Board of Directors

We are actively recruiting 2-3 individuals to join our Board of Directors in 2025, in addition to recruiting for advisory positions. Below you will find more detailed information about the opportunity, including a link to the full job description and working agreements, and a fillable form to recommend yourself or someone you know.

View Full Job Description & Working Agreements

Purpose & Overview

The Board of Directors is a group of dedicated volunteers, typically 12-15 people, committed to advancing the mission and programs of Lydia Place. The Board works together to establish overall policy and long-term strategy for Lydia Place, oversee organizational management, and monitor fiscal stability. Board members also connect Lydia Place to the community, serving as advocates for Lydia Place’s mission and values. The Board’s role is to help Lydia Place understand its community, achieve its mission, and expand its impact.  

This position offers a meaningful opportunity to contribute your experience, passion, and time to making a positive difference in the community. While day-to-day operations are led by Lydia Place’s Executive Director and a staff team, the board-E.D. relationship is a partnership, and the appropriate involvement of the board is both critical and expected. 

Approach to Our Work

As a board, we are invested in the mission and vision of Lydia Place, and center our organizational values of equity, community, upstream impact, and employee wellness in decision-making.  

We believe that housing in a basic human right and understand that years of systemic oppression and socioeconomic inequities, rooted in historical and structural racism, continue to perpetuate the cycle of homelessness. Therefore, our work as a board must play a critical role in collective efforts to bring about racial, economic, and social justice to disrupt the cycle. 
 
The Board acknowledges that we don’t have all the answers. We are committed to approaching our work together with humility, candor, and openness. While we are all equals, we respect that people with lived experience of poverty or oppression have an expertise that people without those experiences do not.

Time Commitment

Board members are typically elected to serve a three-year term, with the possibility of being re-elected for two more terms.  

Board members typically spend 5-8 hours per month on the following activities: 

  • Board meeting: 2 hours, 6 times/year (typically, the 3rd Monday, in the evening) 
  • Board learning (meeting packets, organizational updates, etc.): 1-2 hours/month 
  • Board committee meetings: 2 hours/month 
  • Representing Lydia Place at community events/meetings: 1 hour/month 
  • Other assignments as determined by board or committee (for example: research, outreach, thank-you calls to donors, etc): On average, 1-2 hours/month 

During certain months, members spend additional hours on special tasks, meetings, and events, such as a donor appreciation event or an annual board retreat. 

Gifts & Reimbursement

In recognition of their time and contributions, board members will receive a cash-value gift four (4) times per year, not to exceed $800 annually. Additionally, board members may request reimbursements for caretaking costs and parking/mileage directly related to attending board meetings, committees, and events. 

Please note: Board members are not employees, and gifts and reimbursements are not income. Gifts and reimbursements do not constitute an employment agreement; rather, they are to encourage access and participation by diverse community voices and to acknowledge the value of diverse board members’ contributions. 

Responsibilities and Expectations of the Board

  • Governance and Strategic Leadership 
  • Housing Justice, Racial Equity, and Anti-Poverty Work 
  • Program and Impact Evaluation 
  • Financial Oversight 
  • Legal and Ethical Compliance  
  • Advocacy, Community Engagement, and Fundraising
  • Board Development 

Lydia Place Board And Volunteer Recommendation Form

Lydia Place is currently seeking individuals who are interested in serving our organization on our Board of Directors, and in specific advisory roles.

Our Board of Directors is a group of dedicated, diverse volunteers committed to advancing the mission and programs of Lydia Place. The Board works together to establish overall policy and long-term strategy for Lydia Place, oversee organizational management, and monitor fiscal stability. Board members also connect Lydia Place to the community, serving as advocates for Lydia Place’s mission and values.

While there are limited seats on our Board of Directors, we also offer regular opportunities such as advisory roles for individuals to invest their time, talents, and expertise to help expand our reach in the community, achieve our annual fundraising targets, and advise on key issues related to strategic decision-making and fiscal management.

To recommend yourself or someone you know as a prospective Lydia Place Board Member or Advisor, please complete the following information below:

Lydia Place Board And Advisory Recommendation Form

Name of person I am recommending(Required)

I recommend the following person for (please check all that apply):

Board of Directors, related to:
Advisory Role, related to:

Contact info for recommended person:

I am/am not available to make an introduction.(Required)
If recommending someone other than yourself, have you discussed the possibility of getting involved with Lydia Place with the person you are recommending?(Required)

Completed By:

Name