So...you want to be a director of a Charitable Corporation

To have the privilege and honor of serving on the Board of a charitable or not-for-profit corporation [not every “not-for-profi t” is a charity, e.g. a community soccer association, but every charity is a “not-for-profi t”] can be a very rewarding experience for the Charity/NFP and even more so for the individual. However, many people do not consider the nature and extent of the duties and responsibilities which must be met by a director and the consequences for the failure to meet them.

This Communiqué is intended to highlight them for you, especially where the organization is relatively new and/or a special interest organization (i.e. dealing with the interests of a small portion of the general public or a particular community group) as opposed to large well-established Charities of broad appeal and interest.

WHAT IS THE DUTY OF A DIRECTOR OF A NOT-FOR-PROFIT?

An NFP can be incorporated under the Ontario Corporations Act or the Canada Corporations Act. The provincial Act does not set out the general duty for a director nor the standard of care which must be met in carrying out that duty. As a result, the common law, as developed through the courts, determines the nature of the duty and the standard of care to be met.

For the complete article view the document below.