Board Meeting (Post #7)

Last night, I attended my first board meeting for Eryc Taylor Dance. The board only meets once every few months, so this was the only board meeting I could be present at. I'm glad that it fell during my internship, because it was definitely essential to understanding more about this company, other dance companies, and nonprofits in general.

In order to maintain status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it is important to have a board of directors. I'm not entirely well-versed on the process of applying for nonprofit status (as that was completed ten years ago with this particular company), but it is my understanding that there must be at least one director in order to do this, and that person is separate from the founder of the organization. I would like to learn more about that process sometime in the future.

The board of directors serves to oversee the operations and finances of the nonprofit. Our board members also contribute financially to our organization, and some grant applications require proof of that in order to apply. Many grant applications also require a list of the board members and their respective titles.

It was interesting to see how the board meetings operate, because prior to this I had only met one of the three members in real life, and the rest I had just communicated with over the phone and email. Our company manager prepared a board agenda to review, and as part of that I presented a list of all the responsibilities and tasks I've accomplished during my internship. It was satisfying to have the chance to formally acknowledge all the work that I've done over the past ten weeks.