501c3 Board Members and Officers

The Board “Members” or “Directors/Trustees” are elected and their main goal is to manage the nonprofit organization’s activities. These specific positions should be filled first by the Board of Directors: President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Other optional positions, once those three are filled, could be Vice President and Director. They usually serve for 1-3 years, and then the Directors are reelected.

The powers, rights and responsibilities of the Board of Directors are specified in the Bylaws of the 501c3 charitable organization. The Bylaws consist of general information about how the Board of Directors is elected; scheduling Board meetings; decision-making methods; Board of Directors’ duties and other specific rules, applicable to the charitable organization’s activities.

The Directors are not only representing the 501c3 nonprofit organization’s activities, but they also have duties, rights, and responsibilities. Some of their responsibilities include:

• Preserving the organization’s mission and implementation of successful initiatives;
• Monitoring of the financial affairs of the organization, e.g. regular preparation of the financial statements;
• Filing of the federal tax returns and staying in compliance with the state;
• Conducting fundraising activities and serving the community the organization represents;
• Predicting and assessing any risk that is threatening the organization; etc.

Some specific responsibilities to each role may include the following.

• The President will be responsible for the overall strategy and day to day operations of the organization.
• The Vice President will be responsible for the overall public relations of the organization.
• The Treasurer will be responsible for the overall financial management of the organization.
• The Secretary will be in charge of the overall administrative functions of the organization.
• The Director will contribute to the organization’s program development and execution.

Before an individual decides to become a Board of Director of a 501c3 organization, he or she should be prepared to work diligently to serve the organizations participants.