Now, just one minute!

The minutes of a board meeting serve as an official record of the decisions made. Motions are recorded and often a signed copy is kept for legal reference. Who is responsible for taking those very important minutes at a board meeting?

No need to feel overwhelmed.

When a board meeting is in progress, there can be a lot going on and an executive director can feel pulled in multiple directions. There can be a sense of panic to record all the necessary details while still presenting reports, answering questions, and supporting the board’s discussions.

The good news is that there is no global rule that requires an executive director to take the minutes. All non-profits are different and can have a different person handle the minute-taking task.

There are options.

Option #1: The executive director.

The board of directors is a group of volunteers and sometimes their commitment to the role means they will do the reading and show up at a meeting – and not much more. The executive director, as a paid employee, will very likely be the person who will type up the minutes, distribute copies to all board members, manage signatures, and handle filing. It naturally makes sense for the ED to be the minute taker as well.

Option #2: A junior staffer tagged for succession.

If the non-profit has a history of robust discussions at meetings, with strong participation, and a lot of interaction with the executive director, it might be necessary to pass the minute-taking task along to someone else. This is a great opportunity to bring a member of the staff team into the board meeting as part of executive succession planning. An executive director will have a pretty good idea of which member of the staff team would handle the ED duties in an emergency. One of the best ways to help a junior employee learn about the nuanced relationship between the executive director and the board is to have them attend board meetings as the minute taker. This has the additional benefit of freeing up the executive director to focus on meeting discussions rather than fussy details for the minutes.

Option #3: A board member.

In a non-profit where there is a staff team, it is rare to have a board member handle the minutes at a meeting, especially if the executive director will handle all the other administrative tasks that follow. But for boards without a paid staff team, or where they want to lighten the load on the executive director, having a board member handle the minute-taking can be very helpful.

Option #4: An administrative assistant.

Most non-profits with tight budgets and small teams can’t afford to employ an administrative assistant. When a non-profit is bigger, has a healthy budget, or simply has a lot of administrative work, having an administrative assistant handle the minutes can be very useful. This is different than bringing in a junior staffer to take minutes as part of succession planning. An administrative assistant attends the meeting simply to provide a secretarial function. The admin would then also take on all subsequent tasks with the minutes, such as distribution, signatures, and filing.

A history of errors signals the need to change.

When board meeting minutes have a history of errors or the current minute taker is feeling unable to keep up, it is time for a change. There is no need to restructure the meeting or train the minute taker to write more quickly.

A non-profit that embraces the notion of doing what works best for them, can feel confident shifting board meeting minute taking to another option.

Your turn.

Your turn. Who takes your board meeting minutes? Do you have a lot of errors? I want to know! Please use the form on the side of the page to let me know, ..or send me an email, ..or message me on socials.

-Christie

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Hi, I'm Christie. I help executive directors develop the systems and processes needed to run a non-profit.

I learned early in my career, there is no non-profit school. Browsing the internet for resources from big-city experts doesn’t provide practical solutions to balance the budget, write a work plan, or conduct an employee evaluation. Leadership development tips don’t really resonate when you are also taking out the recycling and cleaning the washroom.

I created ChristieSaas.com so non-profit leaders never need to wonder how to do the job – no matter how big or small that job is.

I have been the executive director of small-team, small-budget, non-profits for 20+ years. My experience isn’t theory. It is the real, operational, and practical solutions I use every day.

I love my work and I want to help you love yours too.

© Christie Saas 2024 All Rights Reserved

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