Thursday, April 3, 6pm - SLC Multipurpose Room
At the AGM, all WPIRG student and community members – that’s you! – come together to help WPIRG transition into a new year by:
1. Electing new members to the Board of Directors.
2. Hearing a report from the Board of Directors on WPIRG’s activities over the past year and the results of our campus survey.
3. Approving the 2012-2013 audited financial statements.
4. Celebrating another year of social & environmental justice at uWaterloo with the first WPIRG Social Justice Awards!
Board of Director Elections:
This year, we will be electing eight new Board members, so if you’re passionate about WPIRG, we’d love for you to consider running. Board members help guide WPIRG’s direction for a couple of years – gaining governance experience in a non-profit organization and learning in-depth consensus decision-making along the way.
While staff and volunteers carry out the day-to-day operations of the organization, the Board works behind the scenes to support other students and community members in creating social and environmental change. Board activities involve:
- Participating in decision-making & visioning for the organization,
- Applying anti-oppression in programming and policy,
- Developing and overseeing the WPIRG budget,
- Building relationships across the UW campus and broader KW community,
- Reviewing and approving funding and action group proposals,
- Hiring, evaluation and ongoing support of staff members, and more!
What’s the time commitment?
Board members are elected for a term of two years starting in April, and are expected to spend about 8-10 hours a week on related activities, including a 3-hour meeting every two weeks, serving on committees, and attending training and professional development sessions. Students are able to take leaves of absence or attend meetings remotely when out of town on co-op terms.
Who can be a Board member?
Four of the eight available spots need to be filled by students, and one needs to be a community member. Community members bring valuable experience and skills to the board and help connect WPIRG with the broader community, a key element of social justice work, and the university’s role in society.
There are no required qualifications, but being organized, motivated, positive, and able to engage respectfully in consensus decision-making are valuable traits. You will learn about facilitation, minute-taking, policy, finances and more during your time on the Board, but previous experience in these areas is definitely helpful!
How to apply:
- Download the WPIRG Board of Directors nomination package.
- Collect signatures from 10 WPIRG members (student or community members with paid-up fees).
- Write a brief explanation of who you are and why you want to be on the Board.
- Submit your nomination form by email to info@wpirg.org or in hard copy to the WPIRG office (SLC 3104) by Tuesday, April 1 at 12:00 noon.
- Attend the all candidates’ meeting on Thursday, March 27 at 5:00pm in SLC 3103.
- Attend the AGM on April 3rd and answer questions from the membership.
Keep reading for more detailed information about the Board of Directors:
More on what we’re looking for in a Board member:
WPIRG promotes learning through leadership and will help you acquire the skills you need to be a great Board member, even if you haven’t developed them all yet! The ideal candidate, however, would have experience in some of the following areas:
- Knowledge of WPIRG
- Principles of anti-oppression
- Facilitation and consensus building
- Policy development
- Financial management
- Project management
- Hiring, staff evaluation, and supervision
More about who can be a Board member:
The WPIRG Board of Directors is committed to the principles of anti-oppression and seeks diverse experiences and identities in its leadership. We welcome and encourage individuals from marginalized communities to participate in directing the organization, including people who identify as aboriginal, people of colour, queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, trans-sexual, intersexed, as well as women, single parents, immigrants and people with disabilities.
WPIRG is committed to makings its leadership as accessible as possible. We encourage applications from both regular and co-op students, as well as members of the community.
Please note that, to become a Board member, you must be a WPIRG member in good standing (a University of Waterloo full-time undergraduate student who has not obtained a refund, or a community member who has purchased a WPIRG membership). A community member is defined as anyone who is NOT a full-time University of Waterloo undergraduate student and who has obtained a WPIRG membership, including graduate students.
What Board members actually do, in more detail:
- Participate in decision-making at regular (usually bi-weekly) Board meetings
- Work on specific issues within committees, such as outreach, policy and staff support
- Ensure that all activities are consistent with our anti-oppression mandate
- Collaborate with staff to set annual priorities through extensive visioning processes
- Track the needs, challenges and successes of WPIRG throughout the year
- Conduct regular evaluations of staff, events, projects and priorities
- Support staff in their work with projects and action groups, and their work in organizational development
- Recruit, hire and support new staff when necessary
- Develop annual budgets and monitor spending through the Treasurer
- Recruit and train new Board members, and hold annual elections and general meetings
- Maintain organizational policies and by-laws, updating them when necessary
Board members can also:
- Represent WPIRG at OPIRG network meetings, and work to strengthen the Provincial network
- Conduct research for new WPIRG initiatives and projects
- Work with staff to apply for grants, plan events, and network with other groups
- Participate in volunteer orientation, training and appreciation
- Represent WPIRG at events and meetings
- Identify and participate in opportunities for Board and staff development
Most of these tasks are done in collaboration with staff, who provide valuable knowledge, support and institutional memory.
If you have any questions about the Board of Directors, please contact info@wpirg.org.
If you have any questions about elections, please contact Suzie Taka at wpirgelections2014@gmail.com.