Table of Contents
How Much Time Will Be Involved in Board Work?
Board work definitely involves a commitment of time and energy! This may be a consideration if your schedule is already very busy. To be an effective board member, you should be prepared to regularly commit a decent amount of time and energy to this work, otherwise you won’t be able to participate meaningfully.
How Many Hours Per Month?
Two hours per month is usually required to attend regularly scheduled board meetings. In addition to the time spent attending meetings, board work may also involve reading and reviewing documents related to meeting topics. For example, usually some time is required each month for reviewing the agenda, and looking over the materials provided ahead of time, such as the Executive Director’s report. For typical board members, an additional one to two hours of preparation time each month for this kind of work is likely to be a good estimate.
If you decide you would like to participate to board work in a more significant way, many other opportunities exist. The board has several committees you might consider joining. You may also consider offering your services as an “officer” of the board. The board has four officer roles: the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Secretary and the Treasurer. The officers of the board are chosen each year by the entire board. More information about the work involved in these officer roles is provided in Article 3 of the Community Board Bylaws. Officers of the board serve (together with the Executive Director) on the Executive Committee of the board. This is an important board committee, which meets more regularly than the full board. Consequently, officers of the board contribute more of their time each month.
So, for regular board members who do not serve as officers, a minimum commitment of four hours per month of available time is a reasonable minimum expectation. Officers of the board should expect to commit at least twice this this amount of time, perhaps more.
Retreats and Planning Meetings
In addition to these basic time requirements, once per year board members should expect to participate in a board retreat. This often takes place during a weekend afternoon. It can involve up to four hours or perhaps more. Strategic planning retreats are also held periodically, usually once every three to five years. They involving the broader community not just the board. The most recent planning retreat held in September 2022 was held on a Saturday, and it involved a full day commitment. Board members are expected to attend these retreats and planning meetings (as with other meetings, these are done via Zoom).
Is My Schedule Compatible?
Board meetings dates are planned far in advance. This allows for easy scheduling for all members. If you are interested in serving on the board, the first thing you should do is check Article 2.3 of the Bylaws, which will provide you with information about exactly when regular board meetings are scheduled.
Note that these dates and times are not easily open to modification (unless the bylaws themselves are changed). If you discover that you cannot participate in regular board meetings because they are scheduled at a time that clashes with other fixed existing commitments that you have, then – unfortunately! – you should probably not offer to serve on the board at the present time.
We take this planned approach to scheduling board meetings for several reasons. Setting regular meeting dates and times far into the future makes board member scheduling as simple and transparent as possible for all prospective and current participants. We ask that everyone be clear from the outset about what the exact scheduling commitments are that they will be required to take on. We also ask that all prospective board members agree to commit to this schedule before seeking to join the board.
If your schedule changes and timing conflicts begin after you begin serving on the board, it will not be possible to reschedule board meetings to fit your newly changed circumstances, for the reasons described above. So under these kinds of circumstances, you will probably need to resign from the board. Basically, the rule of thumb is that it is not feasible to stay on the board if you are unable to participate in the established schedule of meetings.
What is the Meeting Frequency?
Regular board meetings are currently held every month. All meetings occur online, via Zoom. As noted above, they occur on the designated days and times specified in the bylaws. Again, you should expect to be available for all regular board meetings. The meetings will usually last about two hours.
If you choose to serve on additional board committees or work groups, these other groups may meet at different and potentially idiosyncratic times. This may depend on the specific group’s preferences. These meeting times are usually flexibly arranged by the chair of the group. So to participate in these other groups you may need to have additional flexible time available outside of regularly scheduled meetings. Participation in at least some other committees or work groups in addition to regular board meetings is highly desirable. It is important that all board members participate in the full spectrum of governance activities as much as possible. You will be a more effective board member if you participate in this way!
Must I Attend All Meetings?
Generally, yes. Of course, if illness or other unexpected emergencies arise, you may need to miss an occasional meeting. But the rule of thumb is that you should expect to be present for all regularly scheduled meetings. Missing more than a certain number of consecutive meetings may result your removal remove from the board. See Article 2.5 of the Community Board Bylaws for more details.