Leaders of Eindhoven’s French Saturday school reflect on board sustainability
- HLE Network
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
December 12, 2025
Anyone involved in non-profit work will recognize how difficult it has become to recruit both volunteers and new board members. This challenge is especially familiar to volunteer-run heritage language programs. For this reason, one of the core roles of HLE Network is to connect these language programs with support organizations that can help strengthen their long-term sustainability.
The board members of the French Saturday School have continued serving even after their children graduated from the program.
This news post highlights an example of how HLE Network linked a heritage language program—the French Saturday School of Eindhoven "Francofilous"—with local expertise in non-profit governance. While governance and board development are essential, they are often difficult to prioritize when leaders are focused on the weekly operations of running classes. The board members of the French Saturday School—who have continued serving even after their children graduated from the program—were eager to receive guidance, and all three attended an evening session they learned about through HLE Network.
Workshop: “Werven zonder gedoe”
On Thursday, December 11, Eindhoven Doet organized a workshop at Wasven led by Frank Hoes, entitled “Werven zonder gedoe,” which means "Recruiting without hassle." The focus was on how to find new board members. The Managing Director of HLE Network attended together with all three board members of Francofilous, the French Saturday School for primary school students in Eindhoven.
From working harder to working differently
Frank Hoes led the session in a skilled and engaging way, emphasizing that well-run boards are significantly more attractive to prospective board members. His key message was that improvement is possible—not by working harder, but by working differently. He introduced seven building blocks of strong governance, including being a learning board, working with clear portfolios, transitioning from a doe-bestuur to a beleids-bestuur, effective decision-making, execution power, stewardship, and regular board evaluation.
While governance and board development are essential, they are often difficult to prioritize when leaders are focused on the weekly operations of running classes.
Rethinking board structure
Participants assessed the health of their own boards and reflected on concrete areas for improvement, such as delegating tasks, involving volunteers more strategically, and shifting focus from day-to-day problem-solving to long-term direction. The workshop highlighted that "doe-besturen"—common in volunteer-run language programs—often struggle with workload and recruitment. Better delegation with clear roles as well as forward-looking governance were presented as practical ways to make boards both more effective and more appealing to new members.
The value of reflection and professional development
A particularly engaging moment of the workshop came when participants shared what inspires them to volunteer. This reminded attendees how important it is for volunteers to have opportunities to learn, make meaningful impact, connect socially, and contribute to something they care about.
The leaders of Francofilous were positive, and reported that the session offered them valuable space for reflection and learning. The insights gained will hopefully contribute to the long-term sustainability of their language program, which will in turn benefit many multilingual children and families in the region!
Many thanks to Frank Hoes and the organizers at Eindhoven Doet for this incredibly valuable session!
