Governance for Nonprofit Organizations

From Little Leagues to Big Universities

"The test of our worth is
the service we render."
          - Theodore Roosevelt

Service on a nonprofit board is not merely an honor granted in recognition of your civic achievements. It entails legal obligations and an important responsibility for stewardship of the goals and principles of the nonprofit organization.

You and your fellow directors have the primary legal and moral responsibility for the governance of your nonprofit and for seeing that the mission of your nonprofit organization is carried out.

To carry out its mission, the organization must, of course, be fiscally sound. It must maintain the confidence and the moral and financial support of its members, donors, volunteers and the public at large. These critically important aspects of nonprofit governance depend on you and your fellow directors.

It is important for you to pay attention to these responsibilities because nonprofits are garnering greater attention today. Nonprofits are being called upon to play greater roles in our communities, and they represent one of the fastest-growing segments of our society. And our communities have higher expectations about the conduct of nonprofit directors, as indeed they should. If problems surface, it is only natural to ask, "Where was the board?"

We hope the publication Governance for Nonprofits: From Little Leagues to Big Universities will be a useful introduction to the issues you confront in governance of your nonprofit.

Below are additional materials to help you in your work:

Click here for more information on this topic

Document number	Description
1	Summaries: Sarbanes Oxley Act
2	Summaries: The "High-Flyers" and the "Radar Runners": The Best of the Best Practices for Governing Not-for-Profits, "The not-for-profit community considered Sarbanes-Oxley and developed "best practices" based, in part, upon its precepts. Certain of these best practices have been high profile because they can be directly tied to the dictates of Sarbanes-Oxley. A lot of public attention has been given to these "high-flyers" and a not-for-profit of substantial size and that has a structure similar to that of a public company should certainly consider implementation of these practices", John P. Vail, Quarles & Brady LLP, Milwaukee Chapter, December 7, 2006 (21 pages)
3	Summaries: The 2006 Grant Thornton LLP National Board Governance Survey for Not-for-Profit Organizations. 960 not-for-profit organizations participated in the 2006 survey. "In addition, not-for-profit boards are ensuring their independence by forming an audit committee (64 percent) and assigning the audit committee the responsibility for hiring and terminating the audit firm, as well as determining the scope of work (40 percent)" (17 pages)
4	Summaries: Good Corporate Governance at Nonprofits, Presentation, Cherie Sorokin, Fall 2006 (7 pages)
5	Summaries: Why and How to Do Board Effectiveness Study, Cherie Sorokin, Fall 2006 (3 pages)
6	Summaries: 12 Step Program for Improving Board Governance at Non-For-Profits, Cherie Sorokin, Fall 2006 (2 pages)
7	Summaries: Good Corporate Governance at Private Companies and Nonprofits, Cherie Sorokin, Presentation - at the Society's National Conference 2007. (14 pages)
8	Summaries: Survey regarding policy on contributions to non-for-profit organizations as is relates to the Board - 2005 (3 pages)
9	Summaries: Job Description - Philanthropy Committee (1 page)
10	Policy Summaries: Internet Privacy Policy (3 pages)
11	Summaries: Job Description - Governance Committee (2 pages)
12	Summaries: Job Description - Finance Committee (2 pages)
13	Policy Summaries: Expense Reimbursement Policy (2 pages)
14a	Summaries: Job Description - Audit Committee (2 pages)
14b	Summaries: Audit Committee Charter (2 pages)
15	Policy Summaries: Comply with laws that preclude negative discrimination (1 page)
16	Summaries: Non Profit Company By Laws including: Action At Regular Or Special Meetings Agenda for Regular Board Meetings Agenda for Committee Meetings News Media Regulations (14 pages)

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