DIAGNOSTIC TOOL
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are required
This 36-question diagnostic tool is designed to affirm your work related to the governance and administration of God’s work and to show you areas for possible improvement. For the following questions, if you answer yes, we assume you need no assistance. If you click no or unsure for any question, we will suggest tools or practices that may help you.
Compliance
1. The board and CEO follow an annual process for assuring legal filings for government compliance including annual conflicts of interest declarations and related documentation.
Yes
No / Unsure – Boards should have an annual process for assuring legal filings for government compliance. This is commonly located in a
Board Policies Manual (BPM)
. Also, as a best practice, board members and senior staff should sign a
Conflicts of Interest Policy and Annual Disclosure
each year.
2. The institution complies with standards of a local peer accountability group (PAG) and maintains annual accreditation.
Yes
No / Unsure – Visit the
Teamwork Page
to see if there is a peer accountability group that serves your country or region. If there is, please make application to get accredited. If one does not exist, download the
How to Start a PAG infographic
and
contact your regional facilitator
to work with GTP to start one.
3. The board and CEO adopt a Board Policies Manual (BPM) that outlines governance and executive roles and responsibilities and revise it as needed at every meeting to maintain God-honoring operations.
Yes
No / Unsure – A
Board Policies Manual
outlines the essential organizational statements, the duties of the board and committees, and the responsibilities of the CEO and senior staff. It also includes other policies approved by the board and keeps them all in one place. Feel free to tweak our BPM to your organization.
Commitments
4. The board, CEO, staff and volunteers sign an annual affirmation of their commitment to the Statement of Faith and the Purpose, Values, and Code of Conduct of the Organization.
Yes
No / Unsure – A
Board Annual Commitment
form ensures that your board members communicate their commitment to your organizational purpose, statement of faith, values, and code of conduct each year. The same form can be used for staff. Use this template for
Volunteers
to solidify the commitment of key non-paid stakeholders.
5. The board, CEO, and senior staff commit to attending quarterly board meetings on-site or online (scheduled one year in advance) as well as committee meetings (as needed).
Yes
No / Unsure – Your
Board Policies Manual
should outline the regular frequency of meetings and the process for scheduling an emergency meeting. On each
Board Meeting Agenda
, a best practice is to list the dates of the meetings for the coming year to help everyone get the dates on the calendar to plan to attend.
6. The board serves as "governors" and the CEO and staff will fulfill their duties as outlined in the Five Models of Board Governance Chart.
Yes
No / Unsure – Confusion of roles will happen with organizations that don’t outline clearly the what the board is responsible for and what the CEO and staff must handle. The
Five Models of Board Governance
chart helps explain this concisely and differentiates between boards as staff, managers, directors, governors, and advisors.
Christlikeness
7. The board, CEO, and staff commit to the spiritual practices of confession, fasting, and prayer both individually and collectively.
Yes
No / Unsure – Christian organizations can expect spiritual commitments from board, staff, and volunteers. At GTP we think the spiritual practices of confession, fasting, and prayer help us stay on track. Whether when orienting new board members or hiring new staff or appoint new volunteers, be sure to include spiritual practices in each
job description
.
8. The board, CEO, staff, and volunteers take time for scripture, silence, sharing, and supplication at every meeting.
Yes
No / Unsure – We block time for scripture, silence, sharing, and supplication on
Board Meeting Agenda
or a staff meeting agenda be sure we are following the leading of the Spirit. The best way to help yourself stay on track is to use a
Board Meeting Evaluation
form or
Zoom Meeting Evaluation
form. Each can be adapted for staff meeting use as well.
9. As outlined in the BPM, the board will hold the board members and CEO accountable to exhibit Christlike behavior and the CEO will hold the staff accountable to exhibit Christlike behavior.
Yes
No / Unsure – Having a
Board Policies Manual
is one thing with appropriate policies that are easily accessible and clearly outlined. Making sure board members and senior staff follow it is another story. If you don’t use a
Board Annual Commitment
form and adapt it for senior staff, then consider adding this to the schedule of your main annual board meeting.
Cultivation
10. The board will block time for learning and development at each annual meeting.
Yes
No / Unsure – Be intentional about how you use the time in your main annual board meeting. As the schedule notes in this
Annual Meeting Run Sheet
, GTP blocks time for board development. This is margin for learning together how to be good board members and often includes additional reading or materials.
11. The staff will outline plans for personal and professional development in their annual faithful activities (3D) document.
Yes
No / Unsure – We call this the faithful activities document or a
Discerning Direction Document (3D)
. These are the things that each staff member will do in the coming year. This 3D document is a dynamic scope of work revisited quarterly. It includes regular personal and professional development items and not just the anticipated work.
