Every charitable organization’s board should have board meetings on a regular basis in order to conduct its business and successfully fulfill its duties.
-In order to conduct a board meeting that will not be tedious yet successful, try to start off your meeting with an ice breaker to have members feel comfortable as well as more engaged and interested.
-The number of meetings held should be determined by the needs of the organization.
-Many charitable organizations find it prudent to meet at least three times a year to fulfill basic governance and oversight responsibilities but organizations with widely dispersed board membership will hold only one or two meetings each year.
-Regular meetings provide the chief venue for board members to:
-Review the organizations financial situation and program activities
-Establish and monitor compliance with key organizational policies and procedures
-Address issues that affect the organization’s ability to fulfil its charitable mission.
-An effective way for boards to function more efficiently and be prepared for full board meetings is by creating committees and task forces.
LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES
-State laws determine the minimum number of meetings that must be conducted by a non-profit organization annually.
-State laws determine the minimum quorum requirements. The board of an organization is allowed to be stricter about their own requirements.
-State laws regulate whether board meetings are allowed to take place without the presence of all members in the same room. Many states do not allow electronic voting in board meetings.
-If the board has an executive committee, the decisions of the committee should be reported to the full board during the next meeting.
-State sunshine laws define who must follow the open meeting regulations as well as the procedure for doing so.
-IRS Form 990 inquires whether board meetings and committee meetings acting on behalf of the governing body are documented.
RESOURCES
State sunshine laws www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php
National Association of Parliamentarian http://parliamentarians.org/