Volunteering

This week (and weekend) I am helping my wife comply with the requirements for accreditation for the Community Foundation of West Kentucky.  The accreditation agency is the Council on Foundations, a nationally based association.  By going through this work, a community foundation is forced to take a hard look at every practice in place. It truly is a comprehensive review.

To give you an idea of the magnitude of the process, you must complete the work and include the required documentation for all 35 tabs.  This is not a project for the light hearted or non detailed oriented individual.

You must respond to countless requests. Examples include articles of incorporation, by laws, amendments, corporate resolutions, annual reports, newspaper clippings, newsletters, and minutes of board and executive committee meetings. It is not just providing the requested documents; you must read each one and show how it answers a point within each of the 35 tabs. It is a strenuous process, but then any worthwhile accreditation exercise is exactly that.

If you want an idea of what a community foundation is, go to http://www.cfwk.org/ and read the description. You may have one in your area. These are excellent vehicles to endow funds and use it for philanthropic benefit.

Now I know what you are thinking. You have to "volunteer".  Perhaps at first that is what I felt or more like she needs the help. 

Upon reflection. I have enjoyed my time at the community foundation offices. One of the least tasteful tasks I was given at the beginning and one I enjoyed the most at the end was reading all the board minutes since the foundation was started, over 16 years worth of board and executive committee minutes. What a rich and fascinating history the foundation has! You see what issues they struggled with at every meeting, the dedication of the volunteer board members, the growth pains, and other challenges. 

My first few days were spent working to complete tabs 6-18 and helping to finalizing tabs 1-5.  Boy, did I gain a new level of appreciation.

What do I appreciate? You appreciate people that took good minutes and agendas. You appreciate clearly stated board resolutions, and governing documents. You appreciate the work others have done before you. You appreciate clearly understood filing (a truly misunderstood skill). You also appreciate what might be missing.

Perhaps most importantly, I volunteered. My list of personal benefits is numerous.  For example, I have a far better understanding of her job, an increased knowledge of community foundations, an immense gratitude of the work of so many dedicated volunteer board members, the struggles of a non-profit organization, and the importance of working through an accreditation process.

The accreditation work spearheaded by my wife is among the most important milestones ever attempted and (hopefully) achieved by the community foundation. As a volunteer, I am pleased to play a small role.