Board Self-Assessment (BSA)
The BSA lays the foundation for setting board development priorities and motivating board members — individually and collectively — to strengthen the full board’s governance performance and practices.
By establishing a common understanding of board roles and responsibilities and measuring your board’s performance against these recognized roles and responsibilities, your board can focus on what’s critical for success.
BoardSource’s easy, online assessment process takes the hassle out of conducting and participating in an assessment. You can rely on our years of experience facilitating online assessments. We value confidentiality and recognize that arms-length administration provides your board with the opportunity to speak openly and candidly about all aspects of board operations.
Whether you’re conducting an assessment to validate that your board is in step with recommended practices or to tackle an issue, you’ll find that the perspectives of your board members will provide valuable insight on where to focus your energy for the good of the organization. BoardSource recommends that boards assess their overall performance every two years and build tangible board development plans based on what they learn. BoardSource’s BSA is included as part of our membership programs for nonprofit organizations, or as a stand-alone resource.
Our comprehensive tool covers board practices and policies
in these areas of board responsibility:
The People
Board Composition
Board Structure
Board Meetings
The Culture
Leadership Culture & Dynamics
The Work
Mission, Vision, & Strategic Direction
Funding & Public Image
Program Oversight
Financial Oversight
Chief Executive Supervision & Oversight
The Impact
Perceptions of the Board’s Impact on Organizational Performance
Benchmarking: In the final report, your board will have the opportunity to view their scores against the aggregate average score of all nonprofit boards who have participated in the BSA through BoardSource. You can learn more about what’s included in this data by using the resource here. Please note that due to this service, we are not able to make any changes to the survey itself
(i.e. adding or removing questions).
Did you know? Assessment pricing depends on your membership type—and some members even receive a complimentary assessment as part of their benefits! Visit the Access Member Benefits page and select your membership type to see what’s included.
If you’re eligible for a complimentary assessment, you’ll see an intake form right on that page.
Don’t see a form? That means a complimentary assessment isn’t available for your membership at this time—but you can still purchase the tool at a discounted rate by selecting Add to Cart below. All members are eligible to receive a discount when purchasing assessment products, which will be displayed at checkout.
Standard Price: $975*
*Please note that the Board Self-Assessment Tool is only available to US individuals and organizations at this time.
Are you a foundation or school? BoardSource offers additional board-self assessment tools for foundations or schools.
Have questions about our assessment products? We encourage you to review our comprehensive Process and Timeline page as well as our FAQ’s. Our team is happy to address any remaining questions, just send us a note at [email protected].
Have questions about your membership or benefits? Contact us at [email protected].
The survey gave us a focus and helped the board label behavior. Everyone has an idea on what good board behavior means- having one source of truth leveled the playing field and reduced the noise.
Joan Kwiatkowski, PACE
Additional Supports
Many organizations find it helpful to complete the Board Self-Assessment and then use one of our additional tools to set a course for strengthened performance through focused board development. Consider purchasing a DECK and working with a consultant to dive deeper into your assessment results.
Board Self-Assessment (BSA) DECK
A PowerPoint presentation featuring highlights of your BSA results and basic benchmark data to be used when presenting your results to the full board.
What’s a DECK? It’s a deck of 15-20 PowerPoint slides featuring highlights from your assessment results and basic comparison scores benchmarking your assessment scores against other nonprofit boards that have used our BSA tool. The slide deck is a great tool to use when presenting your assessment results to the full board. Use it to start a meaningful and thoughtful conversation about how to strengthen performance.
$399 Board Support Program Members | $499 Individual Members | $599 Nonmembers
BoardSource is unable to prepare a DECK unless you have completed and closed a BSA within the past 120 days.
Please allow 3-5 business days from purchase for the delivery of DECK (via email).