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Board Tutorial
This board tutorial was created to help prospective board members learn
about serving on the Friends of Mosquito Hill board. If you have any
questions about becoming a board member, please email Steve Bongers.
To nominate someone to be considered as a board member, use the
candidate
information packet (pdf).
Board Information
Friends of Mosquito Hill, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization,
supports Mosquito Hill Nature Center (MHNC) which is owned and operated
by Outagamie County in central Wisconsin. Friends of Mosquito Hill
(FOMH) provides this support by underwriting the salary and directing
the activities of a volunteer coordinator, supporting a volunteer corps
of educators, and financially assisting Mosquito Hill Nature Center with
projects, exhibits and improvements.
FOMH funds and publishes a newsletter to communicate
with MHNC supporters. FOMH provides professional development
opportunities and support materials for MHNC staff, as well as training
opportunities and materials for volunteer naturalists. FOMH purchases
books for the MHNC library.
Funding sources include membership dues,
contributions, and proceeds from fundraising activities and investments.
The Board of Directors meets approximately monthly to
review and plan activities. Committees meet as needed. Communication is
maintained with MHNC staff via periodic meetings and electronic means.
MHNC staff and FOMH board jointly update the MHNC strategic plan.
FAQ
Who serves on the board?
Board members are MHNC volunteers, supporters, and others with a
specific interest in MHNC. The Director of MHNC also serves as a member
of the board, as a non-voting member.
What does the board actually do?
The board sets an annual budget for FOMH and directs the uses of funds.
Our single largest commitment is to hire, supervise, and pay the salary
of the half-time Volunteer Coordinator. The Volunteer Coordinator makes
sure that there are sufficient trained volunteers to assist the
professional MHNC staff in offering school programs, helping at events
and programs, and maintaining the buildings and grounds. An ad hoc Human
Resources committee communicates and meets regularly with the Volunteer
Coordinator, carries out an annual performance evaluation, updates the
board regularly, and makes recommendations to the board about pay,
benefits, and other issues.
At monthly board meetings, we review financial and
committee reports and make plans for upcoming events (e.g. FOMH annual
meeting) and initiatives, such as fundraising activities. We also plan
board development activities (participation in workshops, for example).
While we maintain active email correspondence as
needed, most of our work is accomplished via these monthly face-to-face
board meetings. These are times to share information, consider new
ideas, discuss issues, and bring each other up to speed on happenings
since the previous meeting.
Which committees are active?
Standing committees: Education, Newsletter, Membership, Spring
Fever Event and the Fenlon Event committees.
Ad hoc committees: Annual Meeting, Human
Resources, and Finance committees.
NOTES: While the ad hoc committees are composed solely
of board members, the standing committees are composed at this time
mostly of MHNC staff and/or volunteers, with a board representative on
each. The Spring Fever Event committee is a quasi-separate entity that
reports to the board via the MHNC Director.
How do we get funding?
The largest amount of income is from FOMH membership dues. A membership
renewal solicitation letter is sent to all members near the end of the
calendar year and most of the renewals are received between December and
March. Contributions from generous supporters and memorials provide
significant receipts. In recent years, the Spring Fever committee (see
below) has transferred several thousand dollars to the FOMH general fund
each year to support the Volunteer Coordinator position.
A “Friends of Mosquito Hill Educational Endowment
Fund” is established with the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley
Region, Inc. This endowment fund produces dividends that are reinvested
in the fund. It was established to provide a secure source of income to
benefit educational programs of FOMH and MHNC in the future. There are
no plans to use this money in the foreseeable future; rather, it is
hoped that the fund will continue to grow.
What are our fundraising activities?
Spring Fever
Although technically an activity of FOMH, a separate committee (with
FOMH board representation) has planned and carried out this successful
event annually. Revenue and expenses are tracked separately and Spring
Fever funds are maintained separately from Friends' general funds. Since
completion of the building project, the funds have been used for
displays, projects, and occasional repairs; a significant amount is
invested and awaiting use for future initiatives yet to be determined.
MHNC staff are heavily involved in the fundraising associated with this
event. Because of this, the Outagamie County Parks Director maintains
some approval authority over use of these funds. The FOMH board has
drafted a Memorandum of Understanding that which clarifies the
relationship between Outagamie County and FOMH regarding the use of the
Spring Fever funds and other revenues.
Human Race
The “Human Race” is an annual fundraising event sponsored by the
Volunteer Center of northeast Wisconsin. Each walker gathers
contributions, with proceeds being split between the Volunteer Center
and FOMH.
Where does the money go?
The greatest expenses are for Volunteer Coordinator wages and payroll
taxes. Business insurance, fundraising and marketing, and the
Transportation Fund are other significant expenses, followed by mailing
costs for membership letters and newsletters and MHNC staff support
expenses.
What is the Fenlon Event?
The late Dr. Chick Fenlon established a fund at the Community Foundation
in honor of his deceased wife, Charlotte Bates Fenlon, a longtime
Mosquito Hill volunteer. Each year the Fenlon committee brings a
nationally or regionally-known speaker or other program to the Fox
Cities with expenses paid by the Fenlon fund. The committee selects and
plans the events. FOMH handles the financial arrangements, paying the
associated bills and being reimbursed by the Fenlon fund. The event is
not intended as a fundraiser but as an educational event for the
community and a way to promote MHNC and FOMH.
What are the FOMH board's hopes for the
future?
1. An active and enlarged board of
directors, which has the capacity to assume leadership of nearly all
committees.
2. A board Governance Committee which
will provide recommendations toward reviewing and updating the board’s
statement of roles, responsibilities, and expectations of individual
board members; to periodically help clarify the areas of focus for board
work, to identify and recruit new board members; to provide an
orientation for new board members; to periodically assess the board’s
effectiveness, and to act as a nominating committee for board
leadership.
3. That the FOMH board and members
will actively promote Mosquito Hill Nature Center to Outagamie County
government members, especially during budget deliberations.
4. A “culture of fundraising” to be
established that is not an onerous burden but rather an unobtrusive part
of nearly everything we do. Board members will be excited about our
mission and that of MHNC and communicate this excitement to others. We
will cultivate donors (i.e., “friend raising”) assiduously, and work
hard to keep donors well-informed about the impact of their donations.
5. Membership has been slowly
declining, and a comprehensive plan to boost membership and interest
needs to be instituted. While many people are currently unaware that
FOMH and MHNC are separate entities, a marketing campaign for both
organizations will be developed and generate increased FOMH memberships
and contributions. (Program revenue will increase for MHNC as well.)
Future publications (print and online) should persuade the public to be
informed, interested, and active participants.
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