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MN One-Stop for Communities
Board Member's Roles
& Application Form

Minnesota One-Stop for Communities (MN One-Stop) is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization that started in 2012 as a parent mentor program for families in the Child Protection System. Since 2012, MN One-Stop has branched out and now provides housing and emergency shelter to families with children and single adults who are struggling with homelessness in St. Paul and Ramsey County. In 2020, MN One-Stop started providing housing navigation services to adults in Ramsey County COVID-19 shelters and hotels.

 

Today, MN One-Stop offers a Parent Mentor Program, Long-Term Homelessness Support, Housing Stability Services, and Emergency Shelter Services. Additional wrap-around services, such as daily living skills, financial literacy, resources for employment, mental health resources, community connectedness, and education support are available to program participants.

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What makes MN One-Stop different from the rest is most staff, leadership, and board members identify as persons of color and come from within the community of those receiving services. MN One-Stop gives its employees opportunities they otherwise wouldn't be able to attain, and staff voices are the first to be incorporated into the programming and services. Their lived experiences speak to the ways in which services are delivered.

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One of the most important aspects of the work we do at MN One-Stop is to purposefully and intentionally be kind and generous to all participants we serve in our programs. We believe everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter their life circumstances, because we recognize that any of our own circumstances could change at any moment. 

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If you are interested in becoming a volunteer board member, please download the application and then email it to the address provided in the document. 

Board Member Job Description

FUNCTION

The Board will support the work of Minnesota One-Stop for Communities (MN One-Stop) and provide mission-based leadership and strategic governance. While day-to-day operations are led by MN One-Stop’s chief executive officer (CEO), the Board-CEO relationship is a partnership, and the appropriate involvement of the Board is both critical and expected. As the highest leadership body of the organization and to satisfy its fiduciary duties, the board is responsible for:

  • Determining the mission of the organization and understanding its collective purpose

  • Selecting, supporting, and evaluating the performance of the chief executive

  • Strategic and organizational planning

  • Ensuring strong fiduciary oversight and financial management

  • Fundraising and resource development

  • Approving and monitoring the organization's programs and services

  • Enhancing the organization's public image

  • Assessing its own performance as the governing body of the organization

  • Ensuring legal and ethical integrity

 

Each individual board member is expected to:

  • Know the organization's mission, policies, programs, and needs as well as understand its collective purpose

  • Faithfully read and understand the organization's financial statements and board materials in advance of meetings

  • Serve as active advocates and ambassadors for the organization

  • Fully engage in identifying and securing the financial resources and partnerships necessary for the organization to advance its mission

  • Leverage connections, networks, and resources to develop collective action to achieve the organization's mission

  • Give a meaningful personal financial donation

  • Help identify personal connections that can benefit the organization's fundraising and reputational standing, and influence public policy

  • Prepare for, attend, and conscientiously participate in board meetings

  • Participate fully in one or more committees or taskforces

  • Engage in learning opportunities to better understand the community we serve

  • Respect the experiences of all who bring their voices and lived

  • Uphold the legal duties and laws regarding nonprofit governance

  • Follow the organization's bylaws, policies, and board resolutions

  • Sign an annual conflict-of-interest disclosure and update it during the year if necessary, as well as disclose potential conflicts before meetings and actual conflicts during meetings

  • Maintain confidentiality about all internal matters of the organization

Board Officer Job Descriptions

CHAIR

The chair shall convene regularly scheduled board meetings, preside or arrange for other members of the executive committee to preside at each meeting in the following order: vice-chair, secretary and treasurer. Additional duties are listed below: 

  • Oversee board and executive committee meetings

  • Serve as ex-officio member of all committees

  • Work in partnership with the chief executive to make sure board resolutions are carried out

  • Call special meetings as necessary

  • Appoint all committee chairs, and with the chief executive, recommend who will serve on committees

  • Assist chief executive in preparing agenda for board meetings

  • Assist chief executive in conducting new board member orientation

  • Oversee the search for a new chief executive

  • Coordinate chief executive's annual performance evaluation

  • Work with the nominating committee to recruit new board members

  • Act as an alternate spokesperson for the organization

  • Consult with board members on their roles and help them assess their performance, individually and through an annual Board Self-Assessment

VICE CHAIR

The vice chair shall chair committees on special subjects as designated by the board. Other duties are as follows:

  • Attend all board meetings

  • Serve on the executive committee

  • Carry out special assignments as requested by the board chair

  • Understand the responsibilities of the board chair and be able to perform these duties in the chair's absence

  • Participate as a vital part of the board leadership

SECRETARY

The secretary shall be responsible for keeping records of board actions, including overseeing the taking of minutes at all board meetings, sending out meeting announcements, distributing copies of minutes and the agenda to each board member, and assuring that corporate records are maintained. Other duties performed by the secretary include the following:

  • Attend all board meetings

  • Serve on the executive committee

  • Maintain all board records and ensure their accuracy and safety

  • Review board minutes

  • Assume responsibilities of the chair in the absence of the board chair, chair-elect, and vice chair

  • Provide notice of meetings of the board and/or of a committee when such notice is required

TREASURER

The treasurer shall make a report at each board meeting. The treasurer shall chair the finance committee, assist in the preparation of the budget, help develop fundraising plans, and make financial information available to board members and the public. Additional duties are as follows:

  • Maintain knowledge of the organization and personal commitment to its goals and objectives

  • Understand financial accounting for nonprofit organizations

  • Serve as financial officer of the organization and as chairperson of the finance committee

  • Manage, with the finance committee, the board's review and action related to the board's financial responsibilities

  • Work with the chief executive and the chief financial officer to ensure that appropriate financial reports are made available to the board on a timely basis

  • Assist the chief executive or the chief financial officer in preparing the annual budget and presenting the budget to the board for approval

  • Review the annual audit, as required by law, and answer board members' questions about the audit

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