Board roles (also known as officers) are directors who have special tasks or responsibilities.
The board roles are usually President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
If your non-profit adopted model bylaws, you will have these positions in your bylaws.
Some of the risks of not having a membership policy are that it might be confusing who is a member and for how long the membership will last. Your non-profit's bylaws should state how long the membership will last. Ideally membership is on an annual basis.
Duties are the standards which must be met by directors.
A director of a non-profit must:
Many non-profits have bylaws that require the board to have the final say on whether an individual can join. However, many non-profits have gotten out of the habit of taking this important step.
Having a membership policy is a good idea (we will ask you about your membership policy in the next question). It’s a good idea to have any prospective members apply using a form. This will help your non-profit to keep track of the number of members.
Members of a non-profit are most often defined in its bylaws. They might also be described in its constitution. Your non-profit's bylaws might use a word other than member such as supporter or congregants.
Members are the people to whom the organization is ultimately accountable (i.e. they elect the directors and have a right to attend members’ meetings), or in the case of non-voting members still retain the right to come to members' meetings and otherwise participate in the non-profit.
The best practice is to read and know your bylaws and review both the constitution and bylaws annually. In addition, it's crucial that the board of directors read and know the non-profit's bylaws.
When directors and staff know the bylaws, the non-profit benefits from better continuity (i.e. if someone leaves suddenly) and accountability (i.e. directors and staff can identify when bylaws aren't being followed).