[Cabs] Action Plan, Part 1

Amy Sabo amylsabo at comcast.net
Tue May 5 22:39:57 UTC 2009


hello joe,

thanks for posting this to the list. this all sounds wonderful and i do hope that you if you do decide to run for the presidency of nabs that you would do a fine job and i too would love to have these incorporated into nabs too!

this is what we need in a organization and business and i believe that you have nurtured and set forth a very good business plan for nabs. thanks again for sending this and i will talk to you soon!



hugs,
from amy
----- Original Message -----

From: Joe Orozco 

To: 'Arizona Students' , 'California Students' , 'Colorado Center' , 'Colorado Students' , 'Florida Students' , 'Illinois Students' , 'Kansas Students' , 'Kentucky Students' , 'Louisiana Students' , 'Michigan' , 'Minnesota Students' , 'Missouri' , 'National' , 'Nebraska' , 'New Hampshire Students' , 'New Jersey Students' , 'North Carolina Students' , 'Ohio' , 'Pennsylvania' , 'Presidents' , 'TABS Students' , 'Tennessee Students' , 'Utah Students' , 'Virginia Students' 

Sent: Tue, 5 May 2009 19:30:49 +0000 (UTC)

Subject: [Cabs] Action Plan, Part 1



Dear all:



Over the past week there has been discussion about the state of the student

division.  The discussion came about as a result of my urging divisions to

apply for grants offered by way of my employer through its partnership with

several corporations.  In some cases I understand divisions did not apply on

account of there not being sufficient time or training or people to design a

program worthy of funding.  In short, I am told student divisions are simply

not ready for this level of operation.



, another recent development has been the growing rumors that I am planning

to seek the presidency of the national student division.  The rumors were

true.  I did spend several months carefully weighing the pros and cons of

running for the office.  In the end the cons took it, and I have ultimately

decided to serve you in a different capacity away from the board.  That

said, I will now share the plan I developed had I chosen to run for

election.  I offer the plan I would have exercised in my hypothetical

presidency in hopes that you will take what you like from my ideas and use

them to expand your own divisions.  This installment of my plan focuses on

the NABS board, but there is almost nothing here that cannot be applicable

at the state level.



The plan that follows is a practical one.  I have no use for idealistic

nonsense that does not give concrete ideas on how to make a division grow,

but because it is a practical plan, it is also a plan that lends itself to

criticism.  This is the sort of plan that meets my leadership style, and so

you will need to adjust the plan to serve you in your own leadership

capacity.  And, I fully expect you to publicly challenge those ideas you

think ridiculous.  This is, after all, mostly an exercise in development

strategy, and no great nonprofit successfully evolves according to the

notions of one single individual.



Finally, my purpose in sharing this plan with you is to motivate you to aim

higher.  I expect there to be dialogue.  At the end of my eight years with

the student division I do not want to leave it with the sense that nothing

at all has changed since the first day I came into the ranks.  If you’re

okay with these expectations, please continue reading.  Otherwise, spare

yourself the torture of a long-winded post and move on to more interesting

reading.  It was not fair of me to yell at you for not meeting my high

standards without providing you a means to get the job done, and so I will

try to make the reading for those of you who do follow this series of posts

as beneficial as possible.



Let’s begin with the structure of the national board.  Each position from

the president down to the fourth board member needs to have associated tasks

to give people an idea of the position they are running for.  Otherwise,

people run for positions with only the slate to tell them where they belong.

People who are not on the slate are then left to randomly run against people

with no real concept of what the position involves.  Again, bear in mind

that this is true of any state student division board.



In my hypothetical national board I would divide the eight board members

into two halves.  My first vice president would be in charge of strategic

initiatives.  Under this vice president of strategic initiatives would be

the treasurer, first board member and second board member, only the title of

these last two would be Director of Online Strategies and Director of

Outreach.  The other half would be made up of the second vice president, who

would be the vice president of membership development.  He or she would

oversee the secretary, third board member and fourth board member.  These

last positions would be my Director of Advocacy and Director of Education.



