Affiliate Playbook

Affiliate Playbook — Introduction

The mission of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is to enhance the quality of life in the communities we serve. The Affiliate Playbook reflects the core responsibilities of affiliate boards to carry out this mission and successfully execute strategies to advance the work. 

Above all, members of affiliate advisory boards should work collaboratively with the CFO to set goals, identify strategies and evaluate progress. This partnership strengthens our collective efforts, supports continuous improvement and ensures meaningful results for the communities we serve.

The Affiliate Playbook was developed through a highly collaborative process, incorporating insights and feedback from multiple groups across our organization. It reflects the collective expertise of the CFO Regional Committee, Board of Directors and staff, ensuring that the guidance provided is both practical and aligned with our shared vision. By engaging these diverse perspectives, we aim to create a resource that truly supports affiliates and strengthens our regional impact.

The CFO staff is deeply committed to supporting affiliates and our region. In addition to the Directors of Affiliate Engagement, who will provide hands-on guidance through regular visits, meeting participation and ongoing training, the broader CFO team will also play an active role in ensuring affiliates have the resources and expertise they need to succeed. This includes offering strategic support, sharing best practices, and providing access to specialized knowledge across various areas of philanthropy and operations. To benefit fully from this partnership, affiliates are expected to uphold all core expectations outlined in this handbook.

Core Affiliate Responsiblities

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1. Strong & Committed Board

2. Inspiring Philanthropy

3. Effective Grantmaking

4. Engaged Communications & Marketing

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Core Affiliate Responsibility 1:

Strong & Committed Board

Affiliate boards play a vital role in advancing our shared mission. While affiliates operate independently, a variety of resources, best practices and guidance materials are available to support effective governance and community impact. Regular meetings, with a quorum present, are essential for conducting business, setting goals and moving strategies forward.

Each affiliate board member is responsible for active engagement: attending meetings, communicating with CFO staff, and participating in discussion, goal setting and ongoing education.

Commit to strong leadership, succession planning, strategic planning and education

Required Expectations

• Each board should elect a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer as outlined in the affiliate’s bylaws.
• All affiliate boards will commit to succession planning for all board members and leadership roles, adhering to term limits as outlined in the affiliate’s bylaws.
• New board members should attend the “CFO 101” virtual orientation session (live or review the recording) within the first month of joining the affiliate board.
• New board members should attend all four virtual orientation sessions hosted by CFO staff (live sessions or reviewing the recorded session) within one year of joining the affiliate board.
• A current board roster (including contact information and board terms) should be shared with CFO staff annually. Any updates outside of the regularly scheduled elections should be submitted using the board member information form.
• All affiliate boards should conduct a biennial review of bylaws and the affiliate Memorandum of Understanding with the CFO. New board members will be provided with a copy of the bylaws prior to their first meeting. If no bylaws exist, use the CFO affiliate bylaws template.
• All affiliate boards should conduct an onboarding process for new board members within the first 90 days of their election/addition to the board that includes signing conflict of interest and confidentiality forms.

Strongly Encouraged Practices

• Board leadership appoints committee chairs to lead areas of work such as governance, development, grantmaking, outreach, etc.
• Board leaders and committee chairs work in partnership with CFO staff to identify and work toward goals/strategies.
• Prior to appointment as Board President, individuals should have served on the board for at least one year. If the affiliate has an executive committee, the incoming president is expected to have served on the executive committee for at least one year.

Optional Strategies

• Board members or affiliate staff are encouraged to serve on local coalitions, task forces or civic initiatives.
• Experienced board members should provide mentoring to new board members.

All board members are active, informed, engaged and responsive

Required Expectations

• Hold regularly scheduled board meetings at least six times per year.
• All board members should attend 80% or more of regularly scheduled board meetings.
• Develop an annual calendar to share with board members and CFO staff.
• Board leadership should attend and participate in at least one educational opportunity offered by CFO each fiscal year. This includes monthly virtual Board Education sessions, in-person training, virtual orientations or the annual Rural Philanthropy Summit.
• Provide written expectations for board members covering attendance, responsiveness, and participation. 

