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Writing Board Meeting Minutes: Step by Step
Effective minute-taking requires the secretary to take four steps. The steps include:
- Planning before the meeting
- Taking notes during the meeting
- Writing a formal report after the meeting
- Filing and sharing the minutes of each meeting
Step 1: Preparation for the Board Meeting
In learning how to take board nonprofit meeting minutes, it’s important to note that every organization records its minutes a little bit differently. The board president can fill the secretary in on any expected meeting minutes formats they should use. Secretaries can also review past meeting minutes and use them as a template. The board president will have a copy of the meeting agenda and the names of all attendees, including guests or speakers.
Step 2: Taking a Record of the Board Meeting
Unless your organization requires the secretary to type notes at the meeting, they can either type them out or write them longhand. A strong board meeting minutes template can help maintain more structured minutes. The two most important things to know when writing board meeting minutes are what information to record and how to present it.
To take effective meeting minutes, the secretary should include:
- Date of the meeting
- Time the meeting was called to order
- Names of the meeting participants and absentees
- Corrections and amendments to previous meeting minutes
- Additions to the current agenda
- Whether a quorum is present
- Motions taken or rejected
- Voting-that there was a motion and second, and the outcome of the vote
- Actions taken or agreed to be taken
- Next steps
- Items to be held over
- New business
- Open discussion or public participation
- Next meeting date and time
- Time of adjournment
Detailing the discussions during a board meeting is as crucial as including the information in the bullets above. For each agenda item, write a short statement of actions taken by the board and a brief explanation of the rationale for the activity. If there are extensive arguments, write a summary of the significant ideas.
When writing board meeting minutes, record discussions objectively and avoid inflammatory remarks and personal observations. A good way to do this is by avoiding adjectives and adverbs whenever possible. Check your language to be sure that it is clear, unambiguous and complete.
As noted earlier, nonprofit board meeting minutes are an official and legal record of the board meeting . In a legal arena, meeting minutes are presumed to be correct and can be legal evidence of the facts they report. Boards have legal liability, so keep information basic and language simple to avoid any legal complications that place the organization at a disadvantage in any legal proceedings. Use names only when recording motions and seconds.
After the meeting, the secretary will want to write the formal record when everything is still fresh in mind. It helps to prepare the document soon after the meeting.
Step 3: Writing the Official Record of the Board Meeting Minutes
Review the agenda to gain the full scope of the meeting. Add notes for clarification. Review actions, motions, votes and decisions for clarity. Edit the record so the minutes are concise, clear and easy to read.
It’s better to attach meeting handouts and documents referred to during the meeting to the final copy rather than summarizing the contents in the minutes.
Step 4: Signing, Filing and Sharing Minutes
Once your board meeting minutes are fully written, you are responsible for making them official by having the board secretary sign them. Your organization may also require the president’s signature.
As part of knowing how to take minutes for a board meeting, you should always follow your organization’s by-laws and protocols for storing minutes. It’s a good idea to have backup copies either in print, a hard drive, or (best case) a board portal .
The secretary also has the responsibility for sharing minutes. Ensure the president has approved the minutes before sharing them in print or online.
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