Call for Board Members
August 2016
The New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF) seeks new members for its Board of Directors. NYAAF’s Board Members are all volunteers operating together as a collective. The Board is responsible for all areas of NYAAF’s development and operations.
ABOUT NYAAF
NYAAF believes every individual should be able to determine their own reproductive destiny and have access to the resources, rights, and respect to be able to do so. We aim to support anyone who is unable to pay fully for an abortion, and is living in or traveling to New York State, by providing financial assistance and connections to other resources. NYAAF strives to conduct our work in service of reproductive justice, advocating for the full reproductive rights of all people, especially those who have historically had unequal access to reproductive healthcare, including low-income people, people of color, immigrants, and LGBT and gender-nonconforming people.
NYAAF Board operations primarily consist of:
1)Direct engagement with clients to pledge funds toward the cost of their abortions;
2)Fundraising to ensure NYAAF can continue to support its clients; and
3)Managing NYAAF’s growth and development in the context of the greater reproductive justice movement.
NYAAF is currently at an exciting juncture—we are incorporating recommendations from a recent strategic plan, embracing a new leadership structure, and moving forward with a mission and vision guided by reproductive justice. Joining the Board at this crucial moment will provide an opportunity to shape NYAAF’s direction, sustainability, and impact.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We seek Board Memberswho can contribute their skills, passion, and dedication to NYAAF’s mission. We seek to fill specific roles on the Board (see “Open Roles” section below)and are also seeking “at-large” members who can contribute to the organization. Consider addressing any of the following as you shape your application:
●We seek individuals who align with our mission and values (see those here).
●We seek people with vision, leadership skills or potential, excellent interpersonal skills, and enthusiasm for working within a team.
●We hope to create leadership opportunities and elevate the voices of those who have historically been excluded from the reproductive rights movement, including people of color, trans and gender-nonconforming people, young people (18-25), and those who have experienced difficulty in accessing necessary health care.
●We seek diversity in identity, perspective, and experience, including diversity in race, ethnicity, age, economic status, educational experience, status as a parent, ability, sexuality,
gender identity, national origin, religious perspective, professional and career experience, and
experience in accessing health care.
●People who have had an abortion or have experience with abortion services are strongly
encouraged to apply.
●Prior experience on a nonprofit board is not required to apply.
●A two-year commitment to serving as a Board Member is expected.
●We expect Board Members to be able to attend monthly Board meetings (either in-person or virtually). Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to provide or subsidize childcare.
●Board Members are expected to support NYAAF’s fundraising activities in ways that are feasible for each individual, including fundraising from your community. However, there is no fixed minimum amount that Board Members are required to contribute or raise for NYAAF.
●For all applicants, please highlight your interest, experience, and ability in any of the following:
○Grant-writing and working with foundations; organizing events; organizational development, including resource coordination; managing organizational change; communications; working in a collective; treasury skills and 501(c)(3) financial literacy and management; operations and human resources; incorporating social justice and anti-oppression values into nonprofit's practices; and nonprofit management experience.
●Priority will be given to applicants who express interest in a specific role or roles, but please note many roles do not require prior experience or expertise. Enthusiasm is the most important qualification!
APPLICATION PROCESS
You can download our application here. Once you’ve responded in the document and saved your answers, please send a single email, including attachments of your application and your resume or list of relevant experiences, to with subject line: “NYAAF Board Application_[Your name]”.
We will contact strong applicants to schedule a casual interview and to discuss what serving on the Board might look like for you. We view this as a two-way process. Not only do we hope to find individuals who will contribute to our work, values, and mission, but we also hope to be a good fit for your goals as a member of our Board of Directors.
TIMELINE
We will be accepting applications through October 11, 2016 at 11:59 PM, but early submission is strongly encouraged. Through October, we will be carefully reviewing applications and scheduling interviews, and you can expect to hear from us with final decisions in early November!
QUESTIONS?
Please direct any questions to To receive a response, inquiries must have “Inquiry: NYAAF Call for Board Members” in the subject line.
OPEN ROLES
Candidates are encouraged to apply for specific roles on the Board and to tailor their applications accordingly. Below is an outline of responsibilities of each role, although each new Board Member will have the opportunity to shape their role. Training will be provided where necessary (e.g. with software platforms used to manage our databases).
Please note applying to a specific role does not preclude consideration for an “at-large” Board position.
Treasurer
●Ensure 501c3, DBA and other paperwork is appropriately filed with the state
●Deposit checks and manage bank account
●Manage electronic transfers/accounts (e.g. NY Charities, Amazon Smile, Square)
●Manage financial transactions and contracts related to events, e.g. Bowl-a-Thon
●Track pledges made to clinics
●Pay general administration bills and invoices from clinics
●Give financial reports at Board meetings
●Provide the Data Coordinator with all completed intake forms from clinics
●Maintain TechSoup account
●Maintain NYAAF Quickbooks files
●Work with accountant to file taxes
Intake Manager
●Maintain NYAAF intake calendar and additional intake shift tracking and other resources, including ensuring coverage for all lines each week and assigning weekly rotation for Spanish and Support lines
●Maintain and update intake guidelines and policies
●Create and distribute additional resources to intake volunteers as necessary
●Organize and lead Spring and Fall case manager trainings, and organize supplemental case manager continuing education events
●Provide oversight of intake process and serve as back-up coverage for intake and support lines
●Serve as point-person for case manager-board communications.
●Handle on-boarding of new clinics
Volunteer Manager
●Recruit volunteers at NYAAF events
●Maintain and update list of current volunteers
●Keep volunteers informed of upcoming NYAAF and other reproductive justice-related events
●Maintain and serve as point-person for volunteers on Organizational Support Committee
●Serve as point-person for volunteer-Board communications
●Coordinate volunteer involvement in NYAAF events and activities
●Offer volunteers self-directed opportunities
Development Co-Manager
●Work with designated Board Members to cultivate major donors and to develop individual giving campaigns
●Co-coordinate events to establish and cultivate donor relationships
●Manage and update NYAAF donor database (NGP VAN)
●Maintain online giving account (NY Charities)
●Manage matching grants (in collaboration with Treasurer)
●Assist in annual report assembly and production
●Generate contribution reports as needed
●Check organization’s P.O. Box (3rd Ave. and 54th Street) bi-weekly and distribute mail to other Board members
●Draft and distribute acknowledgement letters in a timely manner
●Make thank you calls to high-level donors
●Set up online donation pages for fundraising events
●Direct annual End-of-Year Appeal and provide support for all fundraising mailings
Social Media Manager
●Update NYAAF website/solicit new content from Board Members and volunteers
●Create content for NYAAF Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts
●Work with Communications Manager to develop and disseminate rapid responses to relevant social, political, and cultural moments
●Post events on relevant NY-specific and feminist-related websites (Village Voice, Feministing, etc)
●Create Facebook events and promote events via social media and NYAAF website
Communications Manager
●Draft, update and ensure adherence to institutional communications guidelines
●Write and edit op-eds, testimony and other documents as needed
●Generate rapid responses to relevant social, political, and cultural moments
●Write and edit emails to NYAAF listserv
●Assist in writing and editing fundraising appeals, calls for action, Annual report etc.
●Field all media inquiries and ensure appropriate and timely response
●Monitor Google Alert for both “NYAAF” and “New York Abortion Access Fund” to track mentions of NYAAF in the press and coordinate response if necessary
●Work closely with the Social Media Manager to ensure cross-platform message consistency