Concluding that the firing and other recent actions of the TCAN Board reflected underlying Board structure and accountability problems, including failure to recognize the status of organizational members in the nonprofit's governance process, the TCANites began researching how successful non-profit organizations govern themselves.

The group interviewed other nonprofit arts centers in the region and researched board governance guidelines published by the Office of the Attorney General as well as model standards developed by groups across the country such as the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance and the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

TCAN incorporated seven years ago with the assistance of an attorney using 'boilerplate' governance documents. "While the documents were adequate to get us off the ground," Moran says, "the trouble is that we grew and added a membership structure, but the Board never revisited the governance documents to determine if they were still effective tools to run the organization. We're concerned that current governance arrangements fail to represent the diverse membership constituency of the organization who are, or should be, the real owners of TCAN."

The TCANites are proposing that Articles of Organization and by-laws for TCAN be revised to provide for direct election of Board directors by the membership to three year terms using a nominating committee process involving both Board and membership representatives. Other changes would bring board practices into conformity with nationally accepted standards for excellence.

The group says that it looks forward to discussing these and other proposals with TCAN directors, the Office of the Attorney General's Public Charities Division and the community at large as part of their continuing effort to bring about meaningful change to the organization.