What Should a Nonprofit Secretary Record at a Meeting?

Following is a transcript of this episode of the Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast, with audio/video below.

Welcome to the Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast. I am your host Cyndi Meuchel with MoneyMinder.

Adam writes: Our meeting minutes in the past have not always been kept consistently. I’m the new Secretary of our PTA. Other than getting copies of the financial reports, what else should I be documenting at meetings?

Hi Adam, I’m glad you’re looking at this. Good meeting minutes are often overlooked but are key to maintaining transparency, order, and documenting decisions. One of the best ways to ensure you’re capturing everything you need is to create a Meeting Minutes Template for yourself (and future Secretaries) so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each month.

The template should include things like:

• The date, time, and location of the meeting
• The purpose of the meeting. So, for instance, monthly board meeting
• Names of the attendees and anyone unable to attend
• Whether a quorum was established
• Agenda Items
• Any board actions such as approvals, votes, delegations of authority, or directives
• Actions that need to be taken and by whom
• Follow-up items for the next meeting

After the meeting, you will need to type the minutes and distribute them to your members for
review in a timely fashion, usually within 24 hours after each meeting, then give everyone a
chance to review and comment.

If you have a question, email it to me at [email protected] so I can address it. My name is Cyndi Meuchel, and this is your Two Minute Treasurer’s Tip for today.

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