Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans Board Member Application

FHF of GNO's Board of Directors is made up of volunteers who share their expertise, influence, knowledge, lived experiences, and resources to create long-term sustainability for the organization. Board members come from a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds. The Board is responsible for governance, not day-to-day operation. Their primary duties are to steer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, legal governance and financial management policies and ensuring it has adequate resources to advance its mission.

• Board members are passionate advocates, champions of our cause, and stewards of our mission.
• Board members make FHF of GNO one of their philanthropic priorities and leverage connections and networks to bring additional resources to the organization.
• Board members are our number one ambassadors.
• All Board members must reside in Louisiana.

On behalf of the Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans Board, thank you for your interest in board service. We know that those with an interest in being a leadership volunteer have many choices. In our community, there are an array of remarkable organizations engaged in the important work of making our world a better place. We are humbled knowing that you are interested in us.
The goal of this process is to determine if we are a good fit for each other - your level of commitment and ability to deliver on our expectations so that we are confident that you can help us to increase our scope and impact of our work. On the other side, we want to know what motivates you and how you think about our organization so that we can help to create an excellent board experience for you. The following application offers us an opportunity to know more about you, your skills, attributes, and what you would bring to our board. It also gives us a sense of what matters to us in any board candidate. Thank you again for your interest in our work and for taking the time to complete this application with thought and care and to continuing our conversations. 

Personal Information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Phone Number

Address

City

State

Please select... Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District Of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico Virgin Island Northern Mariana Islands Guam American Samoa Palau

Zip/Postal Code

Please select all that apply

I am a parent of a child with a disability or special healthcare needs 23 years of age or youngerI am a professional with a specialized skillset. (Attorney, CPA, Marketing, Insurance, Investment, etc.)I am a parent of an adult with a disability over the age of 23 years of age.I am an individual with a disability or special healthcare need.I am none of the above, but deeply care about individuals with disabilities.I am a professional working in the disability field. (Special Educator, Early Interventionist, Speech Therapist, etc.)Other

List Other Here

Employment

Employment Status

Please select... Employed Full Time Employed Part Time Continuing my Education Unemployed Retired

Name of Employer

Position/Job Title

Are you able to take an occasional phone call during work hours?

YesNo

Does your current job include fundraising?

YesNo

Does your employer support employee volunteerism?

YesNo

On a Scale of 1 to 5 (1 being none and 5 being complete) how much autonomy do you have in your daily work schedule?

	1	2	3	4	5

Previous Employment - Tell us about your previous work experience.

If you previously worked, tell us a little about what you did.

Nonprofit Experience - Tell us about any previous or current nonprofit board experience and interests..

Please list any nonprofit boards, board of directors, or committees you CURRENTLY sit on.

Please list any nonprofit boards, board of directors, or committees you PREVIOUSLY sat on.

Check if you currently participate in any of the following: 

Chamber of CommerceBusiness Networking GroupLions ClubKiwanis ClubCommunity ClubSchool PTA, PTO or Parent GroupAssociation of Fundraising Professionals

Those committed to volunteering in a leadership capacity have an abundance of organizations to choose from.  We are most appreciative of your interest in ours and would like to hear more. Why our organization and not any other?  Please share your motivation and what it is about our work at FHF of GNO that has led you to raise your hand to be a leading ambassador for us.

Skills, Experience of Interests

Please share what skills, experiences, and interest you will bring as a board member.  Board members are not required or expected to be an expert on all things.  This information helps us fill in gaps in knowledge from our current board. .

Tell us why you are interested in a board position at Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans.

Please outline any specific skills or experience you can contribute as a board member that would benefit our organization.

Please outline any specific interests you have as a board member.

Please mark the skills and expertise you will bring that will strengthen our board and enhance the ability of our organization to deliver on its mission. 

	None	Some	Average	Above Average	Expert
Accounting
Advocacy
Event Planning
Facilities
Financial Investment
Fundraising
Human Resources/Administration
Information Technology (IT)
Legal
Marketing
Professional Nonprofit
Public Relations
Public Speaking
Social Media
Strategic Planning
Web Design

Attributes

A board is more than a collection of individuals. It is an entity that governs, approves strategy and engages in robust discussion and debate on relevant issues. It must act as a single entity. As such, the personality traits you bring to the board will help us to ensure that we have a diversity of personality styles and traits that, when added to our current board members, will enhance the ability of the board members to work together as a governing body.   

Please mark the skills and expertise you will bring that will strengthen our board and enhance the ability of our organization to deliver on its mission. 

	Yes	No
Collaborative
Respectful
Willing and able to lead discussions
Enthusiastic
Facilitative style
Comfortable speaking in front of groups
Manages time well
Optimistic
Responsive
Strong work ethic
Good sense of humor
Ask tough questions with respect
Reliable
Forward-thinking
Courageous
Committed brand ambassador
Judgement Free
Committed to diversity
Connected to technology
Philanthropic

Philosophy

The board of FHF of GNO must believe in our mission that individuals with disabilities or special health care needs should have the same opportunities as those without disabilities or special health care needs to meet their full potential. There is a preponderance of evidence that state this only happens when individuals are challenged with high expectations in school and home, and individuals are provided with ongoing opportunities to be included in school and community.  

Please answer yes or no to your personal beliefs.  You believe that individuals with disabilities or special health care needs:

	Yes	No
Have the right to reach their full potential.
Are capable of self-determination, independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion in all facets of community life, which individualized support.
Should be held to high expectations and attend school with typical peers.
Have the opportunity to attend post-secondary school.
Has the right to meaningful employment.
Has the right to live as independently as possible.

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Fundraising

Among other responsibilities, board members play a key role in raising funds for our organization. It is an expectation of board service that you will introduce people in your sphere of influence to our work and invite them to know and do more – as prospective volunteers, board members, staff and as donors. Our organization

commits to providing you with the information and tools necessary for you to stand as a vocal and visible ambassador for our work.

Further, we expect every board member to make an annual financial commitment for each year of board service .

Tell us about your level of comfort with this expectation.

Please give us the name of the person who recommended you for the board.  If nobody recommended you, please list yourself. 

Have you been convicted, plead guilty or plead no contest to a crime?  If yes, please explain. 

Please provide us with two references, their email and phone number (with area code) and your relationship. 

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