The Documents to Include in a Chamber Board Manual
Any chamber worth its salt should provide their board of directors members with a detailed manual. Specifics are the key to efficiency; outlining them in a manual will reduce the potential for confrontations and misunderstanding.
A robust chamber board book should include:
- Welcome letter
- Board roles, responsibilities, and requirements for involvement
- Conflict of interest policy and questionnaire
- Outline of the board’s structure and how it relates to the chamber
- Information on board insurance coverage
- Board policies and procedures (e.g. travel reimbursement, whistleblower policy)
- Board member contract / letter of agreement
- Confidentiality agreement
- List of all current board members: Bios of current board members and key staff
- Roles of existing board members
- List of board committees, who is in charge, and members of each
- How the board conducts meetings (e.g., Robert’s rules of order)
- Board processes
- Division of roles between board and Executive Director/ CEO
- Executive Director/CEO compensation performance appraisal process
- Staff Organizational Chart: organizational structure/ history
- Glossary of abbreviations and acronyms commonly used
- Mission statement
- A copy of the chamber’s by-laws
- Chamber history one-pager
- Strategic plan / any planning document (e.g., vision document)
- Listing of facilities owned or rented by the chamber
- Emergency response plan
- Approved budget for the calendar year
- Most recent monthly financials
- Most recent audited financial statement
- Most recent newsletter
- Recent board meeting minutes
- Fundraising one-pager
- Program highlights for the year-to-date
- List of upcoming meetings
- Event schedule
- The agenda for the next meeting
Get the Field Guide to Board Orientation for
a detailed, step-by-step plan.
SEE ALSO: Part 3 of our Board Orientation series which focuses on how to plan your chamber’s board of directors orientation event.