Board memo template: asking the board for approval to explore data licensing

When to use this memo

Use it when a company's sponsor, meaning the owner, CEO, CFO or another authorized representative, wants board backing before management spends time on a data licensing review. It asks for one narrow decision: permission to explore. It does not approve a license, a price or a counterparty.

It suits three governance setups:

• Sponsor-backed companies, where the private equity board expects to see new initiatives before management time goes into them.
• Owner-led companies with independent directors, where the owner wants outside directors aligned early.
• Family companies, where shareholder-directors will want to understand what happens to records built up over decades.

A fractional CFO or other partner who introduced the opportunity can hand this template to the sponsor. The sponsor adapts it, signs it and presents it; the partner stays out of the board's decision.

How to write a board memo that gets a clear decision

Directors read packs quickly, often the weekend before the meeting. Memos that get decisions share five habits:

1. The decision requested sits in the first two lines, in the words of the resolution.
2. Background takes one short paragraph: why this, and why now.
3. The memo states what the decision commits the company to, and what it does not.
4. Each risk is paired with the control that manages it and the person who owns it.
5. It ends with a draft resolution and a date for the next report.

One page is the target, with supporting material in attachments. The quarterly board meeting agenda shows where a decision item like this sits in a standard pack.

The board memo template

Copy each line into the company's memo format and replace the placeholders.

Writing the considerations section

The considerations line is where directors spend their time, so prepare each item before the meeting. One point deserves care: the company should commit to working within the privacy promises it has already made. FTC staff have warned that adopting more permissive data practices, such as using data for AI training, and telling consumers only through a surreptitious, retroactive change to terms of service or a privacy policy could be unfair or deceptive. A memo that says records will be scoped to fit existing commitments answers that question before it is asked.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with the company's own counsel before relying on any reading of its contracts or policies.

Questions directors are likely to ask

For wider board preparation on AI, the list of questions boards should ask management about AI and data works as background reading for directors. The baseline itself, starting with a US company with 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), is set out on who qualifies.

How to personalize it

What to attach, and what never to attach

Attach a one-page systems list showing names, years of history and owners, with no records; a summary from the company fit checker, which is a preliminary, non-binding screen; and a list of customer contracts whose data clauses counsel will review.

Never attach records, extracts, screenshots or sample files; customer or employee names; guesses at a license value; typed reward amounts; or any promise of payment.

Follow-up timing

The partner's part ends with the introduction. Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company, and the reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. For the role in more depth, see the fractional CFO referral page.

Next step

Give the template to the sponsor before the next board cycle, and pair it with an introduction email for operators and board members if the board needs context first. When the company is ready, register as a partner and make the introduction.