, set out in a fictional story style, following a new board chairman. The book is chatty in style, an easy read, but with a good deal of truth. You may well find yourself linking the characters in this story with the characters that you know only too well on the board you work on. The book also has a useful check list of 21 “key aspects of good governance. Worth buying for your trustees/board and giving one to the chief executive as well, to see life from “the other side”.

- Getaway, issue 12.

"Designed to be read in an hour, this book has been written to help trustees and charity staff who deal with the ‘board’ to do their jobs better. It tells the story of Warren Maxwell, who is suddenly propelled into the post of chair of the voluntary organisation where he is a board member. The book follows Warren as he sets about lifting his board from mediocrity, revealing the secrets of what makes a balanced, progressive and highly effective board."

- Voluntary Voice, issue 192.

"Tiny Essentials of an Effective Volunteer Board is a pocket-sized guide to board development, recruitment, and management and will make any American who is a fan of public television smile and maybe even giggle.

Burnett is British and his little book is written with the elan of the wonderful British imports we see on public television such as Mystery and Masterpiece Theater.

The book is actually a narrative of the search by a newly appointed board chairman for the keys to effective boards. He sets out to interview the CEOs and board chairs of other nonprofits in the hope of insight. In his travels he and we meet the somewhat slimy Arthur, a nonprofit CEO who controls his board and whose voice drips with disrespect for his board members. We meet Lady Bountiful (really the Honourable Camilla ffoulkes-Lanningham), the chair of trustees of an unfortunate organisation. And, finally, a dynamic duo of CEO and chairman who can finally enlighten us and our hapless hero…

The principles set out in Burnett's little book are exactly those that any new board member or the founder of a new nonprofit should know. In addition, there are some bonuses that we enjoyed…

Throughout the book, Burnett includes information on board diversity, board recruitment, board committee structure and more. In addition, there is a list of “The 21 key aspects of good governance.

You don't really need a huge encyclopaedia of nonprofit theory to set up a good board. This little book of essentials provides all the basics any organisation needs to establish an effective and sensible board that will support the mission and the staff."

- Joanne Fritz, Nonprofit Charitable Organisations, www.nonprofit.about.com, USA.

ISBN 0-9518971-8-7 The White Lion Press
83 pages soft cover