Category: Nonprofit

There are few things that upset me more than people who steal from nonprofits or scam them out of valuable resources. Every time I read a story about a nonprofit that has fallen victim to a scam or impropriety, I am incensed. Two times in the last week, when I looked at the mail that arrived at my nonprofit’s office, I found documents that appeared to be invoices from official government agencies, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that these invoices were actually “solicitations” from companies that we had never done business with before and not invoices for continued service or coverage.

I was able to verify the problem with the invoices and dispose of them before they were submitted for payment through our chief financial officer. But, in the midst of this review, I couldn’t help but think that there are probably many nonprofits right now that have received similar “look-alike” invoices that went ahead and paid the invoices — thus, remitting funds to organizations that are not government agencies or are not providing services to their nonprofit. In the midst of the pandemic, some nonprofits may have less staff on site to review such documents and these things may fall under the radar screen and may be paid in error.

The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector provides guidance here, stating: “Nonprofits should have written financial policies that are adequate for the size and complexity of the organization.  These policies should address investment of the assets of the organization, internal controls, purchasing, and unrestricted current net assets.”

As we’ve discussed before on this blog, nonprofits should have internal controls policies and processes in place that are carefully followed and implemented. During these pandemic times, our internal controls may be temporarily adjusted — due to staffing changes, inability to work in the physical office, or other challenges experienced in the midst of the crisis.  Any modifications you are instituting in your practices should be carefully documented.  The Standards for Excellence Code recommends that internal controls policies should be in writing and should be approved by the board.

A few good internal control practices that would be helpful in the above situation include:

• Nonprofits should segregate duties so that steps in recording transactions are not all assigned to a single person.
• Nonprofits should have a regular process for archiving transactions regularly and starting out fresh with new financial records.
• Nonprofits should have clearly written procedures for handling transactions (checklists that can be initialed after steps are completed can be helpful).
• Nonprofits should use sequentially numbered forms and documents, and accounting for all numbers.
• Nonprofits should take care to review procedures regularly and update them from time to time.

The Standards for Excellence educational packet on Internal Controls and Finance Policies includes helpful resources on what your Internal Control Policies should address, common misconceptions about why they are in place, and guidelines on what you should do.

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner,– one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence  Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

It’s been a week since the general election and there’s still a lot to take in. So much news in our 24/7 news cycle. I spoke with someone today who announced that she deliberately turned off all news outlets from November 2^nd to November 9^th. I was a bit taken aback by this statement. There are still quite a few lawn signs supporting candidates in the midst of the brightly colored fall leaves on the roads and byways in my community. What happens with everything that is left over after the campaign? What happens with the signs and brochures and t-shirts after the election is over?  Perhaps the campaigns were able to distribute all of their candidate’s promotional materials BEFORE election day.  But, perhaps not. 

As I think about election-related swag, I recall an event from several years ago. I was on the board of a terrific all-volunteer nonprofit that collected new clothing and linens and distributed these items to different nonprofit organizations serving people in need throughout our metropolitan area. The organization held a fun event each year where groups of volunteers sorted the items, tagged them, and packed them up in huge boxes to send to local agencies. During one of these events, I remember receiving a large box of high-quality t-shirts that were leftover from a local candidate’s failed bid for a seat in the Maryland State Legislature. The t-shirts were cotton and soft, but they also clearly indicated the candidate’s name and political affiliation. Our tiny nonprofit knew that we had to remain nonpartisan to stay in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service, which prohibits political activity for public charities. The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector  states that “In promoting public participation in community affairs, charitable nonprofits must be diligent in assuring they do not participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.”

It didn’t take us long to make the decision NOT to accept the t-shirts. We did not add them to our collection that day. I don’t know what ultimately happened to the leftover campaign shirts, but we felt that even though the candidate was no longer actively running for office, we wanted to stay far away from partisan politics to protect our tax exemption.

The organization had a gift acceptance policy that was primarily focused on the idea that donated clothing and linens needed to be new, not gently used, as per the organization’s mission. In hindsight, it seems we could have benefited from a more intentional, specific gift acceptance policy that might address other criteria for what gifts we would accept and what gifts we would decline. Now is a great time to take a look at your organization’s gift acceptance policy. In this post-election season, your gift acceptance policy, along with your advocacy policy, can help your nonprofit navigate decisions related to election-related gifts.

The Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Fundraising, Solicitation, Acceptance of Gifts, and Working with Donors, contains a comprehensive gift acceptance policy that can be modified and customized to meet the needs of nonprofits around the country. 

