Board meeting agendas drafted from your open business
Karma Compass drafts the next agenda from the last meeting held, when there is one, and gathers the actions still open into one agenda item. The chair edits a draft instead of starting from a blank page.
What a board agenda should do
The agenda tells directors what they will decide and how long they have to decide it. A consent agenda groups routine, non-controversial items into a single package for one combined vote, and each item can have a time limit. The agenda is sent with the board packet, early enough that a director can read the material behind each motion.
A working order for a regular meeting
- Call to order, roll call and quorum.
- Approval of the previous minutes.
- Consent agenda: routine, non-controversial items approved in one combined vote.
- Executive director’s report.
- Treasurer’s report and financial statements.
- Committee reports that need no discussion, in the consent agenda.
- Decisions: the board action each item requires, and a time limit for each item.
- Old business carried forward; new business.
- Executive session, if needed.
- Next meeting date and adjournment.
The free agenda template lays this out for a regular, annual or special meeting.
How Karma Compass drafts the agenda
Schedule the meeting and the Agenda Agent drafts the agenda from the board’s record. It reads the agenda from the last meeting held, when there is one, and gathers the action items still open into a single agenda item, puts decisions before reports, and gives every item a time when the meeting has a length.
The chair edits the draft, attaches the papers directors should read, and approves it; the secretary or executive director can approve it too. Only then does the agenda go out with the board packet. After the meeting, the minutes follow the agenda, and any action item left open is carried into the next agenda draft, so each meeting picks up where the last one left off.
The agenda goes out only after a person with the authority to publish it approves it. Our agent drafts; a person on your board approves the agenda before it is sent. See who approves what.
Questions boards ask
What should a nonprofit board meeting agenda include?
A consent agenda for routine items, such as the previous minutes and committee reports; the board action each item requires; and a time limit for each item. Build the annual meeting agenda around the business required by your organization’s bylaws.
Who sets the board agenda?
The chief executive constructs the agenda with the board chair. Directors can ask for items to be added. In Karma Compass the Agenda Agent drafts the agenda and the chair, secretary or executive director edits and approves it before it is sent.
How does Karma Compass draft the agenda?
From your board’s own record: it reads the agenda from the last meeting held, when there is one, and gathers the action items still open into a single agenda item, puts decisions before reports, and gives every item a time when the meeting has a length. Schedule the meeting and drafting starts; the chair then edits the draft and attaches the papers directors should read.
What is a consent agenda?
A group of routine, non-controversial items, such as the previous minutes and committee reports that need no discussion, approved in one combined vote. Any director may ask to pull an item out for discussion. It keeps meeting time for the decisions that need it.
Is agenda drafting included in the Free plan?
Building and sending agendas and packets is part of every plan’s meetings. Having the Agenda Agent draft the agenda from your open business, and the assistant, are part of Karma Compass Pro. Every new organization starts on Pro, free for two weeks.