Template

Nonprofit board meeting template

For a charity or association board: approve the minutes, the money, the reports and the votes — in order, and on the record.

90 minutesFor Chairs and secretaries of nonprofit boardsAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. Call to order and who is present5 min
    • Are enough members here for a vote to count?
  2. Approve the last minutes5 min
    • Any corrections before we approve them?
  3. Treasurer's report15 min
    • How does spending compare with the budget?
    • How many months of reserves do we hold?
  4. Director's and committee reports20 min
    • What does the board need to decide, rather than just hear?
  5. Old business15 min
    • What did we leave open last time?
  6. New business and votes25 min
    • What is the motion, in one sentence?
    • Who is in favour, against, abstaining?
  7. Next meeting and close5 min
    • When, and what must be ready by then?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Present. Seven of nine; enough for a vote.

Treasurer. Spending 4% under budget; five months of reserves.

Motion. To approve the spring appeal budget of $12,000. Carried, six to one.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Annual general meetingAdd the election of officers and the approval of the year's accounts.
A small associationAn hour, with reports in writing only.

When to skip it. You cannot, if your rules set how often the board meets. Shorten it instead.

Questions

What is the order of business for a board meeting?

Call to order, approval of the last minutes, reports, old business, new business and votes, and the date of the next meeting.

How many members must be present for a vote?

Your own rules set that number. Check them before the meeting, and write down who was there.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

Annual general meeting (AGM)The yearly meeting of members: the year's report, the accounts, the elections and the votes the rules require.Investor pitch meetingA first meeting with an investor: ten minutes of pitch, plenty of time for their questions, and a clear ask at the end.Board meetingHighlights, the numbers, the asks, and the votes — in that order.Investor update callFor the people who put money in: the numbers, what went wrong, and what you need from them.HOA board meetingFor a homeowners' association: the money, the repairs, residents' questions and the votes.PTA meetingParents and teachers, once a month: what the school needs, what is coming up, and who is helping.Parent-teacher conferenceTwenty minutes about one child: what is going well, what is hard, and what home and school will each do.User research interviewOne customer, in their own words: what they were trying to do, what they did, and where it went wrong.

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