Board Role Descriptions

Board Member Benefits

  • Connect and network with colleagues and mentors in the field of AAC
  • Learn and grow your knowledge in AAC/AT
  • Complimentary conference registration
  • Flexibility and support from your fellow board community
  • An activity to add to your resumé
  • For professionals:
    • continuing education opportunities
    • an activity to add to your curriculum vitae

What You Can Expect as a Board Member

  • Length of term: no requirements; ideally at least 2 years
  • Meeting attendance
    • Monthly board meetings (~1 hour)
    • Volunteer meetings (~1 hour; biannually to quarterly)
    • Evening Seminars (~1 hour; biannually)
    • Annual Fall Conference (full-day event once per year)
  • Contribute 1-2 blog posts per year

General Responsibilities

  • Attend and actively participate in monthly board meetings, including sharing relevant update
  • Attend other NWACS events to support our mission, vision, and value
  • Report input to the President or Vice-President in advance of a board meeting you will be missing
  • Respond to board emails in a timely manner
  • Participate in projects or committees
  • Assist in recruiting volunteers and future board members
  • Contribute to the NWACS blog as you are able

Specific Roles and Responsibilities

  • Ensure all NWACS activities align with the organization’s mission, vision, and values
  • Board Meetings: coordinate with the Secretary on agenda; run monthly meetings; call for votes as needed; review meeting minutes; manage the scheduling of monthly meeting
  • Member Management: assist board members as needed; assign chairs of various committees
  • Organizational Management: revise mission, vision, values as needed; conduct an annual survey to reach stakeholder groups; collaborate with Web Team on annual goals; work with relevant board members to create and manage internal documents (e.g., handbooks, instructional aids)
  • Communication with Stakeholders: write the yearly message from the board
  • Work with Secretary and Treasurer to manage necessary licensure, documentation, and mailing address
  • Annual Fall Conference: present opening remarks; provide oversight of conference
  • Recruit new board members

  • Assist President with member management, organization management, and other tasks as requested
  • Manage onboarding of new board members
  • Support other board members as needed, including presenting information at board meetings for members who are unable to attend and substituting for board members out on leave
  • Orient incoming President (if prior President has stepped down to Vice-President)

  • Coordinate with President on monthly meeting agendas
  • Manage the NWACS Google account (including email groups) and Dropbox account
  • Triage email weekly
  • Send out meeting agendas and minutes
  • Maintain board roster
  • Assist Marketing Coordinator, or other board members, in preparing materials for events
  • Proofread and edit content for Marketing Coordinator and other stakeholder-facing materials as needed
  • Manage special occasion cards/gifts (e.g., thank you, birthday, congratulations, etc.) for board members

  • Provide monthly treasury report to the board
  • Handle accounting for the organization, including: manage NWACS bank account and debit card; maintain accurate financial records (in Google Drive/Dropbox)
  • Handle any financial transactions on behalf of the organization; manage PayPal account
  • Prepare any necessary financial documents (e.g., letter of agreement with conference speakers, tax documents)
  • Coordinate with President and Secretary to maintain business documents and licenses as needed
  • Collaborate with the Fundraising Coordinator on fundraising needs

*AAC User Advisor benefit: stipend of $30 per quarter with attendance at a board meeting

  • Act as a liaison between the AAC User community and NWACS
  • Ensure that AAC User needs are addressed in the organization’s mission, vision, and values
  • Assist in outreach to AAC Users to connect them with NWACS resources, events, projects, etc.

  • Generate topic/speaker ideas
  • Coordinate dates for AAC Learning Network events, including adding event dates to board calendar
  • Invite speakers and write descriptions of events for website/marketing
  • Host/moderate and facilitate events, including setting up/starting Zoom meetings and serving as point of contact
  • Create Exit Ticket/survey for each event (for participants to receive certificates)
  • Make and distribute Certificates of Attendance
  • Work with web team on marketing, branding, and promotion of events
  • Collaborate with web team on annual theme/goals to reach various stakeholder groups

  • Recruit blog contributors and maintain blog sign up
  • Train and support new blog contributors
  • Manage blog content, including: reminding contributors about due dates, creating graphics in Canva, editing and publishing blogs, new contributor bios, etc.
  • Pin blog posts to Pinterest
  • Communicate with Social Media and Marketing Coordinators to promote blog posts
  • Work and coordinate with the web team
  • Seek contributions to blog from board members

