Excellence in Governance

Excellence in Governance is designed to help responsible community development corporation (CDC) boards become exceptional. Participating organizations explore characteristics of effective board governance and the board’s role in improving organizational health, performance and sustainability. Using a proven, performance-based framework, each participating board will define success and measure its effectiveness in the context of their organization and their community.


Excellence in Governance helps CDC board members learn and apply concepts on:

• Building constructive partnerships
• Assessing risk for lines of business, mergers, partnerships, etc.
• Becoming ambassadors beyond the board room
• Measuring and evaluating organizational outcomes
• Setting mission-based priorities and goals

Initial Timeline

January 11, 2013: all applications due to NeighborWorks America

February 28, 2013: all applicants notified

Click here to access application for non-network organizations

Dates for In-Person Sessions for 2013-2014 round:

- May 4-5, 2013 – Portland, OR
- December 7-8, 2013 – Kansas City, MO
- May 17-18, 2014 – Louisville, KY

To be eligible, organizations must be community development organizations with housing as a component of the mission and community member representation on the board. Board members must be interested in moving their already responsible board to become an excellent board. Participants must include four members of the organizational leadership team, including the Executive Director/CEO and three current or emerging board leaders.


Components of Excellence in Governance:

• Self-assessment using a BoardSource tool
• On-site retreat with the organization’s full board
• Support from a coach with extensive community development and nonprofit experience
• Three two-day in-person sessions with leadership teams from all participating nonprofits to meet BoardSource trainers, coaches and other content experts
• Peer to peer conversations and virtual community with other program participants

• Performance challenge for each participating organization, focused on real issues and results
• $10,000 completion grant

Excellence in Governance Informational Calls

NeighborWorks America recently held informational calls to provide additional details and answer questions about the Excellence in Governance program.


Listen to recorded the Information Call from 10/22/12
(Playback via the Internet)

1. Click on this link or paste the entire URL into your browser: http://www2.teleconferencingcenter.com/moderator/
presentation/Playback?id=f8a99dcb-d334-4475-9611-e35acac3f470.rpm
2. At the prompt, enter your name and email address.
3. Choose your player.
4. Click Listen.

The 2011-2012 Excellence in Governance graduating class includes 13 organizations:

• Homeport (Columbus, OH)
  

• HomeSight (Seattle, WA)

• Homewise (Santa Fe, NM)

• NeighborImpact (Bend, OR)

• Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland (Cleveland, OH)

• NeighborWorks Rochester (Rochester, NY)

• Nuestra Comunidad (Roxbury, MA)

• Portland Housing Center (Portland, OR)

• Select Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)

• The Primavera Foundation (Tucson, AZ)

• Rebuilding Together Twin Cities,* (Minneapolis, MN)

• Housing Partnerships Inc.* (Columbus, IN)

• CASA of Oregon* (Sherwood, OR)