Board Roles and Responsibilities

A Conflict of Interest policy will clearly state not only what constitutes a conflict of interest, but also how to best disclose the situation to avoid or reduce potential conflict.

The executive committee can be the most important of all committees within a voluntary, community-based organization.

The boards of voluntary and non-profit organizations normally govern by establishing policies. A policy is any written statement approved by the board or by the membership that:

1. Articulates and defines important objectives, principles or values
2. Limits or prescribes what kind of action will be taken in different situations
3. Defines roles, responsibilities and authority

Have you recently been asked to join the board of directors for a voluntary, community-based organization? Are you a veteran board member who would like to increase your contribution to the organization(s) you serve?

Effective board members should be knowledgeable about the operations of the organization, become regularly involved in board activities and ultimately develop a trusting relationship with the organization.

Learn what it means to be an effective board member and how to create a healthy board by visiting these resources and links from the United Way.

Research has shown that boards of directors of nonprofit organizations that take time to regularly assess their performance are more effective than those that don’t.

Are you a new or prospective non-profit board member who is unsure of what you may be getting into? Are you a more experienced board member who doesn't feel that your board participation is all that it could be? If so, welcome to The Fundamentals of Effective Board Involvement from Mentoring Canada

Workbooks include: Board Building: Recruiting and Developing Effective Boards; Drafting and Revising By-laws; Developing Job Descriptions for Board Members; Hiring and Performance Appraisal of the Executive Director and Financial Responsibilities of Non-profit Boards.

Directors of not-for-profit corporations are, like the organizations they serve, a diverse lot.

Welcome to The Charities File On Board, building the capacity of small and rural charitable organizations across Canada and assist with annual compliance reporting to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).