Serving on the board of a non-profit organization is an honor, and the honor comes with responsibilities. Board members are responsible and accountable for the non-profit’s actions and have fiduciary duties to the organization. Board members are legally required to be informed active participants in corporate governance and to act in furtherance of the nonprofit’s charitable mission.

To help you and the other board members of your non-profit understand and fulfill your duties, most States offer guidance documents and webinars, such as those presented by the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section.

1. There is a pre-recorded webinar that contains an overview of the legal obligations of board members. This webinar can be viewed anytime and can be found at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Charities/Charitable-Webinars.

2. They offer a monthly one-hour live webinar on board governance that explains your fiduciary duties and how to fulfill them. This one-hour webinar is at noon on the first Wednesday of each month. Register for the webinar at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Training-and-Education/Nonprofit-Board-Governance-Webinars.

3. There are numerous publications on our website. The most popular publications are “Guide for Charity Board Members” and “Avoiding Theft in Your Nonprofit.” These and other publications can be found at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Charities/Resources-for-Nonprofit-Board-Members.

4. You can subscribe to the Nonprofit Newsletter, an electronic newsletter prepared by the Charitable Law Section at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/Newsletters.