Building Museum Boards

Templates for Trustees is a four-part series designed by the Museum Trustee Association to focus attention on key processes and tasks of governance. The books and web-based customizable templates include tools that collect information and then guide the board in using that information to organize their thoughts, identify their priorities, and plan their actions. All templates in the series have two parts: a printed guide and an on-line website. Purchasers of the books have access to the ongoing assistance of MTA staff.

Building Museum Boards examines emerging practices in nonprofit governance including diversifying board composition, improving board effectiveness, and strengthening the governance committee. The text and templates guide the governance committee through every step of the nomination and board-building process including identifying and cultivating board prospects; crafting job descriptions for members, officers, and committees; ensuring compliance with conflict of interest standards; and orienting and activating new board members. The entire process is summarized in an interactive calendar.

TheMuseum Trustee Association was formed as a committee of the American Association of Museums (now known as the American Alliance of Museums) in 1971. The Museum Trustee Association broke away from AAM in 1986 and received its federal IRS 501(c)(3) status in 1991. Since then, MTA has been governed by an elected Board of Directors representing diverse regions of the United States, Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico, a variety of museum disciplines and sizes, and wide-ranging areas of expertise in trusteeship. All are current or former museum trustees, and several are founders of MTA.

Daryl Fischer founded Musynergy Consulting in 1993 to provide strategic and interpretive planning, audience evaluation, and board development services to museums and other cultural nonprofits. Her service on numerous nonprofit boards including the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (Grand Rapids, MI), the Visitor Studies Association, and the Progressive Women’s Alliance of the Lakeshore has given her a profound appreciation for passion, energy, and expertise board members bring to the organizations they serve.

Laura B. Roberts is principal of Roberts Consulting, working with cultural nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, assessment, and organizational development. She is the chair of the Central Square Theater in Cambridge MA and former chaired the boards of Tufts University Art Gallery, MassHumanities and First Night Boston. She teaches museum and nonprofit management at Harvard University Extension, Bank Street College of Education, and Northeastern University.