12. The volunteers will be developed through quarterly interaction aimed at their personal and professional development.
Yes
No / Unsure – To maximize the work of volunteers, consider having them sign an annual volunteer commitment in which both parties demonstrate their commitment to each other. Also, high functioning teams ask key volunteers to map out faithful activities in a
Discerning Direction Document (3D)
so that staff can support them in this work.
Controls
13. The board uses a board selection process and interview template to ensure the process is followed for appointing committed, Christlike, and competent members.
Yes
No / Unsure – The key with a
Board Interview and Selection Process
is to avoid manipulation and to help your board locate committed, Christlike, and competent candidates. Consider adapting the GTP process and be sure to share your
Board Policies Manual
and
Board Annual Commitment
form to candidates so they know what will be expected of them.
14. The board approves a spending plan (budget) that links to programs, reports quarterly, with independent financial review or audit annually.
Yes
No / Unsure – If you want a sample
Spending Plan (Budget)
that connects expenditures to program allocations, consider adapting the GTP spreadsheet to your situation. Also, the
Financial Snapshot
serves as a quarterly report to the board and the
Auditor Request For Proposal
is the document GTP used to locate a firm to do our annual independent financial review.
15. The CEO implements appropriate financial controls suggested by the independent auditors and/or the PAG such as expense reports, whistleblower policy, and other related items.
Yes
No / Unsure – Financial controls call for the use of
Expense Reports
for financial management that follows your
Travel and Expense Policy
. Also, a
Whistleblower Policy
, a
Gift Acceptance Policy
, an
Investment Policy
, a
Privacy Policy
, and a
Giver Privacy Policy
help navigate dangers in risk management. Feel free to adapt these documents to your setting.
Competencies
16. The board uses a matrix to identify candidates with age, gender, and ethnic diversity and to ensure a wide range of abilities and expertise.
Yes
No / Unsure – Strong, skilled boards with a diversity in age, gender, ethnicity, regional representation, and expertise don’t just come together. They are built with intentionality. Consider tweaking the GTP
Board Matrix
to locate just the right people for your board. Adjust the categories to match your needs.
17. Each staff member or volunteer has a job description provided before their service begins that outlines reporting structure, required skills, and responsibilities.
Yes
No / Unsure – If you do not have a
Job Description
for each staff member, consider adapting these samples to your situation. Notice that these samples outline the purpose of the role, the primary duties, and the qualifications. It’s also good to have a
Senior Staff Job Description
so senior staff know how their work relates to one another.
18. Before interviewing new staff members, they must provide two character and two employee references and be interviewed by at least three board or staff members.
Yes
No / Unsure – Checking references is prudent due diligence prior to any hiring of staff. We suggest you get two
Character References
and two
Employer References
so that you can get and accurate picture of the character and competence of the candidates before offering them a position.
Care
19. The board, CEO, and staff prioritize time for spiritual, solitude, social, and strategic activities at the annual meeting.
Yes
No / Unsure – As the schedule notes in this
Annual Meeting Run Sheet
, we make it a priority for the multi-day meeting to include time for spiritual, solitude, social, and strategic activities each day. This helps board members and senior staff attune to God and to each other and to have strong relationships and to develop mutual respect.
20. The CEO and staff block time for spiritual, solitude, social, and strategic activities at the annual staff retreat.
Yes
No / Unsure – Similar to the
Annual Meeting Run Sheet
for boards, at GTP we do an annual staff retreat. It’s generally one-week long because we are a globally-distributed staff and we need that time together. Again, we make it a priority for the multi-day meeting to include time for spiritual, solitude, social, and strategic activities each day.
21. At each meeting, check-in and check-out will take place to ensure that the organization cares for people while remaining committed to the organizational purpose.
Yes
No / Unsure – You can see this best practice illustrated on the
Board Meeting Agenda
template. It’s a simple practice to show that every person matters. At the beginning and end of every meeting, the chair or person presiding over the meeting asks each person to share a word or phrase so as to preserve the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace in our work together.
Communication
22. All quarterly board materials and monthly staff meetings have an agenda and supporting materials in advance of the meeting and minutes are taken and archived for each meeting.
Yes
No / Unsure – At GTP we send the
Board Meeting Agenda
and other materials two weeks before meetings. This is a best practice that enables board members to have adequate time to read them. Also, if you archive everything from past meetings on a shared drive, it enables board member to access past board items or other materials at any time.
23. The CEO and staff provide quarterly dashboard for the full board and reports for each committee.
Yes
No / Unsure – At GTP the CEO and senior staff we have a series of one-page reports so board members can see our faithful work and the results (whether good or bad) at a glance. These include:
Quarterly Dashboard
,
Financial Snapshot
,
Partnership Calendar
, and
Website Analytics
. These are just examples. We are developing others.
24. The CEO and staff maintain a functioning website and provide an annual report that includes financial statements, program infographics, and impact information.
Yes
No / Unsure – A
website
is very important for your ministry. It must be active and not static to help you build your constituency. This includes having blogs, events, and other frequently updated content. An
Annual Report
should include financial statements, program infographics, and impact information.
