Loans From Nonprofit Board Members

Should a nonprofit organization accept a personal loans from a board member? A starting point for a discussion with your board or financial advisor.

Loans From Nonprofit Board Members
11 mins read

Explore 6 types of loans your nonprofit board members may offer — and their risks.

In many nonprofits, a time comes when the question arises: should the organization accept personal loans from board members? This article does not try to answer that question. It does try to outline — very briefly — some of the choices in how such loans can be made.

Use this article as a starting point for a discussion with the board or a discussion with your personal financial advisor.


Board members have often lent crucial funds to their organizations, making it possible to get through a temporary cash shortage or get started on a new venture, and have been paid back promptly.

But there are also examples in which loans from board members have led to resentments and accusations, and the loans are not repaid to some or all of the board members. In short: A loan from a board member is a risky venture.

This article discusses six types of loans from board members: Unsecured loans, secured loans, guaranteeing a loan or line of credit, pooled loans, floating endowments, and issuance of bonds.

For any of the types of loans discussed here, be sure to do the following:

  • Have legal documents drawn up and reviewed by an attorney for the organization. In addition, each board member lending money should have the documents reviewed by his or her own lawyer or financial advisor.
  • The board should formally vote to accept any loans from board members and approve the terms of such loans, and any board members lending money should be excused from the vote.
  • If all or the majority of board members are lending money, the loans and the legal documents should be accepted by roll-call vote of the board and recorded in the minutes.
  • Make sure the lending board members understand that in bankruptcy or liquidation, lenders who are board members are considered “insiders” whose loans may be “subordinated” — pushed down to the last in line for payment. Among reasons for subordination: perceived board mismanagement of the organization.

Very importantly, discussions and decision making are likely to be influenced by loans from board members. Board members who have lent more than others may feel their opinions are more important as they are the most financially at risk. Others who may not have lent money tend to defer to those who have. Disagreements that were once spirited can become bad-tempered and disruptive.

1. Unsecured loans.

In a nutshell:

An individual board member (or several board members) lends money to the organization without collateral.

Example:

Each of five board members individually agrees to make unsecured loans of $5,000 each, at no interest, to be paid back within 120 days.

Be sure to:

Execute (draw up and sign) a loan document for each loan that specifies the amount, the interest due on the loan (if any), when the loan will be paid back (in installments or all at once), and what recourse (if any) the lender has if the loan is not paid back on time.

Comment:

  • For the organization: Unsecured loans are fast and uncomplicated, particularly for small amounts of money.
  • For board members: Do not lend more than you could easily afford to lose.

Risks:

  • Failure to repay the loans will likely be resented by board members who have lent money.
  • If the organization closes and goes bankrupt, other creditors (such as the landlord, the copier lease company) will be repaid before unsecured loans.
  • In some cases, individuals who have made loans may feel that their opinions are weightier than those who have not, and board decision-making processes may be disrupted.

2. Secured loans.

In a nutshell:

An individual board member (or several board members) lends funds to the organization to be paid from a specific anticipated income, or secured by specific assets of the organization.

Examples:

  • Before the annual luncheon fundraiser, a board member lends $3,500 to the organization with the agreement that he will be the first creditor repaid from the gross receipts of the luncheon.
  • Two board members each lend the organization $25,000 with the parking lot (which is fully owned) as collateral.

Comment:

  • Because secured loans are “backed up,” lenders may feel more confident they will be repaid and, as a result, may be willing to make loans, larger loans, or loans at lower interest rates.
  • On the other hand, an organization can lose an important asset over a relatively minor loan.

Be sure to:

  • Act with a great deal of caution when considering secured loans.
  • Do not use a large asset (such as a building) to secure a small loan.

3. Guaranteeing a loan or line of credit.

In a nutshell:

The organization approaches a bank for a line of credit or a term loan, which is guaranteed by (co-signed by) a board member.

Example:

A bank gives the organization a line of credit for up to $10,000 and an individual board member agrees to repay the loan if the organization defaults on repayment.

