Board member of a homeschool nonprofit feeling vulnerable!

How can a nonprofit board member reduce the risk or lawsuits?

I’m the president of a homeschool co-op. Am I personally liable if someone were to sue or come after the co-op? I already feel slightly vulnerable in this area as the president and having my signature on our building contract, etc.

Danielle,

Danielle,

As president your are an officer of our nonprofit organization and as an officer there are certain responsibilities that you carry more so than other board members and certainly more so than the co-op’s family participants.

With the authority comes responsibility.

But responsibility does not automatically mean personal liability, if you do your fiduciary duties and do not commit acts of gross negligence or fraud.

What are those fiduciary duties?

Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, Duty of Management and Duty of Compliance

To better understand these duties as board members and do them here’s some help:

A prudent board member can reduce the risk of lawsuits by understanding the duties and

  • incorporating as a nonprofit
  • obeying the bylaws and laws in general
  • carrying insurance
  • being educated on nonprofit duties and risk

To get educated, there are some excellent resources online for nonprofit boards like these:

Each of these websites have excellent resources to help you run your nonprofit.
Ultimately, feeling slightly vulnerable will probably force you to manage risk, do your duties, and run the organization properly, so that’s a good thing!
In other words, it keeps you on your toes to feel the weight of responsibility!
Carol Topp, CPA
HomeschoolCPA.com

Leave a Reply