Planning Library · §9.1 Governance
How the org governs itself.
Groundworks Monterey Bay operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation governed by a board of directors. Designed for a small operating nonprofit that needs governance to be real but not heavy.
How we operate
Clarity · Rhythm · Mindset.
Three threads keep a pre-launch org honest. Groundworks runs on all three, kept as light as the stage allows.
One document sets mission, values, vision, three annual goals, and the health metrics we watch. Everything else on the site is downstream of it.
Read the Northstar →A monthly board working call, a quarterly full board meeting, and — once staff exists — a light internal rhythm. Externally, a predictable community update cadence so donors and sponsors hear the same news at the same time.
Belonging, stewardship, craft, transparency, patience. Not a poster on a wall — the values are how we choose sites, price a menu, and publish the numbers.
See the values →Formation
501(c)(3), Form 1023, fiscal sponsor as bridge.
The founding board targets 3–5 members with priority seats in legal / land use, nonprofit finance, and philanthropic connection. Board recruitment is phased: 1–2 founding advisors by end of 2026 (Phase A), full board of 3–5 seated by Phase B go/no-go (~mid-2028).
501(c)(3) filing uses Form 1023 (not 1023-EZ), with a nonprofit attorney (~$2–$5K budget). A fiscal sponsor will be secured as a bridge during the IRS determination period, enabling Groundworks to receive tax-deductible donations and apply for grants before the determination letter is issued.
Board priority seats
Three Priority-1 seats unlock everything else.
| Seat | Priority | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Legal / Land Use | Priority 1 | Enables formation, lease review, zoning navigation. |
| Nonprofit Finance | Priority 1 | Treasurer. Budget oversight. Compliance. |
| Philanthropic Connector | Priority 1 | IS the fundraising strategy. Opens donor doors. |
| Working Farmer | Priority 2 | Grounds the board in agricultural reality. |
| Food Systems Professional | Priority 2 | RCD, UCCE, or food nonprofit background. |
| Marketing / Communications | Priority 3 | Recruit once the space exists. |
| Community Anchor | Priority 3 | Local resident with deep neighborhood ties. |
Recruitment cadence
Phase A (end of 2026)
1–2 founding advisory board members committed. Tested against the Phase A go/no-go criteria.
Phase B (~mid-2028)
Hard gate G2: minimum 3 board seats filled (Legal, Finance, Philanthropic Connector). 5 seats ideal.
Phase C (open) and beyond
Add Marketing/Comms and Community Anchor seats once the space exists and the work is real.
Founder posture
Operator-in-chief at launch. Board-governed always.
Drew Keske, founding Executive Director: running daily operations, curating programming, building partnerships, managing the space. The team builds out over time — cook as first hire, programming coordinator or food operations assistant as second. Groundworks is its own organization, separate from Drew's personal brand, adjunct teaching career, and other professional activities.
Once staff exists (Phase C, cook plus programming or food-operations assistant), the internal rhythm stays lightweight: a 15-minute Monday standup and a monthly full-team check-in aligned with the board's monthly working call. No formal all-team meeting until the team is larger than five.
Board operating rhythm
A predictable cadence, so governance is real but not heavy.
Once the board is seated (Phase B, Gate G2), the year runs on a fixed rhythm. Dates go on the calendar at the start of each year and 100% attendance is expected — small boards can't afford drift.
| Cadence | Format | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 60-min working call | Operating updates, gate progress, decisions needing board input. |
| Quarterly | 2-hour board meeting | Financials, fundraising pipeline, risk review, gate check. |
| Mid-year (June) | Half-day working session | Reforecast, revisit Low-confidence assumptions, adjust the Action Plan. |
| Annual (November) | Full-day board retreat | Refresh Northstar, approve next-year plan + budget, review board recruitment. |
Annual board retreat — November
The one meeting the year is built around.
Held in November, ahead of the end-of-year giving push and Monterey County Gives! Full day, in person, away from any regular working space. The board arrives having read the materials — the day is for decisions, not presentations.
On the table
- · Current Northstar
- · Latest financial model
- · Gate status against the Action Plan
- · Risk register
- · Fundraising pipeline and funding sequence phase
Outputs
- · Refreshed one-year plan
- · Next-year budget approval
- · Updated board recruitment targets (Phase A/B/C)
- · Refreshed Key Dates
- · Written decisions memo circulated within one week
A shorter mid-year working session in June mirrors the same structure at half the length — reforecast, revisit the Low-confidence assumptions from the Feasibility Study, and adjust the Action Plan before the second-half push.
Founder ↔ board chair 1:1
The one recurring meeting the founder actually reports into.
Pre-open, there is no manager for the founder. The board chair fills that role via a monthly 30-minute 1:1 — accountability upward, coaching, and a place to surface stuck problems before they reach the full board. Same agenda every month so it compounds instead of drifting.
Structure (30 min)
- · 5 min — What's working / what isn't (founder-led)
- · 10 min — WhyGo pacing review from /dashboard/individual
- · 10 min — One stuck problem the chair can unblock
- · 5 min — Chair feedback + commitments before next month
Ground rules
- · Founder brings the individual dashboard, chair reads it before
- · No status theater — pacing icons speak, discuss the exceptions
- · No venting about board members; take that to the full board or offline
- · Written 3-line recap in email within 24 hours (agreement, action, owner)
The same framework scales to the full team once the GM is hired. See the staff 1:1 playbook for the post-hire version.