| Course | PNP 6023 Organizational Board and Volunteer Development |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | Board and volunteer development plan |
| Length | 1,170 words, about 4 pages plus title and reference pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | American College of Education |
| Program | Doctor of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PNP 6023 Module 5
One Culture of Service: A Two-Year Board and Volunteer Development Plan for a Rural Hospice
Student Name
American College of Education
PNP6023: Organizational Board and Volunteer Development
Module 5 Assignment
Instructor Name
November 9, 2026
Introduction
ACE's course description treats board service as one form of volunteering, and this course has treated the hospice's board and its 160 volunteers in turn. The board needs independent financial oversight, clinical quality expertise, broader representation, term limits and regular evaluation of itself and its executive. The volunteer program needs targeted recruitment, regional training, matched placement, support for end-of-life work and frequent recognition. This final paper joins those findings into a single two-year development plan, because both groups give their time to the same mission and many of the same practices, such as matching people to roles and recognizing their contributions, serve both.
Goals
The plan sets four goals for the next two years. Goal 1: a board able to oversee quality, finances and leadership, measured by filled priority seats, functioning finance and quality committees and completed annual evaluations. Goal 2: a board that reflects the people and places the hospice serves, measured by representation of all six counties, at least one member from the region's Latino community and at least two members under 45. Goal 3: a volunteer program that keeps the people it trains, measured by 80% first-year retention and placement in a preferred role within thirty days. Goal 4: a shared culture of service linking board and volunteers, measured by board participation in volunteer events and a pathway from volunteer to board service.
Year One, Quarter by Quarter
Quarter 1. The board adopts term limits and an annual governance calendar; the governance committee builds prospect lists for the four priority seats; the volunteer coordinator launches motive-specific recruitment and extends mileage reimbursement. Quarter 2. The first two new board members join and begin orientation, including a ride-along; the online volunteer training modules go live; the executive evaluation process runs for the first time in four years. Quarter 3. The quality committee forms and receives its first quality data session; regional volunteer training begins in the two outer regions; volunteer circles start. Quarter 4. The board completes its first self-assessment at the annual retreat; the emergency succession plan is adopted; volunteer retention and placement data are reported to the board for the first time.
Year Two
Year two consolidates and extends. The remaining two priority seats are filled, and the first long-serving members rotate off under term limits and join the emeritus council. The board reviews the skills matrix against the strategic plan and adjusts recruitment priorities. Volunteer recruitment expands in the three outer counties, and the hospice tests a bilingual volunteer track to support Latino patients and families. The second board self-assessment compares results with the first-year baseline. By the end of year two, all four goals should show measurable progress, and the plan will be revised for the following two years.
Linking Board and Volunteers
Board members and volunteers rarely meet, which weakens both. Three links will change that. First, every board member will join at least one volunteer event a year, such as a memorial service or training session, so that governance decisions are informed by those who deliver care. Second, a volunteer representative will brief the board every six months on what volunteers are seeing and what they need. Third, experienced volunteers will be considered for board seats and committees. A volunteer who has sat with dying patients in an outer county brings knowledge no recruitment search can buy, and a pathway from volunteering to governance turns that knowledge into oversight.
Roles and Budget
The governance committee owns the board goals, reporting quarterly to the full board. The volunteer coordinator owns the volunteer goals, reporting twice a year. I will coordinate the plan as a whole and staff both efforts. The budget for year one is about $26,000: $11,000 for expanded mileage reimbursement, $3,500 for online training, $4,000 for a facilitated board retreat, $2,500 for interpretation and translated materials, $3,000 for recognition and $2,000 for board recruitment events. The finance committee will seek part of this from a regional community foundation that funds rural health capacity, with the remainder in the operating budget.
Midpoint Review
At the twelve-month mark, the governance committee and the volunteer coordinator will bring the board a one-page review against each goal. For the board goals, the review will list seats still open, report how often the two new oversight committees met and what analysis they brought, whether the executive evaluation was completed and how new members rated their inclusion in the self-assessment. For the volunteer goals, it will show first-year retention for the most recent training cohort, the share of volunteers placed in a preferred role within thirty days and volunteer hours as a share of paid patient care hours. For the shared culture goal, it will count board attendance at volunteer events and any volunteer who has joined a committee. Where a measure is off track, the review will propose one change, not a wholesale revision, so the plan can adjust without losing momentum.
Risks
Four risks could slow the plan. Long-serving board members may resist term limits; phasing and the emeritus council respond to this. Qualified board prospects in rural counties may decline because of other commitments; advisory roles provide an entry point. Volunteer retention may improve slowly if patient census falls in some counties; telephone companionship and respite roles provide alternatives. And staff time is limited; quarterly sequencing prevents overload, and two lower-priority projects are deferred. Research cautions that governance is a system that changes over time rather than a fixed structure (Cornforth, 2012), so the plan includes a midpoint review to adjust course.
