Minutes aren't a transcript. They're the official record of what your board decided, and the first thing anyone pulls out when a decision gets questioned a year later. Here's how to write them so they hold up, without writing a novel.
What minutes are actually for
Minutes record actions, not conversations. A good set answers three questions for someone who wasn't in the room: Was this a valid meeting? What did the board decide? Who is doing what next?
What to include
- The basics: organization name, type of meeting (regular, special or annual), date, time and place.
- Who was there: directors present and absent, and whether a quorum was present. Note guests by name or number.
- Who presided and who took the minutes.
- Approval of the prior minutes, as presented or as corrected.
- Every motion, worded exactly as voted on, who made it, and the result. Many boards also record who seconded. Robert's Rules says the seconder doesn't need to be named, so follow your board's habit.
- Vote counts when a vote is counted, and each director's vote on a roll-call vote.
- Reports received, one line each, with the report attached instead of retyped.
- Conflict-of-interest disclosures, and any director who stepped out of a vote.
- Executive session: that it happened and the general topic only, such as "a personnel matter," plus any action that has to be confirmed in open session.
- Adjournment time and the next meeting date.
What to leave out
- Who said what during discussion, and how heated it got.
- Opinions, adjectives and commentary. "After discussion" is fine. "After the usual rant" is not.
- Names tied to a violation, a late payment or a personnel issue in open-session minutes.
- Anything said in executive session beyond the topic.
A sample you can copy
7. New business
Entrance lighting. The board reviewed two bids for replacing the entrance lights (attached).
Motion: Director Lee moved to accept the bid from Riverside Electric for $2,340, to be paid from the reserve fund. Seconded by Director Patel.
Vote: 4 in favor, 1 opposed, 0 abstaining. Motion carried.
Notice what's missing: who argued for which bid, and why. The bids are attached and the decision is recorded. That's the whole job.
After the meeting
- Draft the minutes within a few days while the meeting is fresh, and mark them DRAFT.
- Send the draft to the board with the next meeting's materials.
- Approve them at the next meeting, as presented or as corrected, then sign and date the final copy.
- File them where the next secretary can find them. Minutes are permanent records, so keep them for the life of the organization.
Skip the blank page
Our minutes templates have every section above built in, with each blank highlighted so nothing gets missed.