BEFORE
YOU
SAY YES...
BEFORE
YOU
SAY YES...
A Guide to the
Pleasures and Pitfalls
of Volunteer Boards
DOREEN PENDGRACS
FOREWORD BY MARIAN HEBB
DUNDURN PRESS
TORONTO
Copyright © Doreen Pendgracs, 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.
Editor: Allison Hirst
Designer: Jennifer Scott
Printer: Transcontinental
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Pendgracs, Doreen
Before you say yes-- : a guide to the pleasures and pitfalls of volunteer boards / by
Doreen Pendgracs.
ISBN 978-1-55488-703-3
1. Associations, institutions, etc.--Management. 2. Boards of directors. 3. Voluntarism.
I. Title.
HN49.V64P45 2010 658’.048 C2009-907454-0
1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program and The Association for the Export of Canadian Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishers Tax Credit program, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.
J. Kirk Howard, President
Printed and bound in Canada.
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CONTENTS
Foreword by Marian Hebb
Chapter 1: Leave Your Hat at the Door
Chapter 2: Just What Do They Want from Me?
Chapter 3: What Kind of Board Is This?
Styles of Board Governance
How Formal Is the Board?
Board Etiquette
Understanding Robert’s Rules of Order
Chapter 4: Help!
Orientation and Training
Performance Evaluations
Chapter 5: Limit Your Exposure
Directors and Officers Insurance
Questions to Ask
Who and What Is Covered?
Sample D&O Claims
Chapter 6: Are You Ready?
“Disaster Plans”
Establishing an Executive Committee
Chapter 7: Are We Compatible?
Why Me?
How Long Are You In For?
Finding a Good Fit
Chapter 8: Let’s Get Together
Board Meetings
You’re Virtually There
Butters’ Tips on Embracing Technology
Dinosaurs Won’t Cut It
Chapter 9: Show Me the Money
What Is Fair?
Payment of Expenses and Honoraria
Financial Statements and Budgets