A written mission can be conceived in different ways. One popular and creditable manner is to summarize in a short statement how an organization aspires to be - and to be seen, for example: We will be the most respected regional provider of Widgets by our customers, our employees and our suppliers. This type of mission can be extremely useful, even inspiring. I make no case against such a formulation when I call upon boards to produce another kind of statement. The two (this type and the one I propose) could, in fact, coexist. Because the mission described in this booklet is of a different

As the chairperson of the board, your role, on behalf of the board, is to protect and further the integrity of governance. This CarverGuide helps you and your board develop your role as leader in this process, yet as servant to the board as a body.

Fund-raising falls into this category. Thus, Policy Governance does not allow the board's primary role to become fund-raising. In this CarverGuide, I want to recommend some aspects of governance to keep in mind as your board grapples with whether to take on optional board outputs. So this CarverGuide is not about the mechanics of fund-raising, or lobbying, or managing the endowment - all of which are optional undertakings. It is, instead, a look at the governance context in which fund-raising decisions and other nongoverning activities should be made.

In this CarverGuide, I look at what it is like to compress the demanding job of governing, which is built almost entirely on the use of words, into a small amount of time. I discuss the care a board must exercise in selecting subject matter and include instances in which outside exectations dictate the ill use of board time. Next, I explore the formal, planned use of board time as manifested in agendas. Having dealt with economy in the use of time, I turn to transforming diverse issues into a single voice. Finally, I explain the characteristics of an effective board meeting to help you

John Carver's groundbreaking Policy Governance model has influenced the way public and nonprofit boards operate around the world. Now, as widespread experience with the model accumulates, Carver enriches his definitive exposition with updated policy samples, a new chapter on the process of policy development, and additional resources for various types of boards.

No single relationship in the organization is as important as that between the board and its chief executive officer (CEO). That relationship, well conceived, can set the stage for effective governance and management. However, probably no single relationship is as easily misconstrued or has such dire potential consequences. My years of imtimacy with boards and their CEOs have convinced me that boards have a difficult time knowing whether they have a good CEO or not. CEOs are often fired for the wrong reasons and retained for the wrong reasons.

Social pressures in recent years have caused many boards to re-examine their commitment to diversity. We think boards inherit an obligation to diversify quite naturally by the very nature of governance. The people on whose behalf boards govern (the ownership concept in Policy Governance) have the right to expect it of them. But what does diversity actually mean in the governance context? Just what kind of diversity should boards pursue?

Social pressures in recent years have caused many boards to re-examine their commitment to diversity. We think boards inherit an obligation to diversify quite naturally by the very nature of governance. The people on whose behalf boards govern (the ownership concept in Policy Governance) have the right to expect it of them. But what does diversity actually mean in the governance context? Just what kind of diversity should boards pursue?

This CarverGuide deals with the simplest and most useful tool boards have to keep them on track: frequent and rigorous self-evaluation. Because board evaluation is not a new topic, most people already have ideas about what the term means. Be wary of preexisting ideas! I approach the board's evaluation of its own performance in a way that might be rather different from what you have heard before. In a number of ways, I wish to redefine both the philosophy and the mechanics of board self-evaluation.

Russell A. Cargo turns our attention to laws that regulate nonprofit organizations. The two sources of this legislation - trust law and corporation law - differ in the standards expected of trustees. Accordingly, law determining the role of trustees of nonprofit organizations, such as the several museums that serve as examples here, is inconsistent in application. This has weakened the nonprofit independent sector in which so many arts organizations are located by precluding a combination of ethical oversight and flexibility on the part of the trustees. Cargo suggests specific legislative