Strongly Encouraged Practices

• Develop a plan for unexcused absences from board meetings. 
• Agendas and materials are distributed at least 24 hours prior to meetings to allow informed participation. 
• Incorporate short educational segments into board meetings (e.g., fund types, philanthropy trends and local impact).
• Conduct periodic surveys to reflect on board effectiveness, preparedness and engagement.

Optional Strategies

• Plan a board “get to know you” relationship-building event or include agenda items that allow for relationship building during board meetings.
• Annual one-on-one conversations between the board president and board members about engagement, interests and capacity.

Commit to developing a board that reflects the community it serves

Required Expectations

• Use the board recruitment matrix to build a board that reflects the diversity of the community as it relates to race/ethnicity, gender, age, geography, backgrounds, professions and other experiences.
• Use term limits or staggered terms to create opportunities for new voices.

Strongly Encouraged Practices

• All board members should participate in board recruitment conversations and outreach.
• Establish goals that reflect key characteristics of the community (e.g., geography, age, professional background, lived experience).
• Review board makeup annually in relation to community demographics and needs.

Optional Strategies

• Appoint a governance committee to maintain records on past and future board members.
• Seek board nominations from community leaders, nonprofit partners and trusted local networks.
• Designate seats for younger leaders or individuals new to board service.

Affiliate board members participate in and promote community leadership

Required Expectations

• Share CFO funding opportunities with nonprofits and community leaders.

Strongly Encouraged Practices

• Attend local meetings (governmental, educational or nonprofit) to learn about community issues and local, state and federal funding and share findings with the board.
• Invite community members and/or new nonprofits to affiliate meetings, events or other community gatherings to introduce and connect to the community.

Optional Strategies

• Engage with other CFO affiliates addressing similar community needs or geographic areas to share ideas, successes, lessons learned and opportunities for collaboration.
• Use affiliate events and receptions to convene members of the community, educate on community needs and highlight the work of the affiliate and stakeholders. 

Core Affiliate Responsibility 3

Effective Grantmaking

Boards should make annual grant recommendations from their community grantmaking fund and any other funds they advise.

Understand what it means to be an effective, impactful grantmaker

Required Expectations

• Board members (new and returning) should attend a board orientation session on effective grantmaking and follow the affiliate grantmaking expectations.
• Grantmaking committee or board participates in grant application review, evaluation and decision-making.
• Ensure board members disclose conflicts and recuse themselves when appropriate during grant decisions.

Strongly Encouraged Practices

• Accept applications for the affiliate’s annual grant round using the CFO’s online grantmaking portal. (Note: All grant rounds will be online beginning in FY2028.)
• Appoint a grants chair to work in partnership with the CFO’s Community Impact Coordinator and lead the affiliate’s grantmaking efforts.
• Regularly review processes to reduce barriers for applicants and expand access to funding.
• In collaboration with the CFO’s Community Impact team, review final reports from grantees. 

Optional Strategies

• Conduct site visits to past grantee organizations and hold grantee conversations with board members to understand real-world impact.
• Partner with other funders or affiliates to address shared priorities.

Get to know and engage with local, regional and statewide nonprofit organizations serving your community

Required Expectations

• In partnership with the Director of Affiliate Engagement and the CFO’s Community Impact team, define goals and approaches for engaging with grantees, new applicants and other local nonprofit organizations. 
• Review applications from nonprofits and follow-up reports from grantees to understand work.

Strongly Encouraged Practices

• Host at least one local or regional nonprofit-focused convening annually.
• Encourage board members to attend at least one nonprofit meeting or event annually to serve as ambassadors for the foundation.

Optional Strategies

• Coordinate visits to local nonprofits to learn more about their mission and impact.
• Learn more about what statewide nonprofits are doing in your community and understand why they need local support.
• Share funding priorities, timelines and community insights openly with nonprofits.
• Involve community members in aspects of planning, priority setting or grantmaking.

Learn More

Affiliate Resources

Affiliate Playbook Timeline

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Affiliate Resources

Affiliate Playbook FAQ

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Videos

Affiliate Playbook: Introduction from Dr. Josh Cotter

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