You incorporated, you recruited a board, and now the meetings have to happen, the votes have to count, and the minutes have to exist. This tool covers the mechanics: where you stand, how often to meet, how motions work, whether a vote passes, what to send, and what to ask a lawyer.
I am not a lawyerThis tool is general education, not legal advice. Nonprofit law varies by state and by organization. The Ask a Lawyer tab exists precisely because some questions belong to a professional.
Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere. The tool does not save on its own: use Save my work below to keep a file on your own computer, and load that file next time to pick up where you left off.
How to use this tool
Work through the tabs in any order. Readiness tells you where you stand; the other tabs handle the meetings, the votes, the emails, and the lawyer visit.
Click Save my work as a file before you close the tab. It downloads a small JSON file holding your checkmarks, plans, and edited emails; the file stays on your computer and never travels anywhere.
Next session, click Load a saved file and choose that file to restore everything, on this computer or any other.
Copy buttons put text on your clipboard; Download buttons save the same text as a .txt file. Your browser's print command prints every section at once.
Your bylaws win wherever they differ from this page, and the Ask a Lawyer tab exists for everything the tool should not decide.
Governance readiness self-assessment
Check each statement that is true today, not aspirationally. The score updates as you go and tells you which kind of work comes next.
0 of 12
Check the statements above to see where your board stands.
Meeting cadence planner
Pick the stage closest to your organization and adjust from there. The plan you build here can be copied straight into a board email or your calendar notes.
Robert's Rules, the working minimum
Most small boards need the lifecycle of a motion and a handful of common motions, not the whole book. Your bylaws win wherever they differ from this page.
How a motion moves
A member makes the motion. "I move that we adopt the 2027 budget as presented."
Another member seconds it. No second, no discussion; the motion dies quietly.
The chair states the motion. From this point it belongs to the board, not the mover.
The board debates. The chair keeps discussion on the motion actually before the group.
Someone may move to amend. Amendments are voted before the main motion.
The chair puts the question. "All in favor... opposed... abstentions."
The chair announces the result, and the secretary records the motion, the mover, and the outcome in the minutes.
Common motions at a glance
Motion
Needs a second
Debatable
Vote required
Main motion (adopt, approve, authorize)
Yes
Yes
Majority
Amend a motion
Yes
Yes
Majority
Table (postpone temporarily)
Yes
No
Majority
Postpone to a set time
Yes
Yes
Majority
Refer to committee
Yes
Yes
Majority
Close debate (previous question)
Yes
No
Two thirds
Adjourn
Yes
No
Majority
Point of order
No
No
Chair rules
Quorum and vote calculator
Enter your numbers and read the answer. Check your bylaws for your quorum definition; a majority of the whole board is the most common default.
Board emails, ready to send
Copy, replace the bracketed parts, and send. Each one exists because a board somewhere needed it and did not have it.
Ask-a-lawyer checklist
Check every question that applies to your organization, then compile the list and bring it to a nonprofit attorney, a legal aid clinic, or a pro bono program. One prepared hour costs far less than an unprepared three.