nonprofit board

The board booted me out – but can they?

By Ann Macfarlane / July 10, 2018 / Comments Off on The board booted me out – but can they?

A reader writes that he was voted off the board of directors of his neighborhood association. On investigation, it turned out that the board didn’t have the right to remove him.

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Unanimous consent will slash your meeting time

By Ann Macfarlane / April 17, 2018 / Comments Off on Unanimous consent will slash your meeting time

Unanimous consent is one of the most useful tools in Robert’s Rules of order. Yet this method of voting is little known. Use it well, and your meetings will be much more efficient. Your members will also be grateful!

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Don’t try to count a voice vote

By Ann Macfarlane / April 3, 2018 / Comments Off on Don’t try to count a voice vote

Sometimes after a voice vote that is not unanimous, we see an odd scenario. The chair or the clerk starts trying to figure out who voted for and who voted against. “Let’s see, it looks like the motion passed, with Member B and Member C voting against—you did vote against, didn’t you?” Don’t do this! Trying…

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Duty of care is critical for nonprofit board directors

By Ann Macfarlane / March 13, 2018 / Comments Off on Duty of care is critical for nonprofit board directors

Guest post by Colette Collier Trohan.  Directors of nonprofit boards will find this outline of their duty of care an invaluable guide.

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Inappropriate remarks on nonprofit boards

By Ann Macfarlane / December 18, 2017 / Comments Off on Inappropriate remarks on nonprofit boards

If you serve as a director on a nonprofit board, you should know the types of remarks that are inappropriate during discussion at a meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order and the common parliamentary law it is based on require that: Directors on a board must be courteous to one another. They must speak to the…

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Who may correct meeting minutes?

By Ann Macfarlane / September 9, 2016 /

In the olden days, the standard way to correct meeting minutes was to request the correction at the next meeting, when the meeting minutes were up for approval. Nowadays, since meeting minutes are often circulated in advance, the question becomes a little more complicated. This article explores those complications. According to Robert’s Rules of Order…

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Publish your numbers when electing nonprofit officers

By Ann Macfarlane / August 4, 2016 / Comments Off on Publish your numbers when electing nonprofit officers

When it comes time for electing nonprofit officers, far too often we see announcements like this: “The election for president was held and Director Black was elected to the office.” This is a mistake! When you hold an election for office, BE SURE to include the numbers of votes cast for each individual in your…

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What is a quorum and why does it matter?

By Ann Macfarlane / March 16, 2016 /
cartoon about quorum

A friend recently described a board meeting when 20 members, who had driven or flown in from distant parts, sat around waiting because they couldn’t take action – they didn’t have a quorum. Eventually one straggler arrived and the meeting could begin. What is a quorum? A quorum is the minimum number of voting members…

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Are summary minutes right for your nonprofit board?

By Ann Macfarlane / August 25, 2015 /
paper with pen

Over the years Jurassic Parliament has been a strong supporter of “action minutes.” We agree with Robert’s Rules of Order that the fundamental purpose of minutes is to record official actions taken by a governing body. Minutes are a legal record and document what the body has done. This is true for elected councils, appointed…

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