Introduction
Part of board membership is safeguarding the organization’s assets. This lesson gives an overview of the 3 core fiduciary duties of board members and offers some supplemental duties that, if followed, help to have organizations run smoothly, ethically, and justly.
The 3 Core Fiduciary Duties
- Duty of Care/Duty of Due Care – acting with reasonable diligence and prudence
- Duty of Loyalty – acting in the best interest of the organization over personal interest and avoiding conflicts of interest
- Duty of Obedience – acting in accordance with the law and the organization’s governing documents
To learn more about these duties from the Oregon Department of Justice go to https://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/guide-nonprofit-board-service.pdf
These core duties each have their own lesson and will be spoken about in more depth in their respective lessons.
Expanded Fiduciary Duties
- Duty of Good Faith – acting with honesty and integrity
- Duty of Confidence – acting in accordance with any confidentiality and privacy agreements
- Duty of Oversight – taking an active role in overseeing each aspect of the organization to ensure informed and effective decision making
- Duty of Prudence – acting carefully and cautiously, using information and data to ensure strong decision-making
- Duty of Accountability – taking ownership over actions and decisions, ensuring complete transparency to stakeholders and members of the public
These expanded duties and definitions are sourced from Diligent.com HERE.