Overview
Our new Bylaws, which were presented to the membership and approved at last fall’s annual meeting, included major changes that we hope improved our governance. One set of modifications moved several responsibilities into Policies and Procedures, as the Bylaws working group felt future adjustments in those areas should not require that a vote be taken of the entire membership. The Bylaws now primarily address:
- the society’s purpose
- rules for membership
- responsibilities of the Board of Directors (BOD)
- the definition of standing committees
- meetings of the BOD
- the annual meeting & elections
- amendments to the Bylaws
This allowed the Bylaws to be condensed from twenty-two pages to six. Most of what was eliminated was moved to Policies and Procedures—making changes to those items simply a matter of votes by the BOD. You can find the Bylaws on our website under the “About Us” tab on the homepage.
New Committees Established
Those revisions also defined specific committees that are responsible for major functions. This article attempts to explain that structure and how it facilitates the society’s ongoing activities. The following table lists a brief description of the focus for each standing committee.
| Committee | Description |
|---|---|
| Audit | Conducts an annual audit of records to validate the integrity of our financial record |
| Communications | Manages all forms of communication to the membership and the general public |
| Digital Resources | Manages all internet, network, computers, printers, and digital archives |
| Education | Manages all education (lectures, programs, SIGs, outreach, and pin programs) |
| Executive | Acts for the BOD between its meetings and set the BOD meeting’s agenda |
| Facilities | Manages our building space, security, and parking |
| Finance | Manages accounting and budget process; recommends investment strategy |
| Library | Manages library staffing, acquisitions, cataloging, subscriptions, and visitor help |
| Membership | Oversees membership recruitment and retention |
| Nominating | Seeks and receives nominations to the BOD annually |
| Operations | Coordinates & facilitates for committees; ensures deliverables are on track |
| Publications | Manages all book, journal, and newsletter publishing in print or digital |
| Research Svcs | Manages all genealogical research requests |
| Volunteers | Understands staffing needs; manages staff recruitment and recognition |
| Website | Manages the website, its security, and its updates to keep it current |
In addition, the President or the Board of Directors may create ad hoc committees for a specific task.
Our Bylaws Committee is an example of an ad hoc committee—called only when there is a need. Others might include organizing the fall conference, parish book transcriptions, or an improvement to the library.
Organization Chart
Each committee chairperson:
- can select other volunteers to assist that committee
- may submit budget requests annually
- provides reports to the BOD when requested
- is accountable to the BOD
- coordinates the committee’s interactions with other committees
The day-to-day operations of the society are now conducted within these committees. The Operations Committee ensures information flows between committees so that schedules and deadlines are met. It operates as a switchboard, when needed. Any issues or requests for assistance go to the Executive Committee.
The Board of Directors, which now meets quarterly, is generally removed from these day-to-day activities. It is responsible for setting the society’s direction, holding a fiduciary trust for our assets, strategic planning, and establishing any new committees when necessary.
Functional Organization
Three of the committees usually meet once per year (Audit, Nominating and, sometimes, Bylaws). The other twelve committees function throughout the year and conduct the lion’s share of the society’s business. The Operations committee works to support all eleven others and the rest fall into three logical groupings, shown below:
By way of example, in the “Library” grouping the Research Services team relies heavily on the library’s print resources (Library Committee) as well as our subscription databases (Digital Resources) to complete their genealogy research for our clients.
Growing membership, strong finances, and sufficient volunteers allow the society to sustain and improve the resources we provide to members and the public. These are contained within the “Internal” grouping.
Our classes, records, and outreach involve a lot of cooperation between the website, communications, education, and publications committees. None work in isolation. Programs are developed by the Education committee, advertised by the Communications committee, print versions are disseminated by the Publications committee and updates are posted on the website. This “External” group is responsible for delivering almost everything that a visitor or member would expect from us.
Committee Responsibilities
Each committee has a set of activities that it’s responsible for. The following three diagrams identify the major activities for the committees in each of the three groupings. These charts are intended as a model to help you identify where most of our internal tasks and our customer services are located within the organization.
Summary
Usually, Bylaws changes result in incremental improvements to a non-profit’s operation. These changes from 2022 are an exception. They’ve provided a well-defined structure that should allow us to operate more effectively in the future.
They also focus day-to-day operations at the Executive Committee and below—freeing up our Board of Directors to concentrate on our overall performance as a genealogical society and on what’s critical for our future.
What remains is for us to deliver on this promising regorganization by staffing our committees with more volunteers, getting comfortable with some of these new roles, and finding a few more committee chairs.
Hopefully, you will consider helping us – there are a myriad of ways to do that, both large and small. To look at those opportunities just sign in to the Members’ Area and click on the “Volunteer Hub.” And please send any questions, comments, or interests to mail@vtgenlib.org and we’ll respond.
