Elder Wisdom Circle seeks Volunteer Board Members

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Elder Wisdom Circle(tm), a 22-year-old non-profit 501(c)(3) is seeking 3 Board members as part of its goal to diversify and expand its Board. Elder Wisdom Circle is an online inter-generational program pairing advice-seekers from across the world with a network of older adults ("Elders") who provide empathetic, caring, and supportive advice based on their own life experiences. (While our Elders are age 55 and above, our board seeks members of all ages.) Our volunteer Elders answer advice letters via the Internet, offering free, individualized advice based on their life experiences on a wide range of topics-love and relationships, family and career, self-improvement and mental health, and much more. The advice seekers are those in their teens, twenties, thirties, and beyond, and are generally from countries where the population can speak English. ElderWisdomCircle has Elders across North America who respond to thousands of letters annually. (We just surpassed 500,000 requests for advice!) Elder Wisdom Circle’s Board has decided to expand and is looking for diverse directors to join and support our mission. We want to create an organization that represents all the different communities we serve. We are committed to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. We are working to incorporate welcoming and inclusive practices and policies into our organization at all levels. We therefore are looking to recruit and retain diverse board members who will help us to better support the marginalized advice-seekers across the world with whom we work, as well as recruit Elders from diverse backgrounds, increasing a sense of community, inclusion, and belonging for all. Two-thirds of our advice seekers are from outside of the US. Many requests come from India, Pakistan, South Africa, the Philippines, Nigeria, Australia, and Canada. Working closely with Elder Wisdom Circle’s Executive Director and Board, the new Board Directors will focus on future growth and help guide the institution’s mission, vision, and long-term sustainability. See our website at https://www.elderwisdomcircle.org for more information.

We are a working Board. Our committees are:

• Nonprofit Governance
• Marketing and PR
• Fundraising or Sales
• Partnerships
• Finance
• Strategy
• Technology

Key Skills

• Skills and experience in the following: MARKETING STRATEGY, FUNDRAISING (in NGOs), TECHNOLOGY (ColdFusion), and BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS. Previous board service is especially desirable.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with others, including community partners, Executive Director, and fellow Board directors as well as introduce us to your personal and professional networks where appropriate to benefit Elder Wisdom Circle.
• Ability to visualize the "Big picture" and act strategically, with an eye toward the long view.
• Ability to work as a team member/contributor who is action-focused.
• Possesses skills in relationship building and/or fundraising to support the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors.
• Embraces cultural, gender, and racial diversity. International cultural experiences are desirable.
• Passionate about Elder Wisdom Circle’s mission and the impact of our work with older adults and future generations.

Key Responsibilities

• With other Board Directors, lead the organization so that the mission and purpose are successfully carried out.
• Attends quarterly board meetings (about 2 hrs. each) and monthly committee meetings. Board Meetings and Committees Meetings are approximately 60-90-minute commitments each.
• Actively serves on at least one committee (preferably in a leadership role) and takes on special assignments.
• Reviews Board agenda, and supporting documents and attends meetings with forward-thinking ideas to share.
• You have 8 hours per month to dedicate to this position.

Interested individuals should submit a resume before June 25th, to board@elderwisdomcircle.org. In addition, for us to learn more about you than just your resume, you must also complete a short interview form at: https://forms.gle/VKCEfVkZyD5v1vyi6