VIEW, VOICE, VOTE, VETO: Engaging Your Volunteers at the Appropriate Level

2 View, Voice, Vote, Veto Vice President, Philanthropy Hospital Sisters Health System President, Hospital Sisters of St. Francis Foundation Springfield, IL Board member, Hospital Sisters of St. Francis Foundation CEO (Retired), Hospital Sisters Health System, Eastern Wisconsin Division CEO (Retired), St. Mary’s Hospital Medical Center & St. Vincent Hospital Green Bay, WI Dan McCormack Jim Coller

3 1.Clearly identify and understand the type of volunteer board that your organization has 2.Develop appropriate boundaries, roles and responsibilities for your volunteers 3.Communicate those boundaries and roles to your volunteers in a way that sustains their relationship to the organization Objectives

4 What kind of Board do you have?  Fiduciary / Asset management  The Board has authority and control over the disposition of the organization’s assets  Indemnity & Insurance  Vote / Veto power  Consultative / Advisory  Just because it’s “advisory” doesn’t mean it’s not important  View / Voice power

5  Articles of Incorporation  Charter; spells out the corporate purpose  Bylaws  “Rules of Engagement”; specific enumeration of powers and protocols  Important, but they frequently do not tell the full story or express the full range of duties What kind of Board do your governing documents say you have?

6  Routine activities  Board “Workplan” What kind of Board do your practices say you have?

7 What kind of Board do your volunteers think you have?  Is there agreement between the organization and its volunteer supporters?  Is the agreement real, or just assumed?  How “entrenched” are your volunteers in their role?

8 Catholic (and other Faith-based) Boards  What are the express and implied levels of authority for lay boards?  Express authority may be very limited  How do you identify and define an appropriate role for your board?  Do they have a View, a Voice, a Vote, or a Veto?

9 View – Voice –Vote – Veto  View: Volunteers can look (but they can’t touch)  Not even an advisory role  Honorific; Names on a letterhead  A clear “line-of-sight” to the MISSION

10 View – Voice –Vote – Veto  View: The board can look (but it can’t touch)  Not even an advisory role  Honorific; Names on a letterhead  A clear “line-of-sight” to the MISSION  Voice: The board can speak  Advisory only  Guidance and direction, but no decision-making  They speak for the organization

11 View – Voice –Vote – Veto  Vote: The board can raise its hand  Limited decision-making authority  Not the last word

12 View – Voice –Vote – Veto  Vote: The board can raise its hand  Limited decision-making authority  Not the last word, though  Veto: The board can bang the gavel  Final decision-making authority

13 Case Study: Our Foundation & Our “Friends”  A brief history  Parent foundation with 13 local divisions  Only two lay members of parent foundation  Hospital development committees become “Friends”

14 Case Study: Our Foundation & Our “Friends”  Evolution:  Discernment leads to greater lay involvement  Friends “boards” assume fiduciary responsibilities for themselves

15 What we did at HSHS  Authority matrix  Triennial schedule for document review  Board “job description”  Organizational responsibility, not individual board member responsibilities

16 What we did at HSHS  Friends “Operating Principles”  A clear statement of the organization’s purpose  Friends “Board of Directors” becomes the “Friends Leadership Council”  Statement of Roles & Responsibilities  Reciprocal: It also states what the organization will do for its volunteers

17 Wrap-up: Bringing it to your organization  Determine the appropriate role for your volunteers  Task of management, but not done in isolation  Use task forces and committees  Identify and categorize duties  Start at the top and work downward  Job description & Workplan  Operating principles  Statement of roles and responsibilities

18 View, Voice, Vote, Veto LAST WORDS & FINAL THOUGHTS

19 View, Voice, Vote, Veto THANK YOU