How to Take Meeting Minutes for a Volunteer Board

If you just became the volunteer secretary of a youth sports club or booster board, this guide is for you. Here is how to take meeting minutes: write down what the board decided, not what everyone said. For every motion, record the exact wording, who made it, and how the vote came out. Below is what to do before, during and after the meeting, a “write this / skip this” table, and an example of one motion written well and written poorly.

Need the fill-in layout? Our board meeting minutes template for youth sports clubs has it. This post covers the skill of filling it in.

Minutes are the club’s official memory, and they matter. The Minnesota Attorney General’s guide for charity board members says written minutes should be taken at every board meeting. It also says a director present when the board acts is presumed to have agreed unless they voted against it or had a conflict of interest, which is why a clear vote record protects board members. And Form 990, the full annual return some larger nonprofits file, asks whether the organization contemporaneously documented its governing body’s meetings.

Before the Meeting

1. Get the agenda early. Build your notes page around it, one heading per item with space under each.
2. Pre-fill what you know. Club name, date, time, place or video link, and every board member’s name.
3. Bring an attendance sheet. Boxes for present, absent and late, plus a line for guests.
4. Know your quorum. Your bylaws say how many board members must be present for the board to act. Write that number at the top of the page.
5. Bring last meeting’s minutes. The board usually approves them first, and you note any corrections.
6. Collect reports in writing ahead of time, so you can attach them instead of copying numbers.

During the Meeting: Decisions, Not Discussion

The official Robert’s Rules of Order site puts it plainly: minutes are a record of what was done at a meeting, not a record of what was said. It calls summarizing debate improper. Your job is to catch every action.

What to write for every motion

• The exact wording. Write the final version that was voted on, word for word. If you missed it, ask the chair to repeat it.
• Who made it. Record the mover’s name.
• Whether it was seconded. The League of Oregon Cities’ guide to Robert’s Rules says seconders’ names need not be recorded, because seconding only means a person wants the motion discussed. Some clubs name the seconder anyway. Pick one approach and stay with it.
• The result. Passed or failed, with the count: for, against, abstaining.
• Abstentions. Robert’s Rules calls an abstention a refusal to vote, not a vote. Write who abstained and why, if they said.

Conflicts of interest

The National Council of Nonprofits says minutes should show when a board member discloses a conflict of interest and how the board handled it. Write who disclosed, the conflict in one plain sentence, and that the person left the room or did not vote.

A note on discussion

The Minnesota Attorney General’s guide says minutes should accurately reflect board discussions as well as actions. That does not mean a transcript. For a big decision, one neutral sentence is enough (“The board discussed rising field rental costs.”). Leave out who said what.

Write This, Skip This

Example: one motion written well vs. poorly

This is a made-up example to show the difference.

Poorly written:

Talked about new uniforms for a long time. Dave thinks the old supplier is too slow and Karen didn’t love the colors. Everyone mostly agreed to go with the new company if it’s not too expensive. Will figure out details later.

No motion, no amount, no vote, and “mostly agreed” is not a decision. A year from now, nobody could show what the board approved.

Written well:

Uniforms. D. Lopez moved “that the club order 220 game jerseys from the second supplier quoted, at a cost not to exceed $6,000, paid from the equipment budget.” Seconded. Passed 6 for, 1 against, 1 abstaining. K. Patel abstained after disclosing that a family member works for the supplier. Action: D. Lopez to place the order by March 15.

Anyone can see what was decided, the cost, the vote and who acts next.

Shorthand and Recording

Shorthand that works

• Use initials for board members, with a key at the top of the page.
• Use simple marks: M for motion, 2nd for seconded, P for passed, F for failed, AI for action item.
• Write votes as 6-1-1 (for, against, abstain) and spell them out when you type up.
• Star anything to check with the chair afterward.

