The Institute of Community Directors Australia and BoardPro partnership

The Institute of Community Directors Australia and BoardPro are entering an exciting new partnership, bringing together leading governance education and user-friendly board management software to better support not-for-profit and community organisations across Australia. 

At the heart of the partnership is a shared purpose: to make good governance more accessible, so boards can make better decisions and deliver better outcomes for the communities they serve.

"The Institute of Community Directors Australia has been a trusted leader in powering community organisations for many years," says Charlie Nowaczek, BoardPro's CEO. "By pairing their training and governance expertise with BoardPro's board management software, we're able to offer a full range of solutions for boards of all sizes.

BoardPro's mission is to deliver powerful yet accessible tools and insights for every board professional, enabling them to govern with clarity and impact. The board management software is currently trusted by over 35,000 users in 35 countries.

"The Institute of Community Directors Australia is so excited to embark upon a partnership with BoardPro, which we believe will be of great benefit to our community in promoting ethical and responsible governance, which we know is not always easy," says Adele Stowe-Lindner, Institute of Community Directors Australia. "The partnership will open up opportunities for community boards to utilise safe online board software to maintain governance-related documentation, and to be able to focus on doing what they do best — growing their communities."

The Institute of Community Directors Australia is an independent social enterprise dedicated solely to serving the community sector. It caters specifically to the needs of not-for-profits and social enterprises across Australia. Each year, the Institute of Community Directors Australia delivers training to more than 22,000 people and provides free policies, help sheets, articles and other resources, downloaded over 250,000 times annually.

Key benefits for not-for-profit organisations

The focus of the BoardPro and Institute of Community Directors Australia partnership is to help boards:

• Identify their strengths and opportunities
• Improve compliance and governance practices
• Lift overall governance maturity over time

Through this partnership, BoardPro will reach the Institute of Community Directors Australia national network of directors, chairs, leaders and volunteers, and its community organisations will gain access to BoardPro's practical, secure platform for managing agendas, papers, minutes and other core board responsibilities.

"Stronger boards lead to stronger organisations, and that means better outcomes for the communities they serve," says Nowaczek. "That's a mission both of our organisations are proud to champion."

Education, capability, and accessible pathways

Over the coming year, the Institute of Community Directors Australia will continue to expand the breadth and depth of its programmes and resources, ensuring there are accessible pathways for leaders at every stage of their governance journey.

"We like to say that we do all the boring stuff behind the scenes so that leaders of the community sector can change the world in the way they want to and should be able to," says Stowe-Lindner.

Institute of Community Directors Australia offer courses ranging from a one-hour lunch-and-learn to a twelve-month diploma in governance.

"We'll ensure that if people would like to invest ten hours in being the best leader they can be, the best secretary they can be, the best treasurer they can be for their organisation, then that opportunity is absolutely available to them at a price point that is accessible and respectful," says Stowe-Lindner.

BoardPro as the trusted workspace for Australian not-for-profit organisations

To further support community organisations, BoardPro has developed special pricing for the community sector to make digital governance tools more affordable and accessible, and rolling out new features and tools, including the AI search and summarise assistant, and the annual work plan.

"The partnership with the Institute of Community Directors Australia is a key component in BoardPro's continued expansion into the Australian not-for-profit sector," says Nowaczek. "BoardPro's focus on growth is working towards our vision of being the trusted workspace of modern governance, leading to better decisions and outcomes for organisations and the communities they serve."

For both BoardPro and Institute of Community Directors Australia, this partnership is ultimately about impact. By combining technology, training and practical support, the two organisations aim to make governance more achievable for busy, time-poor volunteer and professional boards in the not-for-profit sector.