Tips for Volunteer Leaders
Preparing an Effective Committee Report for the Board

Administrivia or Organizing Tool?

One tool for organizing the work of committees and managing meetings is preparing written reports. In a small organization, this might seem like like unnecessary administrivia, but the process of preparing, organizing, and reporting information goes far more smoothly when each board member formally prepares a written report.

The report is important; it tells other Board members about the progress of your committee in meeting its goals and about any significant challenges you might face in achieving your goals.

More importantly, the reports is an opportunity for two-way communication with the Board. Ideally, it's an opportunity for you to shine. Tell the Board about what your committee has been doing. Brag about your committee's accomplishments. But if you have issues to raise to the Board, the report is also an effective vehicle for expressing your concerns. Because the Board is focused on action, you should not only identify the concern but also suggest how the Board might resolve it. If the issue needs further exploration by a number of committee managers, for example, suggest that the Board establish a committee and suggest who needs to participate on it.

When you prepare your report, also think about your purpose. For example, perhaps your goal is to provide an accurate, though favorable, impression of your committee. Perhaps your goal is to receive funding or other resources.

Then think about the person who is receiving your report. How familiar is this person with your committee. What are their concerns? For example, were you aware that before each Board meeting, Board members receive over seventy (70) committee reports in a period of two weeks? With that many committees, one common question the Board has is, "Has this committee spoken with that committee? Anticipate these concerns and address them in your report.

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Tips for Writing the Report

To receive the best results from your report, consider the following suggestions.

1. Limit the body of your report to two pages, including an abstract. Because Board members receive so many reports, they appreciate brevity.

   If, however, additional information is needed to make a decision, provide it in an appendix or attachment to the report.

2. Provide the following information in your report:
   1. Indicate whether the report is an information or action report:
   • Information Report. Most reports are information reports. They update the Board on the progress of the committee.
   • Action report: Only those reports requesting funding or a policy change are action reports. Procedural changes are usually handled by Advisory Committees. For example, a change to the names of tracks in a conference would be approved by the conference committee, not the Board.

   Before submitting an action report, you might first speak with the president. The president can help you determine whether the report is actually an action report and help you prepare a proposal that will be favorably received by the Board.

   If you have action items for the Board, check with the president as far in advance as possible, so you have adequate time to prepare the proposal.

   2. Abstract: The abstract summarizes the main points of the report. For example, if you manage the Operations Manual Committee and the main point of the report is that the first drafts of your manuals are complete, that's the crux of your abstract. If you have an action item, the abstract should include the proposed motion. The rationale would be described in the detailed report or attachments.

   Limit your abstract to 100 words.

   3. List of goals. This list should be the same in each report to the Board. This list tells the Board what you propose to accomplish in the coming year and when you plan to accomplish it.
   4. Accomplishment towards goals. Describe the accomplishments made towards each goal, and a preview of accomplishments expected before the next Board meeting. For example, although you might plan to publish a manual by the end of the year, it will go through a series of drafts. Let the Board know which draft has been completed.

   If your committee is behind schedule, be candid. Admit that you're behind and describe the assistance that your committee needs to get on track.

   5. List of committee members. Identify not only the names but also their chapters.
   6. Coordination with other committees and staff. Because organizations often have many committees, two concerns are committees working at cross purposes and committees duplicating one anothers' work. Use this section to tell Board members know how you are coordinating your work with others. For example, suppose you are managing the website and its content overlaps with that of the newsletter. In this section, you might explain how you are coordinating efforts with the newsletter.
3. Send in your report by the deadline. This is really a practical matter. If you mail the report late, it might not be received in time for Board members to review it before the meeting.

Board members really read these reports. The purpose of Board meetings is to review the status of the organization. The reports of each committee provide Board members with most of the information on which they base their assessment.

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Sample Report

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