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TOOLS
FOR AFFILIATED FUNDS
Best
Practices of Local Community Foundations
ADMINISTRATION / GOVERNANCE ISSUES
Those communities
enjoying the most success with their local community foundation efforts
are invariably those with boards and committees who are well organized.
Progressive communities have taken the time to strategically plan the
structure of their organization.
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Expectations of
Board Members
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Strategically Chosen
Board Members
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Regularly Scheduled
Meetings of the Fund Advisory Committee
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Structured Meetings
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By Laws
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Mission Statement
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Expectations
of Board Members |
Volunteer organizations are often ineffective because they have not explained
clearly the role that is expected of their Board Members. The roles of the members and officers can be clearly defined in the Community
Foundation’s By Laws.
The success of a local community foundation committee depends on leadership at
the Board level that understands its responsibility and takes it seriously. They need to be a working and proactive board.
Board members must be made aware when they take the position that they will be
expected to donate their personal time, talents and treasures to the foundation.
Time
- Regular
attendance at meetings is essential. Successful community foundations
like Shickley have leaders who spend many volunteer hours before and
after the regular meeting to prepare and follow up on issues.
Talents
- Different talents to the table that they can use to help
achieve the foundation’s mission. The Plattsmouth Board is made up
of a good variety of skills.
Treasures
- Board members must lead by example, like those in McCook. They need to
give from their current income as well as arranging planned gifts from
their assets.
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Strategically Chosen Board Members
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Well-minded community volunteers who agree to be on a nominating committee
unfortunately often approach potential leaders with misleading comments like “It is really an easy job, and it won’t take much of your time
because we don’t meet very often, and we promise that you’ll never have to ask anyone for money”. However, they get what they ask for…an
ineffective Board.
Another common mistake is communities thinking they can elect board members by
popular vote during a town hall meeting. That seldom proves effective.
The most successful community foundation Boards are the ones who discuss in
advance the specific skills and experience needed in a new Board member to
promote the progress of the local organization. They strategize about who
in town could fill that role. Then they select a nominating committee who
will take the time to meet personally with those potential candidates and
explain fully what is needed and expected of them.
The
skills required of new Board members will vary from community to community
based on the current status of the particular fund. Those funds just getting started need “builders” and
“promoters” and “visionaries”. Funds that have been in existence long enough to have built significant assets need “administrators” and
“investment advisors” and “grant reviewers”.
Plattsmouth
has a board made up of very skilled volunteers: an attorney, a financial advisor, a person familiar with family foundations, several volunteers
familiar with other organizations in the community, and a mortician.
The founders of the Hyannis Fund spent several meetings strategizing about
whom they would ask to serve on the Board.
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Regularly Scheduled Meetings of the Fund Advisory Committee
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We
recently heard from a community that couldn’t understand why a
neighboring community was having more success in growing foundation funds.
As we visited about their structure, we found out that their foundation
committee “only meets when we have to, like when someone donates us some
money”.
Experience
shows that the Fund Advisory Committees that meet on a regular monthly
schedule are the ones who are experiencing the best progress.
The
volunteers of the Brown County fund meet monthly on a regular schedule.
Nebraska
City had very dedicated founders who met weekly at 7:00 am for the first
two months so they could get organized. Their efforts were rewarded. After
just 2 ½ years their assets grew to over $600,000. They still meet at
7:00 am on a monthly basis, the fourth Tuesday of each month.
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Structured
Meetings |
Robert’s
Rules of Order may be
too formal, but busy volunteers do appreciate a well-run meeting that
finishes on time.
The
Burwell Fund follows a printed Agenda that is circulated in advance so
they can limit their monthly meeting to a one-hour time span, from 4:00 pm
to 5:00 pm. Their board members are busy professionals who appreciate
those who respect the value of their time.
Shickley
saves time of their volunteers by having sub-committees of Marketing,
Membership, Finance, and Fund Raising. Those committees work on their
assignments during the month and report back to the Board at their monthly
meeting.
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By Laws |
Good
planning during the formation of an organization can prevent many problems
in the future. The most successful community foundations have adopted
written By Laws, which govern their organization. The number of and term
limits of Board Members are defined. The duties of the Officers are
described. A schedule and agenda of the annual meeting is outlined.
Nebraska
Community Foundation can provide you with sample language that can be
customized to fit your community, like the Stuart Community Fund did.
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Mission Statement
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The
most successful community foundations have taken the time and effort to
develop a clear vision of their mission and the methods to achieve it.
There
are many needs and issues to be addressed in communities today. Each
volunteer has an opinion on which methods should be used to solve those
problems.
A
good way to ensure the organization stays focused on their long-term goals
and remains stable, is to have a mission statement in writing.
Successful
community foundations review their mission statement annually and revise
it as needed.
A
excellent example is Burwell. Their Board members have an good
understanding of their organization’s mission. And they require each new
sub-account to submit a mission and purpose statement for their individual
project before the fund can be approved.
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