Helping boards work better
Our nonprofit organizations can only be a strong as their volunteer boards. Marlboro College is committed to the growth and development of nonprofit boards and their members. We are proud to partner with Youth Services, United Way of Windham County and Latchis Arts to pilot an innovative board development program called Get on Board Windham County.
About the Program: Get on Board has a dual mission: providing skills development and networking opportunities for young professionals while supporting local nonprofits.
How Does this Help the Community? Every nonprofit must, legally, have a board of trustees. Boards help define the vision and direction of nonprofits, as well as providing financial oversight to ensure organizations remains strong. Windham County has a lot of nonprofits and many boards are looking for new members. By providing young professionals with the skills they need to be quality board members, while simultaneously providing training to existing boards, Get On Board will help boards and their nonprofits remain strong now and well into the future.
Photo: 2012-2013 Board Fellow (clockwise from left) Stefanie Ashlyn, Rachel Selsky, Tess Lindsay, Alyssa Todd, Shea Witzo, Tariq Chaudhri, Erich Kruger, Suzie Wagner, Jesse Woosley, Dan Ridgeway, Abby Mnookin, HB Lozito, Nathanile Brooks, Seth Proctor, Tony Parmenter
About the Board Fellows Experience: Windham County residents, age 22-44, have the opportunity to build leadership skills and a personal network while serving our community.
Fellows commit 5-10 hours of time per month from November 2012 through June 2013. This includes 3-6 hours of workshops, social / networking events and work on a shared community engagement project, plus 2-4 hours of service on a participating board.
Workshop topics will include Personal Skills Inventory and Leadership Development, Intro to Nonprofit Board Service, Project Planning and Management, Financial Management and Fund- and Friend-raising. Click here for a full schedule.
Tuition for fellows in the program is $100 for the pilot year, with small scholarships available for those with demonstrated need. Because this is a pilot, we will be asking fellows for detailed feedback on program design and impact. When we move out of the pilot phase, tuition will likely increase to come closer to the actual cost of administering the program.
All board fellows slots are filled for the 2012-2013 cohort. Watch the website for the 2013-2014 application in July / August 2013.
Nonprofit Boards: Windham County nonprofits would you like to:
- Tap into new potential board prospects?
- Work with young professionals who are willing to pitch in and help?
- Receive board training and support from experts and nonprofit peers in our community?
Get On Board fellows will be assigned to boards based on passion for issues and skill set match. Fellows will serve 5-6 month exploratory terms, with the hope that they will continue as full members following the completion of the program in June, 2013.
All nonprofit partner slots are full for the pilot program. Interested in participating as a nonprofit board in the future? Click here for more information and watch the website for the 2013-2014 application in July / August 2013.
Other Board Trainings
For those just getting started, we have created Boarding 101, a low-cost half-day introduction to board roles and responsibilities. For seasoned officers seeking advanced training, we offer Partners in Nonprofit Leadership, a full-day training designed to bring executive directors and board leaders into strategic alignment. Please contact katej-at-marlboro.edu if you would like to bring either of these workshops to your town.
Please sign up for the Red Clover, our program e-newsletter, to stay informed of all our offerings.
We are proud to work with the Vermont Community Foundation, the Windham Foundation, National Life Group Foundation, the United Way of Windham County and many local partners on these board training initiatives.
