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1. Record Minutes and the Roll at Meetings

Recording detailed minutes is certainly an important skill and arguably one of the most critical responsibilities of the board secretary. The ideal secretary is organized, detail-oriented, and knowledgeable about the inner workings of the nonprofit. The secretary must also be capable of extracting and communicating key information from lengthy conversations.

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Remember, the board secretary’s responsibility does not end when the meeting adjourns. The secretary should review the minutes and distribute them to the full board of directors ideally within 48-hours of the meetings, but no later than 7 days after the meeting. Thereby ensuring that board members can review minutes while the meeting conversations are still “fresh” in their minds.

 

The minutes do not become official organization “records” until the board approves the minutes. After minutes are approved, the secretary and board chair should sign the minutes before entering them into the records.

 

2. Maintain records

The board Secretary ensures that key policies and procedures are not sitting on a shelf collecting dust. This officer should be your “board expert” on policies and procedures such as the articles of incorporation, bylaws, standard operating procedures, principle operating principles, child protection or Coach/ Team Manager protection policies, non-discrimination, conflict of interest, zero-tolerance harassment policies or any other key governing and operating processes your board has approved. The secretary should be prepared to call attention to policies and procedures during board meetings and decision-making processes to ensure that the board is transparent, ethical, and compliant. 

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3. Oversee Membership lists

Our organization operates with a membership model, the secretary should be involved in maintaining membership lists. Keep in mind that a membership governance model is NOT synonymous with a membership program. 

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4. Provide Safekeeping of all official contracts and records

The Board Secretary should maintain and preserve all organization records in a secure location that is approved by the board. Your board might require that all hard copy official records be kept in a secure location at the office to ensure that board members have access or that the secretary utilize a file-sharing system to store and distribute digital records.

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5. Published notices of scheduled meetings are required in the bylaws

Secretary will need to send out all official “calls to meeting.”

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6. Track board member terms

Secretary should keep a running list of board “classes” to ensure success of board members at the end of their term. As new board members are “onboarded” the secretary should record the beginning and end dates of their term. 

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7. Ensure that key contact information for the organization’s leadership team is current.

As the organization’s “Communicator in Chief,” the board secretary should always have the most current contact information for board and staff members on file. It is helpful if contact information also includes a “preferred communication method” for each member, so the secretary knows which board members respond best to a hardcopy document, email, social media message, or phone call.