From Joan Garry

The point of a good board report is

• To communicate, in advance, information that brings board members up to speed on what’s gone on since the last board meeting, leading to much more engagement and interaction at the next board meeting.
• To give board members a sense of pride and enthusiasm about the work.
• To offer one last reminder about what board members committed to do at the last meeting (in case they have forgotten, procrastinated. or both.)
• To spark questions / raise issues that the board member can then ask or address in the board meeting.
• To ignite enthusiasm in your most important ambassadors; to give a board member key stories and “material” for marketing the organization to friends and prospects.

I was a nonprofit board member and our board book went on for days. The reports were so long that I couldn’t decipher what was most important. The lede was often buried.

So I always went straight for the E.D. report. Done well, it’s like a first rate executive summary – and should in fact tee up the most important parts of the board book.

Write your E.D. report like it’s the only thing anybody will actually read.