Board Functions
Roles and Responsibilities | Risk Management | Policies | CEO Succession and Evaluation | Best Practices
Roles and Responsibilities
General
Sample Board Member Job Descriptions
- Basic responsibilities of boards, board members, and board chairs
- Hyams Foundation board job description (medium foundation) - key trustee responsibilities and minimum qualifications
- Jessie Ball DuPont Fund board job description (medium foundation) - addresses trustee selection, removal or retirement, board responsibilities, individual trustee responsibilities and role of the designated clerical trustee, corporate trustee trustee officers and trustee emeritus
- Council on Foundations board job description - board job description outlines responsibilities of the Council board, individual board members and service requirements, as well as the Council’s responsibilities towards the board and individual board members
Risk Management
General
Audits
- The Audit Committee and its Expanding Role in Risk Management
- Thinking About an Audit? Read This First - includes a checklist for auditor qualifications and experience
- The AICPA Audit Committee Resource Center
- Accounting and Auditing Issues Arising from “Alternative Investments
- Independence Questionnaire for Audit Committee Members - a tool to help determine the independence of committee members
- Levels of Attestation Services Defined
- Request for Proposal for Audit - read about what to include in the proposal and what to expect from respondents
- Sample Audit Committee Meeting Planner - a tool that can be used to maintain regular, ongoing contact with internal and independent auditors and management and to coordinate activities
- Accountability for Nonprofit Organizations - addresses Sarbanes Oxley, Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Finance Committee
- Private Foundation Audit and Tax Preparation Checklist
Conflicts of Interest
Directors & Officers Insurance
- COF-Endorsed D&O Insurance at a Discount
- Directors & Officers Liability Insurance and Indemnification - a comprehensive D&O insurance guide from the Council
Investments
- Council on Foundations recommended Best Practices in Managing Foundation Investments
- Council on Foundations Investment Management Practice Tips and Resources
- Foundation Investment Conference Call - Investment Leadership: Taking Back Control
- Managing Foundation Investments: Policies and Practices
- Mission-Related Investing - includes current initiatives, a glossary of terms and topic specific resources
- Principles of Nonprofit Investment Management: The Key Issues Facing Trustees and Financial Officers - provides suggestions to make sound investment decisions while providing the board with best practices on setting objectives and policies for its investment activities
- Fiduciary 360 - comprehensive resources on investment fiduciary insights
- New Financial Realities: The Response of Private Foundations - discusses the impact of the financial crisis on on private foundations, a framework for analyzing the the diverse private foundation sector and thoughts on how the spending plans and program strategies of these institutions are likely to be affected as they survey the financial damage
- Four Times Five is (Fifty) and Four Times Six is (Eighty): A Discussion of Investment Management Practices for Charities in the Wake of Madoff >
- Accounting and Auditing Issues Arising from "Alternative Investments"
- Legal, Ethical and Prudent Investment Practices for Community Foundations
Policies
Attendance
- Board Attendance Policy Sample - includes common attendance problems and a suggested response
- Council on Foundations Board Attendance Policy
Board Assessments
- Board Self-Study Guide Hyams Foundation (medium foundation) - questionnaire used by board to review its grantmaking, programs, governance, board and committee organization and management and operations
- Individual Board Self Assessment Hyams Foundation (medium foundation) - covers fiduciary duties, foundation knowledge, board and committee meetings, communication with the public and self-performance assessment
- Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire Council on Foundations
Board Fees and Compensation
Board Election and Retention
- Criteria for Election and Retention of Directors (medium foundation) - describes general eligibility criteria to serve and remain on the foundation board
- Council on Foundations board nomination process
Code of Conduct Policies
- Sample Code of Conduct for Staff and Board - includes expectations and examples of ethical action in response to conflicts
- Sample Employee Manual: Standards of Conducts Hyams Foundation (medium foundation) - clarifies expectations of professional and ethical behavior in all activities associated with the foundation, including expectation of confidentiality
- Sample Code of Conduct for Board and Staff from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation (large foundation) - a founding document which describes the principle values and practices that define the Foundation
Confidentiality Policies
Conflict of Interest Policies
- Sample Council on Foundations Conflict of Interest Policy - signed annually by Council board and committee members, addresses financial as well as non-financial conflicts, and includes a disclosure statement.
