Board Opportunity Postings

Many Community Partners volunteers join the Board of Directors of the nonprofit organization they worked with on a Community Partners project. But we also have on-going requests from previous nonprofit clients to let HBS alumni know about Board opportunities and from HBS alumni who already serve on nonprofit boards to post new openings for their organizations. HBS cites a statistic that over 75% of alumni will serve on a nonprofit board at some point during their careers.

We will list Board opportunities for current and former Community Partners clients as well as opportunities to serve on nonprofit boards offered by HBSA/NC alumni on this page. At the present time, this is simply a listing service, not a matching service. We leave it to you to follow up to find out whether the opportunity is right for you. 

Nonprofit Organizations Seeking HBS Alumni Board Candidate

Leah's Pantry: Leah's Pantry is looking for motivated, enthusiastic board members to guide and support our organization, which inspires healthy eating for all through a wide variety of nutrition education and cooking programs. The organization works throughout California but the main office and most board members are in the Bay Area. The full Board meets six times per year in San Francisco and has excellent communication with the executive director. Each board member participates in at least one of three committees: finance, governance or development, and participates in committee work throughout the year via email, phone, and in-person meetings. The primary roles of board members are to serve as ambassadors for the organization, help build capacity through fundraising and to guide the ED in overall direction of the organization. They make personal contributions of time, money, connections and expertise. In particular, we are seeking board members with financial management skills, fundraising experience and/or previous experience serving on a nonprofit board of directors. Please contact Board President Kate Bedford (board@leahspantrysf.org) for more information. View full job description here.

First Place for Youth: First Place for Youth is currently seeking individuals with experience in cultivating individual and corporate donors, technology, scaling a business, marketing, and finance, and who have a passion to advocate for change and promote opportunity for underserved populations, specifically youth transitioning from foster care to join our board of directors.  

First Place for Youth is the largest agency in California dedicated exclusively to providing access to affordable housing and resources for transition-age foster youth and has grown to become a nationally recognized model.  Since our founding in 1998, we have provided thousands of California foster youth with the housing, employment, and educational support needed to make the difficult transition from foster care to independent living.  With these critical resources, youth are significantly more likely to overcome homelessness, poverty, low educational achievement, and poor health.  First Place now leverages our unique position and reputation as a high quality service provider to advocate for change on behalf of all foster youth. 

Over the next five years, First Place aims to embark on a new phase of growth anchored by three interconnected objectives of expansion, third party evaluation and financial sustainability to help us achieve our long-term vision: All foster youth in the United States can make a successful transition to adulthood by achieving self-sufficiency so that the disparities between these youth and their non-foster care peers are eliminated. Click on the following link to learn more about First Place’s strategic direction: http://www.firstplaceforyouth.org/document.doc?id=140 

The board of directors is responsible for advising, governing and overseeing the direction and policy of the organization. It is also accountable for the fiscal well being of the organization; and the membership it represents by assessing organizational effectiveness and regularly evaluating its own performance. 

Pending approval from First Place for Youth board of directors, potential board prospects are elected for two year terms and may serve no more than three consecutive terms. The full board meets four times a year (March, June, October & December) on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 5-8pm at First Place for Youth’s Oakland Headquarters or via teleconference. For more information about First Place for Youth please visit www.firstplaceforyouth.org.  For more information or to apply, contact Erica Berry, EBerry@firstplaceforyouth.org. 

Meritus College Fund: Meritus helps low-income San Francisco youth with grit and ambition complete a college degree and prepare for post-college success through a combination of scholarships, coaching, personal mentorship and career awareness. Our mission addresses issues impacting access to and completion of higher education for youth who lack economic means but not the drive and determination to pursue a degree. 

Our Scholars must receive a high school GPA of 3.0-3.7 to be eligible for consideration in our program - exceptional outcomes for young adults facing daunting situations. Since 1996, Meritus has provided more than $7mm in scholarship assistance and countless measures to help our Scholars succeed. Our college graduation rate of 87% far outdistances national completion statistics for low- income, first-generation youth which lie at 23%. For more information please see: www.meritus.org.

Meritus would like to invite prospective board candidates with backgrounds in finance and marketing to learn more about our mission and programs. Your expertise will solidify initiatives designed to help expand our funding base and broaden our branding and messaging. All board members are expected to further the financial objectives of the organization. Our board meets seven times annually. Members also participate on board committees.For more information, please contact Executive Director, Diana Wolf at Diana@meritusfund.org 

Outward Bound California (NEW): which was established six years ago, is a new local chapter of Outward Bound, the international experiential learning organization which runs transformative programs structured to build personal strengths needed to succeed in life.

It is comprised of two parts. One is the Bay Area Center which is located in the Presidio in San Francisco.  The Center runs scholarship programs during the school day for under-served, low income middle and high school students in public schools. The program, in which teachers participate, consists of classroom sessions combined with a progression of one, five and fourteen day courses run in a combination of urban, park and wilderness venues.  The emphasis of the program is on putting the students through rigorous experiential learning challenges which develop self confidence, motivation and leadership skills which they lack in their very limited experiences.  Last year we served 1,100 students.

The other part is the Sierra Base Camp, located in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains near the entrance of Yosemite Park, which runs 2-3 week wilderness courses in the mountains. These are primarily fee-based courses which have the same objectives and experiential learning emphasis as the city courses. This program served 250 students last year.  We are an independent 501(c)3 organization which has a board with full fiduciary and organization direction responsibilities, and are looking to expand our board with 2-3 new members. As a relatively new organization, we are very much in a growth and direction development stage, and are looking for board members who share our passion for helping develop under-served youth and want to actively participate in helping build the organization. As a board member, you will be asked to attend six board meetings and one board retreat a year, serve on one board committee and help solicit potential donors. The total time commitment will be 20-25 hours a year.  If you are interested, please contact Josh Brankman, Executive Director, at jbrankman@outwardbound.org. 