Comment:

  • A line of credit allows the organization to borrow funds as it needs them, up to a limit allowed by the bank. This method permits a board member to help without actually laying out cash (assuming the bank loan is eventually repaid).
  • It’s easy for disputes to arise if an organization has funds in other accounts but refuses to repay the line of credit or has made decisions deemed unwise by the board member making the guarantee.
  • In the event of bankruptcy, the guaranteeing board member may have to honor the guarantee at a time when there is no prospect of repayment from the organization.
  • A board member’s guarantee can be secured by a pledge of collateral, just as in a secured loan.

4. Pooled loan.

In a nutshell:

A number of board members place $10,000 into a pooled bank account. Two board members lend $2,500 each (or 25 percent each of the total), and five board members lend $1,000 each (or 10 percent each of the total).

The organization can use funds from this account, using any one of the three options listed above. If, at the time agreed upon for repayment, there is not enough money to repay the board members, the amount available is repaid proportionately.

In this instance, if there were only $2,000 for repayment, each of the first two board members would get $500 back (25 percent of $2,000), and each of the five other board members would get $200 back (10 percent of $2,000).

Comment:

This arrangement allows all board members to share in the risk, rather than having to decide which board member would get repaid first, second, and so on.

Be sure to:

Have signed loan documents that specify:

  • Whether the loaned funds will be used directly or to guarantee other loans
  • The interest rate and interest payment schedule (if any)
  • Dates for payment(s)
  • Recourse, if any, that board members have in the event of a loan default

5. A “floating endowment.”

In a nutshell:

Most often used by private schools, board members (or parents whose children are in the school) make unsecured loans to the organization for a specified period of time.

Example:

At the time of a child’s enrollment in the school, his or her parents are required (or strongly encouraged) to make a loan to the school of $2,000, at no interest, which is repaid to the parents at the time the child leaves the school.

These loaned funds are held in a special account and used to guarantee the line of credit obtained by the school.

Comment:

  • In a way that parents or board members may find relatively painless, the organization has the ability to obtain a significant line of credit.
  • Craft the arrangement so that, if departing parents can’t be fully repaid, all parents (not just those departing that year) share the burden.
  • The requirement to help with a floating endowment can be much more difficult to bear for some parents than for others.

6. Issuing a bond.

In a nutshell:

A nonprofit can issue bonds to board members and members as a way of borrowing funds from those same people.

Typically, there is more risk to these bonds than those available on the open market, but members, board members, and others may be willing to accept this higher level of risk in order to raise funds for a large investment such as a new wing.

In addition, nonprofits can issue tax-exempt bonds through government entities (a city, for example). In such a case, the organization — let’s say a local museum or YMCA — issues a tax-exempt bond and sells the bonds to the public. (The bond is usually not worth doing unless the bond is for more than $2 million).

The bond is paid back with interest over a number of years (ten or more) with funds earned in the future.

(Note: A common, but mistaken, belief is that bonds must be approved by elections. This is true for some bonds, but revenue-based bonds for nonprofits can be issued as above without a public vote.)

Comment:

  • Bonds are complex transactions that many people feel they cannot understand.
  • Issuing a bond requires expert legal and banking assistance. You may have a volunteer parent or board member with such expertise, but be sure to get an outside opinion as well.

Remember…

This article only describes some ways that loans can be made and accepted. Perhaps a more important question is whether loans from board members or others are appropriate at all.

If an organization is in serious financial trouble, it’s unlikely that loaned monies will help solve the problems. (And consider how difficult it might be, in a last ditch effort, to try to raise money to pay back board members.)

On the other hand, if an organization is waiting for a guaranteed payment in the future, or if the board members are willing to make personal investments in the organization, loans can help an organization get through a temporary difficulty to a brighter future.


Thanks to Paul Rosenstiel of E. J. De La Rosa Investment Bankers for assistance with this article.

