Advisory Council Overview

Summary

The Advisory Council of Verbree International (VI) is made up of people who are independent advisers to VI operations as it applies to each of their areas of expertise.

The nature of VI's development work demands many skills and abilities. One person or even a small group of people cannot possibly have all of the necessary skills. VI recognizes the value of involving a wide variety of people with different backgrounds. This allows VI to operate more efficiently and proficiently as it is characterized not by a narrow scope of focus, but by a wider process of knowledge gathering and decision-making.

Through a diverse group of individuals with a variety of expertise, knowledge, and experiences, the Advisory Council aids direct staff in project development and technical areas and assists the decision-making of VI's Board of Directors.

If you are interested in helping the impoverished through development with VI, please consider being a member of VI's Advisory Council. Send an email to info@verbree.org stating your desire to be on the Advisory Council and your specific skills, areas of expertise, or experience.

We are particularly interested in those with experience in the areas of finance, fundraising, project management, agriculture, appropriate technology, cross-culture, policies and procedures, document review, and publishing.

Responsibilities

Advisory Council members have the responsibility of responding to solicitations for advice by the date specified (usually about 2 weeks).

The Advisory Council has different responsibilities than Board members. Advisory Council members may attend Board meetings as needed, but do not have any official voting privileges.

How it Works

VI continuously recruits Advisory Council members. Becoming an Advisory Council member is a relatively simple procedure: 1.A VI Board member or staff asks interested people to be on the Council. 2.If the person agrees, VI's Executive Director or Board President will give limited online access to VI's groupware website. All VI documents, discussions, work, etc. are posted to this site, and the Advisory Council member will be able to access this information as needed and will have an opportunity to review and/or create documents and respond with advice and suggestions. 3.Advisory Council members will be notified via email as new items arrive concerning their focus area(s).

Requirements

Active email address Access to a personal computer and the Internet A willingness to share their abilities, expertise, or experience with the impoverished and make a difference in the world

Privacy

VI takes every reasonable precaution to keep the names and email addresses of Advisory Council members confidential to the general public. However, you may select to share specific information about yourself amongst VI staff, directors, and other Advisory Council members through our groupware website.

Limit of Liability

Advisory Council members cannot be held responsible or fiducially liable for any organizational decision.

Termination

An Advisory Council member who has not submitted a response to the groupware website in over 6 months may be subject to automatic deletion of their groupware account. Once the account has been deleted, membership to the Advisory Council is terminated. An Advisory Council member can request immediate termination of their membership at any time. VI's Executive Director or Board President reserves the right to terminate an Advisory Council member at any time.