Resources for boards
Board resources
Curated directory of useful resources for boards: fiduciary duty, nonprofit Form 990 and Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits (Jim Morgan), startup and public-company context, risk/cyber/AI oversight, compensation, whistleblower pointers, plus an overview of board types Prepared covers. Not legal advice; external publishers unaffiliated.
46 curated entries (26 Prepared, 20 external) and 21 board-type overviews. Useful even if you never sign up. Product claims stay within Facts.
Board types Prepared covers
Same decision OS — different defaults. One sentence on what makes each board different, with a link to the live offering. Full index: /for.
- Startups & ventureOften small, cadence-heavy boards with investor observers, financing consents, and reserved matters written into the cap table docs./for/startup-board-software →
- NonprofitsVolunteer directors oversee mission and Form 990 governance questions, with donor confidentiality and ED evaluation cycles./for/nonprofit-board-software →
- Churches & religiousElder/trustee clarity, confidential personnel matters, and stewardship finance sit alongside bylaws-driven meeting rules./for/church-board-software →
- Private companiesOwner-operator and PE-influenced boards mix operational updates with resolutions, observers, and financing consents./for/private-company-board-software →
- Public companiesIndependence, Audit/Comp/Nominating charters, related-party oversight, and disclosure calendars dominate — Prepared is not EDGAR or SOX./for/public-company-board-software →
- PE portfolioSponsor directors and observers push value-creation plans, add-on and financing consents, and exit-ready records across portcos./for/pe-portfolio-board-software →
- Multi-entity / JVEach entity needs its own board record; dual-hat directors and parent reserved matters create conflict and consent complexity./for/multi-entity-board-software →
- Investment committees / LPACsNarrow LPAC consents with the Fund LPAC preset, recorded recusals, and per-document access grants — no side-letter matrix or valuation calendar; an IC or LPAC is not a corporate board./for/investment-committee-software →
- ESOP companiesValuation cycles, trustee observers, and repurchase obligations sit next to ordinary fiduciary board work./for/esop-board-software →
- Benefit corp / B CorpBoards must weigh stated public benefit alongside shareholder interest and keep a record of that consideration./for/benefit-corp-board-software →
- HOA / condoStatutory notice, hearings, elections, and open-meeting hygiene matter more than enterprise board portals./for/hoa-board-software →
- ChambersLarge volunteer boards, monthly cadence, and sponsor conflicts sit between member advocacy and the board pack./for/chamber-of-commerce-board-software →
- School boardsOpen-meeting agendas, closed-session separation, and notice calendars are public-process constraints, not optional polish./for/school-board-software →
- Gov commissions / public boardsSunshine notice, public packets, closed sessions, and FOIA-adjacent retention shape how the record is kept./for/government-commission-software →
- Hospitals & health systemsQuality and peer-review privilege, system vs local boards, and executive sessions dominate clinical governance oversight./for/hospital-board-software →
- Universities & collegesLarge committee structures, endowment oversight, presidential search confidentiality, and shared-governance observers./for/university-board-software →
- Credit unionsVolunteer directors oversee ALM, lending, exam preparation, and member capital under NCUA supervision./for/credit-union-board-software →
- Cooperatives / co-opsMember democracy, patronage decisions, and clear board vs membership meeting separation drive the calendar./for/cooperative-board-software →
- Labor unions / executive boardsDocumented democracy, executive-session access for bargaining material, and officer vs steward role clarity shape executive-board work./for/union-board-software →
- Advisory boardsNon-voting advice only — advice must not be mistaken for a fiduciary board decision or quorum./for/advisory-board-software →
- Investors / sponsors / LPsSponsors and LPs need portfolio rollups and diligence asks across many boards — not another seat on each portco./for/investors →
Nonprofit boards & Form 990
Dedicated nonprofit section: Prepared guides and the Form 990 / filings window, plus free Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits by Jim Morgan. Prepared Board is not affiliated with Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits; materials are offered free by that project under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 — get the booklet and course from the official site.
Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits — Jim Morgan
Free booklet, course, and tools for nonprofit directors. Credit Jim Morgan. We link out only — we do not republish large excerpts of the booklet here. Start at the official site, then download the free PDF booklet and Morganisms if useful for your board.
- Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits (Jim Morgan) (opens in new tab)
Free booklet, course, and tools for nonprofit directors by Jim Morgan (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Prepared is not affiliated — get materials from the official site.
Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits · External
- Applied Wisdom — start here (opens in new tab)
Official start page for the free Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector materials.
Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits · External
- Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector — free booklet (PDF) (opens in new tab)
Downloadable free booklet from Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits (Jim Morgan). Link out; do not paste large excerpts.
Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits · External
- Definitive Morganisms (PDF) (opens in new tab)
Short free PDF of Morganisms from Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits — credit Jim Morgan; Prepared is not affiliated.
Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits · External
Prepared nonprofit guides & IRS Form 990
- Prepared for nonprofit boards
Offering page for 501(c)(3) boards: Form 990 checklists, COI, policy acks, and ED evaluation — honest about limits.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Nonprofit board best practices (guide)
Practical nonprofit governance how-to tied to seeded demos.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Form 990 board governance questions (guide)
How boards record Form 990 review (filings window) — Prepared does not file or e-file with the IRS.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- IRS — About Form 990 (opens in new tab)
Official IRS overview of the Form 990 series boards and counsel rely on.
