Q. What if my organisation does not have a formal Board?
A. We appreciate some for-purpose organisations (including social enterprises) may not have a formal Board of Directors. If this applies to your organisation, you can still use the Board Health Check tool to assess your governance. We suggest you substitue your own governance structure (e.g. Advisory Committee) where you read Board or Directors throughout the survey.
Q. Does it cost to use the Board Health Check?
A. No. The Board Health Check is free to all Australian charities and for-purpose entities. To keep it this way, a team of generous organisations and individuals are working behind the scenes, committed to helping good for-purpose organisations become great. You can learn more in About Us.
Q. What does the actual Report look like that we would receive?
A. Here is a sample report.
Q. What if I registered and didn't receive the link to my survey?
A. Have you checked your Junk file in your emails? Often the email will go to junk - we can't avoid it unfortunately. If you still can not find your link, please contact us or email us.
Q. Is my organisation allowed to use the Board Health Check?
A. Your organisation can use the Board Health Check if it is an Australian charity or for-purpose organisation. Commercial organisations are not allowed to use the Board Health Check. This is a for-purpose contribution to help support and transform the charity and social enterprise sectors.
Q. How long does it take to complete?
A. The Board Health Check takes around 15 minutes to complete. There are 44 multiple choice questions and a few commentary questions. It is deliberately designed to be quick, easy, and insightful.
Q. How long will the survey remain open for?
A. The Board Health Check will stay open for 21 days from the day you register, or until all board members have completed it, whichever comes first. Make sure all members complete the survey to ensure it's 100% representative of your board!
Q. Can other members of our team e.g. staff do the Health Check if they're not board directors?
A. We recommend you register for a second and separate Health Check for staff e.g. V2 and keep it distinctly separate from your Board. This is because the input of staff or management may skew the results and this is about board performance and effectiveness. You will be able to compare staff results and board results but they'll be two distinct reports. Hope this makes sense.
Q. Are my responses anonymous?
A. Yes. All responses to questions in the Board Health Check are anonymous. However, some questions ask you to submit a written response, which can potentially be used by other Board Members to identify you. To prevent this, don’t include details in your responses that might allow others to identify you, such as names, references to events where only a fraction of the Board was present, or information that only you and a handful of other Board Members know.
Q. What happens to the results?
A. A report based on your Board’s results will be emailed to your key contact, the person who registered your Board, once the Board Health Check closes. Your results are stored securely on Tanarra's dedicated server.
Q. How safe is the data and information provided through the survey?
A. The data and information you provide sits on a dedicated server under direct control of Tanarra Philanthropic. We do not share it with any other organisation. We will never disclose the identities of individual organisations or participants. The only data we may use is aggregated survey trends, such as the average size of organisations and the types of causes they support. Using this data helps us understand how best to help the sector.
Q. Who developed the content and how do we know it's robust and best practice?
A. The content has been developed by a team comprising Tanarra Philanthropic, Investment Directors and Analysts of Tanarra Group, together with input from the Governance Institute of Australia. Over a two-year period (2019-2021) the project team, including volunteer Felix Geake-Ransome, completed a national and international scan of board review and effectiveness resources in the marketplace including Governance Evaluator, Board Check-Up, Institute of Community Directors, AICD and others. We pooled ideas from our direct experience on boards, including that of John Wylie AM. We considered common issues inhibiting uptake of performance reviews, and why Tanarra Philanthropic continues to be asked by organisations 'How do we improve the effectiveness and performance of the board, beyond legal compliance?' In 2020 we trialled what we believe is a 'best in class' Board Health Check with eight not-for-profit organisations, continuing to improve content and usability in response to the feedback we received. In 2021, this fully automated Board Health Check was launched.
Q. What if I don't receive the 'start survey' email to send to my board?
A. If you don’t receive the email, please check your junk and spam files, as the email may have gone there. If you still can’t find the email, please contact us.
Q. Can we extend the closing time frame for my board?
A. Yes, the timeframe can be extended. You initially have 21 days from registration to complete the survey before it closes, but a week before it closes you may choose to extend it by another fortnight in a reminder email sent out.
Q. Who do I go to for troubleshooting?
A. If you have any problems completing the Board Health Check, please contact us or email us. We will endeavour to respond within 48 hours. However, please note that all members of our team work part-time, and so responses may be delayed.
Q. Who owns this Health Check?
A. Tanarra Social Purpose owns the IP for the Board Health Check. Tanarra Social Purpose is a pro-bono business advisory service operating in the Australian charity and not-for-profit sectors. We're part of the Tanarra Group, one of Australia's leading alternative asset investment firms founded by investment banker and philanthropist, John Wylie AM. The Board Health Check has been made available as an automated online tool through the skill and generosity of Dave Bonnett, a Management Consultant specialising in the technology sector, Colby Leaman, a Director at Drumbeat Digital, and Antoine Génési, a data analyst at Tanarra.
Q. If my key contact has changed, how do I access our report?
A. If your key contact has changed, please ask the Chair of your board to contact us or email us.
Q. Where does the funding come from to operate the program?
A. Currently, this program is fuelled by pro-bono work. It has been brought to charities and for-purpose organisations through the efforts of individuals and organisations who have generously donated their time and skills. Tanarra Social Purpose covers the annual costs of website hosting and administration. To bring this to the widest possible audience of charities and for-purpose organisations, we hope to attract corporate and philanthropic support in the future.
Q. Can we benchmark our results against others?
A. No, you cannot benchmark your results against the results of other boards at this stage. Remember, the point of taking this survey is to understand the strengths and areas for improvement of YOUR organisation!
Q. What is your Privacy Policy?
A. This Privacy Policy relates to Tanarra Foundation Pty Ltd trading as Tanarra Social Purpose (TSP) (which used to be known as Tanarra Philanthropic Advisors).
This Privacy Policy set outs TSP’s policy on the management of personal information it collects, uses, discloses and destroys stores as defined by and in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (the Act) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). A copy of the Act and the APPs and more information about your privacy rights can be obtained through the website of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au ).
By accessing TSP’s website, or using the Board Health Check, you consent to TSP collecting, holding, using and disclosing your personal information. TSP may collect your name and email address. TSP may use your personal information for the primary purpose for which it was collected including to access the Board Health Check.
TSP may also use your personal information for other purposes to which you consent or which are required or permitted by law. This may include for a secondary purpose that is related to a purpose for which TSP collected it and for which you would reasonably expect TSP to use.
TSP may disclose your personal information to:
- A member of the Tanarra group (ie a related body corporate of TSP)
- TSP’s external service providers that provide hosting, data storage or other services
- Any party where TSP is required by law
TSP may provide links to websites operated by third parties. TSP makes no representations or warranties in relation to the privacy practices of any third party or third party website and TSP is not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of any third party or any third party website.
If you require access to or wish to update your personal information, please contact info@tanarraphilanthropic.org
TSP will take reasonable steps to protect your personal information that we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, interference, unauthorised modification or unauthorised disclosure.
Tanarra’s service providers are required to notify TSP of any unauthorised access to, or disclosure or loss of, personal information.
Privacy Related Complaints: if you have any questions about privacy related issues or the handling of your personal information by TSP please contact our Privacy Officer at info@tanarraphilanthropic.org