San Francisco Parks Alliance: looking for new board member with a CPA background.  Ideally, this individual will be with one of the Big 4 - Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young or Price Waterhouse.  We are not looking for pro bono audit services, we simply want to bring a public accounting skill set into our board room. 

The mission of San Francisco Parks Alliance (SFPA) is to inspire and promote civic engagement and philanthropy to protect, sustain, and enrich San Francisco parks, recreation, and green open spaces. A membership organization funded primarily by individual donations, foundation grants and bequests, SFPA focuses its activities on advocacy, philanthropy and stewardship of our parks. A principal activity of SFPA is to serve as the fiscal sponsor to neighborhood groups that band together to raise funds and improve their local parks and recreation facilities. At present, SFPA is assisting over 100 grass-roots organizations throughout the City. More information about us can be found on our website:  http://www.sfparksalliance.org.

SFPA is governed by a board of directors comprised of 25 members who are elected by the board for a maximum of three two-year terms. The board represents a broad range of professions, skills and neighborhoods in the City and is unified by a passion and commitment to improving and maintaining San Francisco's parks, recreation and open spaces. This commitment may be manifested in volunteer and community service, advocacy or philanthropy. The ideal director will bring their insights, their personal networks and their professional skills to the board. A list of current board members is available on the website.  SFPA currently holds 11 monthly board meetings (recessed in August) and the committees of the board meet monthly as well. An annual half-day retreat is usually scheduled on one weekend. Directors are expected to be able to dedicate 4~6 hours per month to SFPA meetings. Board members should make an annual contribution of significance to him/her as well as financially support the Alliance's annual fundraising event. 

If you are interested, please contact John Ware, Board Member at tcheware@mac.com. 

Clausen House: enriches the quality of life for the developmentally disabled in Alameda County by creating opportunities for them to gain competency, develop relationships, and join the community with increasing command over their own lives. Clausen House began in 1967 as a single group home - a pioneering concept at the time. Today Clausen House serves 203 developmentally disabled adults impacted by mental retardation, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, who benefit from our Residential program, Adult Education program, Supported Employment services, Independent and Supported Living programs. We are seeking two new members for our active Board of Directors.  We are particularly looking for candidates with expertise in development, marketing, or public relations, or in finance/accounting.  We meet monthly, near Lake Merritt, on the third Wednesday of the month. Website: www.clausenhouse.org. To learn more, contact Board President Bob Carloni at board@clausenhouse.org .  

Noe Valley Chamber Music (NVCM):  is now celebrating a 20 year history of chamber music performances by both established and emerging local artists. This year's seven concert series ends when Jake Heggie returns to our series, bringing the fabulous, world-famous Frederica von Stade to wrap up our 20th season in style! 

NVCM’s mission is to demystify the classical music experience by presenting first-rate performances of both traditional and innovative chamber music in an intimate setting, thereby enhancing the connection between audience and performers. 

Noe Valley Chamber Music is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 that presents chamber music performances by the Bay Area’s most outstanding artists and ensembles in warm and intimate concert venues. The series is managed by an all-volunteer Board (five members currently) and a part-time Executive Director with a small operating budget.

NVCM offers concerts of excellent quality at an affordable price (tickets are only $15-25, children 12 and under are free), as well as unparalleled opportunities for audience participation and socialization. We often facilitate discussion between artists and audience, and ask performers to talk informally about their music from the stage. Thus, members of our community experience this wonderful music in the authentic chamber music tradition.

We are looking for new board members who can add strength to our series in the area of publicity and fund raising. We can offer you an education in chamber music if you can help our organization with outreach.  If interested, contact Don Spradlin, deweydon@gmail.com.

Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society (BEBHS): Are you an animal lover who has 6-8 hours a month to help create a new shelter for homeless dogs and cats? Do you have experience or interest in fundraising, finance, animal shelter programs or working with local government? The Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society (BEBHS) is looking for committed people to play key roles in the effort to rebuild its animal shelter and hospital.

It’s an exciting time to join the BEBHS board as we work toward our ambitious goal of an improved facility where homeless animals will find a better life.  BEBHS has been helping dogs and cats in our community meet their perfect adopters for 85 years. We estimate that, since our doors opened, we have helped well over 40,000 animals find homes. Countless other homeless animals have received top-notch medical care in our veterinary hospital.

 As a board member, you will be asked to attend one 2-hour board meeting each month, one 6-hour board retreat a year, and serve on one board committee. Your monthly time commitment will average about 6 to 8 hours. You will also be asked to meet a minimum annual financial contribution.  If you are interested in contributing your time, talent and expertise, please send your resume and cover letter to kermielin@hotmail.com.

Fair Housing of Marin: seeks new board members who share our mission, which is to ensure equal housing opportunity and to educate the community on the value of diversity in our neighborhoods.  We serve individuals, landlords, lending professionals and the community through counseling, advocacy, legal seminars and education.  We protect individual rights by providing information to individuals on fair housing laws providing counseling and investigation of discrimination complaints; in addition we provide foreclosure counseling.  For professionals, we provide daily education on fair housing laws.  For the community we provide human rights educational programs for schoolchildren, community groups and social service agencies.  The Board meets 10 times a year on the 4th Tuesday of the month from 5:30-7:30 in San Raphael. If you are interested in learning more about this board opportunity, please contact Nancy Kenyon, nancy@fairhousingmarin.com. 

Intrigued? Contact us here.