United Way of the Wine Country thanks the many dedicated members of our Community Board and corresponding Committees for their passion, commitment, and ambassadorship in helping raise the vital funds that fuel our grantmaking cycles, advocacy efforts, and many collaborative partnerships throughout our five-county region. #UnitedWeRise #UnidosAscendemos
Our Community Board is comprised of community members from various backgrounds all working together to inform ongoing efforts by the following Committees:
Audit: Ensure implementation and compliance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), policies, and reporting practices
Executive: Compromised of the eight (8) Committee Chairs and convenes as needed to advise and consent regarding urgent matters
Finance: Set, review, and report United Way of the Wine Country’s financial integrity, health, and performance
Governance: Ensure the Community Board is properly staffed, trained, and engaged in supporting organizational goals
Operations: Oversee continuous improvement of infrastructure and operations, including Human Resources and Technology
Public Policy: Evaluate public policy issues to determine relevance and support throughout our five-county service area
Strategic Grantmaking: Determine and oversee fair, consistent, on-strategy grant-making policies and processes
Workplace Giving: Advancing community awareness in the value of collective giving to increase resources and support
United Way of the Wine Country Community Board FAQ
What is a Community Board?
- A Community Board (CB) is a contemporary model of the traditional Board of Directors in which members more fully reflect the diverse populations of the communities served by the organization.
How are Community Board members recruited and approved?
- Community Board members are typically recruited to work on one of eight (8) Committees, which collaborate throughout the year to inform the work of the larger Community Board.
What are the eight Committees?
- Committees include Audit, Executive, Finance, Governance, Operations, Public Policy, Strategic Grantmaking, and Workplace Giving. Visit our Board page for Committee descriptions.
Who reaches out to initiate recruitment and who “approves” Committee members?
- United Way as an organization does not lead recruitment. Instead, Committees review application surveys through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and invite members according to their specific Committee needs and responsibilities.
What are “application surveys” and how are they distributed to prospective members?
- Prospective Committee members must complete an online application survey.
Are there required qualifications to become a Committee member?
- To ensure our Community Board equitably represents the families and communities we serve we require applicants to work and/or live in one of our five counties; Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt or Del Norte.
What are the terms of Committee members?
- Committee members serve one (1) year terms with a maximum of six (6) total terms.
NOTE: Committee members are not required to be members of the Community Board.
How does one become a Community Board member?
- Committee members are typically invited by the CB to be included on the annual slate of CB members and officers. Committee members may also request to be included on the slate which is compiled each year ahead of the final CB meeting of the fiscal year in June.
Who approves CB membership for new and returning members?
- Current CB members vote to approve new members based on their Committee performance, their support of United Way’s mission and vision, and their alignment with our DEI goals. Returning CB members in good standing are automatically renewed unless they choose to resign.
What are the terms of the Community Board members?
- CB members serve two (2) year terms with a maximum of three (3) total terms. NOTE: CB members must participate in at least one (1) and no more than two (2) Committees.
How many total years can someone serve as a Committee member and/or CB member?
- The total number of years of service for Committee members and/or CB members is six (6) years, including in the atypical event in which a new member joins the CB in their first year.
How are Committee Chairs elected and how long are their terms?
- For FY21-22, each Committee was launched with an appointed Chair who was also a current CB/BOD member. Committee Chairs serve one-year terms with a two (2) term maximum. At the end of a Chair’s term, candidates are required to submit their names for the slate for corresponding approval by a majority vote by Committee members at the end of the fiscal year.
What are the term limits for folks who were already serving on the Board of Directors before the launch of the new Community Board?
- All member limits have been re-set for the launch of the Community Board.
Why the term limits?
- Term limits allow United Way the important opportunity to continue to activate more community members from throughout our five-county service area to help our organization learn, grow, and improve our work and overall impact over time. We also want to provide opportunities for more community members to develop new skills and expand their networks.
How often do Committees meet?
- The timing and frequency of Committee meetings are established through the collaborative decision-making of the Committees themselves based on their ability to effectively support the organization.
- For example, Finance and Public Policy may meet monthly, whereas Audit may only meet quarterly.
Are meetings in person or virtual?
- In support of our DEI goals regarding fair access and equal participation, all meetings are virtual via Zoom or Teams. That said, should a Committee need to meet in person due to the nature of a specific task (e.g., stuffing envelopes or a “live” event, etc.), in-person meetings are permitted, assuming every effort is made to accommodate the majority of participating members.
What are the expectations regarding making donations as Committee and CB members?
- We urge all members to give meaningful annual gifts – that is, one that fits their budgets – either through their organization’s Workplace Campaign or as monthly donors through our website or with one-time annual gifts.
