Board Member Job Description

The Board of Directors for Aunt Dot’s Place (ADP) is composed of nine (9) elected members who serve in a voluntary capacity. Directors serve an initial two-year term and then may be re-elected to serve unlimited additional terms. Directors are elected annually at the annual meeting held in January. Officers are elected by the newly elected board following the annual meeting.

Nominees to the Board are recruited for their dedication to ADP’s mission, personal characteristics, professional skills, personal and/or business relationships they maintain in our community. ADP has a particular need for board members with experience in finance, development, law, marketing, social media, event planning, strategic planning, technology, and business management.

The ADP board is a governing board. Directors have fiduciary oversight responsibility and are active participants in the support, management, and promotion of ADP. Directors serve on at least one committee. Current committees include: Grants & Fundraising, Facilities, Finance, Food and Outreach/Communications.

More specifically, the responsibilities and expectations of individual Directors are as follows:

• Believe in and actively support the ADP vision, mission, goals, and policies and publicly support Board decisions and maintain confidentiality of Board business.
• Understand that they have legal, fiduciary, financial, and moral responsibilities as a Director and exercise these responsibilities faithfully. Read and understand budgets, financial statements, and other reports.
• Serve on at least one committee and/or leadership position.
• Support and attend all major ADP fundraisers.
• Volunteer at least once in some capacity to support ADP’s mission, e.g. volunteer for an outreach event, a shift, shopping duty, etc.
• Make a direct, meaningful financial contribution to ADP that is within their means to them to ensure 100% giving participation by the Board. Gifts of any amount are valued and celebrated, and we do not want any financial barrier to Board participation.
• Strive to secure financial support from others by proactively identifying, cultivating, and soliciting prospective donors and stewarding donors.
• Actively recruit and recommend potential Directors and Committee members who can make material contributions to advance the mission and strength of the organization.
• Attend no less than 75% of the meetings each year. Meetings are usually held the second Wednesday of each month from 6-8pm.
• Suggest agenda items for Board and Committee meetings to ensure that significant strategic, visionary and policy related matters are addressed.
• Avoid conflict of interest and disclose any possible conflicts to the Board in a timely fashion.

In return, each Director may expect:

• Orientation and continuing education.
• Materials in advance of each meeting so they may be prepared to participate knowingly in meeting discussions.
• Board meetings that begin and end as scheduled.
• Access to Board officers and staff to discuss concerns and recommendations regarding programs, policies, goals and objectives.