Stanford Social Innovation Review

If you actually are operating under a sunshine law, then there probably are requirements for public notification, or at least general practices to guide you. However, sunshine laws are generally aimed at government bodies, not nonprofits. If you’re attempting to honor the law's spirit rather than an actual law, here are some things you might do:

1. Communicate the meeting dates and times to stakeholder groups on a regular basis, generally a week or more before each meeting. This could be by newsletter, e-letter, on your Web site, or by other regular communications with those you serve, staff members, advisory boards, donors and/or others who have an interest in your nonprofit and the services it provides.

2. Put the commitment to have open meetings in your by-laws, and develop policies about public comment, including how long the public comment period will be, and how long each member of the public can speak. My experience is that few members of the public actually are interested in attending open board meetings. But when you have a “hot” topic, it is very helpful to have guidelines in place so all who attend are heard and treated fairly, and you are still able to get other business done as well.

3. After each board meeting, post a summary of your action items and significant reports on your website or places where stakeholders can easily view them so interested people can see what the board has been working on. The summary can include when and where the next meeting will be held, and you can state your policy on open meetings, too.

4. Public notice can be given through the media. Some Web sites and print media have calendars of events where your meetings can be posted. You could buy ads, but that’s pretty expensive and my experience is that the cost doesn’t match the increase in public participation.