House Blog

The transition team met today to discuss the composition of the Board and the process to have elections. Here were the outputs of our discussion.

Preliminary Decision

Individuals run for the board at large and there are internal elections once the board meets for positions.

Number of Board Members

4 housemates
5 positions

Board Position/Chair Responsibilities

President/Programming and Personnel
Vice President Membership
Secretary/Communications
Treasurer/Finance
Development/Fundraising

Number of Votes per person: 5 people

If more than 5 people are elected with equal votes, there will be a run-off vote.

Process

1. Test Board set-up at Retreat
o Get feedback from Retreat on process and decisions
2. Create the Board application form
3. Request Board nominations
4. Posting candidate responses online (gathered on application form)
5. Early online voting (for those unable to be at the Membership Meeting)
6. Membership meeting

• Candidate Forum
• Secret Ballot

Next Steps

1. Create the form (NR, MK)
2. Figure out the technology to run the electronic voting (JC)

This past Monday night, outgoing and incoming housemates met to share ideas and think about how best to prepare the new housemates for their exciting roles next year. Outgoing housemates discussed what they loved about living in the house - getting to know such amazing people and doing work aligned with their values - and some of the challenges, including living and working in the same space and with the same people. New housemates talked about their hopes and fears, and how we could work together to make next year the best possible experience for us and for Moishe/Kavod House. We talked about what skills, ideas, and relationships the new housemates need to develop for next year, and planned different ways for them to learn those things.

The Transition Team is continuing to work on proposing a way for Moishe/Kavod House to improve its organization, manage increasing growth, and accomplish our goals. A big part of that work is defining the structure of the Board of Directors the organization will need to form, as discussed at the first annual membership meeting.  That entails allocating responsibilities for all the work that needs to be done within Moishe/Kavod House. The Transition Team has tried to state the most important jobs that need to be done and determine a good way to allocate that work to the different groups involved with running Moishe/Kavod House. Nothing in that brainstorming is final, but it is in a state where the Transition Team thinks it would be useful to make their current work in progress on this part of their work visible to the entire membership.

Four different groups have roles in this preliminary proposal. The Board of Directors is mainly responsible for providing high-level direction. The Housemates are mainly responsible for the logistics necessary to carry out the organization’s vision. The Teams/Committees carry out the work the organization actually does to accomplish its goals, in conjunctions with the Housemates. (For example, the Shabbat Team runs a lot of our most important religious and communal events, and the Housing Justice Team runs some of our social justice work.) The full membership provides the energy of the community and makes it a fulfilling community and a useful organization, but obviously cannot be delegated many official responsibilities.

In the Transition Team’s current brainstorming, four different kinds of responsibility are given to these groups, in something known as a RACI analysis. A group designated as Responsible for a task actually has to execute it. A group Accountable for a task is expected to ensure that the responsibility for it is carried out by the right group.  A group that is Consulted regarding some task gives advice or guidance regarding it. Finally, a group Involved in a task is part of its execution, but does not hold ultimate responsibility or authority. Here is a spreadsheet describing the allocation of responsibilities the Transition Team is considering so far.  It is a work in progress. If you have questions or would like to discuss it, please e-mail Annie Fox (anniedfox@gmail.com).