Building Board Capacity (2025)

Program Description

An Overview

Board capacity building is no small thing. It takes time, energy, and commitment – and it’s worth every bit of that and more.

Building board capacity is an investment into your community, your society, and you as an individual. This module is designed to get you thinking about how you can best develop your board through board composition, recruitment, retention and of course board evaluation.

This module explores non-profit housing society frameworks and welcomes all non-profit organizations, including those outside the non-profit housing sector.

• Online, self-directed module
• Participants have 30 days to complete
• This module is part of the Board Governance Curriculum

Topics Include:

Board Composition, Recruitment and Retention | Diversity | Recruiting | Attracting Volunteers | Interviewing, Orientation and Training | Recognition and Acknowledgement | Board Development and Evaluation | Asking Good Questions

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this module you will be able to:

• Articulate the skills and competencies on your board and your emerging needs
• Develop a volunteer recruitment strategy
• Evaluate your board to look for strengths and gaps
• Develop a board training and ongoing learning plan that fits your society’s needs and budget

Throughout the course you will read and watch content, and be encouraged to engage in various offline activities to apply your learning to your board role. We understand that not everyone will have the chance to share these activities with their board while participating in this module. However, this learning is all about your involvement with your board. We invite you to apply the information from this module to your own situation and bring it to life in a way that is meaningful to you.

Once you have completed this module you can go on to learn more about board governance in our other self-serve modules. For more information, see bottom of page.

This module is one of 4 modules which comprise the 12-week facilitated Online Board Governance course curriculum, developed in partnership with BC Housing. For more information, see bottom of page.

Time Commitment

This module includes approximately 2-3 hours of content. You have 30 days to complete the module. At the end of the 30-day enrollment period you will be automatically unenrolled from this module.

The learning content is provided in a lesson format that allows you to progress at your own pace. The lesson includes non-graded checks for understanding, interactive and self-reflective activities. This module also includes a non-graded pre-test and a graded post-test. You’ll need to complete the non-graded pre-test in order to access the lesson.

To receive a certificate you’ll need to score 70% or more on the post-test. You can re-take the post-test as many times as needed, within your enrollment period.

Prerequisites

This is an online course and participants must have basic computer skills and have regular access to a computer with MS Office 2010 or later and a modern, safe browser.

We recommend Chrome, however any updated browser will work. Templates used in this course may require MS Excel, MS Word and .pdf reader. This course is provided in English and requires reading and writing at a high school level.

Module Duration

Modules are 30 days in length and run continuously throughout the year. You may register for the course at any time during the month or year.

You will receive your log-in details upon registration from learn@bcnpha.ca.

Once you receive your log-in details, you can log into HousingU at any time to start your module. You will have 30 days to complete the module from the date that you receive your log-in instructions. For example, if you registered on July 10, you will have until August 10 to complete. After the 30-day enrollment period, you will be automatically un-enrolled from the module. If you do not complete it within 30 days, you will have to re-register. Module re-registration/extensions are subject to a fee of $20+GST for BCNPHA members or $30+GST for non-members. Contact learn@bcnpha.ca for re-registration enquiries.

Registration Details

To register, click on the button above to login to our secure Registration site.

Please note that all HousingU courses are for single-user registration only, as our learning management system requires a unique email address for each participant. This means you can’t enroll another person on your behalf. Each participant must set up their own BCNPHA account, register individually, and use their own email to receive their unique login details and course access.

Participants are welcome to either pay upfront or select “Pay Later” upon registration checkout and then forward the receipt/invoice to the appropriate party for reimbursement, if applicable.

Registration Assistance

For step-by-step registration instructions (PDF) and/or our cancellation policy, check out the Program Info: HousingU Registration page.

Registrants will receive course access instructions from learn@bcnpha.ca prior to the course start date.

Need help?

• Having problems with your account? Email webfeedback@bcnpha.ca.
• Having problems completing your online registration? Email events@bcnpha.ca.
• Having problems accessing your online course? Email learn@bcnpha.ca.