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a Licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

So many lists in this time of year!  Whether I’m planning out my task list for the day, planning for Thanksgiving dinner, or trying to get a jump on my holiday shopping, I find myself sitting down with pen and paper to capture my thoughts.  Some days, I’ve got a plethora of lists and am not sure which list to check out first.

Of course, there are also lists in the nonprofit sector that our leaders and staff members reference when they are working to meet their mission in the best possible ways.  One of the lists that we refer to often is the Standards for Excellence Legal Requirements Checklist.  This comprehensive, detailed list serves as a helpful tool for nonprofits wishing to implement this benchmark in the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector:

Nonprofits must be aware of and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. This may include but is not limited to complying with laws and regulations related to IRS filing requirements, governance, human resources, licensing, financial accountability, taxation, valuation of in-kind gifts, unrelated business income, document retention and destruction, related entities, data security, accessibility, fundraising, lobbying, and advocacy.

Additionally, nonprofits should periodically conduct an internal review of the organization’s compliance with known existing legal, regulatory, and financial reporting requirements, and should provide a summary of the results to the board of directors.

We try to follow our own guidance at Maryland Nonprofits, and took the time earlier this year, during the pandemic, to review our organization’s compliance with the Standards for Excellence Legal Requirements Checklist.  It took a few of my colleagues and me a couple of discussions to review all of the aspects of the checklist—which was a bit more complicated in the midst of stay-at-home orders- but it was a fairly straightforward process.  When finished, we provided a report to our board describing our findings.

The checklist includes sections on:

1. Obtaining Recognition of Federal Tax Exemption/Tax-Exempt Status
2. Maintaining Federal Tax Exemption/Tax-Exempt Status
3. State Requirements for Corporations
4. Solicitation, Fundraising, and Gift Substantiation Requirements
5. Lobbying Requirements
6. Requirements Applicable to Accessibility for People with Disabilities
7. Additional Requirements and Considerations
8. Requirements of Organizations with Employees
9. Workplace posters and notices
10. Hiring-related requirements
11. Ongoing employment-related filings
12. Requirements for organizations with independent contractors and consultants
13. Employee benefits
14. Retirement plan documents
15. Template for Requirements Specific to Service Type or Constituents Served
16. Template for Requirements Mandated by Funders

We encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence Legal Requirements Checklist, which also includes an addendum further describing compliance issues and related key terms to support your implementation of the checklist.  Having conducted an internal review our own organization against the checklist recently, I can tell you it feels great to know your organization is in compliance.  Now we can check that off the list!

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

As I was filling in my mail-in ballot earlier this week, I was struck by the number of ballot questions posed to voters in my county this year.  Questions about funding for public schools, preservation, refuse facilities, waterways and a state constitutional amendment were posed to voters– just to name a few.  I was reminded of the line in the Public Awareness, Engagement and Advocacy Guiding Principle of the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector which states, “When appropriate to advance the organization’s mission, nonprofits should engage in promoting public participation in community affairs and elections. As such, they should communicate in an effective manner to educate, inform, and engage the public.”  This section of the Standards for Excellence sometimes creates confusion because as nonprofit staff and leaders, we are preconditioned to the fact that nonprofits must remain nonpartisan in our activities and by extension, we often assume that we are not permitted to engage in election-related activity.     

That’s an important distinction to make. While nonprofits must remain fiercely nonpartisan in all times and especially during election season, nonprofits CAN engage in elections through issue related advocacy on ballot measures.  The Alliance for Justice’s publication, The Rules of the Game: A Guide to Election Related Activities for 501c3 Organizations, provides a helpful discussion of 501(c)(3) lobbying and ballot measures.  Not only are there bond measures, but there are also ballot initiatives, constitutional amendments, and referenda- all of which are treated as “legislation” by the federal tax law and as such nonprofits are permitted involvement in advocating for these election activities provided that they follow the IRS rules on lobbying as well as state lobbying laws. Depending upon whether a nonprofit is covered by the default substantiality principle (typically assumed to be efforts that are kept to under 5 % of their overall activity) or if they have taken the 501(h) election where election related ballot measures are considered direct lobbying and subject to the spending limits of the 501(h) election process, lobbying and advocating on these issues is permissible activity provided the rules are followed. Nonprofits advocating for ballot measures may also subject their organizations and their leaders to lobbyist registration at the state or local level. Nonprofits should also check state campaign finance rules to see if these require registration or reporting of ballot measure expenses. 

For more information on this subject,  we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Advancing the Mission through Public Policy which includes: a discussion on the fact that advocacy and lobbying are legal, definitions of key terms like advocacy and lobbying, allowable lobbying activity, registration and disclosure of lobbying activity.  Sample policies on advocacy and public policy are provided as well.

