Should board members of a CSO be paid?
We're having a bit of an internal debate about whether to start paying our board members a small honorarium for attending meetings. Some people think it's fine, others are saying it's not appropriate for a non-profit. We're not talking about much — maybe a few hundred dollars per meeting — just to show appreciation and […]
How do we manage conflicts of interest on our board?
We've got a situation where one of our board members runs a printing business and we regularly use that business for our publications and event materials. It's been going on for years and nobody ever raised it as an issue. Now we're trying to tighten up our governance and I'm wondering if we need to […]
Do I need to register my community group or NGO under the NPO Act 2019?
We run a small community group in our area — environmental clean-ups, a bit of youth mentorship, that kind of thing. Nothing massive, maybe 15 active members and we raise a few thousand dollars a year through bake sales and small donations. Someone told us we have to register under the NPO Act 2019 but […]
How long is an NPO’s Certificate of Registration valid, and do we need to renew it?
We registered about four years ago and I've been getting anxious about whether our certificate is still valid. I vaguely remember something about a five-year validity period when we first registered but I can't find the paperwork and I'm genuinely not sure if anything has changed recently. Does anyone know the current rules on this? […]
What is the difference between the board’s role and the Executive Director’s role?
We're a small organisation and I think we have a pretty blurry line between what the board does and what our Executive Director does. Our ED is very hands-on and sometimes makes decisions I feel should have come to the board, but then the board sometimes gets too involved in day-to-day operations too. I want […]