Effective and concise governance documents provide boards of directors, executive teams, senior staff, members and organizations the enabling documents to attain their strategic goals. Dave Bennett Consulting works hand-in-hand with clients to improve governance and to ensure boards, members, and individuals positively contribute to organizational success.
Dave can assist organizations by developing, reviewing and revising the following governance and policy documents:
Articles of Incorporation or Corporate Charters
When an organization is incorporated, the laws of the country, province or state require it to have Articles of Incorporation or a Corporate Charter. They are the primary rules governing the management of a corporation in Canada and the United States.
Bylaws or Constitutions
The bylaws or constitution of an organization contain its own basic rules that relate to itself as an organization. It is one of the two highest governing documents regulating the authority of an organization. The bylaws also contain any limitations on the rights of members as well as delegations of powers from the membership as a whole to smaller entities within the organization such as the board of directors or the executive committee.
Board Governance Policies
Board governance policies generally outline the Board of Directors’ Governance Policies, the Board – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Linkage Policies and CEO Executive Limitation Policies. These are clearly needed to ensure good governance and a smooth relationship between the board members, between the board and the CEO and also to ensure the CEO understands what authority and limitations are in place for support and to perform responsibilities effectively.
Board Members’ Manual
A board member’s manual can be an important resource in enabling boards of directors to be more effective. A manual can serve a number of purposes including being an orientation resource for new members, a tool for enabling directors to keep governing documents organized, as well as evidence of the organization’s governance work. A board manual can also be a “policy manual” which keeps all the policies in one place. The format of manual should reflect the kind of disciplined thinking the board wants to practice in terms of the different elements of information about the organization and where responsibility for particular issues and policy decisions belong.
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To discuss how I can help you with your board governance needs, contact me now.