How to Show a Board or Committee on an Org Chart
Show governance bodies on an org chart without turning them into managers: board, committees and volunteers, built on a nonprofit chart and checked against a budget approval.
A board or committee belongs on an org chart as a governing body, drawn so readers can tell governance from management.
The short version
- Draw the board as a governing body at the top, not as a manager.
- Show committees as board bodies under the board.
- Put the executive director under the board as the head of management.
- Use a dotted line for volunteers, advisers and partners.
- Check where governance approves things by looking at a process such as budget approval.
Governance and management are different relationships
Many organizations are overseen by a board, a council or a committee: a nonprofit board, a university senate, a partnership committee. These bodies appoint and oversee the people who run the organization, but they do not manage staff day to day. If the chart draws them as ordinary managers, it tells readers that the staff report to them.
Show the governing body at the top as a governing body, show its committees as board bodies and show the person it appoints as the head of management. Draw volunteers, advisers and partners with a dotted line and a note, since they contribute without being employees. The chart below is the editable nonprofit organizational chart.
A second chart, a budget approval, shows where governance enters management: the budget the executive director proposes is approved by the board's finance committee, so the process needs a lane that exists on the org chart.
Build a nonprofit org chart with its board and volunteers
Governance appears first, then management, then the dotted volunteer line, so each relationship is drawn in its own style.
Start with the board and its committees
The board of directors is the governing body, and its finance and governance committees sit under it as board bodies. Nothing here manages staff yet, which is the point: governance is drawn before management.
Add the executive director and programs
The board appoints one executive director, who runs the organization day to day, and who leads the programs director and program managers. Volunteers are dotted under the volunteer coordinator because they give time without being employed.
Add fundraising and finance
Development and finance operations report to the executive director. Finance and compliance connect the management side back to the finance and audit committee, so a reader can see where oversight meets the books.
Finish with communications
Communications completes the management team. The finished chart shows three kinds of relationship at a glance: governance at the top, management in solid lines and volunteers dotted.
See governance at work: budget approval
A budget approval shows where governance reaches into management. Built in three stages.
Write the steps and decisions
Start with the request, review, funding check and the approval decision, without owners. You can see the decision but not who has authority to make it.
Give approval to the body that owns it
Add lanes so that the budget owner and department manager request and validate, Finance reviews and the top lane approves. In a nonprofit the top lane would be the board's finance committee, so the lane names should match boxes on the org chart.
Complete the decision path and its records
The full process adds the decision, the return to the requester and the published budget. Check each step against the chart: a lane owned by a body that is not on the chart means the chart is missing a governance role.
How it works
Put the governing body at the top
Add the board, council or senate as the top role and label it as a governing body that appoints the head of management.
Add committees under it
Add the committees as board bodies. Label them so readers know they oversee and do not manage staff.
Add the head of management
Add the executive director, president or managing partner under the governing body and build the management teams under that role.
Draw non-employees with a dotted line
Add volunteers, advisers or partners dotted, with a note saying the relationship is not employment.
Label governance lines
Write on each dotted or governance line what it stands for, so readers do not take it for a manager line.
Check it against a process
Open a process such as budget approval and give each step a lane that matches a body or role on the chart. Fix gaps in the chart or the process.
Mistakes to avoid
Drawing the board as the manager of staff
The board appoints and oversees the head of management; it does not manage staff day to day. Draw staff under the executive, not the board.
Showing committees as teams
A committee is a board body. Label it as one so it is not mistaken for a department.
Leaving volunteers off the chart
If volunteers matter to your work, show them dotted. Hiding them hides who does the work.
Mixing governance and management in one line style
If every line looks the same, readers cannot tell governance from management. Use a visibly different line and a label.
Editable organizational charts
Create your nonprofit organizational chart
Open the editable nonprofit org chart, rename the roles to match your organization and mark the governance lines.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does the board manage staff?
No. The board governs and appoints the executive director, who manages staff. Draw staff under the executive director, not under the board.
How do I show volunteers?
With a dotted line and a note, as in this chart, because they are not employees and the volunteer coordinator guides rather than manages them like staff.
Can I use this for a university or a law firm?
Yes. Replace the board with the senate or the partner committee and keep the same pattern: the governing body is drawn as governance, and the head of management sits under it.
What should a dotted line mean?
Write the meaning on the chart. In this example it means governance or a non-employment relationship, never a second manager.