Board meeting minutes
Minutes are an official record of what took place during a board meeting, including motions, votes, and approvals. For nonprofits, taking board meeting minutes typically falls under the responsibilities of the board secretary.
How to take minutes for a nonprofit board meeting
Minutes should provide an accurate account of what happened during the meeting without being overly detailed or wordy. Focus on recording the basic details, plus any significant discussions, issues, or decisions.
Effective minutes should include:
The date, time, and location of the meeting
Whether it was a regular meeting or special session
A list of attendees (and absentees)
Corrections or additions to minutes from the previous meeting
Changes to the meeting agenda
Discussion items and important points raised during discussions
Motions taken or rejected
Action items and next steps
Topics to cover during the next meeting
Time the meeting adjourned
Some topics (like voting issues) should be recorded in more granular detail while more routine board activities and conversations should be noted, but don’t need extensive documentation.
To make it easier to record minutes during the meeting, it can be helpful to create a minutes outline based on your meeting agenda. You should also create a system for organizing your minutes after each meeting. Ideally, you should store them in a single, secure location that every member of your board can access.
🌟 Pro tip: when you run your board meeting in Surfboard, we’ll automatically generate a transcript of your meeting and populate minutes for you. This enables every member of your board to stay fully present during the meeting without worrying about taking notes.
Nonprofit board meeting minutes templateWhat not to include in meeting minutes
While you want your minutes to be detailed, not everything needs to be included. In some cases, too much detail can actually be a bad thing and potentially cause problems down the road. Board meeting minutes can be used as legal records during court proceedings. You don’t want to include anything that could potentially be taken out of context or misinterpreted.
Some things you don’t need to include in your minutes:
Judgmental comments
Personal observations about other board members
Notes about personal conflict
Statements with political undertones
Exact legal advice from lawyers
Compliments or words of praise
How to approve meeting minutes
Approving meeting minutes is the process of reviewing documentation for accuracy and legally certifying them as part of your organization’s official record.
All you have to do is follow a few simple steps:
Send the minutes to your board chair first
Once you have your chair’s approval, send your minutes to the remaining board members
Allow everyone the opportunity to dispute or clarify the content of your minutes
If someone raises a concern, bring it to your entire board for resolution
Once every board member agrees on the content of your minutes, collect signatures certifying each board member’s approval
Save a copy of your approved minutes in a secure location
A few things to remember:
Every member of your board needs to receive a copy of your minutes, whether they attended the meeting or not
Minutes have to receive unanimous approval from all of your board members in order to be certified
You can collect signatures in person during a future meeting or close the loop remotely using e-signatures
Wherever you choose to save your approved minutes, make sure every member of your board is able to access them for future reference
Want to learn more about board management?
Our board management course will teach you the ins and outs of working with a board—from mastering board communications and leveling up your meetings, to streamlining processes and increasing engagement.
Board meeting minutes
Minutes are an official record of what took place during a board meeting, including motions, votes, and approvals. For nonprofits, taking board meeting minutes typically falls under the responsibilities of the board secretary.
How to take minutes for a nonprofit board meeting
Minutes should provide an accurate account of what happened during the meeting without being overly detailed or wordy. Focus on recording the basic details, plus any significant discussions, issues, or decisions.
Effective minutes should include:
The date, time, and location of the meeting
Whether it was a regular meeting or special session
A list of attendees (and absentees)
Corrections or additions to minutes from the previous meeting
Changes to the meeting agenda
Discussion items and important points raised during discussions
Motions taken or rejected
Action items and next steps
Topics to cover during the next meeting
Time the meeting adjourned
Some topics (like voting issues) should be recorded in more granular detail while more routine board activities and conversations should be noted, but don’t need extensive documentation.
To make it easier to record minutes during the meeting, it can be helpful to create a minutes outline based on your meeting agenda. You should also create a system for organizing your minutes after each meeting. Ideally, you should store them in a single, secure location that every member of your board can access.
🌟 Pro tip: when you run your board meeting in Surfboard, we’ll automatically generate a transcript of your meeting and populate minutes for you. This enables every member of your board to stay fully present during the meeting without worrying about taking notes.
Nonprofit board meeting minutes templateWhat not to include in meeting minutes
While you want your minutes to be detailed, not everything needs to be included. In some cases, too much detail can actually be a bad thing and potentially cause problems down the road. Board meeting minutes can be used as legal records during court proceedings. You don’t want to include anything that could potentially be taken out of context or misinterpreted.
Some things you don’t need to include in your minutes:
Judgmental comments
Personal observations about other board members
Notes about personal conflict
Statements with political undertones
Exact legal advice from lawyers
Compliments or words of praise
How to approve meeting minutes
Approving meeting minutes is the process of reviewing documentation for accuracy and legally certifying them as part of your organization’s official record.
All you have to do is follow a few simple steps:
Send the minutes to your board chair first
Once you have your chair’s approval, send your minutes to the remaining board members
Allow everyone the opportunity to dispute or clarify the content of your minutes
If someone raises a concern, bring it to your entire board for resolution
Once every board member agrees on the content of your minutes, collect signatures certifying each board member’s approval
Save a copy of your approved minutes in a secure location
A few things to remember:
Every member of your board needs to receive a copy of your minutes, whether they attended the meeting or not
Minutes have to receive unanimous approval from all of your board members in order to be certified
You can collect signatures in person during a future meeting or close the loop remotely using e-signatures
Wherever you choose to save your approved minutes, make sure every member of your board is able to access them for future reference
Want to learn more about board management?
Our board management course will teach you the ins and outs of working with a board—from mastering board communications and leveling up your meetings, to streamlining processes and increasing engagement.