Elder board, deacon board, session, consistory, vestry, board of trustees, church council — whatever yours is called, Voloboard gives it the same governance infrastructure a nonprofit board needs, in a form that assumes the people using it are volunteers who serve for a few years and then hand the role to someone else.
Built around how church boards actually meet
Agendas and packets
Build the agenda from a saved template, attach the budget or the proposal, and send it out as notice so people arrive having read it rather than reading it in the room.
Minutes the congregation can rely on
Record motions, seconds, and vote outcomes as they happen, then move the draft through review and approval. The approved minutes become the authoritative record of what the board decided.
Closed session handled properly
Personnel matters, pastoral compensation, and discipline conversations can be kept out of the general record while still showing that the session occurred and what, if anything, was formally decided.
Conflict-of-interest disclosures
Churches contract with members and members’ businesses constantly. Collect annual disclosures and record recusals so a routine decision does not become a source of suspicion later.
Policies and bylaws in one place
Bylaws, personnel policy, child protection policy, financial controls, and facility use policy stored where every board member finds the current version rather than the one from four revisions ago.
Terms and rotation tracking
Most church boards rotate members on fixed terms. Keep the roster, terms, and officer positions current so you know who is eligible, who is rotating off, and when nominations need to start.
Why church boards get caught out on record-keeping
Church boards are usually made up of people who trust each other, which is a strength in the room and a weakness in the filing cabinet. Decisions get made by consensus, written down loosely or not at all, and everyone moves on because nobody present has any doubt about what was agreed. The problem surfaces years later, when a facility question, an insurance claim, an employment dispute, or a capital campaign depends on knowing exactly what the board authorized and when.
The other common failure is handover. A clerk keeps meticulous records for six years in a personal filing system, then steps down, and the next person starts over. The church does not lose its history in a single dramatic event; it loses it a little at a time, at every transition.
Keeping records in a system owned by the church rather than by an individual solves most of this without asking anyone to be more diligent. The minutes are written where the agenda already is, approvals are recorded, and the archive is searchable by the next board rather than dependent on the last one.
Money, members, and the conflicts nobody wants to name
Church boards award contracts to members. A trustee’s cousin does the roofing. A deacon’s company handles the landscaping. Most of the time this is fine and often it is genuinely the best option, because the person doing the work cares about the building. It becomes a serious problem the moment it looks like nobody disclosed anything.
The remedy is unglamorous and effective: a written conflict-of-interest policy, annual disclosures from every board member, and a recorded recusal when an interested member abstains from a vote. Voloboard collects and tracks those disclosures, shows you who has not filed, and keeps the record with the meeting where the decision was made. It turns an awkward conversation into a routine annual form.
The same applies to compensation decisions involving clergy or staff. Documenting that the decision was made by disinterested members, in a properly convened session, on the basis of information the board actually reviewed, is the difference between a defensible decision and one that has to be re-litigated in a congregational meeting.
What Voloboard is and is not
Voloboard is board governance software. It handles meetings, minutes, votes, policies, disclosures, documents, and the board roster. It is not church management software — it does not track membership rolls, giving, attendance, small groups, or Sunday scheduling, and it is not intended to replace the system your office uses for those things. It sits alongside them and covers the governing body.
Pricing is a flat $99 per month for the whole board rather than per person, which matters for bodies that can run to fifteen or twenty members. The trial is 30 days and does not require a credit card, which is generally enough to cover a full monthly meeting cycle before you decide.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work for an elder board, a deacon board, and a trustee board at the same church?
Yes. Boards, committees, and subgroups can be set up separately with their own meetings, agendas, minutes, and membership, while shared documents such as bylaws and policies remain accessible where appropriate. Each body keeps its own record.
Is this church management software?
No. Voloboard is board governance software for the governing body. It does not handle membership records, giving and contributions, attendance, or service planning, and it is designed to work alongside whatever church management system you already use rather than replace it.
How do we keep sensitive personnel discussions out of the public record?
Confidential sessions can be recorded as having occurred, with access to the detail limited, while any formal action taken is documented appropriately. This lets you keep a complete governance record without publishing pastoral or personnel matters to everyone with access.
What does it cost for a church board?
A flat $99 per month covers the entire board regardless of how many members serve, so a twenty-person council pays the same as a seven-person board. There is a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.
Bring your board into one clear place
Meetings, minutes, compliance, and records — with an AI assistant that knows your documents.
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