How the College of Idaho Centralized Governance with Boardable

History

The College of Idaho is a small, residential liberal-arts college nestled in Caldwell, Idaho. The institution’s modest size stands alongside a legacy that resonates across the academic landscape, more than a century of nurturing civic-minded graduates through a deeply personalized learning. That same spirit of stewardship guides its 30-member Board of Trustees and six vice presidents, who meet several times a year to steer strategy, fundraising, and campus life.

The Challenge

For years, the College relied on a chaotic mix of shared drives and siloed email chains. Historical documents were scattered across personal folders, making it challenging to trace past decisions or comply with audit requests. Scheduling committee meetings was time-consuming and clunky, while votes conducted via sprawling email threads risked version confusion. As the board prepared for its first fully hybrid session, the stakes climbed: any technical hiccup could derail critical fundraising and strategic discussions.

By early 2025, the board’s administrative team—led by Brandi Armbruster, executive assistant to the CEO, and supported by EVP & CFO Executive Assistant Stacy Palmer—realized their home-grown mix of Google Drive folders, email threads, and Doodle polls could no longer keep pace.

Trustees struggled to track down past motions; hybrid meetings required juggling multiple links; and committee schedules resembled a game of calendar whack-a-mole. “Finding a 10-year-old budget file could take an afternoon,” Brandi recalls. “And every new meeting spawned a fresh round of ‘Which link? Which version?’ emails.”

The Search for a Solution

In late 2024, Brandi started the evaluation process for board management vendors. The team came armed with a must-have list: a reliable archive, painless scheduling, integrated video, and a fair price point for nonprofits. Boardable ticked every box. “It was the best value—and the only platform that felt intuitive enough for our veteran trustees,” she says.

“Even our most experienced trustees adapted quickly once they saw everything in one place.” — Stacy, EVP & CFO Executive Assistant

A kickoff in February 2025 mapped the existing workflows to Boardable’s Groups, Meeting Builder, and Document Center. Two small-group training sessions, followed by personalized 1:1 sessions, meant trustees could practice inside their real agenda for the winter meeting that March. When May’s hybrid meeting arrived, participants clicked a single Boardable link, joined the built-in Boardable virtual meeting, and referenced documents side-by-side—no Teams needed.

Today’s Operations

Every committee now collaborates inside its own Boardable Group, and, at the end of each term, its work flows into the central Document Center. The result is an institutional memory that spans decades of governance decisions, all searchable in seconds. Agenda packets come together with simple drag-and-drop tools, while trustees annotate motions and share questions ahead of time, making live discussions sharper and more strategic.

What once took hours of emailing and PDF shuffling now happens in minutes; Brandi estimates meeting-prep time has been cut at least in half. The streamlined workflow ripples through governance quality: trustees arrive better prepared, committee work stays transparent, and archived records provide a clear audit trail for reviews.

Meanwhile, Boardable customer support remains a standout. Brandi points to instant-chat answers and a robust knowledge base that empowers trustees to self-serve. “I’m no longer the help desk,” she laughs. “the Boardable team is.”

Boardable gave us one tidy home for everything—documents, meetings, even video—at a price that fit our nonprofit budget.” — Brandi Armbruster, Board Liaison

Conclusion

The College of Idaho’s move from fragmented files to a unified governance hub has freed administrators to focus on a mission, not mechanics. Trustees—whether dialing in from campus or across the country—engage more deeply, make faster decisions, and preserve the college’s rich history for the next generation of leaders. Boardable now sits at the heart of that transformation—and will power the board’s strategic journey for years to come.

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