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Fiduciary Duties

Nonprofit Board Governance
Governance

Top 15 Non-profit Board Governance Mistakes

Boards are entitled to delegate tasks to committees, officers, staff, or in certain cases, professionals, but only if they perform sufficient oversight. Oversight is commonly exercised through policies and procedures so long as the board ensures that the policies and procedures are actually followed. Common oversight mechanisms include review of financial statements and the annual Form 990 as well as the implementation of various governance policies.

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Does Your Nonprofit Need a Business Continuity Plan?

The unexpected has increasingly become¦.well, expected. And failure to adequately plan for anticipated risks can subject directors to scrutiny for breaching their fiduciary duties. Having a business continuity plan is increasingly important; not only for ensuring the continued operation of essential services but also to shield directors from liability for failing to plan for such disruptions. Here’s what you need to know:

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9 Tenets of Fiduciary Duty as a Board Member

Fiduciary duties, as codified in state law, board bylaws, and common practice, are quite simply a set of rules to ensure that boards are run effectively, lawfully, and with the best interests of their mission in mind.  Here, we’ll look beyond the legal jargon to distill the legal and ethical responsibilities of board members to oversee the management of and ensure accountability to your nonprofit organization. 

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Strategies for Handling a Difficult Board Member

Think back to the last time you had to (or at least wanted to) confront your boss about micromanaging your work. Now imagine having ten bosses instead of one. You’ve just stepped into the shoes of your nonprofit’s executive director. While we might all like to cast aside the possibility of an overreaching board member in our organizations, even the most well run nonprofit boards will deal with difficult board members at some point. Boards are full of, well, humans, who have a unique set of personal experiences, emotions, and motivations that influence on their job as a director. Sometimes, that can lead to conflict that is uncomfortable, unproductive, and even contrary to the organization’s best interests. 

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The Pitfalls of Delegation (and how to avoid them)

Delegating activities to committees and other qualified individuals can be helpful for nonprofit boards that are short on the time or expertise needed to carry out certain functions. For example, nonprofit boards typically delegate the day to day management of the organization to officers such as the C.E.O./Executive Director. Boards also delegate specific tasks to committees who can devote more time to particular matters.

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Nonprofit Board Oversight
Governance

Nonprofit Board Oversight

A nonprofit’s board of directors is legally responsible for exercising the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise in overseeing the organization’s operations. This includes the organization’s finances and legal compliance.

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How to Combat the Rubber Stamp Board

Rubber stamp boards tend to take a hands off approach to their duties and simply approve everything put in front of them by management without actively participating in deliberation and debate. This approach is dangerous for the nonprofit and the directors.

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