{"id":2778,"date":"2026-03-29T17:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T16:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/?p=2778"},"modified":"2026-03-30T04:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T03:12:09","slug":"effective-boards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/29\/effective-boards\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Board Member Duties\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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If you’ve spent time in the nonprofit sector, you may have encountered the three foundational duties expected of every Board member: Duty of Care, Loyalty, and Obedience. For years, I taught these principles without anyone raising their eyebrows or flinching. Then, during a workshop with a progressive nonprofit organization, the leaders told me those duties didn’t align with their values. The more I reflected \u2014 and read \u2014 the more I understood their concern. This framework has deep roots in old English common law, and the language it carries can feel more authoritative and hierarchical than mission-driven and values-centered.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The three duties as we know them were adapted into American nonprofit law from centuries-old legal traditions governing fiduciaries \u2014 those entrusted to act on behalf of others. \u201cDuty of Care\u201d asks Board members to be diligent and informed. \u201cDuty of Loyalty\u201d requires them to prioritize the organization\u2019s interests above personal gain. \u201cDuty of Obedience\u201d holds them accountable to the organization\u2019s mission, governing documents, and IRS legal requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vocabulary, particularly the word \u201cobedience,\u201d can feel uncomfortable. It can\u00a0 lands as a command rather than a commitment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Does reframing the terminology change the underlying responsibilities? Not necessarily \u2014 but it can change how Board members internalize and embody them. Some organizations use alternative language, such as \u201cDuty of Fidelity,\u201d or add a \u201cDuty of Equity\u201d or \u201cDuty of Community\u201d to name commitments that the traditional framework doesn\u2019t address. These adaptations do not abandon legal obligations; they work alongside them, ensuring governance language reflects organizational culture rather than contradicting it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The feedback I received was not a rejection of good governance \u2014 it was an invitation to think more carefully about language and intention.\u00a0\u00a0The three duties remain valuable and legally relevant, yet the language an organization chooses to use should reflect it\u2019s values and practices. When a Board uses language that resonates with its values, it is far more likely to live those duties out in practice. In the future, I will train Board members\u2019 traditional duties while encouraging discussion about what language fits best for them. I expect this method to be \u201cstickier\u201d and more meaningful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2014I\u2019d love to hear how your organization approaches these conversations and if you\u2019re interested in training. <\/em><\/p>\n

AK Consulting, LLC. Ashley Kasprzak, <\/em>ashley@partnerforpurpose.com<\/em><\/a> and 970.227.2519.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve spent time in the nonprofit sector, you may have encountered the three foundational duties expected of every Board member: Duty of Care, Loyalty, and Obedience. For years, I taught these principles without anyone raising their eyebrows or flinching. Then, during a workshop with a progressive nonprofit organization, the leaders told me those duties […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2778"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2824,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2778\/revisions\/2824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/partnerforpurpose.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}