Board Report: How to Write One, With a Free Checker

What Is a Board Report?

A board report is a short paper sent to a board of directors, trustees or a committee. It brings them up to date and, most often, asks them to decide something. A good one lets a busy director see the ask, the facts behind it and the risks in a few minutes.

When You Need One and Who Reads It

You write one before each board meeting, and whenever a decision needs board approval, such as a budget, a policy, a hire or a major contract.

The readers are directors who read many papers and may skim yours on a phone the night before. They need the ask first, the numbers they can trust and the risks stated plainly. A wrong figure on page two can make them doubt the whole paper.

What Goes in a Board Report

1. The Ask. What you want the board to decide, in one sentence, at the top.
2. Summary. The situation and your recommendation in a short paragraph.
3. Key Facts and Figures. Each number with its source and its date.
4. Options. If more than one path exists, what each would mean.
5. Risks. What could go wrong, and what you will do about it.
6. Cost and Resources. What it would take.
7. Next Steps. What happens if the board agrees, and who does it.

How to Write a Board Report, Step by Step

1. Start with the Ask. Write it first, then build the paper around it.
2. Say Why Now. What changed, or what happens if the board waits.
3. Give the Facts. Keep numbers few, sourced and consistent.
4. Compare with Last Time. Show change against the last period or the plan.
5. State the Risks Honestly. Directors trust a paper that names its weak spots.
6. Keep Detail in an Appendix.
7. Check Every Number Against Your Records. Then have someone else read it.

A Short Example

This sample is invented.

Ask: Approve 18,000 dollars to buy a second delivery van for the tool library.

Summary: Loans grew from 1,040 to 1,860 this year (loan log), and deliveries now wait about two weeks (delivery log). One van can no longer cover every route.

Key Figures: Households: 210 in January, 312 in December (member list). Loans: 1,860 (loan log). Quote received: 17,400 dollars, plus 600 dollars for signage.

Risks: Running costs rise by about 2,400 dollars a year. Mitigation: a volunteer driver schedule.

Next Steps: If approved, order in November, in service by January.

Common Mistakes

• Burying the Ask. If it is on page four, directors will miss it.
• Figures That Do Not Match. The summary says 48 percent and the table says 52.
• Claims with No Source. "Nearly double" needs the two numbers.
• Hiding the Risks. Directors find them anyway.

How to Do It with AI Using the Template

The Logic Lab template, "Check a Report Before It Goes to the Board," does not write the report. It checks one you have written. You paste the report, your source figures and the ask.

Checks are built in. Every number, date and claim of change is quoted word for word in a list. Each is compared with your source figures. The template flags mismatches, claims with no source, a first paragraph that does not state the ask, and a missing recommendation, risk or cost, and gives a verdict with a fix list. Those checks show their evidence, but an AI tool can miss things, so read the flagged parts yourself. The decision to send stays with you.

The template runs in your own AI tool. Logic Lab runs no AI and does not see what you paste. Follow your board's own rules on format and confidentiality, and paste only what your organization lets you put into an AI tool.