Roles and duties of your board of trustees

A board of trustees is a group of individuals either appointed or elected to manage and govern the assets of an endowment, charitable foundation, trust, or nonprofit organization. The board's utmost duty is to protect the organization's best interests through decisions made on its behalf.Board of trustees vs. board of directorsTo those familiar with corporations, the concept of a board of trustees may sound similar to a board of directors. Indeed, the two are quite similar in function, and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably despite having different legal meanings.The differences are:A board of trustees is regulated by state lawA trustee may be liable only for simple negligence in decision-making, while a board member is generally only personally liable for acts of willful misconduct or gross negligenceComposition of a board of trusteesEach organization decides to set up a board of trustees and includes specific requirements and procedures in its bylaws. An organization's byla...