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

While preparing for an upcoming virtual seminar, I remembered how much I like using table tents during meetings. For years, I have encouraged nonprofit boards to use these low-tech tools (just a piece of cardstock paper folded in half) to help for board members learn one another’s names.  I also encouraged each board member to write their organization’s board-approved mission statement on the other side of the table tent.  That way, each time the board is discussing or voting on a specific item, the organization’s full mission statement is conveniently staring each person squarely in the face.  The table tents can be collected at the end of each meeting and used again and again.

Of course, our virtual meeting platform allows folks to display their names on screen. And, of course, we will have an opportunity for self-introductions.  But that simple and constant reminder of the organization’s mission cannot be displayed in quite the same way as it can with a table tent.

The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector reminds us that nonprofits “should have a mission statement that is a clear and formal statement of the organization’s purpose as defined and approved by the board of directors. The organization’s activities should be consistent with its stated purpose.”

What are some ways that nonprofits can continue to keep the board approved mission front and center in the midst of the current environment?  Here are a few ideas:

• Place the organization’s mission statement at the top of all board meeting agendas.
• Insert the organization’s mission as a footer on your organization’s documents.
• Organize your board meeting agendas in a way that mirrors the various aspects of your organization’s mission.
• Invite program participants to share a “mission moment” during your board and staff meetings.
• Appoint a board member to help the board stay focused on the mission and not tangential topics.

For more information on how to keep the organization’s mission front and center, we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Mission Impact and Planning, which includes not only a full discussion of developing and revising the mission statement but also a heavy emphasis on strategic planning and analysis. Attachments and tools provided in this packet include: a sample strategic plan worksheet and a sample strategic plan implementation/action plan.

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

Good news! Charitable Giving is up in the First Half of 2020 – How will nonprofits respond to welcoming new donors?

A recent report in the Chronicle of Philanthropy showed that charitable giving was up 7.5 percent in the first half of 2020 over the first half of 2019.  This growth in giving couldn’t have come at a better time in the life cycles of so many nonprofits—grappling to meet growing demands in an all-too challenging environment.  The Chronicle of Philanthropy article describing the report by the Fundraising Effectiveness Project of the Association of Fundraising Professionals stated that those donors who gave less than $250 “were a major driver in growth.”  There was positive news to celebrate in a variety of different gift and donor categories.  In my view, the most exciting finding was that “the … number of … new donors increas[ed] by 12.6 percent.”  That means that many, many nonprofit organizations are finding themselves in the enviable position of being recipients of not only new contributions, but contributions from individuals who haven’t given in the past. What an exciting responsibility for nonprofit leaders. Many in our midst have the chance truly to impress these new contributors with excellent work and stewardship and place themselves in a position to nurture relationships with these donors in the months and years to come.

How does your organization communicate with and care for its new donors?  Do you have a specific communications strategy for expressing gratitude, getting the donors involved, or sharing the successes of your organization?  Do you work to ensure that new donors are afforded the opportunity to become better acquainted with those parts of your organization’s mission that most reflect their values and priorities?   Do you take intentional steps to treat these new donors in a respectful and ethical manner?   Do you give your donors the chance to give their gifts anonymously or limit how their contact information will be used?  These are just a few of the ways you can pursue best practices in fundraising and working with donors.

The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector states: “Nonprofits should respect the donor’s right to determine how their name and contact information is used, including providing opportunities to remain anonymous, request that the organization curtail repeated mailings or telephone solicitations from in-house lists, and have their names removed from any mailing lists which are sold, rented, or exchanged.”  As nonprofits work with their donors, especially donors that are new to giving or new to their organizations, they need to pay careful attention to cultivating a culture of careful donor stewardship and respect.  As we enter the fall giving season, I encourage you to reflect on the ways that your organization models exemplary donor practices.  Take some time to determine if your donor engagement and privacy practices can be strengthened and, where appropriate, commit to making improvements.

For more information on how to ensure donor privacy and respectful treatment of donors, we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Fundraising, Solicitation, Acceptance of Gifts, and Working with Donors which includes a full description of donor relationships and privacy, donor intent, acceptance of gifts, fundraising by third parties, and also helpful tools like model solicitations and acceptance of gifts policy.