Culture
25. The CEO and staff discern faithful activities for accountability annually and will report them in an annual discerning direction document (3D) for each staff member.
Yes
No / Unsure – Do you have a faithful activities document or a
Discerning Direction Document (3D)
for each staff member? This document lists the things that each staff member will do in the coming year. This 3D document is a dynamic scope of work revisited quarterly. Each check mark on the document must be measurable for annual evaluation.
26. The board will do an evaluation after each meeting, self-evaluate annually, and ensure staff receive annual performance evaluations.
Yes
No / Unsure – It’s a great practice of high functioning boards to send a
Board Meeting Evaluation
, a
Zoom Meeting Evaluation
after online meetings, and an annual
Board Self-Evaluation
to know how to help your board members excel. It’s equally important to do an annual Staff Performance Evaluation (template forthcoming).
27. The CEO will do intentional activities to set a specific culture in place (such as "with you" at GTP).
Yes
No / Unsure – Visit
our website
to read the background of our “with you” culture. Notice how Bible verses with the words “with you” are highlighted on web pages, on every
“Journal Entry”
email, and on our board templates. These activities are best practices aimed to build a unified culture that relies on God and collaborates with one another.
Crisis
28. The board has a written succession plan (or includes this in BPM) in the event of any change in the CEO position.
Yes
No / Unsure – At GTP, our board has outlined a
succession plan
in a two-page document. The succession plan outlines a clearly defined set of processes for addressing CEO transitions whether related to resignation, removal, or any other reasons. Having a succession plan is a best practice because without it an organization can collapse with the sudden loss of a CEO.
29. The board manages risk by outlining potential risks and the process for addressing them on an annual basis (or includes this in the BPM).
Yes
No / Unsure – Assessing risk is the responsibility of the board and CEO. As a best practice, it is common for the risk management process to be outlined in the
Board Policies Manual
. If not there, it should be listed somewhere. For example, failure to comply with laws or to have legal review on some regular schedule can expose the ministry to great risks that can be managed.
30. The CEO has a plan in place for caring for board, staff, or volunteers engaged in ministry work and needing emergency assistance.
Yes
No / Unsure – The care of employees and contract labor both in good times or in emergency situations should be outlined in a
Staff Guide
. Make sure your Staff Guide complies with local laws, exhibits consistency with your values, and honors God.
Collaboration
31. The board members will serve on board committees with staff representation.
Yes
No / Unsure – As a best practice, a
Board Policies Manual
lists the committees that the board will have and mentions the staff member that will represent the CEO and provide support to that committee. This makes sure that the board has a connection with more than just the CEO and this also enables the senior staff to know what is going on to support the CEO.
32. The board governs by stewarding the organizational purpose and holding the CEO accountable for pursuing organizational goals and mapping institutional strategies.
Yes
No / Unsure – A
Board Policies Manual
helps the board steward the organizational purpose and lists the annual progress toward organizational goals. It also holds the CEO accountable to mapping institutional strategies. These figures are reported in an
Annual Report
should include financial statements, program infographics, and impact information.
33. The CEO discerns annual plans, reports quarterly progress, and oversees daily operations of staff and volunteers.
Yes
No / Unsure – The CEO must provide a
Discerning Direction Document (3D)
so that board can perform an evaluation not based on results that cannot be controlled but linked to faithful activities. The
Quarterly Dashboard
is the primary tool for communicating progress and reporting the real-time results from the oversight of daily operations.
Contribution
34. The board, CEO, staff, and volunteers give according to their ability to advance the mission.
Yes
No / Unsure – A
Stewardship and Partnership Philosophy
urges internal stakeholders to model the generosity they desire others to practice. While the level of giving is kept confidential as noted in the
Giver Privacy Policy
, it is appropriate for transparency to share the giving participation % of the board, staff, and key volunteers.
35. The board, CEO, staff and volunteers understand their role and responsibility in rallying others to participate by giving and serving to advance the purpose of the organization.
Yes
No / Unsure – A
Stewardship and Partnership Philosophy
and a
Partnership Calendar
helps the board, staff, and key volunteers know their role. A
Gift Acceptance Policy
and a
Giver Privacy Policy
also help make sure that both gifts and givers are stewarded with due diligence and integrity.
36. The board, CEO, staff, and volunteers steward the information of partners with integrity and in accordance with privacy laws.
Yes
No / Unsure – The organization should have a
Privacy Policy
posted on their website to demonstrate compliance with laws and a
Giver Privacy Policy
to demonstrate how the information of financial partners will be stewarded with integrity. It is also vital to have a
Gift Acceptance Policy
to ensure that due diligence precedes the receipt of complex gifts.
To receive a copy of your responses with links to templates, please provide the information below. Please know that we keep your information in accordance with our
privacy policy
.
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