This six-section toolkit is intended to assist boards and management in their collaborative efforts to build well-governed and effective Community Action Agencies (CAAs).

The toolkit includes case scenarios and examples to help you understand and apply the principles discussed. Many of the sections provide sample documents that CAAs can use as a starting point for developing their own policies.

This resource addresses how to:

• Conduct and maintain minutes for board meetings;
• Build financial capacity through hiring of skilled financial staff and effective audits;
• Prepare organization-wide budgets;
• Get the most out of financial statements;
• Address conflicts of interest; and
• Draft and implement effective whistleblower policies.

Individual Sections:

• Introduction and Preface: Compliance with the CSBG Organizational Standards
• Section 1: Making Board Meetings Matter
• Section 2: Improving a CAA’s Financial Capacity
• Section 3: Creating the Annual Operating Budget
• Section 4: Getting the Most Out of Your Financial Statements (with Appendix)
• Section 5: Dealing with Conflicts of Interest
• Section 6: Adopting a Whistleblower Policy
• Addendum: Challenges and Solutions for Rural/Small CAAs
• Appendices