A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP- Risk Management

Every now and then, I come across a real nugget of governance gold when working on blog content. This week, it was while searching to see what was going on at the Montana Nonprofit Association (MNA). That organization has a dynamic leader and constantly sets the bar high for others with their work, so it was not surprising to find such a treasure.

The link on the MNA main page to a Board Governance Policy caught my attention. Reading the document made it obvious that all credit unions should consider such a policy, even when not required by regulation. The policy does an excellent job of laying out the board role versus the role of the officers and employees of the organization. It goes on to spell out fiduciary obligations to the organization and even provides excellent details for the manner of governing, including such things as “[T]he Board shall direct, control and inspire MNA through careful organizational planning to assure that MNA is effectively pursuing its mission.”

My favorite statement in the policy is “[T]he Board will use the expertise of individual members to enhance the ability of the Board as a body, rather than allowing individual expertise of directors to substitute for judgments that should be made by the Board as a body.” It is profound advice.

I hope you’ll take the time to consider all or some of the policy as you plan for your upcoming year. In addition, this model Board of Director’s Duties policy from CU PolicyPro might offer you some credit union-specific verbiage to adjust the MNA policy to your needs.