IRS · External
- IRS — Instructions for Form 990 (opens in new tab)
Primary instructions for Form 990, including Part VI governance questions.
IRS · External
- BoardSource — nonprofit board fundamentals (opens in new tab)
Public BoardSource fundamentals for nonprofit board service. Prepared is not affiliated.
BoardSource · External
Fiduciary duty & governance basics
Care, loyalty, oversight, and the process record directors actually keep.
- Fiduciary responsibility hub
Prepared’s cited overview of care, loyalty, oversight, good faith/exculpation/D&O, nonprofit, and public-body context.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Fiduciary duties of board directors (guide)
Operator-practical explainer of care, loyalty, and obedience with links into the live product record.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Fiduciary exposure check
Free public self-check that lists process-record gaps only — never a score or risk rating.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- The Delaware Way — business judgment (opens in new tab)
Official Delaware corporate-law overview of informed, good-faith board decisions.
State of Delaware · External
- OECD Principles of Corporate Governance (opens in new tab)
Intergovernmental principles on board responsibilities and shareholder rights.
OECD · External
- Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (opens in new tab)
Public posts from practitioners and academics on board practice and regulation.
Harvard Law School Forum · External
- NACD governance resources (opens in new tab)
Director-facing governance library. Full downloads may require NACD membership; Prepared is not affiliated.
NACD · External
Startup & venture-backed boards
Observers, reserved matters, financing consents, and portfolio oversight.
- Venture-backed board governance (guide)
Portco board playbook with VC_PORTCO preset pointers.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Reserved matters & protective provisions (guide)
How boards keep a template reserved-matters list and record preferred consent — not a charter parser.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Portfolio governance across boards (guide)
What crosses boards on Portfolio vs what stays on each board — counts, not scores.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Prepared for investors
Sponsor / VC / PE / LP funnel: require a decision record, capability map, demos.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- NVCA model legal documents (opens in new tab)
Industry model financing and governance documents many venture boards start from. Not legal advice.
NVCA · External
Public company & SEC context
Listed-company disclosure and committee context — not EDGAR, not SOX certification.
- Prepared for public company boards
Late-stage / public lens: charter records, related-party register, pack attestation — not SOX, not EDGAR.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Public company board governance (guide)
Committees, related-party, calendars, export — honest not-live limits.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- SEC — Division of Corporation Finance (opens in new tab)
Official CorpFin overview for disclosure and corporate finance policy.
U.S. SEC · External
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (GovInfo PDF) (opens in new tab)
Primary statute PDF for U.S. public-company audit-committee and reporting context.
U.S. Government Publishing Office · External
- Exchange Act Rule 10A-3 (Cornell LII) (opens in new tab)
Listed-issuer audit-committee complaint procedures text (SOX §301 implementing rule).
Cornell LII · External
Risk, cyber & AI oversight
Board risk registers, cyber notices, and AI literacy — frameworks, not scores.
- Board risk register (guide)
Short board-declared risk list — no likelihood/impact/residual scores.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Cyber incident board notices (guide)
What the board records when management reports a cyber incident — not MDR.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Board AI literacy library
Prepared primers plus curated NIST / EU AI Act / OECD / NACD reading list.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework (opens in new tab)
Voluntary CSF overview boards use when overseeing cyber risk.
NIST · External
- NIST AI Risk Management Framework (opens in new tab)
Voluntary AI RMF (Govern / Map / Measure / Manage). Not a certification.
NIST · External
- EU Artificial Intelligence Act — overview (opens in new tab)
European Commission overview of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. Not legal advice.
European Commission · External
- NACD — AI and Board Governance (opens in new tab)
Director essentials on AI oversight. Membership may be required for full download; Prepared is not affiliated.
NACD · External
Compensation & nominating
Pay process, skills matrices, committee charters, and CEO evaluation records.
- How to set board compensation (guide)
Process for director pay decisions with citable public figures.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Board skills matrix (guide)
Board-declared skills and independence categories — not an independence opinion.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- CEO evaluation (guide)
Annual CEO / leadership review process — no CEO rating or score in Prepared.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Director indemnification & D&O insurance (guide)
Recording indemnification decisions and D&O binder review.
Prepared Board · Prepared
Whistleblower & speak-up
Policy and process pointers — Prepared is not a hotline vendor.
- Whistleblower & stakeholder channels
Honest framing of speak-up channels — Prepared is not a hotline vendor.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Whistleblower policy for boards (guide)
Policy how-to tied to Form 990 line 13 and public-company complaint rules.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- SEC whistleblower protections (opens in new tab)
Official SEC page on Exchange Act §21F anti-retaliation protections (securities context).
U.S. SEC · External
Prepared hubs & tools
Guides index, glossary, library, free templates, and public self-checks.
- All governance guides
Full guide index by board type and decision task.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Board glossary
Short definitions of quorum, recusal, consent agenda, and more.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Library — history, science, evidence
Cited long-form essays; every claim sourced; no computed scores.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Free board templates
Printable decision memo, policy ack, cheat sheet, pre-mortem worksheet.
Prepared Board · Prepared
- Board decision-record health check
Free eight-question self-assessed Strong/Mixed/At risk — not an audit.
Prepared Board · Prepared
Educational directory only — not legal advice, not a compliance determination, and not a substitute for counsel. External publishers are unaffiliated with Prepared Board; some NACD materials may require membership. Links open primary or public pages we verified resolve; access and content can change. Using Prepared is not business-judgment protection and does not prevent liability.