The arcane language and technicalities involved in governance of a nonprofit organization by its board of directors can often stymie the new organization in carrying out its mission effectively and productively.
An excellent source for basic information is BoardSource, and this post about a book, Better Bylaws: Creating Effective Rules for Your Nonprofit Board, Second Edition, includes a link to the introduction.
An excerpt from the post.
“Are you giving your bylaws the attention they demand?
“Most nonprofits begin their existence by filing articles of incorporation with the state. Another critical step is to draft an initial set of bylaws to establish key governance rules - how to call meetings; what constitutes a quorum; how to elect, add, and remove board members; how to form committees; and more.
“Founding board members often get bogged down in drafting the initial bylaws, struggling to get the first set perfect and to cover every conceivable issue that might arise in the future. Or they blindly borrow a bylaws example, even though it may not fit their needs.
“A helpful approach is to start with very basic bylaws that cover major issues surrounding meetings and elections and then gradually amend those bylaws over time as the nonprofit matures and as new governance issues arise that were not clearly covered by the initial bylaws.”
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.