Non profit ED with board title of president?

[Guest Caroline]

Is it appropriate to add the executive director to a non profit board as a regular voting member and with the title of president?

[Rob Elsman]

Nothing in RONR (12th ed.) says one way or the other.

[J. J.]

I am told that it might not be good administrative practice to make the executive director a board member, but it is clearly not prohibited by RONR.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 12/12/2023 at 5:08 AM, Guest Caroline said:

Is it appropriate to add the executive director to a non profit board as a regular voting member and with the title of president?

That would be unusual, and it would be difficult for me to call it appropriate.  But I'm not a member.

[Josh Martin]

On 12/12/2023 at 4:08 AM, Guest Caroline said:

Is it appropriate to add the executive director to a non profit board as a regular voting member and with the title of president?

An organization is ultimately free to adopt its own rules on these subjects. Personally, I do not advise making the Executive Director a member of the board at all, and certainly not a voting member. This would lead to some complications when, for example, the board meets to discuss the Executive Director's performance.

I am uncertain about the part about "the title of President." The term "President," as that term is used in RONR, refers to the regular presiding officer. It would be highly unusual, in my experience, for the Executive Director to be the chair of the board.

On the other hand, some organizations will refer to the highest-ranking employee of the organization as the "President," and the presiding officer of the board is instead referred to as the "Board Chair." I generally find this to be more common in for-profit corporations, and non-profits are more likely to refer to their employee as "Executive Director," but ultimately the organization is free to use such titles for its employees as it chooses.