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Governance

Created4Me Early Learning Centre is a not-for-profit organization which provides programs and/or services that address specific needs in the community. The organization's mandate is established through its incorporating documents: the constitution and the bylaws. These documents specify what the centre can do, and how the centre does its work.

As a board member, one of your first tasks is to become familiar with the constitution and bylaws of our organization. The bylaws specify the structure of the board of directors. The board is the governing authority of the organization, and is responsible for directing, influencing, and monitoring the organization's business. Governance is the way in which the board exercises its authority, control, and direction over the organization. The board carries out its governance role by developing and monitoring policies, and it organizes its work through committees.

POLICY GOVERNING

The board sets policy, and hires an executive director to implement the policy.

The executive director is responsible for carrying out the day-to-day work of the organization, with the assistance of paid staff and/or service volunteers. The executive director is directly accountable to the board, and is responsible for hiring, supervising, and releasing both paid staff and service volunteers.

ADMINISTRATIVE GOVERNING

The Board of Directors of Created4Me sets the policy and carries out the day-to-day work of the organization.

Board Roles, Responsibilities and Functions

ROLES:

The board is responsible for the highest level of decision-making and legal authority in the organization. By law, it is ultimately accountable for, and has authority over, the organization's resources and activities. The board articulates and communicates the organization's vision to the membership and community. Through policy, the board defines the parameters within which the organization will carry out its work.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Governing boards have the ultimate responsibility for the organization's:

Purpose, by establishing and implementing the organization's mission and vision
Continuity, by providing continuity for managing and implementing the organization's affairs
Progress, by setting the rate of progress that the organization takes in reaching its mission and vision
Identity, by securing the community support and appreciation for the organization's objects, beliefs, vision, mission, and long-term direction.

FUNCTIONS:

The main function of the board is governance. It carries out this function by establishing, directing, and influencing the implementation of policy in four areas:

Framework governance
Board self-governance
Operational governance (program, personnel, finance)
Advocacy governance

Framework Governance

Framework governance covers the broadest policy areas of the organization, such as the mission, the vision, and the strategic direction. The focus is on results, rather than on the methods used to achieve them. Through framework governance, the board defines the mission, the expected outcomes, and the future directions of the organization.

Framework policies include:

Organizational value(s) and belief statement(s)
Vision statement
Mission statement
Target statement(s))
Aims or strategic directions

To fulfill its framework governance function, the board:

Makes sure that there is a strategic plan
Monitors the framework policies to make sure that they reflect community needs
Evaluates the organization's progress, as outlined in the framework policies and the strategic plan

Board Self-Governance

Board self-governance includes defining how the board will organize itself to get its work done, how the board will govern, and the board's relationship to its membership and to the community.

Board self-governance policies include:

A process for policy-making
The governing style to be used by the board
Annual general meeting
The board's relationship to the membership
Recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, and evaluating board members
Roles, responsibilities, and functions of the board, board members, and committees
The board structure
A board member code of conduct
The board chairperson's role

To fulfill its self-governance role, the board:

Fulfils its legal mandate, as defined in the constitution and bylaws
Develops, implements, and monitors board self-governance policies
Describes lines of communication and authority
Plans and conducts the annual general meeting (AGM)

Operational Governance

Operational governance directs the organization's programs, personnel, and financial resources, and sets the rate of progress that the organization takes towards its vision. There are three areas of operational governance:

Program governance

To fulfill this function, the board:

Monitors the community to make sure that services and programs are relevant to users
Makes sure that a viable strategy is in place to achieve the mission and goals
Allocates resources for programs and services
Monitors and evaluates the results (not the operation) and the cost-effectiveness of the programs and services

The Executive Director develops personnel policies for all administrative staff program and service volunteers.

Who is Responsible?

The board chair is responsible for the board's performance; the executive director is responsible for the staff's performance.

Financial governance

To fulfill this function, the board:

Monitors the budget
Oversees, and participates in, fund-raising activities
Makes sure that the assets of the organization are protected and cared for
Sets contract policy
Makes sure that there are enough resources to operate the organization
Makes sure that the facilities are maintained and that they meet the organization's needs
Makes sure that there is an annual financial audit

Advocacy Governance:

Through advocacy governance, the board secures the community's support for the organization's beliefs, vision, mission, and long-term direction. Advocacy governance also establishes the organization's response to matters that affect its relationship to the community and to society.

To fulfill this function, the board:

Interprets the organization's beliefs to the community, and encourages support for them
Develops community awareness of the organization's unique role
Represents the organization to the community, government, foundations, corporations, and funding agencies
Monitors government legislation, and advises government officials on the impact of current and proposed policies
Supports the organization's work in the community
Participates in clarifying and resolving issues
Develops policies that describe the organization's stand on relevant issues

Standards of Performance for Board Members

The board expects its members to carry out their duties in an ethical and professional manner, including proper use of authority.

Meeting appropriate performance standards makes it possible to do the work of the board in an efficient and effective way.

Performance standards expected for board volunteers include:

Being loyal to the organization and its membership
Avoiding conflict of interest
Not exercising individual authority over staff or the membership
Dealing with the public, clients, staff, and each other in a fair, ethical and straight-forward manner
Being prepared for, and actively participating in, meetings
Fostering friendly, positive working relationships between volunteers and staff
Maintaining confidentiality of board business
Speaking positively of the organization to the public