How to Take Good Meeting Minutes
Law For Non-Profits is a simple and low-barrier digital platform from the Pacific Legal Education & Outreach Society (PLEO). It’s designed to help non-profit leaders understand their legal obligations. This tool was created for non-profits working in BC, however, many of the concepts are general in nature and may apply in other provinces Canada that have similar laws. Read more about using these resources from other regions of Canada here.
Minutes are official records that record the decisions of the directors. Unless restricted by the bylaws, members have a right to inspect directors’ minutes. Minutes are not a verbatim, minute-by-minute recording of what was said at the meeting. You may record some discussion if it is necessary context or especially important to record, but you should do so sparingly. For example, “The board discussed campaign strategies.”
Notes are internal documents for recording discussions and jotting down tasks and reminders. Notes should not appear on the directors’ minutes. If an organization wishes to make or keep notes, they can take notes themselves or hire someone to take notes. Notes should not be stored with the official records.
Minutes Do Record:
● The name of the group, the date, who is present, and who is absent (regrets)
● The wording and result of any decisions (resolutions)
● The time the meeting started and ended
Minutes Do Not Record:
● Descriptions of conversations, debates, or discussion
● Points of disagreement, personal opinions, or words of individual directors
● Discussions of the three Ls: Legal, Labour, and Land
● A minute-by-minute breakdown
About the Example Minutes
The following pages contain two sets of example minutes. The first minutes are a good example because they focus solely on the decisions made by the directors. The second minutes are a bad example because they contain information that should only be recorded in internal notes, if at all.
Note: Unless required by your bylaws, you do not need to have a mover and a seconder. However, this is a common practice, as it conforms to Robert’s Rules, which many organizations use.