About the Author

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Jan is a former editor of Blue Avocado, former executive director of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and has sat in on dozens of budget discussions as a board member of several nonprofits. With Jeanne Bell and Steve Zimmerman, she co-authored Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability, which looks at nonprofit business models.

Articles on Blue Avocado do not provide legal representation or legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for advice or legal counsel. Blue Avocado provides space for the nonprofit sector to express new ideas. Views represented in Blue Avocado do not necessarily express the opinion of the publication or its publisher.

14 thoughts on “Loans From Nonprofit Board Members

  1. A local country day school survived during the 1970’s thanks to unsecured loans from board members…sometimes it’s the court of last resort. For other options check out www.isittimetopanicyet.blogspot.com

  2. Richard KamenitzerJuly 7, 2009Be careful with receiving loans from Board members – it must be reflected on the form 990. As with most inqurieis on the informational return, they may raise more questions that compared to providing disclusres.Believe it or not, IRS considers a board members as a "disqualified Person." I know that this seems like a very poor label to give the most important volunteer each not-for-profit has.Nonetheless, you may want to consider having a Board member co-sign a loan or promissory note instead of getting a direct loan

  3. Going non-profit is one way to get things done faster. Still, many non-profit organizations have to work hard before they get to the point when they can issue a bond.

  4. Going non-profit is one way to get things done faster. Still, many non-profit organizations have to work hard before they get to the point when they can issue a bond.

  5. I would try to avoid using loans from board members, mainly because i wouldn’t want them to act bossy later. Although i know most of us would tend to act similar in the same situation i think this is exactly what could damage or even ruin a good partnership. This is why, depending on the organization’s needs, i would go for a credit line guaranteed by a feasibility study, in case the money would be used for an investment, or i would choose a fast cash advance in case i would need the money to pay some emergency bills.

  6. I have a question about ommissions notin good faith. My wife and I made a very generous donation to a nonprofit who said their debt to vendor was $10,000. We even asked them, “what does nonprofit x owe vendor y?” “$10,000 is what we till owe them” was their response. We made a donation that spefically denoted it was for debt y. We joined the board later and through a longer story are the only members left. After the books were released to us we found that previous board members we’d met with misrepresented their debt by almost $3,000 and used part of our donation to pay themselves back for what is only listed as “advance” in their check book. Purportedly they had given a collective advance to pay off the debt y, months before coming to us with financial assistance. They appear to have intentionally included their advance in the debt y debt and added it back to debt y total when they contacted us. Is this fraud or just incredibly shady behavior?

  7. I would have concerns about any of these transactions though they may not be specifically prohibited, I don’t think they are in the spirit of the public trust. A loan makes the board member an interested party and not an objective community volunteer. This went very wrong in one of my nonprofit turnaround cases. Consider carefully.

  8. Have heard of a case where an Executive Director took it upon himself to not take his pay for several months and call this a loan to the organization with no official nor written participation from the board. Scarey stuff!

  9. I have a question about a non-profit.
    I’m looking at their 990 and in 2014 the founder made a 2563 dollar loan to the non-profit that disclosed on Schedule L Part 3. On the 2015 Schedule 9 in Part 2 it lists the original principle of 2563 but the balance due was no 25549! This seems like a spectacular investment by the founder! In 2016 the balance listed on Schedule L went down to 22880. Is this legal? Should I report this to the IRS?

  10. I have a question about a non-profit.
    I’m looking at their 990 and in 2014 the founder made a 2563 dollar loan to the non-profit that disclosed on Schedule L Part 3. On the 2015 Schedule 9 in Part 2 it lists the original principle of 2563 but the balance due was no 25549! This seems like a spectacular investment by the founder! In 2016 the balance listed on Schedule L went down to 22880. Is this legal? Should I report this to the IRS?

    1. Hi Jason,
      We’d likely give them the benefit of the doubt before reporting them, and if you’re really inclined to dig into this, suggest contacting the group to ask them and alerting them to your concerns and potential interest in reporting them.

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