The purpose for giving the positions new titles is twofold.  First, it helps

keep the elected members focused on their responsibilities.  No matter what

happens in the two years of the term, no matter the activity, they will know

the scope of their duty, and the general membership will know exactly who to

contact with their specific questions.  Second, it looks really good on the

resume.  Ultimately I want my board members to use their positions as a tool

to learn new skills and then use those skills to impress potential

employers.  The National Association of Blind Students may not sound like

much to people outside the NFB, but the title of vice president of strategic

initiatives gives one pause.  It makes one wonder just what it is you did in

that position and what qualified you to hold it.



There is no need for constitutional amendments unless the board is

interested in solidifying the roles in the exact positions I’ve listed them

in.  I would recommend you maintain a certain flexibility by not committing

yourself to the constitution.



Now, I know I must have lost some of you in the layout of the positions, so

let’s briefly examine both sides of this hypothetical board.



The vice president of strategic initiatives would oversee the outreach

operations of the division.  It would be their responsibility to research,

identify and engage new members, partners and potential sources of funding.

He or she would work with the other three members of the team to create a

compelling image of the organization and sell that image to our audiences.

What they do specifically would depend on the arrangement agreed to by the

team, but integral to this position would be the composition of grant

proposals, letters of inquiry, brochures, press releases, public service

announcements, etc.



The following job descriptions are by no means exhaustive, but they provide

a glimpse of what their tasks might look like.



Proposed Duties of the Treasurer:



* Co-manage registration table at all special events with the secretary to

facilitate the collection of registration fees



* Work with the Director of Online Strategies to create and maintain a

user-friendly online payment collection system



* Oversee hard fundraising projects including, but not limited to: auctions,

door prizes, candy sells, Monte Carlo Night



* Maintain bank statements and easily produce balances by program upon

request to the board and to the membership at large



Proposed Duties of the Director of Online Strategies:



* Maintain NABSLink



* Create and cultivate social networking presences that sync up with the

main web site



* Use these combined resources to work with the Director of Outreach on

highlighting current and prospective partners and/or funding sources



Proposed Duties of the Director of Outreach:



* Create and maintain database of DSS coordinators, key legislative staff,

corporations, foundations, community-based nonprofits and media outlets



* Create templates to actively communicate with all of the above as

necessary



* Use database and other sources like Idealist to recruit volunteers for

certain specialties i.e. web development



* Promote upcoming events, initiatives, etc.



* Facilitate communication between NABS and other NFB divisions, including

but not limited to: Sports and Recreation and National Organization of

Parents of Blind Children



On the other side we would have membership development.  This vice president

would work with his or her three colleagues to take the members, partners

and sponsors discovered by the strategic initiatives team and incorporate

them into the fold of the division.  What Strategic Initiatives finds is the

job of membership development to keep.  Again, the specific tasks of this

vice president would depend on the dynamics of the team.  It is my opinion

that vice presidents should maintain a measure of flexibility to oversee his

or her team and work with the president on special projects, but among other

duties the vice president would oversee the development of seminar agendas,

event logistics, mentorship initiatives, newsletter publication and resource

development.



Proposed Duties for the Secretary:



* Co-manage registration table at special events with the treasurer to

facilitate the collection of guest contact information



* Oversee the production of Braille agendas for distribution at special

events



* Work with the Director of Online Strategies to create and maintain an

online registration system, preferably tied to payment process



* Coordinate the assignment and travel schedule of student representatives

to state conventions



* Provide final editorial review of all outbound communication, including

online and off-line communication



* Record board meeting minutes and make these available to the general

membership via NABSLink



* Maintain membership database



Proposed Duties of the Director of Advocacy:



* Liaison to NFB governmental affairs office



* Use outreach database to cultivate partnerships with DSS and legislative

offices



* Listen to and make recommendations on cases of alleged discrimination or

lack of accommodations, working with appropriate professional staff in

Baltimore as necessary



* Provide tip sheets and brief guides on dealing with professors, employers

and other common public entities



* Create and maintain repository of advocacy resources on NABSLink with the

assistance of the Director of Online Strategies



Proposed Duties of the Director of Education:



* Liaison to Jernigan Institute



* Plan and carry out monthly membership teleconferences with key topics

benefiting division development



* Provide resources and guidance on writing resumes and drafting cover

letters as well as interview skills



* Oversee the creation and implementation of resources benefiting

age-appropriate audiences i.e. elementary, middle and high school



* Tailor specific materials benefiting teachers of blind students



* Co-manage mentoring initiatives with the president



As the plan unravels we will come back to look at these roles more fully.  I

realize state divisions will probably not have eight members on their board.

