One of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability (Standard 3) calls for charity governing boards to meet no less than three times per year with a majority in attendance on average at those meetings. Of the three meetings, one can be by phone as long as official minutes are taken.  In addition, this standard accepts video conferencing as an “in-person” meeting of the board as long as everyone can see each other.

While this standard has consistently been among the top reasons that a charity does not meet BBB Charity Standards, thanks to Zoom and other video conferencing options, there has been no significant increase in the percentage of charities found not to meet this standard. Although most charities are not currently holding physical meetings for governing boards as a result of the pandemic, they continue to use such video conferencing alternatives to engage their board of directors.

Engagement of decision-makers in charity activity is essential to ensure that an organization is on the right path and being well managed. This input is a vital component of accountability and needs to take place on a regular basis to help maintain proper oversight of the operations and staff of charitable organizations.

Most charities have also come to recognize the value of maintaining a board size that is manageable in terms of achieving adequate attendance. The era of large boards that include members who rarely attend meetings is a relic of the past that charities seek to avoid.  For those charities that do maintain large boards and may find this standard more difficult to meet, we generally suggest that they consider restructuring their board to have a smaller, core group serving as voting board members, and have a larger group of advisors that, while they do not hold voting positions, are still able to volunteer their time to provide input on the charity’s work.

Video of the Week

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week's Heart of Giving Podcast includes an interview Pat Duffy, Co-founder, The Giving Block. The Giving Block is a platform that enables nonprofits to accept cryptocurrency donations and works directly with crypto companies and users to donate to their favorite causes. Pat shares his journey from the non-profit and consulting sector into crypto and talks about some of the trends that he’s been seeing. BBB Wise Giving Alliance recently announced a partnership with The Giving Block.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:

• Women's Center Tarrant County
• Society for Science and the Public
• Girls Who Code

Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance