Follow up on questions raised in your reading and seek legal advice for the answers whenever necessary. This booklet is not a substitute for legal advice from an attorney but is intended to help you identify critical issues you may encounter as you fulfil your role as a board member. A failure to meet these obligations can result in financial or other liability for the board member. By making this effort, I believe you will find your service on the board to be more enjoyable, more productive and more free of anxiety. It is my hope that in some small way this booklet can help you continue your important work.
Board members come from all backgrounds, bringing diverse talents to the organizations they serve.
Anyone over eighteen is legally qualified to serve on a board. Read the organization's certificate of incorporation, by-laws and board minutes for the last year to learn about its purposes, activities and problems. Review the organization's audited financial statement for the last year and its current financial report to see how the organization spends its money and to evaluate its economic health. Learn about the organization's programs - read its publications, visit its program sites. Talk to current and former board members to learn about what the board does and why the former board members left the board.