Skilled Board Members Needed for Nonprofit Dedicated to Communities!

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Center for Supportive Communities, a 501(c)(3) corporation in Lawrence, KS, founded by Dr. Kelsey Dachman and Madison Graham. Dr. Dachman received her Ph.D. in behavioral psychology from the University of Kansas and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst at the doctoral level. Madison is pursuing her Ph.D. in behavioral psychology at the University of Kansas. Rock Chalk!

Mission
Our mission is to use behavioral science to create equal opportunities and meaningful change for children, families, and communities.

Programs and Services
SupportED, our truancy diversion program in Douglas County, KS, combines behavioral science with functional mentoring and community collaboration to increase school attendance and divert truant students and their families from the juvenile justice system. We work as a village to identify needs, coordinate services, and implement evidence-based, individualized interventions to get kids in school and engaged in learning. We pair each student with a caring adult mentor who teaches adaptive skills, counteracts missed educational instruction, instills confidence, provides support and guidance, and expands opportunities. We also help students and families access community resources and services. SupportED blends the talents and knowledge of diverse partners and collaborators to deliver a community-based, rehabilitative approach to solving our nation's absenteeism crisis. Ensuring all children receive a quality education by removing barriers and implementing reinforcement-based strategies is a critical first step toward breaking intergenerational cycles of school dropout, undereducation, violence, and incarceration.

Center for Supportive Communities provides behavioral and educational consults and workshops for organizations and service providers. We help enhance the quality and efficacy of services and troubleshoot behavioral challenges.

Position
The Board will support the work of Center for Supportive Communities and provide mission-based leadership and strategic governance. While day-to-day operations are led by Center for Supportive Communities’ chief executive officer (CEO), the Board-CEO relationship is a partnership, and the appropriate involvement of the Board is both critical and expected. Specific Board Member responsibilities include:

Leadership, governance, and oversight

• Serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO as she develops and implements Center for Supportive Communities’ strategic plan
• Reviewing outcomes and metrics created by Center for Supportive Communities for evaluating its impact, and regularly measuring its performance and effectiveness using those metrics; reviewing agenda and supporting materials prior to board and committee meetings
• Approving Center for Supportive Communities’ annual budget, audit reports, and material business decisions; being informed of, and meeting all, legal and fiduciary responsibilities
• Contributing to an annual performance evaluation of the CEO
• Assisting the CEO and board chair in identifying and recruiting other Board Members
• Partnering with the CEO and other board members to ensure that board resolutions are carried out
• Serving on one or more committees or task forces and taking on special assignments
• Representing Center for Supportive Communities to stakeholders; acting as an ambassador for the organization
• Ensuring Center for Supportive Communities’ commitment to a diverse board and staff that reflects the communities served by Center for Supportive Communities.

Fundraising
Center for Supportive Communities' Board Members will consider Center for Supportive Communities a philanthropic priority and make annual gifts that reflect that priority. So that Center for Supportive Communities can credibly solicit contributions from foundations, organizations, and individuals, Center for Supportive Communities expects to have 100 percent of Board Members make an annual contribution that is commensurate with their capacity.

Board terms/participation
Center for Supportive Communities’ Board Members will serve a two-year term to be eligible for re-appointment for an additional term. Board meetings will be held quarterly (or as needed with sufficient notice), and committee meetings will be held in coordination with full board meetings (or as needed with sufficient notice). Board Members will have the option to attend meetings of the Board of Directors in person or virtually.

Qualifications
This is an extraordinary opportunity for an individual who is passionate about Center for Supportive Communities’ mission and who has a track record of board leadership. Selected Board Members will have achieved leadership stature in business, government, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector. Their accomplishments will allow them to attract other well-qualified, high-performing Board Members.

Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:

• Extensive professional experience with significant executive leadership accomplishments in business, government, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector
• A commitment to and understanding of Center for Supportive Communities’ beneficiaries, preferably based on experience
• Savvy diplomatic skills and a natural affinity for cultivating relationships and persuading, convening, facilitating, and building consensus among diverse individuals
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and a passion for improving the lives of Center for Supportive Communities’ beneficiaries

Service on Center for Supportive Communities’ Board of Directors is without remuneration.