Where can I find guidance on drafting nonprofit board meeting minutes?
Meeting minutes are legal records, so it's important to get them right.
In essence, the minutes describe when your nonprofit's meeting was, where it was, who was there, any actions members took and what's ahead. Effective minutes help board members focus and keep track of their work.
Form 990 also asks whether nonprofits "contemporaneously document" board actions. Answering "no" suggests poor management and might make your organization subject to an IRS audit.
Resources below can help you learn the basics of how to keep minutes for your nonprofit's meetings. You can also borrow The Handbook of Nonprofit Governance by BoardSource through Candid's ebook collection on Overdrive. Chapter 15 has information about board minutes.
For an in-depth guide, see Anthony Mancuso's Nonprofit Meetings, Minutes & Records: How to Properly Document Your Nonprofit's Actions.
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Wild Apricot
13 Meeting Minutes Templates to Help You Ace Your Nonprofit Board Meeting
This blog has a bullet list of standard contents in meeting minutes, plus links to formatted templates. It also offers a free downloadable tool, "The Ultimate Meeting Minute Checklist."
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Charities Review Council
Taking Board Meeting Minutes
Includes a checklist, mistakes to avoid, and a template.
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BoardEffect
How to Take Minutes at a Board Meeting
This step-by-step blog post from a board consulting firm links to a free meeting minutes kit.
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DC Bar Pro Bono Center
Keeping Corporate Minutes
The center writes, "This legal alert discusses the IRS requirements for contemporaneous documentation and provides additional guidance for keeping accurate and timely minutes of board and committee meetings."