A strategic board has a view of looking ahead, an insight to look deeper, and competency to look beyond.
Pearl Zhu, Digitizing Boardroom: The Multifaceted Aspects of Digital Ready Boards
One of the most critical aspects of our work is to steward the gifts of our members from the moment we receive donation through the final grant disbursement. When it comes to proper procedures and practices, we must protect our leaders and the funds entrusted to our organization.
Although you will likely have an attorney or accountant on your board lead this effort, strong governance is a vital part of your work and the responsibility of every leader.
With thanks,
Wendy
As a qualified nonprofit under IRS code 501(c)3, collecting and distributing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, your Impact100 chapter requires strong governance. You will want an attorney or accountant with nonprofit experience on your team to ensure you are adhering to the legal and operational standards.
This section is designed to alert you to some of the areas you will need to be aware of, please do not mistake this information as legal advice. Impact100 Global Advisory Council recommends you seek guidance from your local attorney.
DISCLAIMER: Impact100 provides this information purely for educational purposes and discussion. It contains only general information about legal matters. It is not legal advice and should not be treated as such. You must not rely on the information on this website as an alternative to legal advice from your attorney or other professional service advisors. If you have specific questions about any legal matter you should consult your attorney and other professional service advisors.
Appropriate governance requires a variety of policies, procedures and safeguards be put in place. Please consult your own attorney for legal advice.
Board of Directors: Board terms, structure, roles, responsibilities, and composition must be determined. This includes job descriptions, committee structure, adding or removing directors, frequency of meetings, etc.
Financial & Accounting Procedures: Impact100 must be good stewards of the funds we collect and the grants we approve. Checks and balances are vital to ensure no one person has exclusive access to the funds. Prudent procedures and safeguards protect everyone. Timely tax filings and monthly financial reports to the board are expected.
Director & Officer Liability Insurance: Obtaining D&O insurance is a standard for most nonprofit boards and provides an important protection for your board of directors. Additional protections like a cyber liability policy, for example, may be beneficial.
Impact100 Boards should meet at least monthly. Each committee should submit a committee report to the secretary of the board at least one week prior to the board meeting. If you choose to include an Executive Board, the Executive Board should meet a week or more in advance to set the Board meeting agenda and discuss any issues in preparation for that meeting.
Board packets should be emailed 5-7 days in advance of the Board Meeting. Packet includes agenda, committee reports, financials, a copy of any motions required and any other relevant documentation. The meeting should be efficiently run and should not be a deep dive into the committee reports, but rather should provide an opportunity to highlight any key points or seek approval of action to be taken, as needed.
Attendance of every board member is expected. Providing remote access to your board meetings will greatly benefit you team and allow maximum participation.
Bylaws are filed with your state and are a legal document. They are the rules of a corporation, established by the board of directors during the process of starting a corporation. Specifically, the bylaws direct the board of directors in their work to oversee the organization.
Policies and procedures are how the work of the organization is carried out. Although separate from bylaws, they should always be in agreement with them. For example, if your bylaws state that your board will meet monthly, and you decide (by policy) to take the summer off, you would be in violation of your own bylaws.
As a general rule, bylaws should be broad to allow flexibility, while policies and procedures are specific instructions on how to carry out that work in alignment with your bylaws.
