Nonprofit Meetings, Minutes & Records: How to Run Your Nonprofit Corporation So You Don't Run Into Trouble | 
| Author: Anthony Mancuso
Publisher: NOLO
List Price: $39.99
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Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 131482
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1 Pap/Cdr
Pages: 216
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.8 x 0.7
ISBN: 1413308929
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.456
EAN: 9781413308921
ASIN: 1413308929
Publication Date: September 5, 2008
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Product Description
Nonprofit? Stay out of IRS trouble with the ultimate corporate housekeeping tool!
Nearly 1.5 million nonprofit organizations are busy preserving historic sites, saving libraries, helping the homeless, greening our cities- and so much more. Yet, while some have sophisticated record-keeping systems, most nonprofits are staffed by volunteers who need help running the organization and keeping up a proper -- and legal --paper trail.
Help has arrived! With Nonprofit Meetings, Minutes & Records, you'll get the all-in-one solution every nonprofiteer needs to hold meetings and document actions taken by board members.
Step by step, it walks readers through:
calling meetings
appointing officers
taking minutes
making resolutions
voting on proposals
adjourning meetings
working with a lawyer, if necessary, and
finding a tax adviser.
Nonprofit Meetings, Minutes & Records also provides useful tips and advice on how to do important tasks, such as organizing records, preparing meeting folders, and taking minutes. Plus, all necessary documents are included on the CD-ROM. It's everything you need to keep your nonprofit running smoothly and legally.
Meeting and Minutes Forms
Call, Notice, and Meeting Preparation Forms
Membership Roster
Meeting Summary Sheet
Call of Meeting
Meeting Participant List
Notice of Meeting
Waiver of Notice of Meeting
Acknowledgment of Receipt of Notice of Meeting
Proxy
Approval of Minutes
Minutes and Consent Forms
Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Directors
Minutes of Special Meeting of Directors
Minutes of Annual Meeting of Members
Minutes of Special Meeting of Members
Written Consent to Action Without Meeting
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| Customer Reviews: Read 34 more reviews...
 This is where you start. November 9, 2008
B. Mann (Southwest United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
NOLO's Nonprofit Meetings, Minutes & Records
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Pros: Easy to read. Explains important terms and definitions. Step by step instructions. Sample documents in the book and on CD. Detailed instructions on finding relevant state-by-state statutes on the Internet. Provides valuable tips (for example, why to vote "no" instead of "abstain" to minimize your legal liability.)
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Cons: Relevance mostly to 501(c)(3) corporations. No discussion on how to actually run a meeting. No discussion on how to handle dissension or questions at meetings, or how to document them. Some "page count inflation" due to repetitious material. A bit pricey.
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Full Review:
Several years ago I helped form a very small 501(c)(3) and had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. This book would have helped me then. Maybe it will help you now.
This book tackles one very narrow but important topic for 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations: Legally required meetings of the Board of Directors and the Membership (if the organization is structured legally as a member organization.) It provides sound footing for understanding the operational details of these meetings. It explains such meeting protocol basics as:
*calling
*holding
*noticing
*recording minutes
*waiving notice
*managing paperwork
The book provides step-by-step instructions, the needed forms, and explanations on how to use them. (The forms are also on the included CD in .rtf format, which can be read by just about any word processor, PC or Mac. There is also one file also in .xls format for spreadsheets.) Tips are liberally sprinkled through the book to help the reader avoid common pitfalls, usually with an emphasis on how to minimize liability. By the end of the book, the reader will have a basic understanding of how to manage nonprofit meetings.
It is important to emphasize the word "basic." Unless your organization is extremely small in size and funds, you probably won't want to merrily proceed without a lawyer. Over the years, I've found that even with the excellent quality of NOLO's books, in practice I've always needed the advice of a trusted attorney. The laws are simply too complex to go it alone unless you have very little to lose.
Indeed, the true value of this book is that you acquire enough knowledge to get started and from there can ask informed questions. So when you speak with your lawyer, you will already know things like when to use e-mail instead of face-to-face meetings or when to consider "membership cumulative voting." You'll already understand why an "adjourned meeting" is not the same as "adjourning a meeting" or what the laws say about minimum quorum size. The knowledge you gain may keep your legal fees to a minimum and more than pay for the price of the book.
 Sound advice in an easy to read format November 3, 2008
S. J. Koblentz (Columbus, OH United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Nonprofit Meetings, Minutes & Records (How to Run Your Nonprofit Corporation So You Don't Run Into Trouble) is an easy to read, no nonsense book designed to give the reader uniform information on how to do things correctly in the mostly volunteer world of nonprofit governance.
Having served on numerous Board of Trustees (and Directors) I found that the information was familiar, but exceptionally well presented in plain English (plain as in readable - conversational, not legal), and organized in logical order.
That said, I need to be very clear: this book does not take the place of qualified legal advice that every nonprofit should have. If you serve on a nonprofit or sit on a nonprofit Board, your organization should have a knowledgeable, licensed attorney that you can turn to when matter dictate real legal advice. I would also remind people on Boards that every Board is unique in that they are all the same - meetings must be conducted, minutes kept, bylaws followed. Most importantly ethical behavior MUST be followed by Board members. The Board that operates without an ethical blueprint is lost.
This book instead covers the gamut of high level questions that could come to a body that is organizing, incorporating, constructing bylaws and following through with everything that they would need to do to stay within the confines of the law with usual and customary procedures and forms.
