Planning our annual board retreat

12 Subscribers

11:25am

Hi everyone! It’s time to start planning our annual board retreat. Last year’s session was such a great opportunity to reconnect and strategize. I’d like to propose holding it in late October or early November.

Questions for the group:

Do we want an in-person retreat this year or keep it virtual?
Are there specific topics or goals you want on the agenda?
Any venue suggestions if we go in-person?

Mike Murphy

11:26am

Thanks for starting this, Carol. I’d vote for in-person if possible—it really helps with team bonding. Maybe a Saturday morning session like last year?

Helen Hughes

11:26am

Agree with Mike—face-to-face would be great. Budget-wise, we need to be mindful. We could do a local community center or partner with a member who has a large space.

Dr. Carol Clark

11:27am

Good point, Helen. We have $1,200 allocated for the retreat in this year’s budget. That should cover a venue rental and lunch if we keep it local.

Edward Evans

11:27am

For topics, I’d love to include long-term funding strategies and maybe a session on board engagement. We’ve been talking about clarifying committee roles—this could be a good time for that too.

Grace Green

11:28am

I second Edwards ideas. Could we also carve out time for visioning—where do we want to be in 5 years? Maybe an external facilitator could help us with that.

Dr. Carol Clark

11:28am

Love that idea, Grace. I know a great facilitator who worked with another nonprofit recently. I’ll check her availability and rates.

Mike Murphy

11:28am

What about dates? I’m free the weekends of October 21 and November 4. Anyone have conflicts with those?

Helen Hughes

11:29am

Oct 21 works for me. I’ll be out of town Nov 4.

Edward Evans

11:29am

Same here—Oct 21 is better.

Grace Green

11:29am

Oct 21 is good for me too!

Dr. Carol Clark

11:30am

Great—sounds like Saturday, October 21 is the winner! I’ll draft a proposed agenda and share next week. Thanks for the quick responses!