Board members/directors must be individuals and do not need to be residents of Washington State. Bylaws can add additional qualifications as agreed upon by the current board members. 501(c)(3) public charities must have at least 3 board members. Youth under the age of 18 may serve on a board.
Not-for-profit and charity boards may sometimes need to make a board resolution – something that formalises — in writing — the critical decisions made by members in board meetings.
The title of the resolution must appropriately reflect the intent. Resolutions begin with "Whereas" statements, which provides the basic facts and reasons for the resolution, and conclude with "Resolved" statements which, identifies the specific proposal for the requestor's course of action.
The resolution then becomes part of the company's record and is legally binding. For this reason, boards should document meeting resolutions in their meeting minutes and store them in their board portal.
The board chair reads the resolution (or asks another board director to do so) The board chair asks for a motion to adopt the resolution. A board director moves to adopt it, and another director seconds it. The board chair asks if there is any further discussion (there may or may not be a further discussion)
A board resolution is essentially a written legal record of a decision that was made by the board. Resolutions allow the board to document their important decisions so that they are easy to access and refer back to if needed. These resolutions are typically stored with the board's meeting minutes.
Resolutions can be used for many things, and the bylaws often require resolutions for certain tasks or decisions. For example, a resolution might be used by the corporation to decide they are opening a bank account, authorizing spending, or authorizing the reimbursement of purchases.
How to write a board resolution Put the date and resolution number at the top. Give the resolution a title that relates to the decision. Use formal language. Continue writing out each critical statement. Wrap up the heart of the resolution in the last statement.
A board governance/board development committee sets the pace, creates systems to wire in accountability, and ensures that the rules established for board members are followed, including ensuring that all nonprofit funds are accounted for in a transparent and compliant manner.