Communicating the Plan
Board members, staff and volunteers will each hear about the plan in ways suited to them. The board will adopt it at a regular meeting after discussion at the retreat. Staff will see it in an all-staff meeting, with emphasis on what changes for them, such as volunteer placement conversations and the quality committee's requests. Volunteers will receive a short letter from the board chair explaining the changes they will notice first, wider mileage reimbursement, regional training and volunteer circles, and inviting their ideas.
Why It Matters
Development practices are investments with returns. Boards that invest in recruitment, orientation and evaluation tend to have more competent members (Brown, 2007), and volunteers whose motives are met tend to stay longer (Clary et al., 1998). For the hospice, those returns are concrete: a board able to oversee a growing, regulated organization through a leadership transition, and a volunteer corps large and steady enough that every family who wants a companion at the bedside can have one.
Conclusion
The two-year plan joins board and volunteer development under four goals, sequences actions by quarter, links the two groups through shared events, regular reporting and a pathway to board service and assigns owners, a budget and measures. Risks are named with responses, and a midpoint review allows adjustment. If it succeeds, the hospice's board and volunteers will share not only a mission but a culture of service built to last.
References
Brown, W. A. (2007). Board development practices and competent board members: Implications for performance. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 17(3), 301-317. https://doi.org/10.1002/nml.151
Clary, E. G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R. D., Copeland, J., Stukas, A. A., Haugen, J., & Miene, P. (1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1516-1530. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516
Cornforth, C. (2012). Nonprofit governance research: Limitations of the focus on boards and suggestions for new directions. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41(6), 1116-1135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764011427959
Reading the PNP 6023 Module 5 instructions
The final module of PNP 6023 usually asks you to pull the course's work into one plan. Expect to set goals for board and volunteer development, lay out actions with timelines and owners, estimate costs and explain how progress will be measured. Many prompts also ask for risks and how the plan will be reviewed. Draw directly on your earlier modules, the board analysis, recruitment plan, orientation and volunteer design, rather than starting fresh. Keep the plan within what your organization's staff and budget can carry, and consider how board members and volunteers can strengthen each other rather than treating them as separate programs. Show how you will know at the midpoint whether the plan is on track.
How this PNP 6023 Module 5 example is built
Four goals open the plan, each with its own measures, from filled priority seats to 80% volunteer retention and a shared culture of service. Year one is laid out quarter by quarter, alternating board and volunteer actions so that a small staff is not overloaded, and year two adds bilingual volunteers and the first term-limit rotations. A section creates three links between board and volunteers. Roles and a line-item budget with a funding source follow, then four risks with responses and a midpoint review. A short section explains the returns on development, and the conclusion restates the plan's purpose. Measures from earlier modules carry into the plan unchanged.
Where the points sit in the PNP 6023 Module 5 rubric
Development plans are judged on integration, specificity and feasibility. Faculty look for goals that follow from earlier analysis, actions with owners and dates, a realistic budget and measures that can show progress. Plans that connect board and volunteer development, rather than presenting two separate lists, show deeper understanding of the course. Risks with responses and a review process demonstrate that the plan is meant to be used. Plans that are too ambitious for the organization's capacity, or vague about who does what, lose points. Writing quality and APA 7 citations are assessed as in earlier modules. A midpoint review with named indicators is a sign the plan will be used.
Common PNP 6023 Module 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Pulling five modules into one coherent plan is often the hardest part of the course. When a final plan simply restates earlier recommendations, or lacks a budget, timeline or measures, our writers can help you integrate it. Send the earlier module work, an honest picture of capacity and the prompt; our writers return a development plan with shared goals, sequenced actions, owners, costs and a review process. The approach works for hospices, health centers, school foundations and many other nonprofits. A plan that boards and volunteers can both see themselves in is far more likely to be carried out. A midpoint review template is included.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official American College of Education document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More PNP 6023 and Doctor of Business Administration sample papers
- PNP 6023 Module 1: Board Roles and Responsibilities
- PNP 6023 Module 2: Board Recruitment Plan
- PNP 6023 Module 3: Board Orientation Plan
- PNP 6023 Module 4: Volunteer Program Design
- PNP 6003 Module 5: Leadership Action Plan
- PNP 6013 Module 2: Structures and Roles Comparison
- PNP 6013 Module 1: Stakeholder Map and Analysis
- PNP 6003 Module 1: Profile and Mission Analysis
PNP 6023 Module 5 questions, answered
What does PNP6023 Module 5 usually ask for?
The final PNP6023 module frequently asks for a board and volunteer development plan that brings together the course's analysis into goals, actions, responsibilities, timelines and measures.
Should board and volunteer development be planned together?
It helps. Board members are volunteers too, many practices serve both groups and links between them, such as a pathway from volunteering to board service, strengthen both.
What should a development plan budget include?
The direct costs of recruitment, training, recognition, reimbursement and facilitation, along with the staff time required, and where the money will come from.
Where can I find a free PNP 6023 Module 5 sample paper?
This page has one: a two-year plan joining a rural hospice's board and volunteer development, with four goals, quarterly actions, owners, a $26,000 budget, risks and measures.
Can volunteers become board members?
Yes, and experienced volunteers often make strong board members because they know the organization's work firsthand; a clear pathway and orientation help.