Board Letter of Commitment

[Alicia]

I have just been elected President of a Not for Profit/ Historical Society- I was elected by the board because for the past 40 years they have been a social club but now have taken on 2 museums and need to move to a more business / policy/ working board. The board members that stayed - and the new ones that came on know this is the goal. My question is I would like to have the board Sign a letter of Commitment - do I have to take it to the board for approval ? or may I send it to the board before the next board meeting  requesting their signature on the letter so that while I have spoken about the plans ahead and what we need to do ? Or do I have to have them read and approve it before they sign it ? I am also putting a board notebook together for each board member - Do i have to run that by them also ? 

[Richard Brown]

You might start off by telling us what you mean by "a letter of committment" and just what this letter would say or do.   A letter of commitment is not even mentioned in RONR.  When I think of a letter of intent or letter of commitment, I think of a football player committing to a team.

[jstackpo]

Rules for or against none of what you plan is found in RONR, but it sure would be a good idea to share a draft of your letter of commitment, if for no other reason to get folks comfortable with it before they are asked to sign on -- and look for hidden glitches!

If you intend that there are, or should be, "consequences" related to membership perks and the like if one declines to sign, this might very well require bylaw provisions to spell out.

[Alicia]

The board has never had a job description and working with AAM and a local consultant we discussed a letter of commitment - saying basically that they commit to the mission statement, an advocate for the museum, to volunteer on a committee, that they will commit to regular attendance at board meetings, and that below 50% attendance is grounds for dismissal, disclose any conflict of interest, attend special board meetings, support museum events etc. 

These are the different topics 

[Alicia]

I was reading through Roberts Rules and couldn't find anything either. 

[jstackpo]

I went to the AAM (American Alliance of Museums, right?) webpage to see how they did things of the sort you might be contemplating.  But the bylaws were behind a "members only" wall; no luck. (I'm not a hacker enough to get through.)

You might look there, << https://www.aam-us.org/ >> ,however, presuming that you are a member and can see the bylaws/

[Alicia]

I am - they cam and did an organizational grant and one on the list was to do a letter of commitment and I got a couple of copies as examples from them and tailored this one to them. But I guess my big question is does it have to get approval from the board before I can present it ? or can I present it ( and/or ask them to sign it )  and it would not be in any violation of parliamentary procedure ?

[jstackpo]

No violations of Parl-Law no matter which approach you take, unless there are penalties for not following the details of the letter.  But don't forget, each individual board member has the ability to simply not approve (in whole or in part) of whatever you put before him/her by refusing to sign it.  So give the board members the opportunity to discuss what they might be dragooned into signing, and find out if any particular portion sticks in their craw. 

[Guest Student]

I know of nothing in RONR that gives you the authority to require anyone to sign this commitment. If you want it to be something all board members have to sign (or face whatever consequences you are planning), then you will need to create a policy or even, depending on the consequences, amend your bylaws.

I've seen this type of recommendation from consultants before. I recommend you proceed gently as you are making significant changes to an organization that you are moving from a "social club" to more of business-like organization. This is a big culture change, not to be undertaken casually.

[Guest Zev]

An alternative would be for you to simply introduce a motion that achieves some desired outcome that would have been part of this so-called letter of commitment. One motion for all or a series of motions for each individual objective.

[Gary Novosielski]

8 hours ago, Alicia said:

I have just been elected President of a Not for Profit/ Historical Society- I was elected by the board because for the past 40 years they have been a social club but now have taken on 2 museums and need to move to a more business / policy/ working board. The board members that stayed - and the new ones that came on know this is the goal. My question is I would like to have the board Sign a letter of Commitment - do I have to take it to the board for approval ? or may I send it to the board before the next board meeting  requesting their signature on the letter so that while I have spoken about the plans ahead and what we need to do ? Or do I have to have them read and approve it before they sign it ? I am also putting a board notebook together for each board member - Do i have to run that by them also ? 

It would be a good idea to adopt the general presumption that anything you want to do will require approval by the  board or the general membership. 

Presidents, besides presiding over meetings, have only the powers that are granted to them in the bylaws.  I'm going to guess that your bylaws do not give you the authority to demand that anyone sign any letter of commitment.  Have you considered what you will do when one or more board members declines the opportunity to sign it?  Successful presidents, as a rule, are those that can create consensus, rather than attempt to issue directives. 

There are other choices besides read, approve, and sign.  They may also amend or reject it.  I'm not sure what the purpose of this letter is, but if it is something in the nature of a mission statement, you might consider proposing that one be developed, and let the board actually draft it.