Jess Kaswiner

What Every Junior Board Should Know

Posted by Jess Kaswiner, Apr 04, 2012 2 comments


Jess Kaswiner

Jess Kaswiner

Jess Kaswiner

On February 28, Emerging Leaders Network Chicago hosted a wildly successful panel conversation and networking event simply titled “Junior Board Mega-Mixer.”

Weeks before the event, we had over 50 RSVPs and 7 local sponsors, including Changing Worlds, Steppenwolf Theatre, Urban Gateways, Snow City Arts, Auditorium Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, and Links Hall.

Our dedicated ELN team worked swiftly to spread the word, sharing the event announcement via email, Facebook, meetup.com, and word of mouth. Participating panelists—including junior board chairs, general-body members, and representatives from sponsor organizations—weighed in on what it takes to incubate and sustain a successful junior board.

Below are seven key takeaways from this event, in addition to a few additional creative suggestions and how to host your own junior board mixer.

1) Efficiency is key – Young professionals are very busy between work, play, and volunteering. When planning your meetings, always send an agenda ahead of time.

2) Be nimble – Although your organization may have a very clear idea of what you want the organizational structure to look like or what type of events you want your junior board to plan, it’s important to first evaluate your capacity. As Dana Adams of Urban Gateways mentioned, “Think about the type of event YOU enjoy attending, and go from there!”

3) Young people love a good partyLinks Hall is a good example of this concept. Rather than throwing an elegant gala each year, Links developed THAW. A night of burlesque, alternative performance, and outrageous costume, THAW aligns with the cutting-edge and experimental work that people have come to expect from Links Hall artists.

4) Create healthy competition – While your board of directors may have specific deliverables, don’t sell your junior or auxiliary board short. Create a competition or strategy to motivate ticket sales, donations, and membership recruitment between boards.

5) Personalize your mission – Junior boards should identify their mission as distinct from that of the organization and the board of directors. Creating your own statement of purpose helps members develop a better sense of identity and enables you to better articulate why you serve.

6) Test new ideas – Junior boards are a great way to test new events, strategies, and marketing campaigns. For example, Steppenwolf Theatre’s Auxiliary Council ushered in a new era of social media as they launched Twitter and Facebook campaigns prior to the annual Red & White Ball. The board of directors was quick to follow suit when they saw the success that this campaign had on ticket sales.

7) Consolidate messages – send as few emails as possible by including multiple messages in one newsletter.

Other ideas mentioned on the panel included:

•    Create an interim level of participation between board members and supporters-at-large.
•    Host a cloud network on the organization’s website with log-in information for members.
•    Use Doodle.com for scheduling meetings.
•    Foster mentorship between the board and junior board (i.e. a buddy system).
•    Use Google tools, including Calendar, Docs, and Contacts (its free!).
•    Search “board skills matrix” to evaluate your board’s current capacity and where you may need additional support.
•    Keep “graduated” members in the loop as “emeritus” board members.
•    Create alternative ticket types for artists, students, etc.

The panel and audience at the Junior Board Mega-Mixer.

For those of you interested in hosting your own version of ELN Chicago’s Junior Board Mixer, I suggest taking the following five steps to ensure the success of your event:

1) Give yourself enough lead time to secure sponsor organizations prior to designing the event flier and decide upon a cut-off date for sponsor confirmation

2) Assign specific roles from your ELN team for specific tasks such as:

  • Marketing - graphic design, ticket sales, set up, copywriting, social media, etc.
  • Food/beverage – donations, discounts, catering, transportation, etc.
  • Panel organization – contact list, bios, questions, moderate, etc.
  • Event coordinator – one person to manage all communication and tasks.
  • Junior board sponsor/host recruitment – initial invitation to participate and thank you after.
  • Finance – registration, contracts, revenue reports, etc.
  • On site logistics – set up, clean up, registration, host/hostess, etc.

3) Prepare for you panel ahead of time

  • Send panelists questions in advance and ask them to select their preferred topics.
  • Host a short group conference call to go over the panel assignments.
  • Remind panelists to bring marketing materials and a sign-in method.

4) Use an online ticketing website like FanFueled.com or Brown Paper Tickets (accepts PayPal). These sites allow dynamic ticket pricing as well.

5) Take advantage of the social networks of you already use. Rather than simply posting to Facebook walls, connect with group administrators to get the word out from a trusted source. Partnerships with other professional networks over Facebook will attract a younger demographic.

For more information about ELN Chicago, be sure to join our Facebook group, or for specific questions about the ELN Chicago Junior Board Mixer contact me at the email address listed in my ARTSblog profile.

Also, feel free to share additional advice in the comments below.

2 responses for What Every Junior Board Should Know

Comments

April 05, 2012 at 10:30 am

Tara-
I understand where you are coming from. I think its important to create a tiered approach with 3-levels (given that a junior board is larger than 10 people). The first level is the Exec board, then the general body. The third would be those on the fringes; ex-board members and those who are interested in your work/events but are not able to commit to volunteering.

One good practice is to have special event committee's to balance responsibilities from one event to the next. This will encourage members to take ownership rather than get burnt out.

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April 04, 2012 at 5:39 pm

Great stuff!

"Young professionals are very busy between work, play, and volunteering." This made me think of another important practice: Be very clear about requirements and require solid commitments.

I serve on a junior board that recently increased participation requirements without any warning or request for feedback. I reached out to the board chair and had to seriously consider if I could continue. It was all fine in the end, but gave me a mild panic attack when I was surprised by a list of new things on my plate.

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