I especially liked the "tips" that pop up at helpful points throughout the text designed to help you simplify where possible.
This book is not a replacement for a book on parliamentary procedure. In fact most nonprofits don't need a complete tome on parliamentary procedure - they just need to know the basic rules for a meeting.
The book contains a CD-ROM of forms which I was able to open, and documents that open in your word processor. I tried mine in Microsoft Office and Open Office and it worked in both environments.
This book would make a welcome addition to any volunteer's library. It also would make a good workbook for a Board of Trustees training session.
 very specific focus November 20, 2008
poltroon (Mendocino County, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have been involved in three small nonprofits, and when I read the title and description, I was expecting that the book would cover topics that would have been helpful to us in terms of recordkeeping and the governance issues, particularly those specific to a nonprofit. Given the subtitle, I also expected some guidance about some of the surprising things that we learned that restricted us, like the kinds of decisions we were allowed to make and the restrictions on the ways we could raise money.
I was disappointed to see that the main title should be taken literally, that the volume covers only the issues of meetings and keeping records of those meetings, and that it assumes a non-profit with its own office space and employees. Given how narrow the subject was, I would suggest to the author that he cover in more depth alternate situations, like where the records can and/or should be kept when there is no permanent office. Indeed, with the internet, it's possible that a nonprofit organization can exist soley in cyberspace, with an elected board drawing from multiple states that turns over completely every few years. The issue of where and how to keep physical records in that case would I think give much better depth to the discussion that would make the whys and wherefores more clear even in a case where there is a rented office and a filing cabinet in an obvious central location.
My favorite chapter was the last chapter, which discussed how and when to choose and use an attorney and a tax advisor. I thought it contained a lot of valuable advice.
The book begins with a disclaimer that it applies only to 501(c)(3) organizations, which is a bit limiting, but in the end, the discussion of meetings was generic enough that specific sections of nonprofit law did not come up frequently. I think the meeting advice would apply generally to any nonprofit.
As part of a larger library, this book could be useful, but if you're getting confused about running your nonprofit, or if you're figuring out how to start one, this is not the book to start with.
You won't run into trouble if you read this book! October 22, 2008
Michelle Dunn (NH)
Being on the board of directors of a non-profit organization, I found this book to be an invaluable resource. Many times the office aspect of a non-profit is handled by a volunteer or someone who may not have experience with meetings, keeping records or how to run a business, never mind a non-profit business.
Nolo does it again with Nonprofit meetings, minutes & records, how to run your nonprofit corporation so you don't run into trouble. This book is a MUST for every office of a non-profit organization in my opinion. the book also comes with a CD of the forms and documents to help streamline your record keeping, meetings and other organizational techniques that can help your non-profit be a success without the headaches.
This book tells you everything you need to know from how often the board should meet, the role of the secretary and chairperson, all the different rules you need to know and follow to the laws you need to know and follow. A great little reference for anyone involved in non-profits.
 Some good information, but with a lot of filler (..a LOT of filler)! October 23, 2008
Mad Max (Seattle, WA USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Yes, this book/CD-Rom has some good information & resources, and we will use it.
Basically, the title is accurate - it contains forms for meetings, minutes, and records. Please do NOT buy this if you need other nonprofit forms, rules or laws on running a nonprofit, advice on how to start a nonprofit, etc. This only contains forms and advice for the above-mentioned.
That being said, yes, it does save time to have a template to use at every meeting. There are meeting summary checklists, blank minutes templates to save you time, proxy voting forms, membership rosters, etc. No, these are not things that are difficult to do on your own...and I'm sure you can even find free forms online. But these templates are a time-saver - probably will save us an average of 30-45 minutes per meeting.
But there is a LOT of filler. Over 20 pages, for example, of state-by-state nonprofit corporate contact information. How can that take 20+ pages, you ask? Aren't there only 50 states? The answer to that question: d o u b l e-s p a c i n g, and LARGE TEXT.
The truth is, just one link would have sufficed (to Nolo or any of the 100's of other web sites who have these links). Or this could have fit on just one page. Or, they could have published an online-only appendix. But this is pretty much the theme for the whole book - redundant information that you either don't need, already have, or can look up in about 5 seconds on Google.
So yes, we will use the CD-Rom, maybe bring the templates to meetings. But no, I would never pay full price for this book. In fact, as I said, I believe these forms are probably available free online somewhere. So my recommendation: (1) If you have a half hour or so to search for free (or cheap) forms, do that instead of buying this book. (2) If you can, buy just the CD-Rom (not the book), or perhaps pay to download the forms from the Nolo site. Or, (3) if you decide you need this book, do NOT pay full price - it is not worth it.
In one final note, I am extremely disappointed that Nolo and companies like this would print such an environmentally irresponsible book. I understand they have to use huge text and double-spacing because nobody would pay $30 for a 40-page book...but the fact is, I believe other intelligent people will notice that the information here is sparse, and a huge waste of paper.
There's an article on DIGG about the most commonly thrown-away books, and things like this (which are obsolete quickly after they are printed) are on the top 10 list of books that wind up in landfills, leak toxins into our water supply, and will decompose releasing methane gas. As an eco-minded person, this really upsets me. They need to work with nonprofit groups like Books for the Planet on smarter ways to publish.
2 stars.
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