- Sample Conflict of Interest Policy Arthur M. Blank Foundation (small foundation) - requires the disclosure of personal or business involvement that might influence the foundation decision-making process or result in self-dealing, sets expectations for conduct and requires an annual disclosure statement from staff and board
- Sample Conflict of Interest Policy Jessie Ball duPont Fund (medium foundation) - includes reference to hiring of consultants, funding decisions or loans with foundation funds
- Sample Conflict of Interest Policy James Irvine Foundation (large foundation) - includes purpose for policy, requirement to disclose conflicts, abstention from decisions-making actions, no return benefit and avoiding the appearance of conflict
- Sample Conflict of Interest Policy Virginia G. Piper Trust (medium foundation) - outlines procedures for disclosure, annual disclosure statement and prohibition against gifts and political activity in capacity as a trustee
- Sample Conflict of Interest Policy The Stuart Foundation (medium foundation) - describes affiliations or circumstances which may present a potential conflict of interest and the procedures for disclosure and abstaining to protect foundation from bias in contracts or grantmaking
- Sample Conflict of Interest Policy Weaver Foundation (small foundation) - requires disclosure of community activities or other board memberships and lists procedures for dealing with conflicts of interest
- Sample Conflict of interest policy small foundation - basic conflict of interest disclosure and confidentiality statement
Disclosure Policies
Discretionary Grants Policies
- Discretionary Grants - lists legal considerations and practice pointers
- Using Discretion - answers questions such as, what exactly are trustee discretionary grants, who gives them, how are they used, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of allocating these types of grants
- Council on Foundations Foundations Management Series, 13th Edition: Chapter 5, Matching Gifts and Discretionary Grants
- Discretionary grants policy Rasmuson Foundation (large foundation) - describes board member’s discretionary grant policy including guidelines and a sample application used when submitting a grant request to the board for ratification
- Discretionary grants policy (anonymous) - lists maximum dollar amounts, guidelines, procedures and prohibits discretionary grants that would constitute a conflict of interest situation
- Board Recommendation on Trustee Discretionary Grant Program
- Trustee advised grants policy Hamilton-White Foundation Policy sets clear guidelines and limitations
Matching Grants Policies
- Weaver Foundation Policy (small foundation) - describes the purpose and scope of the matching grant program for use by employees and board, qualified grantees and the procedures for applying for matching funds
- Council on Foundations Foundations Management Series, 13th Edition: Chapter 5, Matching Gifts and Discretionary Grants
Document Retention and Destruction Policies (Recordkeeping)
- Keep, File, Toss? - determine what documents to discard and what to keep electronically or hardcopy to stay in compliance with the IRS (Recordkeeping)
- Retention Guidelines Council on Foundations
Inclusive Practices Policies
Investment Policies
- Statement of Investment Policy Goals and Guidelines Jessie Ball duPont Fund (medium foundation) - describes foundation’s investment objectives and guidelines including investment manager description and specific asset allocation and risk guidelines
- Investment Policy Rasmuson Foundation (large foundation) - outlines the investment objectives, allocation guidelines and responsibilities of the board chair, investment committee and role of outside management to steward the Foundation’s endowment
Spending Policies
- Spending Policy Hyams Foundation (medium foundation) - establishes basis for annual spending rate of assets to maintain endowment; also dictates frequency of policy review
- Asset and Spending Policy Analysis Questionnaire Raffa and Associates - used as a tool to review and analyze investment and spending strategies, and investment policy
Spending Policies
- Developing a Travel Policy - covers what expenses the foundation can cover for employees and directors who travel on behalf of the foundation
- Conference Travel: Should the Foundation Cover Travel Expenses of Family Members?
Values Statements
- Values Statement Lumina Foundation (large foundation) - statement of the Foundation’s ethical beliefs, qualities and ideals that inform its organizational character
- Values Statement David and Lucile Packard Foundation (large foundation) - describes the foundation’s core values, beliefs, practices
- Values Statement The Nathan Cummings Foundation (medium foundation) - defines the foundation’s purposes, intention and beliefs to help focus the foundation’s agenda and decision-making
Whistleblower Policies
- Whistleblower Protection Policy Jessie Ball DuPont Fund (medium foundation) - references procedure, confidentiality, retaliation, and baseless complaints
- Whistleblower Policy and Procedures Council on Foundations - lists reporting responsibility, procedures for board, staff and volunteers to report concerns, handling of reported violations, the authority of the Audit Committee and more
CEO Succession and Evaluation
Best Practices
- Council on Foundations Stewardship Principles and Practices for Foundations:
- Council on Foundations Best Practices Database - Tools and Samples
- National Standards for US Community Foundations
- • Panel on the Nonprofit Sector: Strengthening Transparency, Governance, Accountability of Charitable Organizations
- Panel on the Nonprofit Sector: Strengthening Transparency, Governance, Accountability of Charitable Organizations Supplemental Report
- Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practices
- Principles Workbook: Steering Your Board Toward Good Governance and Ethical Practice
- Whatcom Council of Nonprofits Best Practices for Executive Directors and Boards
- National Committee on Responsive Philanthropy’s Philanthropy at Its Best
