Awesummit2014:How Chapters Run
Introduction
Participating chapters: Edmonton, Kingston, Halifax, London (Ontario), Atlanta, New York City, Baltimore, Washington D.C.
Leadership Models:
- Dean/Deputy Dean Model: Two trustees (1 paying, 1 nonpaying) who manage administrative requests. 8+ additional trustees for grant giving. Currently, Washington D.C. operates with this model.
- Task Force Awesome Model (Dean, Steering Committee, Core 9): Three trustees (1 paying, 2 nonpaying) who make up the "Steering Committee." (AKA "Task Force Awesome") with 9 core trustees and rotating guest trustee spot. Currently, Kingston operates with this model.
- Team Dean Model: 4 (non-paying) individuals who each act as the team of Deans. No single person takes on all of the responsibility, responsibilities (like social media, meeting scheduling, and other coordination) are divided. Currently, Halifax operates with this model.
- Dean & Intern Model: 1 dean (paying) and an intern (or group of interns). The dean manages the administrative and financial aspects, interns help with promotions. Interns can be organized through a local university and can receive college credit. An alternative is to coordinate with a marketing class at a university who needs a project. Currently, Atlanta and London (Ontario) operate with this model, and Edmonton has worked with a marketing class group from a local university.
- Dean & PR Model: PR Ninja
Meeting Models:
- Social Hour Model: All voting happens online. Monthly "happy hour" meeting at the same location every month, all applicants invited to attend the happy hour, finalist presented with a big check at the happy hour.
- Meet and Deliberate Model: Trustees meet at agreed upon location and time, and review all applications submitted and come to a consensus after a debate. Winner is informed afterwards and the grantee is invited to the next meeting (as a potential guest trustee).
- Meet and Deliberate (Finalists) Model: Trustees meet at agreed upon location and time, and review all finalists, and come to a consensus after a debate. Winner is informed afterwards and the grantee is invited to the next meeting (as a potential guest trustee).
- Pitch Party Model: Trustees select finalists online, and meet at a public location every month. If an application has at least 3 separate trustees votes, the applicant gets invited to the pitch party and pitches there idea. The trustees meet in a "scrum" at the party, and select the finalist.
- Scheduled Commitment Model: Trustees (more than 10) review a calendar of available meetings for a year in advance and commit to at least 3 meetings.
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Cash Collection Models:
- Up Front: Trustees provide $1000/$1200 at the beginning of the year, thus committing them to the whole year.
- Venmo & Simple:
- DBA Account:
- Cash at Meeting:
Management Models:
- PR efforts
Raw notes included below.
- Interested (new chapter handbook) different methods of how different chapters run it
- Kingston, 9 trustees with rotating guest trustee (dean) - trustee engagement issue: not contributing to conversations. Dean, two other people (steering committee) coordinate and make decisions. Where are we going next? What's going to be? Guest presenter? Who is the guest trustee DEAN, 2 other volunteers (steering committee) - just wanted to contribute money One that wasn't a trustee. From that splintered into a different idea. Doesn't have to be the trustees doing the work. Task Force Awesome. - Where do those volunteers come from?
Halifax Team Deans, none of them are the dean. 4 of us - share social media, each have a day. Restructuring/rebranding -- 2 of us didn't have enough time -- none of us are trustees. (Halifax, has 20) - 3 cycles of trustees. Cash commitment, time commitment reduced by a third. turnover of deans, wave of trustees. 2 groups of 10. Alternate months. Bi-monthly model. One really successful months. 3 grants.
London - trustees who don't give money who just do the media stuff. trustee
Atlanta -- decided not to do that, get someone who was an adult. Our pipeline for ambassadors -- 60 applicants. Pipeline is school of journalism. dean role, college credit --> called college, justify why you need to have them. International site is as robust as it is - informs them of the mission.
London - also partnering with a university project/internship. High school teacher, who does an arts program. What art.