  • Act as liaison between the caregiver community and NWACS
  • Represent caregiver stakeholder group within NWACS, specifically at monthly board meetings
  • Work with Outreach Coordinator to connect families with resources
  • Engage in social media presence in caregiver communities, including the NWACS caregiver Facebook group (administrator/moderator)

  • Keep all responsibilities on track for the conference timeline
  • Presenters: secure a speaker each year, maintain a list of potential speakers, serve as the contact point person for speakers
  • Guide board in finalizing conference description, learning objectives, etc.
  • Delegate tasks (surveys, exit tickets, etc.) for the operation of the conference
  • Coordinate with the Volunteer Coordinator to find volunteers for task delegation as needed
  • Collaborate with Treasurer as necessary for financials
  • Make venue arrangements as applicable
  • Create, manage Eventbrite event (serve as point person for registration and attendee management)
  • Arrange clock hours
  • Coordinate exhibit hall (as applicable) and door prizes with the Fundraising Coordinator
  • Work with the web team on marketing, branding, and promotion of the event
  • Collaborate with applicable board members and Web Team for annual theme/goals to reach various stakeholder groups

  • Work with Treasurer to help meet operating costs through fundraising
  • Collaborate with President and NWACS Board on funding needs
  • Conference: procure door prizes for attendees and sponsors to fund elements of the conference as needed; coordinate Exhibit Hall with Conference Coordinator (as applicable)
  • Raise money for the organization: identify potential fundraising endeavors, reach out to potential donors/sponsors, plan and run fundraising events
  • Manage fundraising-related documents online
  • Elicit support from board members or volunteers to implement campaigns as needed
  • Work with web team on marketing, branding, and promotion of campaigns/events

  • Manage email marketing via MailChimp account (announcements, event reminders, newsletters, etc.)
  • Manage NWACS branding using Canva account
  • Manage strategy for promoting NWACS mission, vision, values, content, projects, events, etc.
  • Work and coordinate with the web team
  • Choose and obtain physical promotional materials for in-person events
  • Coordinate with the board to provide marketing/promotional strategies on all NWACS events, projects, etc.
  • Take photos at NWACS events to use in marketing, on social media, and on the website (obtain needed permissions)

  • Chair Outreach Committee
  • Reach out to and facilitate connections with the broader AAC community, particularly those who live and work with AAC users
  • Plan and run outreach events
  • Support the AAC community in WA and surrounding states
  • Oversee outreach proposals, ideas, and timelines
  • Collaborate with web team on annual themes
  • Work with web team on marketing, branding, and promotion of events
  • Work with web team to develop content
  • Administrate NWACS caregiver Facebook group

  • Coordinate and work with the web team
  • Create and share content on social media channels to reach target stakeholder groups
  • Share NWACS events on appropriate social media channels (including creating graphics, setting up Facebook Events, etc.)
  • Promote events and other campaigns as agreed upon with the Marketing Coordinator/web team
  • Maintain engagement on all NWACS social media channels
  • Strategize ways to increase engagement on NWACS social media channels

  • Manage volunteer community: plan and run volunteer meet and greet events, recruit new volunteers, develop current volunteers (e.g., work to interests)
  • Work with board to support delegation of work to volunteers
  • Solicit board member participation with volunteer community as needed (e.g., to attend volunteer meetings)
  • Recruit volunteers for NWACS projects
  • Manage special event cards/gifts (e.g., thank you, birthday, congratulations, etc) for volunteer community
  • Work with web team on marketing, branding, promotion of volunteer events

  • Maintain NWACS website
  • Add content to the website as agreed upon with the web team
  • Contribute to content creation, including adding/updating content to the website, editing, planning, etc.
  • Communicate website changes to Social Media and Marketing Coordinators for sharing with stakeholders

  • Lead web team (includes: Website Developer, Social Media Coordinator, Blog Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, volunteers, etc.)
  • Coordinate all NWACS online content, as well as online outreach to various stakeholder groups
  • Contribute to content creation, including planning, editing, etc.
  • Manage NWACS accounts (except financial)
  • Review and collate data and analytics for all online content
  • Provide insights and recommendations to web team to guide efforts
  • Provide reports to board regarding data and analytics (annually or more)
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