Hello All, Just picking up on some of the notes from the session earlier this week.
Holly: "the boards duties to the corporation should be aligned to the communities interests through a well drafted corporate purpose in the articles.
I think that is key to help clarify for the community that while a Board director has a fiduciary responsibility to the organization, that duty is in the context of the organization's purpose. The existence and well being of the organization is not an end in itself.
It seems the community feels directors do not always represent the community's interest, as seems to be the case, it can be useful to have the "corporate purpose" set out in the bylaws, this needs to be fulfilled and is another accountability mechanism for the arsenal.
Agreed. Personally I think this is mostly a matter of perception at least in my experience working closely with a range of Board directors over a 7 year period - but unfortunately it is certainly a perception that appears to be widely held. I am confident though that the current selection process for Board directors has a strong bias towards people that truly believe in the purpose of the organization and the global public benefit. The more we can state a purpose clearly in the bylaws that articulates the global public benefit objectives the better. A starting point could be to incorporate some of the language from the Articles of Incorporation. Regards, Bruce Tonkin