Among many nonprofit board responsibilities is determining when and how to gather. In many states, the law actually requires that boards meet at least once a year. However, there are also reasons that you might call a board meeting outside of the minimum requirement.
The agenda should always be prepared in advance by the president or chairman (also known as the presiding officer) or the secretary. At the beginning of the meeting, the agenda needs to be voted in by a majority vote of more than half of the members present.
Annual meetings are typically required under an organization's governing documents. The annual meeting serves multiple purposes including board elections, evaluating mission progress, affirming company values and culture, reviewing financials, setting the budget, and strategic planning for the upcoming year.
The nonprofit chair and board secretary should collaborate to plan the agenda, which may be a combination of standard best practices and unique concerns of the business.
The officers of the organization prepare the agenda with assistance from the organization advisor. An agenda starts with a list of general business items. Specific topics that are to be discussed at the meeting are placed under the proper agenda item in an outline format.
The responsibility for setting the agenda for board meetings typically falls on the shoulders of the board chair or president, in collaboration with the executive director or CEO of the nonprofit organization.
The chair owns the agenda Who prepares the first draft? Usually the company secretary, the CEO or the board secretary. This then needs to be approved or amended by the chair. The agenda and the board papers need to be sent to all directors at least 5 days plus a weekend, prior to the board meeting.
To reduce risk, most nonprofits take special care to enact the 49% rule. That means that the percentage of board members that are considered interested directors is limited to less than half of the total number of members.
In some states there are laws known as “Sunshine laws” that require groups to open their meetings to the public, however, these laws generally only apply to governmental or quasi-governmental groups. Unless the nonprofit is a governmental entity, there is no obligation to open board meetings to the public.
Annual meetings are typically required under an organization's governing documents. The annual meeting serves multiple purposes including board elections, evaluating mission progress, affirming company values and culture, reviewing financials, setting the budget, and strategic planning for the upcoming year.