A nonprofit’s board of directors is responsible for developing, defining, and reviewing the organizations mission and for providing overall leadership and strategic direction to the organization. While not owners of the organization, they are stewards of its mission and resources, with specific legal duties. You don’t have to be an attorney to serve on a nonprofit board, but like driving safely, you do need to know the basic rules of the road.
This session will provide an overview of role and responsibilities of board members, including the duties of care, loyalty, and obedience under the Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation Act. How should board members govern the organization and oversee management by being informed and engaged at the right level?
In this session we’ll discuss active participation, the role of officers and committees, board actions, record keeping, conflicts of interest, board liability, and reporting requirements to the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General and the Internal Revenue Service.
Event Details
This workshop is one session of a four-part board training series. The other sessions are Nonprofit Finance on July 21, Models of Governance on August 4, and Inclusion and Diversity on August 18 from 3:30 - 5 p.m. central each day. Use the registration button at the top of this page to register only for the Legal Duties workshop. Use the following link to register for the full series for $115 for members and $165 for nonmembers: Register for the full series.
Special discount for this series: This workshop series is great for groups of board members and executive staff to attend together. Register more and save! As a special offer for this series only, buy three series registrations at the regular price and receive a fourth series registration for free. Instructions for group registrations are available on our Event and Registration FAQ page.
Please note that this special discounted rate is only for registrations to the full four-part series and does not apply to registration to individual workshops in the series.
MCN strives to support the learning and growth of the next generation of nonprofit leaders through relevant skill- and vision-building programs that center equity and justice and address historical barriers to participating and leading in the nonprofit sector. In this context, we are offering a limited number of sponsored, free registrations to individuals who have never or are not currently serving on a board of directors. BIPOC and historically underrepresented individuals are encouraged to submit a request. Free registrations will be on a first come, first served basis. Please email Dr. Bradley Wolfe at bwolfe@minnesotanonprofits.org to submit your request to attend the series for free.
This event will have AI captions via Zoom’s transcription function. Please note that these captions are automatically generated by the computer software and may not always accurately transcribe what is said. If you need professional captioning, or have another accessibility accommodation, please email MCN’s program assistant with your request at least two weeks prior to the start of the event. Although we will attempt to meet all accessibility requests, late request may not be fulfilled.
Speaker Information
Jon Pratt is Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and an attorney specializing in nonprofit law, with a law degree from Antioch School of Law in Washington D.C. and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University. Pratt was a contributor to the Minnesota Nonprofit Law Handbook and is an annual speaker on the State of Nonprofits at the Nonprofit Law Conference sponsored by Minnesota Continuing Legal Education.