president A board member on 2 nonprofit organizations that are similar. Conflict of interest?

[Guest Rachel Lonergan]

Is it a conflict of interest if a board member is on 2 nonprofit organizations that have similar missions?

[Richard Brown]

Not according to the rules in RONR (Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition).

[Joshua Katz]

However, a conflict (or a personal or pecuniary interest not in common with the others) could potentially arise on specific questions.

[Richard Brown]

On 12/3/2023 at 2:03 PM, Joshua Katz said:

However, a conflict (or a personal or pecuniary interest not in common with the others) could potentially arise on specific questions.

Thank you.  I came back right after I made my comment to edit it to add the part about abstaining on questions in which the member has a direct personal or pecuniary interest in the matter not in common with other members, but got distracted by something and never completed the edit.  This is the closest RONR comes to talking about conflicts of interest.

Here is what RONR (12th ed.) says about it in section 45:4:

Abstaining from Voting on a Question of Direct Personal Interest. No member should vote on a question in which he has a direct personal or pecuniary interest not common to other members of the organization. For example, if a motion proposes that the organization enter into a contract with a commercial firm of which a member of the organization is an officer and from which contract he would derive personal pecuniary profit, the member should abstain from voting on the motion. However, no member can be compelled to refrain from voting in such circumstances.