Copied to clipboard!
Module 5 For Nonprofits intermediate 45 min

Operational Efficiency & Reporting

The inbox and the board memo

For Directors · Fundraising, board relations, strategy

You're viewing the Program Manager track. These Executive Director exercises are also here. Switch to Executive Director in the top bar to focus them.

Turn 4 Hours of Board-Memo Writing into 30 Minutes of Editing

The monthly board memo is due. You have the facts in your head and scattered notes. You feed them to AI as raw material and edit a structured draft instead of writing from a blank page.

Recommended tool

claude

Claude is strong at structured documents and at role-playing a skeptical reader in the same chat.

Bring to the exercise

  • Your Org Context Document
  • This month’s wins, concerns, one client story (anonymized), and key numbers
Step 1

Hand over the raw material

Give AI the inputs and a clear structure so the first draft already looks like a board memo.

What to substitute before pasting

  • CLIENT STORY: [ANONYMIZED] Use "a family in 45227," never a real name
  • NUMBERS: [PASTE] Paste real figures; do not let AI invent them
[PASTE YOUR ORG CONTEXT DOCUMENT]

Draft this month’s board memo. Use this structure:
- One-line headline
- Programs update (3 bullets, each with a number)
- One client story (1 short paragraph)
- Financials (a small table)
- What we need from the board (clear asks)

Here is the raw material:
"""
WINS: [LIST]
CONCERNS: [LIST]
CLIENT STORY: [ANONYMIZED]
NUMBERS: [PASTE]
BOARD ASKS: [LIST]
"""
What good output looks like
  • A memo with a real headline, not "Monthly Update"
  • Every program bullet carries a number

Verify before using AI's output

Step 2

Tighten and pressure-test

Use a quick critique pass so the memo is board-ready before it leaves your desk.

Now act as a skeptical board treasurer reading this memo for the first time. List:
- The 3 questions you would ask
- Any number that looks unsupported
- One place the ask is vague

Then revise the memo to answer all of it in advance.
What good output looks like
  • The treasurer questions are ones you would actually get
  • The revised memo closes those gaps

Verify before using AI's output

For Program Managers · Budgets, grants, operations, client support

You're viewing the Executive Director track. These Program Manager exercises are also here. Switch to Program Manager in the top bar to focus them.

Turn a 90-Minute Inbox into a 15-Minute Review

Monday morning, 70 unread messages. Instead of opening them one at a time, you hand AI a batch and get back a sorted list with draft replies you only have to approve.

Recommended tool

claude

Claude handles long pasted batches well and holds your Context Document across the whole session.

Bring to the exercise

  • Your Org Context Document (from Module 3)
  • 10 to 20 emails, with real names and identifying details removed
Step 1

Sort and tag the batch

Get the whole inbox categorized so you can see the shape of the day before you touch anything.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [NUMBER] How many emails you pasted
  • [PASTE 10-20 ANONYMIZED EMAILS] A batch, not one at a time. That is where the time savings live.
[PASTE YOUR ORG CONTEXT DOCUMENT]

Below are [NUMBER] emails from my inbox. Names and details are anonymized. For each one, give me:
- A category: FYI, Action needed, Scheduling, Donor, Funder, Press, or Internal
- A one-line summary
- A suggested next step

Then list the three that need ME specifically, and why.

EMAILS:
"""
[PASTE 10-20 ANONYMIZED EMAILS]
"""
What good output looks like
  • A clean table you can skim in under a minute
  • The "needs you specifically" list is short and correct

Verify before using AI's output

Step 2

Draft the routine replies

Let AI write first drafts for the predictable messages so you spend your time only on the judgment calls.

What to substitute before pasting

  • [VERIFY] AI marks its own guesses so you know exactly what to check
From the batch above, draft replies for every email tagged FYI, Scheduling, or Action needed that does not require my personal judgment.

Match the tone in my Org Context Document. Keep each reply under 80 words. Leave a [VERIFY] tag anywhere you are guessing at a fact.
What good output looks like
  • Replies sound like you, not like a robot
  • Every invented detail is flagged with [VERIFY]

Verify before using AI's output