Home Library Translate
A A A
Share »
Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on LinkedIn
Connect »

Blog: Boards of Directors

Menu

  • This Blog's Home
  • Guest Writer Submissions
  • Policies
  • To Subscribe to a Blog
  • About
  • Feedback

Nonprofit and For-Profit Boards — a Comparison

By Carter McNamara on September 30, 2010

Our firm regularly gets calls, asking about the differences between for-profit and nonprofit Boards.  Although there are certain differences, there are more similarities than people often realize.

Misconceptions often stem from the belief that nonprofits have to have a Board because they’re nonprofits.  Not true.  Chartered, or registered, nonprofits have to have a Board because they’re nonprofit corporations — they’re corporations just like for-profit corporations.  Corporations must have Boards, whether nonprofit or for-profit.

Boards of corporations have certain legal duties, or fiduciary duties, the most basic of which are the duties of loyalty and care.  Recent literature also refers to a duty of obedience.  Both nonprofit and for-profit Boards must adhere to these duties — and the ways that they do that are very similar between both types of Boards.

This table gives a listing of the specific differences between the Boards, but keep in mind that those differences don’t result in major differences between how the Boards recruit and develop and organize members, do their planning, hold their meetings, make decisions, supervise the CEO, approve budgets and major contracts, etc.

There’s many more free resources about Boards — for-profit and nonprofit – in the “Free Complete Toolkit for Boards.”

—————————————————————————-
Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 800-971-2250
Read my weekly blogs: Boards, Consulting and OD, Nonprofits and Strategic Planning.

« Previous Next »

Search Our Site

Meet this Blog’s Co-Hosts

Carter McNamara of Authenticity Consulting, LLC, provides organization development and consultant training services, and is developer of the Free Management Library. [Read more ...]


Julie Garland-McLellan uses her experience and depth of knowledge in corporate governance to show boards with limited resources how to be more effective through practical governance innovation and know-how.
[Read more ...]


Nick Lindsay of Elemental CoSec, provides corporate governance, legal and company secretarial advice to a wide range of companies in the UK.
[Read more ...]

Recent Blog Posts

  • Will beneficial ownership registers spread around the World?
  • Governing an entrepreneur – a dilemma
  • Can a director serve two interests? – a dilemma
  • When a director knows what isn’t in the papers – a dilemma
  • Should the MD have a vote? – a dilemma
  • Association boards and conflicts of interest – a dilemma
  • Issues for a prospective owner director – a dilemma
  • 51% compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code
  • 10 Myths About Boards of Directors
  • How to manage excessive demands on time (from a powerful person)? – a dilemma

Categories of Posts

  • Accountabilities, Laws and Ethics
  • Basics and Overviews
  • Basics and Overviews
  • Board Committees
  • Board Evaluations
  • Board Meetings
  • Board Membership
  • Board Training and Dev.
  • General Resources
  • Recurring Activities
  • Roles and Responsibilities
  • Supervising CEO
  • Uncategorized

Related Library Topics

  • Board / Employees Roles
  • Board Basics
  • Board Development
  • Board Models
  • Board Operations
  • Board Policies
  • Board Staffing
  • Board Training
  • Committees
  • Compensation of Members
  • Evaluating the Board
  • Laws and Ethics
  • Meetings
  • Roles and Responsibilities

Library's Blogs

  • Boards of Directors
  • Building a Business
  • Business Communications
  • Business Ethics, Culture and Performance
  • Business Planning
  • Career Management
  • Coaching and Action Learning
  • Consulting and Organizational Development
  • Crisis Management
  • Customer Service
  • Facilitation
  • Free Management Library Blogs
  • Fundraising for Nonprofits
  • Human Resources
  • Leadership
  • Marketing and Social Media
  • Nonprofit Capacity Building
  • Project Management
  • Quality Management
  • Social Enterprise
  • Spirituality
  • Strategic Planning
  • Supervision
  • Team Building and Performance
  • Training and Development
About Feedback Legal Privacy Policy Contact Us
Free Management Library, © Copyright Authenticity Consulting, LLC ®; All rights reserved.
  • Graphics by Wylde Hare LLC
  • Website maintained by Caitlin Cahill

By continuing to use this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy.X