The Importance of Keeping Records of Board and Officer Terms [SUBSCRIBERS-ONLY]

Corporate recordkeeping is an area where nonprofit organizations often fall short of best practices. One common pitfall is the failure to maintain a list of the current Board member and Officer terms of office with precise start and end dates. This oversight seems small but can have very significant consequences, especially when an internal dispute arises.

All organizations should keep a list showing when Board members and Officers were elected, when their term of office started, and when their current terms are scheduled to expire (along with up-to-date contact information, which can be important for satisfying notice requirements under the Bylaws). Whether the list is kept as a spreadsheet or in another format is a matter of preference. The important thing is to make sure the list easily accessible, up-to-date, and backed up by meeting minutes that clearly document the results and timing of these elections.

The following are a few of the ways that the failure to abide by these best practices can lead to problems for an organization.