Chapter Structure

From Ni Wiki

Revision as of 22:00, 30 July 2007

The general structure of a chapter

Overview

While not every chapter will be the same with respect to how its governing body is organized, there are a few key positions that need to be filled. A lot of how each chapter is structured depends on its size. For a chapter just starting out, the President might also be the director of a Venture and the Treasurer might be the Finance Committee Chairman as well. However, as the chapter grows and more Ventures are put together, the President will have to step back and let Venture Directors take over.

Essential Positions

President (Co-Chair)

The President is the chief executive of the chapter. In the beginning the President will be the one that recruits the chapter leaders & puts everyone on the same page.

Primary responsibilities:

• Knowledge and supervision of the operations of the entire chapter
• Communication with the National Office (NINO)

This includes:

• Supervision of chapter meetings and events, Venture planning, summer project progress
• Assist in problem-solving and execution of events
• Brainstorm/develop new and unique ideas in all aspects of the chapter
• Appoint and train committee leaders
• Implementation of NI national policies
• Dissemination of information, news, and agendas from the NINO to the chapter
• Reporting chapter information to NINO, including budgets, summer project progress, chapter membership information, etc.
• The President/Chairperson is also initially responsible for dictating the agendas of meetings, the schedule and the organizational structure of the chapter.

In the past the President position has been a Co-Chair with two leaders for the chapter. If your chapter so chooses it may have a Co-chair or vice-president structure but in many ways its preferable to have one go-to person as the president. In that way, there is a clear, vested authority with whom the buck stops, freeing up the time of the other co-chair to work on Ventures & projects.

Director of International Projects

The Director of International Projects, along with the members of the international projects committee, builds relationships with international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and plans for the chapter's International Summer Projects. They choose the location of the project, the organization with which your chapter will be cooperating, and the nature of the project itself (e.g., developing a nutrition program, building a micro-irrigation system, etc). Members of the committee will learn how to seek funding through outside grants or fellowships for students who wish to travel abroad in order to work on projects.

Primary functions:

• research and select sustainable development projects
• plan projects, including researching language and cultural differences, coordinating travel logistics, contacting NGOs
• appoint and train project leaders
• analyze impact and effectiveness of projects during and after completion
• present findings to chapters, NINO, and national symposia and seminars

Treasurer

The Treasurer is in charge of keeping tabs on the chapter's finances. This means:

• Setting up and taking care of the chapter's bank account
• Coordinating annual budgets with the finance committees
• Communicating consistently with the finance director of the national office
• Applying for grants and extra funding from student government and your university

In the beginning, when you're only running one Venture, the Treasurer and the Finance Committee Chairman role will be synonymous. As the chapter expands, each Venture will be run separately and the Treasurer role will evolve. Instead of making finance and budget decisions for each Venture, the Treasurer will advise and write off on the budgets of all Ventures and leave the rest to Venture committees. In this respect, the Treasurer is the steward of the chapter's finances, giving out start-up money to well planned Ventures and expecting a return on the chapter's capital. As the go-between, the Treasurer plays the role of the spigot on excessive expenditures. Key qualities of chapter Treasurers include stinginess, attention to detail and and the ability to say no.

Venture Directors

The Venture Directors coordinate venture committees & manage chapter ventures. Since ventures are the lifeblood of Nourish, the Venture Directors are perhaps the most important positions in the organization. Being a venture director is a huge responsibility since it is both time consuming & mentally draining. In the beginning, the President may act as a venture director. However, as the chapter grows & you begin to take on more than one venture, you'll need to subdivide the roles.

Responsibilities of Venture Directors include:

• Creating Committees: In the very beginning the Director creates the actual subcommittees for members to sit on. These subcommittees commonly include Sales and Marketing, Sponsorship, Design, Finance, and Operations. The ideal way to match people with their favorite committees is to just ask them.
• Assigning Tasks to Committees: While the committees divide the talent and brains of the operation into functioning groups, in order for them to all work successfully they require direction. Committees need specific tasks and deadlines for them to work efficiently. It is the Director's job to set deadlines and make sure everyone is on the same page.
• Communication with Committees: As a corollary to above, the Director needs to be in constant communication with each committee so that everyone is on the same page and so that all members feel like they are being led intelligently and precisely.
• Meeting Planning: Each meeting's agenda is planned out by the director and he must set a hierarchy of tasks that need to be completed in a timely fashion
• Venture Directors are the face of Nourish International: The Director is responsible for meeting with major sponsors, talking the media, and connecting and collaborating with Nourish partners.
• The Buck Stops Here: Essentially the director is a member of every committee. He needs to be on top of their responsibilities and provide decisive input when it is required. "The 2nd leader of each committee"

Tertiary Positions

Membership Coordinator

The Membership Coordinator helps new members find their place in Nourish, as well as to inform everyone of important news from the other committees. The membership coordinator writes the monthly newsletter to update members and non-members alike of Nourish International’s overall development on both the campus and national level. This is an optional position that should be implemented if the President finds themselves getting swamped with way too many e-mails from prospective members.

Awareness Coordinator

The Awareness Coordinator job is to educate NI members & the public at large on issues pertaining to world poverty, nutrition & sustainable development. The Awareness Coordinator organizes issue forums, corresponds with other campus groups, and creates an overall environment for dialog. The Awareness Coordinator has the distinct responsibility of communicating Nourish International's philosophy on a number of issues with the entire campus. An example of a good awareness building event would be to hold a debate between nourish members & student group that holds a different view of world poverty & inequality. A discussion centered around a current event is another good way to get members involved.

Minister of Information

The Minister of Information's job will be oversee the dissemination of information from the chapter to the chapter network and back. The primary tool for sharing information on chapter functions, venture, and projects will be this wiki. By updating the wiki with information about your ventures & projects you will be performing an invaluable service for other chapters at minimal expense for yourself. With your support, this wiki can act as a market for ideas which will lead to the adoption of best practices across all of the chapters. This doesn't have to be an official position but it is one that is best done by someone who has a passion for knowledge sharing.

Director of Expansion

The Director of Expansion is a new position designed to replicate what the national office does on a chapter level. The primary role of the Director of Expansion will be to spread Nourish International to other universities & train new chapter leaders. By pooling contacts from everyone in your chapter the director will be able to target specific people who are interested in starting chapter at other universities. The director can then work with them, using the material on this wiki & the knowledge from his/her university chapter, to develop an action plan for recruiting new members and launching their first venture.

Director of Ventures

The Director of Ventures job is to provide advise to every venture directors & to pool knowledge from a variety of sources. Ideally, the job would go to the former director of a venture (like Hunger Lunch) & it would provide such a person with the opportunity to mentor & communicate best practices to current venture directors & committees. Outside of this advisory role, the position doesn't have a lot of functionality.