Responsibilities of individual board members

Draft Responsibilities of Individual Board Members

 * 1) Participate in formal new board member orientation
 * 2) Serve a two-year term on the board.
 * 3) Understand the importance of why you have been asked to serve on the board, and make your particular expertise, contacts, and resources known and accessible.
 * 4) Attend at least 75% of the regular meetings of the board.  Call in advance to let the chairperson of the board know you will not be in attendance.
 * 5) Attend all special activities of the board, including fundraising events and such board events or retreats as may be planned.  Attendance is strongly encouraged at special agency sponsored activities such as fundraising events.
 * 6) Take part in a least one special programme activity
 * 7) Serve on one board committee or special task force
 * 8) Attend the annual day-long board planning retreat
 * 9) Assist in the recruitment of v volunteers and committee members to augment board
 * 10) Contribute to fundraising projects and events through personal contributions and/or by generating support from friends and other contacts.
 * 11) Be willing to make a significant personal financial contribution to agency (significant to be determined by the individual board member)
 * 12) Function as a goodwill ambassador and spokesperson for agency and its programmes.  Expand agency's network through friends, relatives and colleagues who can help meet agency needs in such areas as fundraising, public relations, education, and acquisition of office supplies (computers, copier machines, etc)
 * 13) Stay well informed about agency business by carefully reading minutes of the board meetings, financial statements and other materials.  Take seriously the legal, fiscal and ethical responsibility the board carries.  Notice community activities and legal/political  development, etc which may impact on the agency and/or its programmes and bring them up at board meetings.  Be familiar with the by-laws.
 * 14) Keep your board files up to date by adding new materials as you receive them
 * 15) Once board consensus is reached on a policy or programme be openly supportive even if you disagreed during approval process.  If you cannot support board actions or policies once approved, resign.

Board Member Code of Ethics
As a member of the (name of organisation) board, I will:
 * Listen carefully to all discussion
 * Respect the opinion of my fellow board members and treat each member with respect and dignity
 * Respect and support the majority decision of the board
 * Recognise that all authority is vested in the full board, only when it meets in legal session
 * Keep well informed of development relevant to issues that my come before the board
 * Participate actively in meetings and actions
 * Bring to the attention of the board of any issues that I believe will have an adverse effect on the organisation or the people we serve.
 * Attempt to interpret the needs of the public to the board and interpret our actions to the public
 * Refer complaints to the proper level on the chain of command
 * Recognise that the board members job is to ensure that the organisation is well managed not to manage the organisation
 * Represent the best interests of the organisation and not a particular geographic area of special interest group
 * Consider myself a trustee of the organisation and do my best to ensure that it is well maintained, financially secure and always operating in the best interest of the people to be served, now and in the future.
 * Always work to learn how to do the board members job better
 * Declare conflicts of interest between my personal life and my position on the board and abstain from voting when appropriate
 * Abide by the rules of honesty and fair play in all matters related to my position as aboard member
 * Vote on issues keeping in mind that my first responsibility as a board member is to the welfare of the constituents we serve.

As a Member of the Board, I Will Not:
Date ________  Signature   ________________________________
 * 1) Criticise fellow member or their opinions in or out of the board room
 * 2) Use my position of my personal advantage or that of my friends or relatives
 * 3) Discuss the confidential proceedings of the board outside the board room
 * 4) Promise how I will vote on any issue before a meeting
 * 5) Interfere with the duties of the administrator or undermine his or her authority with staff members
 * 6) Interrupt fellow board members who are making a point before they have finished their thought.