Open Forum

Hi all,

In the name of joining the 21st century, some years ago we began distributing meeting materials to our trustees via email, but have found this can be a cumbersome, albeit tree-saving, process. 

We are in the early stages of researching board portals--software that allows board members to collaborate online and access documents using a secure login--and while the functionality is very appealing, the price tag is less so!

I would love to hear whether anyone has experience with the various products on the market - BoardMax, BoardEffect, Director's Desk, etc.  How did you choose between options, and has the software lived up to your expectations?  Alternatively, did you build a similar system in-house and discover any opportunities or challenges along the way?  In either case, what challenges did you encounter during the selection and/or implementation processes?

Thank you!

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Nicole Berns
Executive Assistant to the Director of Administrative Affairs
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis, MN
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Hi Nicole,

You should take a look at Office 365.  It's free for nonprofits and allows a tremendous amount of sharing, storage and flexibility.  You can password-protect areas that need it.  Anyone with a newer PC operating system can easily connect through the OneDrive that their computers already have.  Those of us on Macs can also work easily in this cloud environment.

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Martha Sielman
Executive Director
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc.
Storrs CT
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-06-2014 12:26 PM
From: Nicole Berns
Subject: Are Board Portals Worth the Investment?

Hi all,

In the name of joining the 21st century, some years ago we began distributing meeting materials to our trustees via email, but have found this can be a cumbersome, albeit tree-saving, process. 

We are in the early stages of researching board portals--software that allows board members to collaborate online and access documents using a secure login--and while the functionality is very appealing, the price tag is less so!

I would love to hear whether anyone has experience with the various products on the market - BoardMax, BoardEffect, Director's Desk, etc.  How did you choose between options, and has the software lived up to your expectations?  Alternatively, did you build a similar system in-house and discover any opportunities or challenges along the way?  In either case, what challenges did you encounter during the selection and/or implementation processes?

Thank you!

-------------------------------------------
Nicole Berns
Executive Assistant to the Director of Administrative Affairs
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis, MN
-------------------------------------------

Hello Nicole,
I am an educator in the field of media production. Many media production companies are using online collaborative work sites like Asana, Freedcamp and Base Camp. We have used Freedcamp and Asana at their basic (free) level, and have found them to be effective. We can share documents, create projects, assign tasks, document communications - all in an organized manner from anywhere with Internet access.

These do require a login, and the security seems adequate. Many commercial producers use these sites to share contact information, scripts, call sheets, and other information. I have not heard of any problems with placing items on these free sites, even though much of the content must be kept confidential and secure.

The sites work with the board member's individual emails, so discussion postings are visible online and sent to the individual's email as well. We have placed the Advisory Board for our new Master of Science in Scientific and Technological Imaging program on Asana and we are pleased with the results. And it's free :-)

Hope this helps,
Scott

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Scott Miles
Instructor
Ventura CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-06-2014 12:26 PM
From: Nicole Berns
Subject: Are Board Portals Worth the Investment?

Hi all,

In the name of joining the 21st century, some years ago we began distributing meeting materials to our trustees via email, but have found this can be a cumbersome, albeit tree-saving, process. 

We are in the early stages of researching board portals--software that allows board members to collaborate online and access documents using a secure login--and while the functionality is very appealing, the price tag is less so!

I would love to hear whether anyone has experience with the various products on the market - BoardMax, BoardEffect, Director's Desk, etc.  How did you choose between options, and has the software lived up to your expectations?  Alternatively, did you build a similar system in-house and discover any opportunities or challenges along the way?  In either case, what challenges did you encounter during the selection and/or implementation processes?

Thank you!

-------------------------------------------
Nicole Berns
Executive Assistant to the Director of Administrative Affairs
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis, MN
-------------------------------------------

I would also agree with Office 365. It's easy to send documents to people outside of the museum as most people are able to view Office documents. It also allows collaboration, and you can work on the documents at the same time if needed. The other solution would be Google Docs. Very similar to Office 365 however you cannot send a document as an attachment, you would have to send the whole website and give them access to view it. Google Docs will only work if you have internet access and you do have to create a Google account.

Several years ago, we worked with a local web designer who created a wonderful Board Portal for us. We were the BETA test for the site which never quite worked out all the bugs. The other downside was that the developer had complete control of the portal. 

About two years ago, out new director of IT began looking at alternatives. As you said, many of the options are very expensive. In the end he chose Google Sites which is free to non-profits and for a director of IT relatively easy to set up. He tells me he likes the site because it is not hosted in-house and doesn't use our band-width. (Totally Greek to me) Google has templates that you may choose from and modify if you wish. Even I was able to make some changes to make the site work better with our brand.

Mike set up a section for "Meeting Preparation" to post documents relevant to the next meeting, committee sections, a roster with contact information, a calendar, and the Board Manual. We used to hand out notebooks for the Board Manual and they were impossible to keep up to date. This is much easier. One of the advantages is that Trustees can bring an iPad or laptop to a meeting and bring up documents using our WIFI without having to print them in advance.

About 2/3 of our Board and nearly all of our staff directors use the site and are able to post documents. The only down-side is that it isn't great for discussion. While there is a discussion section, no one uses it. We still rely on emails.

I would be happy to answer an questions. 
Best,
Nancy

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Nancy Turner
Director of Community Relations
Columbus Museum of Art
Columbus OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-06-2014 12:26 PM
From: Nicole Berns
Subject: Are Board Portals Worth the Investment?

Hi all,

In the name of joining the 21st century, some years ago we began distributing meeting materials to our trustees via email, but have found this can be a cumbersome, albeit tree-saving, process. 

We are in the early stages of researching board portals--software that allows board members to collaborate online and access documents using a secure login--and while the functionality is very appealing, the price tag is less so!

I would love to hear whether anyone has experience with the various products on the market - BoardMax, BoardEffect, Director's Desk, etc.  How did you choose between options, and has the software lived up to your expectations?  Alternatively, did you build a similar system in-house and discover any opportunities or challenges along the way?  In either case, what challenges did you encounter during the selection and/or implementation processes?

Thank you!

-------------------------------------------
Nicole Berns
Executive Assistant to the Director of Administrative Affairs
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minneapolis, MN
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