The positions above are flexible enough so that occupations can be

collapsed, and even these eight members are not expected to carry out their

work without assistance.  We will also take a look at the nurturing of

volunteers later in the plan.



For now, what is important to remember is that the positions need to be

balanced in such a way as to create interdependence.  One half cannot

function without the completed work of the other.  Membership Development,

for instance, cannot put on a successful seminar if Strategic Initiatives

did not do a good job of promoting the event.  The Director of Advocacy

cannot very well run a good legislative campaign if the Director of Outreach

has not developed a functional database of congressional and state

legislative offices.  The examples evolve from there, but try to create an

atmosphere of accountability, not necessarily one of hierarchy.  There is a

difference.



Now let’s look away from the board at the components that would help support

the work of the directors.  First, each board member, including the

president, would be assigned to a seasoned leader in the NFB, preferably

someone in the National Board of Directors.  This would facilitate

communication between the student division and the organization at large,

but it would also provide each board member a means to gain guidance from

someone with superior experience in all areas of recruitment, fundraising

and general outreach.  More importantly, it would provide each board member

with the philosophical anchor by which to direct all of that member’s

assignments.  We want a vibrant division, but we want a division that is

well-grounded in the organization’s fundamental principles, otherwise we run

the risk of creating an independent animal.  At the state level the board

members could be mentored by chapter presidents and members of the affiliate

board.



Second, all state division student presidents would come together to form

the Council of Student Presidents, chaired by a person elected by the

members of this Council.  This Council would meet quarterly to provide the

NABS board with the framework for the board’s activities.  Ultimately it is

the state divisions that provide the front line of communication with local

entities.  It only makes sense that state divisions should have an official

voice in how the board carries out its business.  The Council would pass

resolutions similar to those seen at the national level of the NFB and would

be approved or rejected by the general membership at either Washington

Seminar or at the annual business meeting at the National Convention.



Passing resolutions is a practice of the NFB.  We want to train future

leaders, and thus it stands to reason that students should become familiar

with the process of writing and submitting resolutions to be debated by

fellow students.  These resolutions could not run contrary to the

resolutions adopted by the parent organization.  They would simply

crystallize the work of the board of directors in cooperation with the

general membership on issues pertinent to students.  At its simplest, these

resolutions would give the NABS board clear goals to be accomplished within

a specified length of time.  It would certainly create a level of

accountability to the board by the general membership.



For this facet of division structure there is not a comparable arrangement

at the state level unless the state division has multiple chapters across

different campuses.  Texas has been one division to have previously operated

student chapters at three separate campuses.  The idea then was to be able

to officially register with the school so that the groups could benefit from

fundraising, meeting space and donations from the school.  Consider

incorporating resolutions into your operations only if your membership is

large enough and the needs of your state distinct enough to necessitate such

a strategy.



You will, of course, notice that I did not include the responsibilities and

expectations of the president.  We’ll get to that office in a future

installment of my plan.  It is a position that in many ways warrants its own

installment.



What is important to take away from this section is that you will fail

miserably if your house is not organized.  You do not have to run elections

according to the positions I’ve listed.  You may continue to run them as the

standard constitutional labels, but keep in mind that you will set yourself

up to attract excellent talent if the positions are defined in advance.  If

you apply the specialties after the election, make sure that people

understand the full scope of their position.  Writing job descriptions like

a business may seem like overkill, but then again, what is the real

difference between a business and a nonprofit?



Second, do not overlook the support systems you can create for yourself with

the NFB.  You are not alone, and while I do not want to include any

pointless clichés in this plan, there really are people interested in

helping you get your student division off the ground, inside and outside of

your state, hence the benefit of mentors per board member.  Something in me

must care enough about you to write a hell of a long post to see you

succeed.  I assure you I am only one of many.



Now, enough with the fluffiness.  Let’s get down to the real business.



To be continued...



Joe Orozco



"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the

crowd."--Max Lucado





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