Standards for Excellence
How Should We Keep the Minutes of Our Board Meetings?
Minutes are business records of the organization. Minutes should be kept of all meetings of the Board of Directors, as well as committee meetings where the committee is making decisions on behalf of the board. Decisions of committees should be brought to the full...
Funding Opportunity: Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund
The Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund is currently accepting applications for two grant programs, the Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund (MAERDAF) and the Rural Maryland Prosperity Investment...
How Does My Nonprofit Remove a Board Member?
There are a number of reasons for removing a member of the board of directors, including non-attendance at board meetings or committees, being inactive in general, or being so obstructive that he or she keeps the board from functioning effectively. The board should...
How Data Breaches at Nonprofit Organizations Impact the Communities They Serve, and the Steps Leaders Can Take to Mitigate Cyber Risks
Guest Blog by Ronnie Kurlander, Senior IT Advisor, Hartman Executive Advisors Nonprofit organizations are particularly vulnerable to breaches, mainly due to inconsistent security policies and the large amounts of sensitive data they collect and use in their daily...
Election Year Do’s and Don’ts for 501(C)(3) Organizations
Maryland Nonprofits and the vast majority of the nation’s charitable and religious community strongly support the Internal Revenue Code’s non-partisanship rule, often referred to as the “Johnson Amendment,” that precludes us from actions that support or reasonably...
The 11 Steps Nonprofits Can Take to Minimize Risk of Theft and Fraud
Guest Blog by Tom Joseph, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bookminders Are reports about financial abuses at other nonprofits causing you to reexamine the security of your own organization? In the wake of the recent articles1,2 on fraud in the nonprofit sector,...
Should Nonprofit Board Members be Compensated for Serving on the Board?
Generally speaking, board members should not be compensated for their service as board members. In fact, the voluntary nature of nonprofit boards is one of the important elements of the nonprofit sector in the United States. Less than 1 % of nonprofit organizations...
Is Proxy Voting by Nonprofit Board Members Allowed in Maryland? Conference Call Voting? Email Voting?
Proxy Voting: NO, board members (“directors”), who owe a fiduciary obligation to the legal entity, may not vote by proxy in Maryland. Maryland Code Section 2-408, “Action by Directors,” states that action by directors must be completed by “directors...
How Should We Recruit Nonprofit Board Members?
The board member selection process is often headed by the Nominating Committee or Board Development Committee, also called the Governance Committee. The board chairperson and Executive Director should also be closely involved. As a first step in the selection process,...
How Many Members Should Be on Our Nonprofit’s Board?
Having a sufficient number of board members to fulfill the board’s responsibilities, foster a viable organization, get through the federal approval process, and attract funding from foundations is important. Nationally, the average board has 17 members. Maryland...