Board Member Education
SUMMARY
Community Associations Institute (“CAI") supports education and training to assist community association volunteer leaders (board members) in understanding and carrying out their responsibility to govern the community association they serve. A community association volunteer leader is a board member of a condominium, housing cooperative, townhome, homeowner association, or planned community. CAI encourages board members to obtain education in governing documents, fiduciary duties and duty of care, ethics and leadership, rules creation and enforcement, financials and budgeting, reserves and financial responsibilities, maintenance responsibilities, risk management and insurance, board and owner meetings, elections and responsibilities, and conflict resolution and community building. CAI understands the importance of making board member education accessible to all governing board members. CAI encourages board members to get education without state mandates. If states are considering mandated board member education, CAI recommends state legislatures work with CAI's state legislative action committees to establish a minimum level of education for all community association board members.
INTRODUCTION
Training volunteer board members concerning their roles and responsibilities is essential to a well-functioning community.
BACKGROUND
Community associations are governed by a board comprised of volunteers elected by homeowners in that community. While community managers and other professionals provide critical support to associations, it is board member volunteers who ultimately are responsible for governing the community, ensuring compliance with the community's governing documents and applicable laws, and protecting property values.
An estimated two million homeowners serve on community association boards. Countless others serve on committees dealing with architectural issues, financial and budgetary issues, landscaping, and recreational amenities. In all cases, their roles can help achieve the mission of CAI which is to foster vibrant, responsible, efficient and harmonious community associations.
Community association board members must act in the best interests of the communities they serve. Indeed, the law imposes upon each volunteer board member a minimum level of care and loyalty to community associations and association homeowners. It is, therefore, vital that board members have access to proper education and training in order to understand their obligations and fulfill their duties to the association.
Community associations offer lifestyle choices, services, amenities and efficiencies that homeowners value. Yet, with all the inherent advantages, associations face complicated issues, none more common than the challenge of balancing the best interests of the community as a whole, with the preferences of individual homeowners. Managing this critical and delicate balance is the essence of good association governance.
Every community has its own history, personality, attributes and challenges, but all associations share common characteristics and core governing principles. Good associations preserve the character of their communities, protect property values and meet established expectations of homeowners. Great associations cultivate a true sense of community and promote active homeowner involvement. The ideas and guidance conveyed in this policy speak to these core values and can - with commitment - inspire effective, enlightened leadership and responsible, engaged citizenship.
Increasingly, states are grappling with questions regarding education as a prerequisite to serve on a community association board, given the complexity of responsibilities involved in serving in this role, and the benefits such education could bring. Education of new and incumbent board members is essential to good association leadership and well-run communities. While CAI prefers the utilization of its educational resources and programs to promote board member education, under certain circumstances, a state-mandated program will lead to more educated community volunteer leaders and may be warranted. CAI is committed to working with legislators to ensure that any state-mandated board education requirement incorporates CAI's existing resources, program structure and content.
POLICY
Community association boards require the time, energy, and dedication of volunteers. CAI understands the importance of education for all governing board members and that an educated board adds to the community and the volunteers themselves. CAI encourages board members to obtain education without state mandates, but where states are considering mandated board member education, CAI recommends state legislatures work with CAI's state legislative action committees to establish a minimum level of education for all community association board members. Board member education requirements should focus on incentives (such as coverage of certain training expenses) and accessible and affordable tools to motivate boards by utilizing existing educational tools to achieve goals rather than create new processes or burdens.
RECOMMENDATION
Where a state legislature proposes mandatory board member education, CAI would support state laws that provide for a board member education course, of reasonable length, to be taken by newly elected and incumbent board members.
CAI does not support training mandates which impose unreasonable costs or time commitments on individual volunteers or associations. CAI supports the following types of legislative models for a Board Member training course:
1) Within 90 days after being elected or appointed to the board of a community association, each newly elected or appointed board member should:
a) Take at least two (2) hours of online or in-person training on certain core competencies, and again every three (3) years thereafter, as long as they remain on the board, which should include, at a minimum, any or all of the following:
i) federal and state statutes governing community associations;
ii) governing documents;
iii) fiduciary duties and duty of care;
iv) ethics and leadership;
v) rules creation and enforcement;
vi) board meeting procedures;
vii) financials, budgeting, reserves and financial responsibilities;
viii) maintenance responsibilities;
ix) risk management and insurance;
x) board member roles and responsibilities; and
xi) conflict resolution and community building.
2) Board member training should not require any out-of-pocket expense for the volunteer board member and should be available online and on demand. Training expenses (creation of content and their availability methods) should be either covered by state funds, if available, or by the association.
3) Board member training courses should be developed using existing resources available through CAI and comparable organizations, and in coordination with CAI state and national representatives.
CAI encourages the following Additional Recommendations:
1) Board members should obtain additional credentials such as the CAI Board Leader Certificate.
2) Board members should engage in ongoing training to increase their level of knowledge, professionalism, competence and effectiveness as leaders of community associations.
3) Board members should attest, and renew annually, to comply with CAI's Model Code for Ethics for Community Association Board Members.
4) For the latest best practices, information and relevant news related to community association governance, community association boards of directors should consider a resolution, renewed annually, to adopt and comply with CAI's Community Association Governance Guidelines and CAI's Rights and Responsibilities for Better Communities, and consider funding training programs and membership in CAI.
Links to the above-referenced resources – Rights and Responsibilities for Better Communities, Model Code of Ethics for Community Association Board Members, and Community Association Governance Guidelines.
Approved by the Government and Public Affairs Committee, July 12, 2016
Adopted by CAI Board of Trustees, August 18, 2016
Updated by the Government and Public Affairs Committee, June 11, 2024
Adopted by the CAI Board of Trustees, June 26, 2024