Great resources for non-profit boards?

[MSWR0319]

I'm on the board of a small non-profit for a sports team that my children are involved in. The by-laws are in some serious need of being amended (they were last amended in 1980) and I'm looking for some resources on the best way we go about doing that. Some of the board thinks you can just write down whatever you want and that's the new by-laws. They don't understand that we have to follow the current by-laws until the new ones are in place and voted in based on the requirements of the current by-laws, etc. One board member has even convinced other board members that they deserve to not pay the fee because they are on the board and it should be their "payment" for volunteering to be on the board. It's a hot mess to say the least and I need help and resources to show what's right vs wrong and legal vs illegal so that we can get the by-laws where they need to be and make sure the board is doing what's best for the association and not what's best for the board members.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My dh is forming a non-profit foundation at the moment and has been researching a lot on his own for best practices, reading by-laws for boards I serve on (fyi- I have NEVER received a discount or perk for volunteering on a board!!), and his friend's wife has been offering him some free legal advice. If he didn't have her, he would probably pay for a lawyer. And he will also be enlisting a tax accountant.

[MSWR0319]

My dh is forming a non-profit foundation at the moment and has been researching a lot on his own for best practices, reading by-laws for boards I serve on (fyi- I have NEVER received a discount or perk for volunteering on a board!!), and his friend's wife has been offering him some free legal advice. If he didn't have her, he would probably pay for a lawyer. And he will also be enlisting a tax accountant.

Tell me about it. I spent over an hour with all sorts of resources explaining duties of care, loyalty, etc and why you shouldn't give yourself a discount and she REFUSES to listen to me and has convinced other board members she's right and I'm wrong. This topic just boils my blood. I can't understand how anyone would think it's ok. She claims because it doesn't say anywhere that it's illegal to give yourself a discount she can vote one in It's so wrong for so many reasons. No one else does research or tries to understand anything. I'm just so frustrated and I really care about this organization and want to help but I can see it's going to be a long road. I did find an association for non-profits run by our state to help with things, so maybe if I can convince our board to join, they can see we need to hire a lawyer to help get things back where they need to be. Then the lawyer will tel them their "discount" is wrong!

[kdeunc]

You may want to checkout Board Source. https://boardsource.org/
Another good resource is https://www.ncnonprofits.org They are in NC but may have some links to other similar organizations in other states as well as just some general information you can access.

[csnoop]

I myself formed a non-profit legal service organization with my colleague a few years ago. We just used resources from nolo press. It's very user friendly in my opinion. If you go to their website, they also have sample bylaws and other relevant things. It was a good starting place to write our bylaws. We are lawyers so in some ways, it was not a difficult process at all. There were also other organizations that shared their bylaws with us. I agree that you cannot give yourself discounts. You are also required to file a 990 with IRS on a yearly basis. There may be other things you are required to do that are not being done.

CC

[jerigirl]

PTO Today might have some resources for you. Starting a PTO is probably very similar.

[MSWR0319]

I myself formed a non-profit legal service organization with my colleague a few years ago. We just used resources from nolo press. It's very user friendly in my opinion. If you go to their website, they also have sample bylaws and other relevant things. It was a good starting place to write our bylaws. We are lawyers so in some ways, it was not a difficult process at all. There were also other organizations that shared their bylaws with us. I agree that you cannot give yourself discounts. You are also required to file a 990 with IRS on a yearly basis. There may be other things you are required to do that are not being done.

CC

Thanks! I'll check out their website. I've been filing the 990's, so I know we're ok there at the very least. I don't understand why I can't get through their head this discount idea is WRONG. Ethically and morally it makes no sense, let alone legally. Why would you want to take money away from an organization you're a part of?? Poor DH has to listen to me rant about it all the time.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Just talked some to dh. He confirmed that’s illegal to profit (aka discounts/free). What a mess since it sounds like they already know that??


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[SnuggleBuggles]

Also, I might be concerned about staying on the board knowing they could be breaking the law. You don’t want to get swept up in their mess.


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[HannaAddict]

You may want to checkout Board Source. https://boardsource.org/
Another good resource is https://www.ncnonprofits.org They are in NC but may have some links to other similar organizations in other states as well as just some general information you can access.

I was also going to suggest Board Source as well. They have good quality info. If it is a nonprofit related to a certain sport or a school there are good resources for some areas specifically. For independent (private) schools, Northwest Association of Independent Schools nwais.org has great resources and best practices.


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