Trustees of charitable organisations must make decisions that advance the organisation’s mission, although not all decisions do.
The trustees’ actions that impact (a) how many people benefit (b) and how the charity’s purpose is carried out (c) are significant.
This necessitates selection:
- They assure that your nonprofit’s mission will benefit those in need (see part 3 of this guide)
- Ways for lowering the risk to your organization’s beneficiaries and the general public (see part 4 of this guide)
- Who will benefit from your organization’s humanitarian mission? (See Section 5 of this guide)
- Ensuring that any advantages you receive are purely accidental (see part 6 of this guide) Choosing the “best”
Many trustees are concerned about making the “correct” judgement in order to fulfil their charity’s public good goal. There is rarely a “correct” option.
- Trustees are required by law to make reasonable choices.
- If the trustees choose a band action, they will make the “correct” decision.
- When trustees have several options, the courts and commission cannot order them.
As a charity trustee, you have some leeway in determining how your organisation will carry out its mission, as long as you do so in a way that: serves the public interest and furthers the charity’s stated mission; considers the commission’s public benefit guidance where appropriate; and adheres to the general framework for trustee decision making.
Nonprofit board choices (beyond the public benefit guidelines of the commission)
Charitable activity has the potential to assist society.
Charity trustees are not required to demonstrate that the charity’s stated purpose meets the public benefit criteria.
Yet, putting your charity’s goal into action for the public good necessitates a few considerations: • comprehend your charity’s mission; and act in the public good.
If the public benefit of preserving a historical or architectural structure has been established, the trustees are not required to demonstrate the facility’s historical or architectural quality in the future.
In its annual report, a charity that protects a historically or architecturally significant building only needs to report on how the public benefits.
Volunteering for a good cause.
Safety. Contributing to society.
The public good goals of the charity necessitate managing the risk of harm to recipients or the general public.
The public good necessitates that you:
- Identify who might benefit from your charity’s mission
- Think about all the different ways you could achieve the goal of your charity.
A few can be chosen when decisions influence beneficiaries. This is permissible if you have good grounds, do not discriminate against the poor, target a representative subset of the public, and adhere to the trustee decision-making procedure. This is outside of the commission’s recommendations for public benefit.
When selecting recipients, it is not enough to identify persons or organisations that will benefit. Participation may also be limited by variables. Such considerations include the charity’s membership-only services, facility availability, and service charge.
Exclusive membership benefits
Legality: A charity cannot only serve its members unless (a) a broad segment of the public can join and (b) the membership structure is appropriate for achieving the charity’s public good purposes.
Visiting a charitable organization’s location
Certain charitable facilities may have restricted hours. • contributes to the nonprofit organization’s mission
If the charity requires it, it receives it. The section “Physical Access to a Charity’s Facilities” is in Annex B.
Service pricing
Donations are not required for charitable services and facilities.
If a charity’s fees are prohibitively expensive for low-income persons, the trustees are breaking the law and must find alternate ways to assist.
