A nonprofit chart often needs to explain 2 related structures: governance and staff operations. A single tree can show a governing board above an executive director, then the staff hierarchy below. It cannot express every committee duty, officer power, or informal working relationship.
Use the organization's bylaws, resolutions, and current job descriptions as the source. An org chart illustrates those decisions; it does not set fiduciary duties or reporting authority.
Choose the chart's purpose
For a staff-facing chart, show the primary manager for each employee and add the board only where it helps explain the executive director's accountability. For board orientation, include board officers and committees if their placement is documented and useful. For a grant or audit request, follow the recipient's instructions rather than assuming one universal layout.
Studio gives each record one Reports to relationship. A board may act collectively even though the chart needs one top-level record. Use a role card such as Governing Board when that matches the nonprofit's documents. Do not create a dotted second manager for every director who works with a board committee; Studio does not support multiple-manager lines.
Compare a combined chart with a staff-focused chart
These 2 charts use the same fictional nonprofit roster. The combined view places the executive director and 2 committees under a collective Governing Board role. The staff-focused view starts with the same executive director and keeps every staff reporting relationship unchanged.
Combined view: use this pattern only when the board and committee placement matches your governing documents.
Staff-focused view: the staff structure is unchanged, but the governance layer is omitted for this audience.
On a narrow screen, the complete combined chart may be too wide for card labels to stay readable. Open or export at a larger size when you need to read every card. The combined version includes governance above and beside the executive director; the staff-focused version begins with the executive director.
Start with the nonprofit template
Open the nonprofit org chart templates. Choose Small Nonprofit or Established Nonprofit, then choose Edit in Org Chart Studio.
Both templates begin with a Governing Board, Executive Director, and sample staff roles. Replace the titles, departments, and reporting relationships with the nonprofit's actual structure. The template preview is read-only until it opens in Studio.
If the board belongs in a separate governance diagram, create a separate staff chart from a spreadsheet or start blank with the executive director at the top. Studio protects the current top-level leader from deletion, so deleting the Governing Board from a combined template is not the route to a staff-only chart. One chart does not have to serve every audience.
Add committees and volunteer leadership
Add a committee as a role only when the chart needs to show its place. Set its primary relationship according to the bylaws or board-approved structure. Put committee membership, charters, and delegated powers in the records that govern them, not in a guessed connector.
Studio's Engagement choices are FTE, Contractor, Intern, and Part-time. Volunteer and Board member are not options. Add a custom Text field such as Relationship with values like Board, Staff, or Volunteer when those labels help the audience.
Keep that custom field in People or show it on cards. Prefer a field over name prefixes.
Import staff and role data
Prepare one row per person or unoccupied role with Name, Title, Manager Name or paired IDs, and Department. Add custom-field columns when they already exist in the chart and belong in the update workflow.
Import the spreadsheet and review the mapping. Check manager suggestions before accepting them. Use Needs manager in People to find records whose reporting relationship was not resolved.
Use Open or Planned for an unoccupied staff position. Those states clear the current occupant's name and email only after confirmation; the role and its place in the hierarchy remain. Review the position-status steps before clearing an occupant.
Prepare versions for different readers
A board packet may need titles, committees, and departments. A staff directory may need names and roles. A public chart may need less detail. Use Card preview to choose what appears on cards without deleting stored values.
Use Layout controls to adjust spacing and team arrangement. Choose Fit to inspect the complete chart. Then open Export and select the scope and format for the actual recipient.
An eligible PNG can be exported free with a watermark. Clean PNG, PDF, and editable PowerPoint output require a suitable active pass. Read the current watermark and pass rules.
Keep the chart current when board officers, committee chairs, or staff roles change. For spreadsheet-led maintenance, use Update from spreadsheet and review the proposed changes. It is an update workflow, not a live connection to a donor, HR, or board-management system.
Frequently asked questions
Should the board appear above the executive director?
Use the nonprofit's governing documents and the chart's purpose. A combined governance and staff chart often shows a Governing Board above the executive director; a staff-only chart may begin with the executive director.
How do I show board committees?
Add only the committees the audience needs and place them according to approved governance documents. Record charters, membership, and authority elsewhere.
How should volunteers appear?
Include volunteer leads or roles when they help explain responsibility. Use a custom field for Volunteer because it is not a Studio Engagement option.