Introduction

All Boards of Directors have three duties: the duty of care, the duty of loyalty and the duty of obedience. We’ve reviewed these duties in a previous section. Included in some of those duties are policies and documents required by law for every nonprofit organization, for example, a Conflict of Interest policy. But beyond those duties there are important documents and policies all Boards should have on-hand.

Why the following policies and documents are important

This section is a basic search to see if your organization has the fundamental pieces needed for basic operation including board member and leadership job descriptions, committee charters, updated and accurate bylaws, and whistle blower policies. Ideally, your board already has these documents neatly wrapped up into a policy book given to every board member at the start of their term or on a yearly basis. Realistically, your board has the knowledge of some of these documents but cannot find them and may not have read them. Either way, this is a great chance to find the following documents and policies and begin to compile them in a universal resource for your board and leadership staff.

How to fill in the gap

Each reading will focus on one key policy or document, looking at the best practices and important elements needed. If you have the policy, great – compare it to the best practices and see how it stands up and if adjustments need to be made. If you do not have the policy, now is the perfect time to create one. Our goal is to help you fill in the gap of knowledge and practices in order to have your organization compliant and strong, to shore up your confidence and efficiency for the long-term health of your organization and your community. 

Here are the documents we will be focusing on:

• Board member and board leadership job descriptions
• Board bylaws
• Conflict of interest policy
• Whistle blower policy
• Committee charters

Follow-up

We will be reviewing all of these documents at our next webinar, to be held on April 21, 2020 at 1 p.m. If you are interested in joining us, please sign up here.

Questions?

As always, if you have any questions throughout the process, please feel free to contact us here. We are happy to help!