Bring up the subject of a nonprofit’s bylaws and you are sure to get an interesting response. For many nonprofit’s, their bylaws are just some forgotten document, full of legalese, gathering dust in a file cabinet somewhere. No one on…
When you start a charitable organization, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is selecting your board of directors. Your board is legally responsible for governance, fiduciary, and strategic oversight of your nonprofit corporation. This usually includes ratification of your initial bylaws, as well as overseeing…
Nonprofit organizations play an important role in addressing societal issues and providing services to communities. The board of directors is a critical component of these organizations, as they are responsible for overseeing the organization’s strategy, finances, and operations. In this…
Now, more than ever, the nation needs nonprofit organizations. The need is great and still growing.
We get a lot of questions from our clients about their organizations’ meeting minutes. Our exemption specialists often give advice on questions like “When should we record meeting minutes?” and “Why are meeting minutes so important?” There is great importance…
In our last article, we discussed legal liability of board members as it relates to corporate law. This post highlights liability in regards to IRS tax-exemption regulations. The board of directors collectively governs the affairs of a nonprofit organization. As…
In real world practice, becoming a board member for a nonprofit organization usually comes with little personal risk, and the probability of a member being legally accountable for actions taken by the nonprofit is relatively low. The fear of being…
One of the most essential aspects of starting a nonprofit is the organizational governance. Governance starts with the board of directors. Not surprisingly, setting up the original board of directors trips up people right from the start. We often have…
In one of our recent articles, we discussed the importance of having a strong organizational structure and the role of a board of directors within a nonprofit organization. That article will give you a general introduction to the various pieces of…
Dean Karlan, professor of economics at Yale University, recently wrote an article about determining if a charity is wasting donated money on overhead expenses. In this article, he discusses the “overhead ratio,” which we have discussed in a previous article.…