Recording the meeting

A recording helps you check a motion’s wording later, but know the law first. According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, federal law lets you record a conversation you are part of, but states can set stricter rules. About 11 states primarily require the consent of everyone in the conversation, and rules can vary even within a state. Recording laws vary, so check yours. The habit that works everywhere: announce the recording at the start, get everyone’s agreement, and note in the minutes that the meeting was recorded. The recording supports the minutes. It does not replace them.

After the Meeting: Draft, Review, Approve

1. Draft within 48 hours, while you still remember what “check w/ T.” meant.
2. Send it to the chair to catch errors and missing motions. Fix facts, but do not rewrite what happened.
3. Mark it DRAFT when you share it with the board. It is not official yet.
4. Approve at the next meeting. The board votes on the minutes, usually early on the agenda.
5. Handle corrections properly. Robert’s Rules says corrections made at approval go into the minutes being approved, which are noted as approved “as corrected.” Minutes already approved are fixed with a motion to amend something previously adopted, and the original is not rewritten.
6. File it. Save the approved copy with attached reports where the next secretary can find it.

Executive Session Minutes

Sometimes the board meets privately about a coach complaint, a legal issue or a family’s financial hardship. Robert’s Rules says the board can still vote in executive session, and that what happens there is confidential.

• In the regular minutes, note only that the board went into executive session, the general reason (“a personnel matter”), and when it came out.
• Keep executive session minutes separate and short: who was present, the motions and the results. No children’s names or family details beyond what the decision needs.
• Store them where only board members can see them, and check your bylaws and state rules on who may inspect records.

For running the meeting itself, see how to run a youth sports board meeting.

Common Questions

What should be included in board meeting minutes?

Include the date, time and place, who attended and who was absent, whether a quorum was present, every motion in its exact wording, who made it, and whether it passed or failed with the vote count. Add conflicts disclosed, abstentions, reports received, action items with names and dates, and the time the meeting ended. Leave out the back-and-forth debate, opinions and side conversations.

Do I have to write down everything people say in a meeting?

No. The official Robert’s Rules of Order site says minutes record what was done at a meeting, not what was said, and it calls summarizing debate improper. Some state guides ask that minutes reflect board discussion, so for major decisions add one neutral sentence on the main topic. Do not quote people, and do not record who argued for or against what.

Do you have to write down who seconded a motion?

Usually not. The League of Oregon Cities’ guide to Robert’s Rules says seconders’ names need not be recorded, because a second only shows that someone wants the motion discussed. Many clubs just write “seconded.” If your bylaws or your board’s habit is to name the seconder, that is fine too. What matters most is the motion wording, the mover and the result.

Is it legal to record our board meeting on my phone?

It depends on your state. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says federal law allows recording a conversation you are part of, but about 11 states primarily require everyone’s consent, and rules can vary within a state. The safe habit is to announce the recording at the start, get everyone’s agreement, and note it in the minutes. Check your state’s law first.

How soon after the meeting should minutes be sent out?

Aim to finish a draft within 48 hours, while your notes still make sense to you. Send it to the chair to check first, then share it with the board marked as a draft. The minutes become official only after the board votes to approve them, usually at the next meeting. An early draft also reminds people of their action items.

What happens if someone finds a mistake in the minutes?

If the minutes have not been approved yet, the board corrects them during the approval vote and they are approved “as corrected,” according to Robert’s Rules. If they were already approved, the board fixes them with a motion to amend something previously adopted. That motion is recorded in the current meeting’s minutes, and the original approved minutes are not rewritten.

Who gets to see executive session minutes?

Generally only the board. Robert’s Rules says executive session proceedings are confidential, though the board can still vote. Keep those minutes separate from the regular minutes, short and limited to motions and results, and store them where only board members can reach them. Your bylaws and state law may give members a right to inspect some records, so check before you decide.

A notebook and a laptop are enough to take good minutes. If you would rather keep the agenda, attendance, quorum count and minutes in one place, see how board meetings and minutes work in MCM360 Sports, and how approved minutes can live in your club documents.