I use Clerky and there's a process to add a member to the board, but it's just a board resolution with the existing members (just myself currently). The new board member doesn't have to sign anything as part of that process which I found surprising. I emailed Clerky and they didn't offer any specific guidance.
Is it common for a new board member to sign some contract when agreeing to become a board member?
I have high trust for these new members, so that's not an issue, but it just seems a bit odd to me for it to be so informal that they don't have to sign anything.
If an agreement is common, are there any templates out there? If not, any services you might suggest for a bare bones agreement? And do they sign the agreement before the board resolution accepting them, or after?
Edited to add: Delaware C Corporation (Public Benefit Corp)
But if your situation requires something beyond those fiduciary duties — e.g. if you want them to be obligated to spend a certain amount of time on the company, want to memorialize compensation terms, etc., then an agreement could make sense. If you need a referral to an attorney to help with that, feel free to reach out to our support team!
Gut feel: If they're getting on your Board without needing to sign anything...that sounds like a "favor to a friend" relationship. Vs. any sort of serious, professional commitment.
If the problem is that no such terms exist, well that's step 1.