A board seat is usually offered, not sought after long preparation — and most directors learn fiduciary duty from whoever happens to be running the board when they join.

This book sets that education out in an order independent of which board a reader sits on: what governance is and what a board is for, how a board is built and structured, and the three duties — strategic oversight, financial stewardship, and risk and compliance — that account for most of what a fiduciary actually does.

It closes on the relationships a board must sustain — with community, partners, and donors — and the obligations a board owes itself: evaluation, succession, and the conflicts every board eventually faces.

Written for the new director who has said yes to a board seat and would like a map before the first meeting.