An overview of John Carver's Policy Governance model applied to churches, with examples from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashua

1. Policy-Based Governance
for Churches
An Overview Presented by Gary Lerude

2. What is Governance?
How a group or body organizes itself
to carry out its Mission and Vision
Effectively
Efficiently
In harmony with its values
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3. What Are We Trying to Achieve?
A governance system that
Clearly defines the roles and
responsibilities of the governing
board, staff, committees, volunteers
Enables the governing board to
focus on the church’s vision, long-
range goals, and policies
Builds community, encourages
programs, and empowers initiative
Supports growth
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4. The Policy Governance® Model
Developed by John Carver
Governing Board
Integrated system of governance
First adopted by non-profits
Where
are we
Since used and tailored by UU going?
churches, districts, and the UUA How are we
going to get
The governing board discerns the there?
strategic goals (Carver calls them
“Ends”) and defines the “limitations”
within which the church must operate
Minister, Staff,
Minister, staff, committees, volunteers Committees,
work to achieve the goals within the Volunteers
limitations defined by the board
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5. Flow of Authority and Accountability
Reflects Congregational Polity,
where each congregation is autonomous
“Staff”
• Paid staff
“Executive”
• Committees
• May be an • Volunteers
individual
Governing (the Minister)
Board or a team
• Elected by • The Minister
church typically leads
Church members the team
Members
• Ultimate
authority
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6. An Integrated Governance System
The governing board identifies the needs of
Congregation the congregation and larger community
Larger Community
The board discerns and articulates
goals to address the needs –
Governing
consistent with the church’s vision
Board
and mission
Closed
Loop
Minister
Executive
Executive Team
The Minister, staff, committees, and
volunteers offer programs and provide Staff Volunteers
Committees
services to achieve the goals.
Staff
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7. Carver’s Four Governance Policies
Bylaws Church Bylaws
Overarching governing document for
the church
Governance Process
The Board’s job and how the Board Governance Process
will do its job
Board-Executive Linkage Board – Executive
The Board’s relationship to the
“Executive” and how the Board
Linkage
monitors Executive performance
Strategic Goals or “Ends” Strategic Goals
What the church aims to achieve
Executive Limitations
The boundaries within which the
“Executive” and “Staff” are free to Executive Limitations
operate
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8. Common Topics for Discussion
Is our church big enough for Policy-Based Governance?
I don’t like the language – Executive, CEO – we’re not a business
Should we have a single Executive or a team?
We’re giving too much power to the Minister, Board, etc.
I don’t want the Board to lose visibility into what’s going on!
We spend every Board meeting wordsmithing policies. I want to do
something!
Do we have to write all the policies before adopting Policy-Based
Governance?
• Adopting a new Governance model is a big change – so the process
generates lots of questions and requires considerable dialog.
• Don’t become paralyzed by over analyzing. Try and iterate.
• Policy Governance won’t build trust in a congregation if trust is lacking.
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9. UU Nashua’s Governance Structure
Church
Membership
Financial
Nominating Records
Review
Board of
Trustees
Board Committees or Linkages
• Investment Review
• Personnel
• Stewardship Executive Team
• White Wing School • Minister
• Director of Religious
Education
Minister • Church Administrator and
Membership Coordinator
Executive Team • Treasurer
Staff Volunteers
Committees
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10. UU Nashua’s Strategic Goals
Worship &
Spiritual
Vision & Development
Mission
Congregational Religious
Fellowship Education
Maintenance of
Our Facility
Social &
Community
Environmental
Involvement
Justice
Denominational
Presence
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11. UU Nashua Strategic Goal Examples
Worship & Spiritual Development
We enable spiritual growth, for each of us and as a church community.
We provide a place where new and long-time members from various
religious backgrounds feel free to question their beliefs and find support
in seeking their own personal insights into life's meaning and value.
We encourage each member to decide what is truly important in his or
her life and to make life changes accordingly.
Religious Education
Our religious education program uses the sources, traditions and
principles of Unitarian Universalism and the world’s religions to help our
youth and adults develop a religious and spiritual basis for living life, with
all of its joys and difficulties.
We help them to think for themselves in developing their own beliefs,
values, and principles.
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12. Executive Limitations Examples
Treatment of Church Members and Visitors
With respect to interactions with Church members and visitors,
including children, the Executive Team shall not cause or allow
conditions, procedures, or decisions that are unsafe, undignified,
unnecessarily intrusive, or that fail to provide appropriate
confidentiality or privacy.
Financial Condition and Activities
With respect to the actual, ongoing financial condition and
activities, the Executive Team shall not cause or allow the
development of fiscal jeopardy or a material deviation of actual
expenditures and income from the annual budget approved by the
congregation or Board priorities established in the Church Purpose
and Goals.
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13. UU Nashua Timeline
Church Year Activity
2002-2003 • Board began studying Policy Governance
2003-2004 • Church Goals developed and adopted by the Board, and presented
at the Annual Meeting (June 2004)
2004-2005 • Board drafted remaining Governance policies
• Executive Team defined by Board and Steve Edington
• One year trial of Policy-Based Governance model planned for
2005-2006 church year
• Dialog with committees and the congregation
2005-2006 • Trial of Governance model, September – May
• Board officially adopted Policy-Based Governance, based upon
initial experience and positive feedback
2006-2007 • Board formed Bylaws committee to recommend updates to the
Bylaws, to be consistent with Governance model
June 2010 • Congregation adopts revised Bylaws
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14. Summary
Policy-Based Governance has proven effective in UU churches
Better defines roles and responsibilities
Allows Board to focus on the long-term and strategic questions
Empowers paid staff, committees, and volunteers
Enables us to better carry out our mission
Implementation of the model can and should be tailored
Needs and circumstances of the congregation
Will evolve with time
Resources for Further Study
Policy Governance® web site
UUA’s Wiki web site on Policy Governance
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15. Policy-Based Governance
for Churches
Policy-Based Governance for Churches by Gary Lerude is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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