By NEO Law Group
An engaged board can be one of the most important organizational assets of a nonprofit. But nonprofit boards are often underutilized and are not always effective in significantly advancing an organization’s mission. Educating boards and executives about their legal duties, practical steps to take to effectively meet those duties, and best practices in mitigating exposure to organizational and personal liability/harm is key to establishing board engagement and effectiveness.
The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) are holding their 2023 Charities Conference virtually on October 11-12, 2023. The conference is unique in its targeting of attendees representing government regulators, nonprofits, and professional advisors. The cost of registration is $100. Register...
On August 3, 2023, the California Supreme Court unanimously held that a director of a nonprofit public benefit corporation who brings a lawsuit pursuant to Corporations Code sections 5142, 5233, and 5223 does not lose standing to continue litigating the suit if the director subsequently loses that position. Turner...
On July 11, 2023, Fiscal Sponsor Conversations (“the weekly form for fiscal sponsors”) focused its discussion on governance for fiscal sponsors. What role does your Board of Directors play in your organization’s fiscal sponsorship work? How is it working? What could be improved? As with most things in fiscal...
One of the first decisions a founder of a nonprofit corporation must make is who selects the board members. Initially, that’s usually the founder or the founding group. But what happens after the initial board has been selected? Self-Perpetuating Boards Most nonprofit boards are known as self-perpetuating boards. In...
Shortly after writing The Nonprofit Board You’d Love to Join, it seemed important to look at this issue from the other direction. The following is a list of ten attractive characteristics of a board member from the perspective of a charity: Ten Attractive Characteristics of a Nonprofit Board Member Deeply...
If we accept as given that a nonprofit has a mission that resonates with you, what makes a board one you would want to join? Likely, the principal reasons are your existing relationships to the organization and its leadership. But for organizations seeking board members, the following list of...
BoardSource recently launched its survey in connection with the updated Leading with Intent: BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices for 2023. Who serves on today’s nonprofit boards? What matters most when it comes to the board’s roles and responsibilities? What impact are they having on organizational performance? How do...
Last week, we saw the series finales of two popular television shows that are now part of the zeitgeist: Ted Lasso and Succession. While we can enjoy both of these series as pure entertainment, I found it interesting to reflect back on them for what they may say about...
As a board member (director) of a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, you have certain rights of inspection that allow you to access and review the corporation’s books, records, documents, and physical properties. Section 6334 of the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law and Section 8334 of the Nonprofit Mutual...
It’s easy to find a copy of nonprofit bylaws on the Internet. Fine tune it a little bit – like by changing the desired number of directors and the number of meetings – and it can seem like you’re good to go. But just in case the bylaws you...