For a while, our board was more casual than structured. We cared deeply about the horses and the mission, but formal board meetings had slipped off the calendar. Financials lived in one Google Drive folder, policies in another, and half the time someone needed to dig through old emails to find a document. I spent more time finding things for people, or answering questions like "what date is the Showdown" than I did feeding the horses!
It wasn’t that the board didn’t care — it was that there wasn’t a clear, central place for them to engage. And honestly, when you’re running a small nonprofit, creating a polished “board portal” feels like a luxury. Most of us are just trying to keep hay in the barn and volunteers showing up.
I knew we needed something more intentional if we were going to strengthen our governance and prepare for growth, but it had to be affordable, simple, and not another system I’d spend hours maintaining.
Board management looks very different when your organization is running on a small budget, is almost entirely volunteer-run, and your directors are also juggling full-time jobs and families.
Cost matters. Board portal software can run thousands of dollars a year. That’s money I’d rather put into horse care.
Time matters. I can’t spend days learning and customizing another system. If it doesn’t save me time, it’s not worth it.
Simplicity matters. My board members don’t want to log into three platforms or learn a complicated tool. If they can’t find what they need in two clicks, they won’t use it.
At the same time, accountability and structure are non-negotiable. As a rescue, we need accurate financial oversight, documented policies, and active board engagement. I wanted to create a system that respected my board members’ time while giving us the professionalism of a larger organization.
When I started looking at options, I found plenty of dedicated “board portal” tools. They looked slick, but the price tags were enough to make me wince — often thousands of dollars a year. That kind of investment might make sense for a $10 million nonprofit, but for us it would literally mean fewer bales of hay in the barn.
Instead, I leaned into a tool we were already using for other parts of the rescue: Monday.com. It’s flexible, visual, and easy to adapt. Even better, Monday offers a nonprofit plan that gives up to 10 free seats — which means no added cost for us to get started.
Tip: If you’re a nonprofit, check out Monday.com’s nonprofit program — you may qualify for free or heavily discounted seats. It’s worth the application.
What sealed the deal for me was that Monday let me build a Board Hub that matched our scale and culture. It didn’t need to be fancy, it just needed to work. And the more I built, the more I realized that with a few simple boards and the right permissions, I could give my directors everything they needed in one place.
I didn’t want to overwhelm the board with bells and whistles. The goal was a single place they could visit and know, “this is where everything lives.” I started with just a few core boards:
Meetings Board – Each upcoming meeting gets its own group, with agenda items listed as tasks. It’s easy to drag things around, attach documents, and make notes.
Board Library – A home for policies, contracts, budgets, and reference materials. I linked most of the files from Google Drive so I didn’t have to re-upload every time something changed. I did choose to create this as a Folder with separate boards for Governance & Policies, Financials, Legal/Contracts, Program Documents, and Board Resources as opposed to using one board with groups, as I did think combining all the documents together could get overwhelming.
Important Dates – This one lives in our main Admin Workspace since it tracks events across the entire rescue — board meetings, adoption events, vet days, and the Dakota Showdown. But I also added it as a dashboard widget in the Board of Directors Workspace so directors see key dates at a glance without digging.
Board Planning – This one is internal. It’s where I keep my prep tasks for meetings — sending reminders, assembling documents, getting the space ready. The board doesn’t need to see the sausage being made, but I do.
It’s not complicated, and that’s the point. Everything the board needs is right there, without giving them fifty columns to sort through.
The real trick wasn’t building the boards — it was setting permissions so people saw exactly what they should (and nothing they shouldn’t).
Private Boards – By default, Monday makes boards “Main,” which means anyone on your account can see them. That’s fine for volunteers or staff, but not for board-level discussions. I made all the Board of Directors boards Private, so only the people I explicitly invite have access.
Board Team – Instead of adding directors one by one every time, I created a “Board of Directors” team. Now I can invite the team to any new board in one click.
Viewer vs. Core Accounts – This part saved us money. Most of my board doesn’t need to edit anything — they just need to read documents and follow along. Monday lets you add people as Viewers for free. So our directors don’t take up paid seats.
Admin Helper – I did give Cherry, our admin helper, full access. She can upload files, nudge tasks, and keep things tidy. That way I’m not the only one with hands on the system, but the board isn’t flooded with details.
Seats & Costs – The nonprofit plan gives you 10 free seats, which was enough to get us started. But once you pass that, additional seats are paid. Planning who needs “core” accounts and who can stay as “viewers” makes a big difference in keeping costs down.
The balance is important. Too much access, and things get messy. Too little, and directors feel locked out. By setting most of them as viewers and keeping just a couple of admins, we hit the sweet spot.
This setup isn’t perfect, but it’s exactly what we needed at this stage. For the first time in a long while, our board has a clear hub: agendas aren’t buried in email, policies don’t live in three different folders, and everyone knows where to look for meeting prep. That’s a huge win in itself.
The Important Dates board has already been a game-changer. Directors can see upcoming retreats, adoption events, and vet visits in the same place, which helps them feel more connected to the rhythm of the rescue. And on my end, having a Board Planning board tucked away means I don’t have to carry all the “don’t forget” tasks in my head.
The permissions structure also works: most of my directors are happy as viewers, just needing to read and prepare, while Cherry and I keep the administrative pieces moving. It’s clean, cost-effective, and scalable.
That said, I know this won’t be the final version. As our board becomes more active — and as our rescue grows — we’ll likely need to revisit how it’s structured. Maybe that means adding committees with their own boards, expanding to more paid seats, or using Monday in ways I haven’t thought of yet. The important part is that the foundation is there: a system that can grow with us.
Right now, we don’t need complicated. We need clarity. And this setup delivers that.
If you’re running a small nonprofit, don’t let the idea of “board management software” intimidate you. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars or adopt a system that’s bigger than your needs. A tool you may already be using — like Monday.com — can be adapted to fit.
Here are a few lessons I’ve learned so far:
Start simple. Don’t build six boards when one will do. Your board members want clarity, not complexity.
Use what you already have. If your policies live in Google Drive, link them instead of re-uploading. If you already use Monday for admin, extend it to your board.
Plan permissions early. Decide who really needs to edit and who just needs to read. Viewer accounts can save you money and headaches.
Expect to revisit. What works for a seven-member board today might need adjusting if you expand, create committees, or grow your budget.
The important part is creating a space where directors can find what they need, stay engaged, and feel like they’re part of something organized and intentional.
This post is just a starting point. I’m planning to create a YouTube walkthrough and a downloadable step-by-step guide to show exactly how I built our Board Hub in Monday.com. If that’s something you’d find helpful, let me know — I’d love to share the templates and lessons with others who are navigating the same challenges.