JOIN OUR ORGANIZATION BOARD
& COMMITTEE MEMBER GUIDE
WHO WE ARE
Established in 2002, the Waukesha Education Foundation (WEF) is a 501(c)(3) organization that provides grants to educators and scholarships to students within the School District of Waukesha. With only one paid staff member, we rely on dedicated board and committee members who are passionate about education in our community to drive our mission.
WHAT WE VALUE
We value innovation, creativity, and passion. We believe that supporting these values in our classrooms will make an exponential impact not only on our students and educators, but our local businesses and community at large. Our grant program supports these values in our classrooms and our scholarship program recognizes students who are actively applying these values.
HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
We look for individuals who believe that education makes a difference. We look for individuals who are willing to invest time, talent, and treasure to engage educators and inspire students. There are many ways to get involved; we invite you to explore the options and join us! There is a place for you at WEF.
LEARN ABOUT JOINING OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Board of Directors is an integral part of our organization’s success. As a working board, we ask our board members to provide leadership, oversight and hands-on support, and take an active role in bringing our “Strong Schools. Strong Businesses. Strong Communities” mission to life. Our board is comprised of up to eleven individuals. Four leadership positions are available and the remaining board is composed of general members.
We expect our board members to be positive ambassadors and supporters for WEF and our mission, goals, programs and events. This may include, but is not limited to, engaging with others on our social media, inviting others to attend events, finding or providing leads/ideas for potential sponsors, volunteers and/or donors, and promoting our scholarship and grant programs. Our board members should be a positive voice in our community about our schools.
Your Time
Board member terms are two years. Terms may be renewed after two years, and many of our board members serve multiple terms. Board members are expected to attend:
Board Meetings, 10-11 per year
Our board meets once a month, on the first Thursday, at 5:15 p.m. at the School District of Waukesha Blair Administration building. Most board meetings last between 60 and 90 minutes. Our board does meet in person, but occasionally may need to meet virtually due to a special circumstance. We typically do not meet in July and typically our August meeting conflicts with our golf outing, so we ask board members to use that time to participate or volunteer at that event.
Committee Meetings, dependent on the committee
Each board member is asked to serve on at least one committee. We have several standing committees, including Marketing/Business Outreach, Governance, Grants & Scholarships, and two special event committees to plan the Evening for Education and our annual golf outing. We will work with you to determine which committee is the best fit based on your experience and interest areas.
Special Events, 3 per year (Evening for Education, Partners in Education Reception & Golf Outing)
We ask our board members to actively promote our events and participate (whenever possible) as an attendee or volunteer.
Your Talent
Our board is made up of a dynamic group of professionals. While our board changes each year, we have professionals from both the education field and private sector businesses. Our organization needs individuals skilled in marketing, business development/outreach, legal expertise, finance, accounting, event planning, and non-profit management, just to name a few. Do you have a special skillset that might help us reach more supporters of educators and students? Come share it with us and help us drive success.
Your Treasure
While we don't ask each board member to make a certain financial contribution each year, we do hope that members will choose to make a personal gift, either purchase (or find a donor to purchase) a table at the Evening for Education, either purchase (or find a donor to purchase) a foursome for the golf outing, and identify potential leads for sponsors. It is important that board members contribute to the success of our fundraisers and overall development activities whether by participating as an individual and/or inviting others to participate.
LEARN ABOUT JOINING A COMMITTEE
Do you want to get involved, but are not sure where to start? Joining a committee is a great way to learn more about our organization, contribute in a meaningful way and make a difference behind the scenes. We often find new board members from our committee rosters and we welcome you to share your time with us. Below is some basic information about our standing committees.
Grants & Scholarships
This committee supports our grant and scholarship programs. While this committee does not meet regularly year round, they are very busy during our grant and scholarship season. We start preparing and promoting our grants and scholarships in January and the evaluation and award decision processes lead to members being very busy during the spring. If this is a busy time of year for you, this may not be a good match. But if you enjoy learning more about the dreams and goals of our educators and students, this committee is very rewarding!
Governance
This committee makes sure that our foundation is adhering to the mission outlined in our bylaws and 501(c)(3) charter. They review our procedures, policies and make recommendations when necessary. It’s great for a detailed oriented individual who is experienced in procedural processes.
Marketing & Business Outreach
This committee supports the promotion of the foundation by helping to develop strategic marketing programs, create marketing materials, identify new outreach opportunities, assist with public relations and work on business development. This is one of our most active committees as they touch almost everything we do. As the expression goes, many hands make light work, so we are always actively recruiting individuals (or organizations) who are willing to support WEF on this committee.
Event Committees
Annually, we host two signature events and a partner reception. The reception is a bit more laid back, however all events take a dedicated planning team to make them happen, flow seamlessly and create an unforgettable experience for those in attendance.
Evening for Education
This dinner gala style event recognizes grant winners, annual award winners and raises money for our grant program. This event has grown significantly over the years and is very well attended as we typically seat between 225-250 people each year. We offer many sponsorships, volunteer opportunities, a large silent auction and raffle, other fundraising games and activities, entertainment and an excellent evening of networking at this event. We need people who excel at event planning and all the details that go along with it from start to finish. This is a very active, working committee and the time commitment is typically between September and March, with monthly planning touch points between September and February and then weekly or bi-weekly meetings up until the event date in early spring. Meetings are generally virtual.
Golf Outing
Our popular annual golf event attracts close to 200 golfers who spend the day at a local course to support education! This event is a lot of fun and has grown significantly over the last five years. This active committee needs individuals who like to dig into the details, have a flare for fun and maybe just a little bit of knowledge about golf. This committee starts meeting in February to complete some early planning but then meets monthly between March and mid-June, and then bi-weekly the month before the event. Meetings are generally virtual.
Executive Director
Janaka Subotnik Board President