Edmonton - same thing, marketing class -->
Time commitments (4 hrs),
Atlanta -- important. Don't have live pitches. (Partners) "Social Good Sipping" happy hour. Hotel lobby, never had to vote on where to meet. Our trustees and the grantee. Vote online (first through the 20th) -- time to vote and fund. Wins by the 31st, this is the winner (PR on the winner) -- inviting them to awesome hour. Invited everyone out to our last happy hour Find collaboration -- drink and talk. When we tweet --> ask your mayor retweets, state senator/ tag the media on the tweets. media plan written out --> ATLANTA focused. Motivated to pitch to local media. Who we've given to (they won an Awesome Foundation grant). Focus is about the winner, that's the cool story you want to tell. Awesome hour not the pitch. Finalists -- only who won. Here's our winner -- sent out an invite to everyone as a database. Import into mail chimp. 157 people. Fork and Juniper on the 17th (mentioned in major paper). Monthly press release - interns, focuses on who won. What sort of time commitment - business -- natural part of a day.
Reciprocal benefit.
--> trustees, were so busy --> 5 trustees out (driving around money collecting). Trustees -> gave $100 in advance. Come into the trustee dinner (have $1000 set aside) gets to bring a delegate. If a trustee drops out.
NYC -- cash (lee-sean), everyone just sends him $100 by Venmo. He'll coordinate with whoever was the winner. Venmos them. From a tax perspective. One person can give another person $15,000 -> If there is a trail. No pitch events, no monthly events -- Had problems, have Our gatherings, the gathering is the trustees getting together because we like eachother, all the members do shortlisting. Need new trustees, what's the event. Do our decisions. Will be their point person. If 3-4 trustees come, getting someone to arrange it. Having someone champion.
Consistent space where people meet? Lobby bar full, third wednesday of the month (in Atlanta). That's what they told. Don't need permission to get a happy hour. Problem was getting trustees there, open it up to the public -- doesn't matter who is there. Cool networking event for doers of social good. About that person telling their story. Our grants have been tied to social good.
Public meetings. - Ottawa once a month (not time bound). - Making a decision - Is there anyone here? 3 1/2 meeting --
Boston -- usually gives two grants. Some people (split your thousand). 20 trustees, two thousand dollar grants, every month. baller grant.
Baltimore - Extra money. Up to $1200, $2400, surplus. Throw a big party at the end of the year. Every other month (8 full time, 2 guests) - trying to experiment. Every month - online system. Picked their month. Everybody brings $100 dollars to the money. Social media. Baltimore -- THEMED. How do you get that? PR, majority of marketing -- social media and email. Print outs. Word of mouth. Culture in NYC different Only discuss finalists. Meetings our 2 hours. (LOGISTICS). Restructuring it large enough.
Atlanta - DBA (doing business as) - Awesome Atlanta (checks written to the Awesome Foundation). Application window -- 1st thru 20th. 21 - end of month to mail in a check. PO Box (go fund me) if someone is travelling ($109). PayPal Go dep. $1000 comes in $1000 goes out.
Go online, voting. 1 part office hours 3 parts cocktail party. Decent amount of PR - each have a person. Somebody who is consistent about it. (luminaries to tag), personal phone calls. Watch trends - aligned to one of the grantees. Troubled youth in the court system. Extend his story (media savvy). Wasn't by design. You can be deliberate about it. Before the media stuff --> START WITH PEOPLE YOU LIKE. NYC, reached out to other chapters. DIVERSIFY professionally, build the culture.
Oahu. (Facebook site) -- Avi go search the website. (AWESOME WITHOUT BORDERS) see in anyone in your area.
Baltimore - New chapterism (boston model) - taking new deans and growing it - having an agenda, 10 people, vaguely decided what happened. Letting the consensus determine what kind of chapter. The lightness, this should be fun -- shouldn't be pressure.
Kara (have this all organized) - "cat wrangler" without Kara would it continue?
NYC - very fun, very fluid.
Lightness vs. Commitment --> always got money in. Promise the money, friends more like time the more important thing than money.
Slots --> 8 new people every month. When we co-deaned (deans) day money is being delivered. Jason does admin. -- 6 people who committed, 4 people who did 3 months. whole group only meets once -- one meeting with everyone. The one date you have to be there, you have it a year in advance. (third sunday for brunch). Invite them and hand them a check. People who signed up in November. What if I don't inherently agree? You have to relinquish that. At no point does anybody join that most of the board doesn't know about already. Everyone brings $100, want our 10 guest trustee, got so pumped blasting it to an audience. Guesting for a crazy thing. All just contribute -> really interested.
Can you make a two month or three month commitment.
