Board Member

ENP

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Job Summary

The mission of ENP is to work for justice and equity with our neighbors in Nashville, Tennessee, through building relationships, community action, service, and empowerment. ENP’s motto is “Neighbors doing what neighbors do.” We help each other to strengthen our community. We seek innovative approaches to education, community co-ops, and affordable housing, in order to build a more vital community in which to live, work and play. To that end, ENP manages 3 programs: (1) The Spot, an after-school program for 5th – 12th-grade students, supporting them to become their best selves; (2) the FreeStore, a community cooperative, where neighbors share a meal and “shop” for household, personal and cleaning items not eligible for Food Stamps; (3) As the affordable housing subzone captain of the Nashville Promise Zone, ENP engages in community action by supporting resident tenants to self-advocate for affordable housing and addresses development, gentrification, transportation, and safety issues.

The Board of Directors of ENP (Empowering Neighborhood Partnerships), in active collaboration and partnership with the Executive Director, shall frame the issues and think creatively of opportunities and challenges to be met for ENP to be an exemplary nonprofit organization.

The legal duties and responsibilities of the Board Members are generally outlined in the Tennessee Attorney General’s What Every Board Member Should Know: A Guidebook for Tennessee Nonprofits, (2021).  Each Board Member should be conversant, and compliant, with the Guidebook and its contents.

Most fundamentally, each Director has a duty of good faith, duty of loyalty, and a duty of care. The following provisions list many of the specific responsibilities and actions required to meet those legal and ethical duties, and effectively govern the organization. 

Job Responsibilities

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD

GOVERNANCE

• Adopt, and regularly review, ENP’s Mission and Vision statements, and review management’s performance in achieving them.
• Adopt, and regularly review, broad written policies reflecting the Mission and Values of the organization, within which the Executive Director is authorized to manage the organization and to develop and implement operational plans to carry out the Mission.
• Regularly assess the environment for the nonprofit sector, and develop, in partnership with the Executive Director, strategies to be responsive.
• Serve as a model for Tennessee nonprofits in regard to best practices in governance.
• Hire, monitor, appraise, advise, stimulate, support, reward, and, if deemed necessary or desirable, replace the Executive Director.
• Ensure that management succession is properly planned.
• Meet as a Board six times a year.  Focus on “what matters most,” and apply the knowledge and experience of individual Board members to the major challenges facing the organization.
• Establish Committee structure; adopt, and regularly review, Committee Charters.
• Annually review and approve the Executive Committee’s performance review of the Executive Director, and establish compensation based on recommendations of the Executive Committee.
• Ensure that the organizational strength and employee base can sustain the Mission and achieve long-range goals.
• Approve appropriate compensation and benefit policies and practices.
• Propose prospective board members and fill vacancies as needed. Ensure adequate orientation of new members.  Ensure adoption and adequacy of the Board leadership succession plan.
• Periodically conduct a self-review of Board performance (including its composition, organization, and responsibilities) and take steps to improve its performance.
• Ensure that ENP has established appropriate policies to define and identify conflicts of interest throughout the organization and is diligent in its administration and enforcement of those policies.
• Review compliance with relevant material laws affecting ENP and its programs and operations.

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

• Ensure that ENP’s financial structure and funding plans will adequately support its current needs and long-range strategy.
• Ensure that the Board is carrying out its fiduciary responsibilities, such as reviews of periodic and annual financial statements, funding plans, budgets, and financial goals.
• Review results achieved by management compared with ENP’s Mission, Strategic Plan, and annual and long-range goals. Compare performance to that of other neighborhood nonprofit organizations. 
• Approve major expenditures over authorized limits and major changes in programs and services.
• Ensure that the Board, its committees, members, donors, and the public are adequately informed of the financial condition of the organization and its operations through internal and published reports or other appropriate methods.
• Ensure that published reports properly reflect the operating results and financial condition of the organization.
• Ensure that adequate risk management policies are established and implemented.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF EACH INDIVIDUAL BOARD MEMBER

• Be loyal to ENP, always exercising Board powers in the interest of ENP, and not for the interest of the individual Director or others.
• Be informed about ENP’s Mission and Vision, Strategic and Operating plans, policies, and programs. Work with the rest of the Board to review, approve and oversee ENP’s Mission, and review performance in achieving it.  Be an avid proponent of the Mission, and inform others about ENP, its Mission, Vision, and programs.
• Ensure legal and ethical integrity, and maintain accountability and transparency to funders, donors, other constituents, and the general public.
• Prepare for, attend, and participate actively in Board and Committee meetings, and special events. Serve on Committees and undertake special assignments willingly and enthusiastically when asked. Provide candid and constructive advice, comments, and criticism. Ask timely and substantive questions at Board and Committee meetings consistent with conscience and conviction, while supporting the majority decision on issues decided by the Board.
• Make a personal, tax-deductible contribution once a year at a level reasonable to the individual. 
• Be familiar with and follow conflict-of-interest policies, and submit an annual Conflict of Interest Report.
• Participate in the generation and approval of policies focusing on mission, finances, and income.  Ensure that programs are consistent with the Mission.
• Suggest possible nominees for election to the Board, who can make significant contributions to the work of the Board and the organization.
• Keep up to date on developments in and affecting the nonprofit sector.
• Provide moral and professional support, and be available as resources, to the Executive Director.  
• Maintain confidentiality of the Board’s executive actions.

Qualifications

• A heart for service and serving our neighbors
• A commitment to justice and equity
• 3-5 hours a month to participate in meetings and fulfill board obligations
• Willingness to give of your time and expertise for the advancement of ENP’s mission

Additional Information

Benefits

How to Apply

Please send a resume and brief paragraph expressing your interest in supporting ENP’s mission to allison@edgehillpartnership.org.

Details

• Date Posted: April 20, 2024
• Type: Board Member
• Job Function: Accounting / Financial Management
• Service Area: Board Leadership
• Start Date: 05/14/2024
• Working Hours: 5 hrs/month