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools, and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

The Johns Hopkins University Center for Civil Society Studies recently released the 2020 Nonprofit Employment Report. In this timely report by Lester Salamon and Chelsea L. Newhouse, with the technical assistance of S. Wojciech Sokolowski, we learn that the nonprofit sector remains the third largest workforce in any US industry, behind only retail trade and accommodations/food service. The report also looks at anticipated job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and calculates “a sizable 1.6 million nonprofit job losses” in the March to May 2020 time period.  The report offers that these losses represent 13% of nonprofit jobs disappearing in this period.  This is painful evidence of the fact that many nonprofits cannot sustain their programs and operations in the current climate.

Sustainability is a crucial issue right now for so many nonprofits across the board—whether they are facing job losses or not.  The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector encourages nonprofits to take a broad view of sustainability-related to mission fulfillment—looking at financial sustainability, human resource sustainability, and other aspects of planning for the organization’s future.  Sustainability planning also looks different depending upon what stage the organization is in its life cycle—start-up, growth, peak performance, decline/crisis or renewal.  No matter what stage you find your organization in,

the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector helps you move your organization towards longer-term sustainability by providing resources in areas like governance, financial leadership, legal compliance, mission attainment, and resource development. Organizations that have made a commitment to the Standards for Excellence code will find access to a model and tools for identifying, developing, and evaluating their current systems to a higher level of sustainability. As plans, policies, and procedures are implemented, they form the building blocks of an integrated system for leading the organization today and into a sustainable future.

For more information on how to develop organizational sustainability and sustainability planning for your nonprofit, we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Organizational Sustainability and Sustainability Planning which includes a variety of helpful tools and resources such as financial worksheets (all available in excel format) to help nonprofits plan and achieve sustainability on topics like income, expenses, assets, and liabilities, planning for reductions and strategizing around for new initiatives. The packet also includes a comprehensive chart featuring various nonprofit life cycles with references to the characteristics exhibited by nonprofits in each life cycle stage and the Standards for Excellence educational resource packets relevant to that topic. 

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

Advocacy efforts are front and center in these challenging times. For my colleagues who focus on advocacy efforts, 2020 has been a year with literally no downtime.  I am grateful to have the opportunity to work in the midst of folks that are dedicated to the Standards for Excellence principle: “working independently and in partnership, nonprofits should strive to influence public policies that affect the organization’s ability to achieve its mission.” Things seem to be moving quickly on so many fronts all at the same time. Now is the time to reflect upon your own organization’s advocacy policy.  

The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector encourages each nonprofit to “have a written, board-approved policy on advocacy defining the process by which the organization determines positions on specific issues.”  A policy on advocacy or public policy should outline a process for making decisions. It should also define criteria employed to determine whether different public policy issues fall within the organization’s mission and purview.  The advocacy policy should set up clear roles and responsibilities for the staff (which may specifically name staff positions like the executive director, external relations director, and/or public policy director), the board of directors (which may include specific committees), and the organization’s membership (if applicable).  Factors to consider in deciding how and when to take policy positions should include the organization’s mission, the impact of policies, the consensus around decision-making, credibility, and flexibility.  Like other organizational policies, the advocacy policy should be approved by the organization’s board of directors. 

Of course, your advocacy policy should also indicate that all of your activities will remain strictly nonpartisan, meaning that you will refrain from efforts related to endorsing candidates or political parties. 

For more information on how to develop an advocacy policy for your nonprofit, we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Advancing the Mission through Public Policy which includes: a discussion on the fact that advocacy and lobbying are legal, definitions of key terms like advocacy and lobbying, allowable lobbying activity, registration and disclosure of lobbying activity. Sample policies on advocacy and public policy are provided as well.   

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools, and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a Licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute. 

In these unusual times, sometimes the things that we cling to the most are the activities and programs that proceed as they would in non-COVID times.  I am truly grateful for individuals who volunteer their time to support our organization’s mission. I’m especially thankful for the volunteer interns that apply to become part of my organization’s team for a semester or two while they are in the midst of their own studies and academic pursuits. I have a special affinity for our volunteer interns because I began my own career at this organization as a graduate school intern many, many years ago!

We are fortunate to have a strong group of interns working this fall. As each intern comes on board, my organization invests in their success by utilizing our comprehensive volunteer internship orientation program. For a volunteer that has agreed to work 10 to 20 hours each week for an entire semester, we do our best to ensure that each individual has the tools they need to function within their program area by being oriented by their direct supervisor.  We take that orientation a few steps further by providing orientation to the major functions of the entire organization and to the most important topics within the nonprofit sector through a series of roundtables and seminars offered by members of our expert staff team.  I’m hopeful that this investment in their training and development will be helpful for each intern, not only during their weeks as part of our team, but also for their future—in whatever field they end up pursuing.

