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Thursday, January 24, 2008

MAXIM-- 01-- Self Electing Boards--

[+] This link will take you to where Maxim has posted to Cold Filter on the topic of self electing boards. Here is a copy of her post...


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Self-electing Boards
January 20 2008 at 9:57 PM Melody Maxim (Login melmax)
Veteran Member
This post isn't directed at anyone, or meant to be confrontational. I was just looking up information on self-electing boards for non-profits, and thought I would share the information I found:

Most commonly, for instance, governing boards are elected by members of the organization or are comprised of self-electing directors. http://www.hurwitassociates.com/l_qa_nonprofitgovernance.html

So, we see both are common methods.

"A nonprofit firm with a self-electing board of directors," Hansmann observes (1996, 238), "represents the ultimate in separation of management and control; the management is under no effective supervision by anyone with an interest in residual earnings”, that is, with an interest in the efficiency of service provision by any transparent measure. To be sure, boards of directors are expected to fulfill their fiduciary responsibility to monitor the financial and programmatic performance of the agency. Indeed, the board could be held personally liable, under some circumstances, for financial mismanagement and organizational insolvency. But these situations are rare. More typically, board members receive and review financial reports casually because they have no material stake in them. http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:vbbI1Hi_PzsJ:www.pmranet.org/conferences/USC2005/USC2005papers/pmra.lynn.smith.2005.doc+benefits+of+a+self-electing+board+non-profit&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us

Non-profit corporations often have self-nominating and self-electing boards. That is because they have no shareholders. Their beneficiaries are the members of the public, too transient and impossible to identify. Further, members of the public may not have a sufficient stake in the objectives of the corporation to choose its appropriate leadership. http://www.markle.org/downloadable_assets/icann_fin1_9.pdf

I suppose the Alcor members are not altogether "impossible to identify," though I've read on this forum that they are somewhat transient. They most certainly have a "sufficient stake in the objectives of the corporation." However, I do have some concerns with member-elected boards, as I'm not sure how many Alcor members are knowledgeable enough about the medical aspects of cryonics, to judge whether Alcor is making progress, or not, in improving patient care. I'm concerned that members with little understanding of the procedures, especially newcomers, may be easily influenced by the wrong people, for the wrong reasons. I'm not saying I'm for, or against, a member-elected board, just that I'm concerned.


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George
(Login George1st)
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Alcor and Members’ Rights
January 20 2008, 10:57 PM

Melody: “Non-profit corporations often have self-nominating and self-electing boards. That is because they have no shareholders. Their beneficiaries are the members of the public, too transient and impossible to identify. Further, members of the public may not have a sufficient stake in the objectives of the corporation to choose its appropriate leadership.”

Comment: That might be the case with such organizations as for example The Red Cross, but I do not think to be the case with Alcor. Alcor has only one group of beneficiaries, which is their dues paying members. As for them being right, or wrong, I would not underestimate them. But I would submit that it is their organization, so if they happen to make a wrong decision, it is their right to do so. But that did not happen. So far it was only the self-appointed Board of Directors, who has been making the wrong decisions.


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