Free templates
Board templates you can use today
Print them, download the markdown, or run one inside a free board. No account needed to download. Practice template, not legal advice. Your bylaws, policies, statutes, and counsel control.
- Board decision memo
A one-to-two page memo that frames a board decision: the question, options, evidence, risks, dissent, and how the board will know if it worked.
When to use: Any decision the board will vote on that is material, hard to reverse, or contested.
- Annual policy acknowledgment form
A plain form for the annual director acknowledgment of a board policy (code of conduct, conflicts, confidentiality, insider trading, and similar).
When to use: Each year, and when a director joins or a policy changes.
- New-director cheat sheet (blank worksheet)
A one-page worksheet a new director fills in between the announcement and the first meeting: the organization, the board, the money, the people, and the open decisions.
When to use: In the weeks between a director's election or appointment and their first board meeting.
- Board pre-mortem worksheet
A structured pre-mortem: imagine the decision has failed a year from now and work backward to the most likely causes, before the vote.
When to use: Before approving a large, hard-to-reverse decision (acquisition, major hire, big capital project, new strategy).
Looking for decision-specific templates (budget approval, CEO compensation, and more)? See /templates.