Of course, our organization (like so many other nonprofits) depends upon a host of volunteers to serve in various capacities. We are grateful for the support of volunteer committee members, peer reviewers for our Standards for Excellence accreditation program, and volunteers that assist at major events like our annual conference. Each volunteer assignment has its own expectations and responsibilities and as such, has a unique method or plan for the volunteer’s orientation to their position. Volunteer orientation should not be a one-size fits all scenario. For instance, our association’s conference volunteers will receive a customized virtual orientation program – providing each person the tools and information they will need to for their specific role. For our program this year, conference volunteers will be oriented using a combination of methods such as: orientation videos, group zoom sessions, practice sessions, and one-on-one meetings with members of our staff in some cases. Even for volunteers that are engaged for a short period of time like a conference, the investment is purposeful in order to make the experience successful.  It is important that nonprofits are realistic when recruiting volunteers—and take great care to recruit and onboard just the right number of volunteers to ensure that each person will feel welcome, well-equipped, and comfortable in carrying out their responsibilities.

I am pleased to report that when the pandemic hit, some of our volunteer programming didn’t miss a beat as our volunteer’s training and engagement was all virtual to begin with — but other volunteer responsibilities seemed much more challenging.  We were able to pivot our volunteer training and engagement from on-site and in-person to online and virtual and to continue working with an incredible group of volunteers. For this, we are profoundly grateful.

The Standards for Excellence educational packet on Volunteer Policies provides background and resources on engaging volunteers, developing volunteer policies and creating effective volunteer orientation. It also comes with customizable companion documents such as Model Volunteer Program Policies and Procedures, a sample volunteer job description and a sample volunteer and intern agreement.

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

Things are changing at what feels like lightning speed. It seems that if I turn off my mobile phone for just an hour or two, I miss all kinds of news headlines and updates that impact my work, family, and community. It’s more important than ever to keep careful records and notes — for the very practical reason that it’s difficult to remember the important details, especially in a constantly changing environment. The same is true for nonprofits.  Your board president may ponder, did we remember to complete the conflict of interest forms this year?  Did we complete the annual evaluation of the executive director? Did we look at the last quarterly financial statement?  Did we approve our budget prior to the start of the fiscal year?  What did we discuss or vote on at the last meeting?  Sure, many of these things, you may be able to recollect off the top of your head with little trouble, but despite that fact, board meeting minutes serve a crucial role. As the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector states,  “Accurate minutes reflecting board and committee actions should be kept and distributed to all board and committee members” and “Committees with decision-making authority should report any committee actions or decisions to the full board. Those decisions must be reflected in the board minutes.”

Sure, we know that minutes are the business records of the organization. We also know well that minutes should be kept of all board meetings, as well as committee meetings where the committee is making decisions on behalf of the board.  The IRS Form 990 also has a question about minutes and asks whether the organization keeps contemporaneous documentation of its meetings.[1]  State laws too, often require written minutes and will sometimes specify timing and inspection of the minutes.

Minutes are not official until they have been approved by the board (or committee) at the next meeting. It’s appropriate to have the person who is responsible for the minutes sign the minutes that have been submitted to the board. It’s important to store board meeting minutes in a consistent and secure location (paper files and/or electronic records), which helps to protect this historical documentation for an organization.

Board minutes keep all members informed of actions taken and those that need to be taken in the future. A few of the key items that should be included are:

• Information that identifies the meeting (the kind of meeting, name of the group, date, beginning and ending time, location, who was in attendance); who chaired the meeting and if meetings from the previous meeting have been approved
• What actions (motions) were taken.

While writing minutes is not my favorite activity, I do always feel a sense of accomplishment and closure when I finish up a set of minutes from a board or committee meeting.  It’s a good practice to carefully and consistently finalize your board meeting minutes so that you can maintain a record of actions and decisions, and move one step closer to meeting your organization’s important mission.

Many organizations wonder if they must, or should, share their board meeting minutes with members of the public.  The law does not require this disclosure, and the board should be able to rely on the privacy of the minutes so it can engage in full and frank discussion while gathered at a meeting.  That said, it may be advisable to keep minutes in such a way that the information about what has taken place is recorded, but names and editorial comments are not included.

For more information on meeting minutes, we encourage you to check out the Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Board Member Responsibilities, which includes a set of guidelines for writing minutes as well as a set of sample meeting minutes. In addition, this packet features helpful resources and discussion on topics such as proxy voting, governance and fiduciary responsibilities, bylaws, board policies, expectations for board members, as well as board member development, training, and orientation.  

This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools, and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a Licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

[1] The IRS defines contemporaneous as either by the next meeting of the board (or committee) or by sixty days following the meeting, whichever is later.