Education Foundations - Directors' Personal Liability

School boards and private schools often choose to establish a separate corporation for the purposes of fundraising, and register the corporation as a charity.  Foundations can generate many benefits for a school or school board and the community they serve, but for those who volunteer to sit on the board of directors, there are significant responsibilities.
 
At common law and pursuant to statute, a director has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the corporation. An even higher duty of care is owed for a board of directors of a registered charity responsible for funds held in trust for charitable purposes.  The standard of care, sometimes referred to as a trustee standard, requires a director to demonstrate "a degree of skill and prudence comparable to a reasonable business person caring for his or her own property."