Committees

WGA Committee Structure: Opportunities for Involvement

Steering Committee

Responsible for establishing strategic direction for and management of WGA. Composition: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chairs of Standing Committees, Liaison to The Community Foundation (TCF) Board of Trustees, TCF staff, nine at-large members. The five Founding Members are Honorary Members. Meets four times per year.

Operating Committee

Responsible for day-to-day activities. Composition: Officers, Chairs of Standing Committees and Staff Liaison to The Community Foundation. Meets six times per year.

Communications/PR Committee

Responsible for strategy and implementation of internal communications, external communications and press relations. The Committee's Co-Chairs are appointed by the President. Any WGA member may join the committee and serve on one or both of the following teams:

  • External Communications and Public Relations: Responsible for developing and implementing an annual plan of press releases, stories, and other external communication about WGA and its activities.
  • Internal Communications: Responsible for internal communications that support members' awareness and understanding of WGA's “story.” Responsible for coordinating the timing, content and collection of stories for WGA Newsletter.

Education Committee

Responsible for organizing membership meetings and activities which expand members' awareness and knowledge about strategic philanthropy, WGA's Fields of Interest for Grantmaking, and WGA's grants (the programs and their impact). The Committee's Co-Chairs are appointed by the President. Any member may join the committee.

Finance/Operation Committee

Responsible for coordinating with The Community Foundation to prepare, monitor, and oversee the budget and Endowment Fund; and any policies and practices related to dues payment. The Committee is chaired by the Treasurer and Finance Committee Co-Chair who is appointed by the President. Additionally, the committee is responsible for working with the Community Foundation staff to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the WGA's day-to-day and longer-term operations. Any WGA member may join the Committee.

Grants Committee

WGA’s Grants Committee works in three teams - Community Research, Decision and Evaluation. One goal of dividing the work into manageable chunks is to involve more WGA members in the grants process. We welcome to the Committee members who bring past grants experience, as well as those who bring equally valuable fresh perspectives to our grantmaking.

Community Research Team

In 2008, the Community Research Team is focusing its efforts on the following topics:

*WGA awarded initiative grants in these focus areas in 2007.

Decision Team

The Decision Team chooses areas for initiatives based on recommendations from the Community Research Team; issues and reviews Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for initiatives and for further funding of programs currently supported by WGA grants; and recommends grants to the membership for ratification. For the 2007 annual funding cycle, the team decided not to issue RFPs for competitive grants, but rather to consider only negotiated grants. This process involved working with a limited number of agencies to develop proposals in three initiative areas. In March, the 2008 Decision Team will decide how to proceed for the current grant cycle. Discretionary Grants (one-time awards of up to $5,000) are handled differently.

Evaluation Team

The Evaluation Team visits and reports on agencies that have current grants and those seeking new grants.

Membership Committee

Responsible for coordinating events and activities to recruit new members; new member orientation and strategies for retaining current members. The Committee' Co-Chairs are appointed by the President. Any member may join the committee.

Nominating Committee

Responsible for developing the proposed slate of officers and filling any open positions and At-Large Members of the Steering Committee. The Chair is the immediate Past President and committee members are appointed by the current Steering Committee.

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