Corporate Governance, Fiduciary Duties and Liability, Best Practices

Nonprofit corporate governance, transparency, accountability, and fiduciary duties have increasingly become a focus and concern for donors, policymakers, the media, the Internal Revenue Service, and state charity regulators. An organization that adopts and follows corporate policies and other best practices is more likely to obey Federal, state, and local laws, safeguard charitable assets, and serve charitable interests than one that lacks appropriate policies or has lax corporate governance.

Corporate policies guide directors, officers, staff and members of the organization and help minimize liability to them and to the organization. However, these policies must be compliant with Federal, state, and local laws and regulations and, in many cases, specific funder requirements.

We educate and train Boards about fiduciary obligations and corporate governance best practices. We work with clients to prepare, adopt, and interpret corporate policies and best practices that are tailored to their specific structure and compliance requirements. We also advise directors and officers about their fiduciary duties under state law, Prudent Investor Acts and other applicable regulations related to the management and investment of charitable assets.