Customer Stories

Portland State University Foundation

Through OnBoard, this higher education foundation gains access to valuable industry resources

Industry: Higher education/philanthropy

Headquarters: Portland, Oregon

Board Management Goals

Leverage partnership with Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB)
Find the best price among competitive options
Improve the ease of onboarding new members

Results

Easy access to AGB resources
High satisfaction among users
Cost-effective

A Great Fit for Higher Education and Foundations

The Portland State University Foundation was created to raise and manage private resources to support the mission and priorities of the growing university. The Foundation’s current board consists of 32 voting trustees, plus three ex-officio members, all scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest.

When it came to research, evaluate, and select a board management software, only one solution was considered: AGB OnBoard.

The reasons for that, says Meg Evans, Board Liaison for the PSU Foundation, were its time-saving capabilities, particularly when onboarding new members, and its ease of use in today’s remote environment.

But for Evans, who has managed the PSU Foundation board for seven years, access to materials from the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) made all the difference.

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“Going with a platform that AGB had vetted, and that provided access to AGB materials, made OnBoard a no-brainer.”

- Meg Evans
Board Liaison,
Portland State University Foundation

Built-In Resources from AGB

“I have been active with AGB for five or six years,” Evans says. “I have been a member of the Board Professional Leadership group with AGB. We plan the conference for board professionals every spring and do professional development for our peers. And I also sit on AGB’s Council of Board Professionals, with is an advisory group to the president of AGB.”

Evans was impressed with the AGB OnBoard partnership, which she knew to provide proprietary resources, insights, and expertise designed to support institutions and institutionally related foundations like theirs. No other competitive board management software offered such a relationship, Evans says.

“Going with a platform that AGB had vetted, and that provided access to AGB materials, made OnBoard a no-brainer.”

She also consulted with colleagues before purchasing AGB OnBoard. “Many have been in the field for a very long time, and many are just amazing board professionals and educators. They all use AGB OnBoard.”

In addition, Evans feels the Foundation made the right decision with AGB OnBoard when considering the current and future software costs. “We are paying a lot less than some of my friends who are with AGB OnBoard competitors,” she says.

"I started rolling it out to trustees and committee members, and they figured things out — it is so intuitive.”

An Intuitive Platform, Ideal for Onboarding

Evans was impressed with how smoothly the OnBoard training went, from her first implementation meetings with her Onboard Customer Success Manager to rolling out the software within the Foundation.

“It all worked out really nicely,” she says. “I started rolling it out to trustees and committee members, and they figured things out — it is so intuitive.”

That intuitive design also makes onboarding faster and more convenient for new members. “Once a year we have trustees who end their terms and we elect new trustees,” Evans says. “I recently brought on eight new people. I didn’t need to do the tutorials with any of them.”

“I love that OnBoard improvements were suggested by peers ... The fact that OnBoard is constantly evolving is a plus in my mind.”

A Central, Secure Location for Board Materials

Time savings is the principal benefit Evans has seen with OnBoard. The software provides a fast, clean process for posting documents or making late updates to board materials.

“I like that ability to post things for committee members to review on their time. They can log in and get it, and not email me for it,” she says. “Having materials available to them when they can’t reach me, or after hours, is extremely helpful.”

If a document does need to be updated before or even during the meeting, it’s quick and easy to do, she says. Evans also enjoys that OnBoard is permissions-based, increasing security by giving her full control who get access to what data.

“Trustees can only see what I give them access to, based on their role and committee assignments,” she says.

Evans appreciates that OnBoard listens to customer feedback and provides new features and updates to address customer needs. “I love that OnBoard improvements were suggested by peers,” Evans says. “And they do take suggestions. They are very responsive. The fact that OnBoard is constantly evolving is a plus in my mind.”

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