Organize with CAGJ ! Join Leadership

Community Alliance for Global Justice is seeking new leaders!

CAGJ is membership-led and driven by leaders in our community! Right now is an exciting time to plug into CAGJ’s organizing by stepping into a volunteer leadership role. No experience needed; we believe all members have the ability to become leaders in our organizing. We will support you in developing grassroots organizing and leadership skills as you support the organization’s goals and growth – and the strengthening of the food sovereignty movement!

Leadership Roles:

As of February 2020

  1. Steering Committee At-large Co-Chairs
  2. Membership Committee Members
  3. Fundraising Committee Members

ROLE DESCRIPTIONS

At large Co-chair Role Description

  • CAGJ is seeking new At-large Co-Chairs to join 3 current At-larger Co-Chairs, including Michael Righi, Reid Mukai and John Chapman (CAGJ’s Treasurer)
  • Participate in regular Steering Committee meetings
  • Responsible for financial decisions that need to be made between Steering Committee meetings; these decisions are usually made by email.
  • Assist with broader organizational needs such as budget development, spending, policy development, personnel issues, and other coordination assistance as needed
  • Serve one-year terms, renewable
  • Average time per month: 2-5 hours

About CAGJ’s Steering Committee

CAGJ’s Steering Committee serves as the organization’s Board of Directors, ensuring organizational and fiscal health. The Steering Committee is composed of co-chairs from each of CAGJ’s Project Committees and At-large Co-chairs. They are responsible for leading the organization as a whole and providing guidance to staff, including through Strategic Planning. Members commit to participating for one year (renewable) and attending regularly scheduled 2-hour meetings (we meet most months, but less in the summer and usually not in December).

About Project Committees Roles

  • CAGJ is seeking Fundraising and Membership Committee members
  • Project committees are made up of anyone interested and willing to help lead our current work.
  • NOTE: Committee members have the option of acting in a leadership role, as a Co-Chair of the committee, or not. Committee Co-Chairs are members of CAGJ’s Steering Committee, and participate in regular Steering Committee meetings, to report and solicit feedback.

Fundraising Committee Role Description

  • Assist staff in developing and following fundraising workplans
  • Provide support in reaching fundraising goals (could include outreach, grant writing or editing, research, drafting communications, depending on interests!)
  • Give input on priorities, which shift throughout the year, and include:
    • Membership fundraising campaigns: Membership Month and End of Year fundraising
    • Grants
    • SLEE Dinner and other events
    • Major Donors
  • Average time per month: 2-5 hours

Membership Committee Role Description

  • Assist staff in developing and following membership engagement goals
  • Assist with data-base related tasks, including updating membership information.
  • Assit with outreach to new members and volunteers using outreach and onboarding protocols
  • Assist with organizing Membership Month and End of Year fundraising, including writing appeals, social media support, mailings
  • Identify and support recruitment and tabling opportunities
  • Average time per month: 2-5 hours

 

ABOUT CAGJ’S STRUCTURE

CAGJ’s organizational structure consists of Members, a Steering Committee and Advisory Board.

Steering Committee:

  • Composed of co-chairs of each of CAGJ’s Project Committees and At-large Co-chairs
  • Responsible for leading the organization as a whole and prioritizing staff work
  • Members commit to participating for one year and are responsible for attending steering committee meetings every other month

The principles we want reflected in our structure (approved 2007):

  • Leadership development: As a grassroots, movement-building organization, we want a structure that facilitates developing leadership.
  • Collective leadership and decision-making:
    • Leadership and decision-making as horizontal as possible.
    • Where possible, we ensure that the greatest number of stakeholders have opportunities to participate as possible.
    • People doing the organizing work are in leadership and have access to decision making.
  • Accountability: Those most affected by our work have opportunities to be involved in leadership.
  • Subsidiarity: Decisions are best made at lowest level possible.
  • Pragmatism: we want a structure that facilitates the greatest possible ability to take action and get things accomplished.
  • Importance of working from a comprehensive political and social analysis: we want a structure that facilitates working from a collectively developed analysis of the issues and organizing we want to do – to be developed through broad participation within CAGJ, and with members of the broader communities with whom we engage.

 

Decision-making

  • CAGJ’s commitment to the principle of subsidiarity means that decisions are best made at lowest level possible. Thus the Project Committees are empowered to make decisions within the committees, unless they involve significant financial impact on the organization.  This includes determining the programmatic priorities for the projects.
  • Organizational direction and priorities are determined at Strategic Planning Meetings, to which all active CAGJ members are invited.
  • Annual Budgets are determined by the Steering Committee, with input from the projects. The Steering Committee votes to give final approval of the budget.
  • At large Co-Chairs are responsible for financial decisions that need to be made between Steering Committee meetings

 

Image credit: Rini Templeton

Posted in Agra Watch Blog Posts, Food Justice Blog Posts, News, Slider, Trade Justice Blog Posts.

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