2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 29 - Business Organizations. [Enacted title] › Chapter 4 - Nonprofit Corporations › Subchapter VI - Directors, Officers, and Employees › Part C - Directors › § 29–406.30. Standards of conduct for directors

§ 29–406.30. Standards of conduct for directors.
(a) Each member of the board of directors, when discharging the duties of a director, shall act:
(1) In good faith; and
(2) In a manner the director reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the nonprofit corporation.
(b) The members of the board of directors or a committee of the board, when becoming informed in connection with their decision-making function or devoting attention to their oversight function, shall discharge their duties with the care that a person in a like position would reasonably believe appropriate under similar circumstances.
(c) In discharging board or committee duties a director shall disclose, or cause to be disclosed, to the other board or committee members information not already known by them but known by the director to be material to the discharge of their decision-making or oversight functions, except that disclosure is not required to the extent that the director reasonably believes that doing so would violate a duty imposed by law, a legally enforceable obligation of confidentiality, or a professional ethics rule.
(d) In discharging board or committee duties, a director who does not have knowledge that makes reliance unwarranted may rely on the performance by any of the persons specified in subsection (f)(1), (3), or (4) of this section to whom the board may have delegated, formally or informally by course of conduct, the authority or duty to perform one or more of the board’s functions that are delegable under applicable law.
(e) In discharging board or committee duties a director who does not have knowledge that makes reliance unwarranted may rely on information, opinions, reports, or statements, including financial statements and other financial data, prepared or presented by any of the persons specified in subsection (f) of this section.
(f) A director may rely, in accordance with subsection (d) or (e) of this section, on:
(1) One or more officers, employees, or volunteers of the nonprofit corporation whom the director reasonably believes to be reliable and competent in the functions performed or the information, opinions, reports, or statements provided;
(2) Legal counsel, public accountants, or other persons retained by the corporation as to matters involving skills or expertise the director reasonably believes are matters:
(A) Within the particular person’s professional or expert competence; or
(B) As to which the particular person merits confidence;
(3) A committee of the board of directors of which the director is not a member if the director reasonably believes the committee merits confidence; or
(4) In the case of a religious corporation, religious authorities and ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, or other persons whose positions or duties the director reasonably believes justify reliance and confidence and whom the director believes to be reliable and competent in the matters presented.
(g) A director shall not be a trustee with respect to the nonprofit corporation or with respect to any property held or administered by the corporation, including property that may be subject to restrictions imposed by the donor or transferor of the property.
(July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 2, 58 DCR 1720.)
Section References
This section is referenced in § 29-406.25 and § 29-406.33.