A nonprofit corporation is required to have a board of directors. States can vary among respective requirements of a board of directors but the general idea is the same: there must be a board of directors that serves as the ultimate governing body of the corporation. In addition to being legally responsible for the overall […]
Author: Emily Chan
Form 990 Policies – Is it better to check “yes” or “no”?
The questions regarding certain governance policies referenced by the revised Form 990 have caused quite a stir since the revised Form 990 was released. Scattered throughout the Form 990 (2010) are governance questions which may be influenced by the presence or lack of policies, such as: Conflict of Interest Policy (Part VI, Section B) Executive […]
5 Social Media Myths
Last year, a study conducted by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research (“US Charities’ Adoption of Social Media Study,” August 2010) reported that the largest nonprofits are outpacing for-profit companies and academia when it comes to social media use. Among its findings (based on the 200 largest U.S. charities) were that 97% […]
Board Meeting Minutes – Part II
This is the second part of our two-part series on board meeting minutes. The previous post, “Board Meeting Minutes – Part I” can be viewed here. The content and retention of board meeting minutes are also important in part because of who may inspect the minutes and why such inspection may occur. Directors Under the California […]
Board Meeting Minutes – Part I
Board meeting minutes are an important but often undervalued form of recordkeeping for organizations. Minutes provide a memorialized chronology of key information such as board actions, elections of officers or directors, and certain reports from committees and staff. Additionally, meeting minutes can have important legal significance in an IRS examination and as evidence in courts if, […]
Top 10 Events of 2010
Last year we wrote on the Top 10 Events of the Decade. This year we decided to do another list on the Top 10 events of 2010 affecting the nonprofit sector (listed in chronological order). We welcome your additions in the comments. Have a happy holiday season! Haitian earthquake and social media relief effort Citizens […]
The 2010 Relief Act – IRA Charitable Rollover
On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the 2010 Relief Act). One of the individual tax relief provisions deals with extending an expiring provision related to distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes. Prior to the 2010 Relief Act, the […]
BoardSource Leadership Forum – Part III: Nonprofit Governance Challenges
At the BoardSource Leadership Forum, Thomas K. Hyatt, SNR Denton, presented the session “Ripped from the Headlines! Nonprofit Governance Challenges from Front Page News” using seven news headlines from the last year as case studies of compliance “war stories.” Hyatt notes these headlines represent a range of governance challenges from “good efforts gone wrong” to […]
BoardSource Leadership Forum 2010 – Part II: Top Ten Legal Risks for Nonprofit Boards
In the session “Top 10 in 2010: Legal Risks Facing Nonprofit Boards” at the BoardSource Leadership Forum 2010, Melanie Lockwood Herman, Nonprofit Management Risk Center, and Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, Venable LLP, presented their list of the top ten legal risks facing nonprofit boards: Exposures from social media use, misuse, and naiveté Going rogue: the unhappy […]
BoardSource Leadership Forum 2010
Last week, BoardSource, a leading resource on nonprofit boards and governance, hosted the BoardSource Leadership Forum 2010, “Open for Innovation: Governing in a New Era,” in San Francisco. I was particularly excited to attend this forum because it is unique for its main focus on governance – a topic that is often scary for or […]