Formulate motions in advance to speed decision‐making

• Published date: 01 June 2020
• Date: 01 June 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31115

B&A For Board Members

DOI 10.1002/ban © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC, A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

Throw a party, remember the tax break

You don’t serve as a board member to benefit

from tax deductions, but there are certain write-

offs you can take advantage of, including this one:

If you sponsor a cocktail or dinner party in

order to raise funds for a charity, you can claim a

deduction for party-related expenses like the food

and drink you serve.

However, there’s no deduction for expenses at-

tributable to the benefits the volunteer and her

family receive at the event—e.g., there’s no deduc-

tion for the value of the food and beverages you

consume. ■

Formulate motions in advance to speed

decision-making

To speed up the board’s decision-making pro-

cess, at either board or committee meetings,

consider writing meeting motions ahead of time.

With a prewritten motion, the group can move on

to discussion, a second of the motion and the vote

in an efficient manner.

Here’s an example. Notice how the format lends

itself to use in writing the meeting minutes. ■

Because of an increasing need to keep the organization’s name before the community to increase sup-

port, we hereby create a public relations subcommittee of the board. Chair will be Amy Jones. Commit-

tee Chair Jones may invite other board members to serve on the committee, along with interested orga-

nization supporters and stakeholders. The executive director will be an ad-hoc committee member.

Agenda

Board

Member 1

Board

Member 2

Board

Member 3

Board

Member 4

Board

Member 5

Board

Member 6

Board

Member 7

Motion ❑❑❑❑❑❑❑

Second ❑❑❑❑❑❑❑

Ayes ❑❑❑❑❑❑❑

Nays ❑❑❑❑❑❑❑

Abstain ❑❑❑❑❑❑❑

Carried: ❑ Failed: ❑

Minutes

Board

Member 1

Board

Member 2

Board

Member 3

Board

Member 4

Board

Member 5

Board

Member 6

Board

Member 7

Motion ❑X❑❑❑❑❑

Second ❑ ❑ X❑❑❑❑

Ayes ❑XXX❑X❑

Nays X❑❑❑X❑ ❑

Abstain ❑❑❑❑❑❑X

Carried: X Failed: ❑