Board manuals
A guide to your galaxy

When new employees join your organization, you likely give them an employee manual, or handbook, to familiarize them with your organization. No matter what topics are included — from office hours to staff evaluations — the purpose of this orientation tool is to prevent workplace confusion.
But what about your board of directors? If you don’t give them a board manual, you may be missing out on a valuable opportunity to strengthen your board.

Why is it important?

Like an employee handbook, a board manual familiarizes readers with your organization’s policies and procedures, giving them information at their fingertips. A manual can introduce board members to your nonprofit’s reason for being and way of doing things.
A manual also can inform board members of contacts within your organization offering answers to the proverbial question, “Who’s responsible for that?” And it can raise awareness of your board’s role both inside and outside of your nonprofit, for example, by preparing a board member to be a strong spokesperson in any situation.

Your overall goal should be to supply essential background information to board members when they first walk in the door and a useful reference they can draw on in the future.

What content is crucial?

While there’s no such thing as a model manual that fits the boards of all nonprofits, certain information always warrants inclusion:

• Articles of incorporation,

• The IRS tax determination letter granting 501(c) status, exempting the organization from some federal income taxes,

• Board bylaws, resolutions and policies (code of ethics, conflict of interest policy, code of conduct, and so on),

• A copy of an in-force policy for directors and officers (D&O) liability insurance,

• Your board charter, which may include your mission statement,

• Descriptions of any board committees and their members, and

• Board and staff contact information.

Additionally, your not-for-profit’s unique characteristics may call for the inclusion of other material, such as board election results, recent awards or news articles.

What’s good to Include?

While some information is essential for a board manual, other material is simply desirable to include:

A strategic planning document. If your organization has a formal strategic plan (with goals, action plans and status reports), include it to solicit board member feedback and creative ways to reach goals. If the board was involved in that document’s development, members should receive a copy of their hard work.

Financial information. Your annual budget and audited reports are important financial information. Your board will likely want to review your current (and immediate past) annual budget and audited reports. For new members, this provides a good look at where your organization has been — and where it is now.

Fiscal and personnel policies and procedures. The simplest thing to do may be to include your entire employee handbook in the board manual. Reviewing fiscal and personnel policies and procedures allows board members to get a feel for what’s happening in your organization’s back office. What are your organization’s day-to-day operations? Are effective internal controls in place to help prevent and detect fraud? Are personnel policies and procedures up-to-date? These are the types of matters your board should be aware of and may want to discuss.
Where can you start?

If your organization doesn’t have an up-to-date board manual — or has never had one — consider assembling a board manual committee. This short-term unit can create or update board manual contents as it exchanges ideas from other boards on which the members sit or from outside consultants.

Once it’s ready, present the new or updated board manual at a retreat or during a board orientation session. And consider going (or staying) green: E-mail an electronic copy of the manual so that board members can have instant access to your nonprofit’s world. •