Coakley
BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced on Thursday that her office has reached an agreement with a non-profit to create a new governance structure.
Angel Flight of New England, doing business as Angel Flight Northeast, coordinates the provision of donated air travel services to those who must travel in order to obtain critical medical care.
Originally, a board of directors controlled the organization. The board was appointed by the company's president and his spouse, but in January, the two members allegedly acted pursuant to their authority under the Angel Flight bylaws to remove many who were part of the board.
Coakley reviewed the governance structure in February and determined that the board did not assure an independent board that was free from management's direction and did not comply with good governance standards for a non-profit charitable board.
Angel Flight agreed to a number of changes in response to Coakley's assessment, including establishing a board of directors that will act independently of management that has the authority to appoint and remove its directors.
It also established a conflict of interest policy that calls for an annual financial disclosure by the directors and will set in place a process for evaluating disclosures to assure Angel Flight's interests are served.
The governance agreement incorporates the changes Angel Flight adopted. It also calls for a five-year reporting period during which time Coakley's office must be told 60 days in advance of any changes in the bylaws.