Responsibilities of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is elected by the FUSION Halifax membership to govern the organization and manage its activities. The board carries out its governance/management function through monthly meetings, team and individual work, and by electronic communication.

The board makes decisions by majority vote. The board can delegate some of these responsibilities to committees, action or project teams, and advisory groups, or to those officers of FUSION as chosen by the membership, but the board remains ultimately accountable.

The board is responsible for the governance and operations of FUSION Halifax, including the following:

Setting direction and developing strategy:

• Determining the organizational mission, vision, values, goals and objectives of FUSION Halifax, and its organizational structure
• Carrying out organizational planning, including updating the strategic plan and overseeing the process of creating action team work plans

Recruiting and managing resources:

• Ensuring FUSION Halifax has adequate financial resources
• Taking responsibility for the board’s own functioning and development
• Making sure FUSION Halifax has enough volunteers to carry out its mandate

Overseeing operations:

• Meeting the legal and professional requirements of the Societies Act, and the by-laws and policies of FUSION Halifax
• Creating board teams or committees, and delegating responsibilities of the board as appropriate, while maintaining an appropriate level of supervision
• Creating and combining action teams as necessary to address issues that are important to the FUSION Halifax membership

Liaising with the community:

• Communicating with and engaging the membership
• Communicating with and engaging the broader community
• Serving as ambassadors of FUSION Halifax

Responsibilities of individual directors

Individually, directors do not have the ability to act on behalf of FUSION Halifax or bind FUSION Halifax in any way. However, individual directors still have responsibilities to the rest of the Board, and to FUSION Halifax and its members. These include the following:

Promoting the objectives of FUSION Halifax, namely:

• To improve our city for young residents, making Halifax a better place to live, work, and stay
• To facilitate networking and discussion among young Halifax residents, including the organization of action teams
• To highlight and create social, volunteer, economic, leisure and cultural opportunities for young Halifax residents

Acting with a reasonable degree of skill, care and diligence:

• Attending meetings as often as the business of FUSION Halifax requires; adequately preparing for said meetings by review relevant materials and actively participating in committee work
• Becoming as fully informed as possible regarding all aspects of FUSION Halifax
• Participating in board discussions and decision-making
• Acting loyally, honestly and in good faith and in the best interests of FUSION Halifax and its members
• Avoiding conflicts of interest, and declaring actual or potential conflicts of interests when they arise
• Not profiting from their relationship with FUSION Halifax
• Being accountable for their actions, and the actions of FUSION Halifax
• Being aware of the activities and culture of FUSION Halifax
• Sharing their expertise, ideas and insight
• Working collaboratively and respectfully with other board members, and being good listeners
• Supporting and participating in the work of action teams, project teams, committees of the board, advisory groups, and other team work as required
• Liaising and communicating with FUSION Halifax stakeholders and the community at large
• Following through on commitments
• Adhering to all legal requirements, including those of the Societies Act, FUSION Halifax’s By-Laws and the policies of FUSION Halifax
• Having fun!