Annual General Meeting April 29, 2023 Presentation by:Jenna Smith, President Board 2020, President 2021-2023RPCV Madagascar 2015-2017 Wow, it is so nice to be here with everyone in person at our first gala since December 2019. It has been a longggg few years. It seems weird to reflect back on early 2020, when I had just joined the board. RPCV/W was operating as usual, with a really engaged, excited community. There were over 7,000 peace corps volunteers serving around the world, and there were over 200,000 RPCVs. 

Calling all nominees! Do you want to apply your talents to the growth of a nonprofit organization? Do you want to be part of building a community that connects Returned Peace Corps Volunteers? Do you want to be challenged, learn a ton of stuff, have a lot of fun, and make a significant impact? Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington D.C. (RPCV/W), a nonprofit organization, is looking for stellar leaders to take on volunteer roles on committees and its board of directors. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants not just a volunteer activity, but a long-term opportunity to empower the RPCV community, support returning volunteers, and build a network with volunteers from the last six decades. Nominations are open for the below vacant positions on a rolling basis. Please email Jenna Smith [email protected] to submit a nomination.  You should be a go-getter, self-starter, big-picture-strategist with an eye for detail and a willingness to support the entire board of directors and work collaboratively with other committee members. You must be willing to produce prompt and effective results within your board role. You will have the opportunity to play a key role in expanding the organization and should have a minimum of 10-15 hours a month with a mandatory monthly meeting the second Tuesday evening of every month to dedicate to your position on the board of directors. We look forward to having you join our team! The RPCV/W board has 14 voting board members. Active RPCV/W members may apply for a board position (please make sure your membership is up to date here), and must be local to DC to support in-person meetings and events. Terms are for two years. 

Calling all nominees! Do you want to apply your talents to the growth of a nonprofit organization? Do you want to be part of building a community that connects Returned Peace Corps Volunteers? Do you want to be challenged, learn a ton of stuff, have a lot of fun, and make a significant impact? Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington D.C. (RPCV/W), a nonprofit organization, is looking for stellar leaders to take on volunteer roles on committees and its board of directors. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants not just a volunteer activity, but a long-term opportunity to empower the RPCV community, support returning volunteers, and build a network with volunteers from the last six decades. Nominations are open now with a deadline for submission on Dec 5th. You should be a go-getter, self-starter, big-picture-strategist with an eye for detail and a willingness to support the entire board of directors and work collaboratively with other committee members. You must be willing to produce prompt and effective results within your board role. You will have the opportunity to play a key role in expanding the organization and should have a minimum of 10-15 hours a month to dedicate to your position on the board of directors. Terms are 2 calendar years. We look forward to having you join our team! The RPCV/W board has 14 voting board members. Active RPCV/W members may apply for a board position.    Mission To foster a collaborative, inclusive, and anti-racist community of RPCVs, family, friends, and supporters in the Washington D.C. area by providing a space for all RPCVs (including Black, Indigenous, People of Color) to engage, develop, support and connect with one another while they adapt to the different phases of life; and to provide professional and personal development and service opportunities for its members to give back to the D.C. community.    Community Guidelines RPCV/W’s community guidelines (inspired and permitted by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association Code of Conduct).    Affiliations  RPCV/W is not the Peace Corps nor does it directly donate to overseas Peace Corps programs.   Open RPCV/W 2023 Board Positions   Vice-President Treasurer  Communications Director Professional Development Director  Mentoring Director  Development Director How to Submit an Application To submit an application, please complete the nomination form. Please submit one application for each position you are interested in. Please email Ken Goughnour: [email protected] with any questions.    Nomination and Election Timelines  Nominations will open 11/8 and the deadline has been extended to December 5th at midnight RPCV/W community voting for nominees: December 9-17 Announcements: Final News letter of the year   Open 2023 Board Positions    Vice President Indirect Supervision: Executive Committee and all board members   Essential Qualifications: Requires a long-term vision, strategic oversight, flexibility, and attention to best practices. Requires a willingness to engage in networking activities and monthly events to engage current and potential members of all ages. Requires one year of previous experience on the RPCV/W board.   What a successful candidate looks like: Will have prior experience on a nonprofit board of directors and a deep understanding of people management, long-term strategic planning, and relationship building. Will have successfully worked with a membership organization in the past to cultivate new, renewing, and returning members. Will have metrics showing successful online and in-person relationship building techniques.   General Operations Presides in the absence of the President. Manages the Annual Strategic Plan.  Assists directors with committee development and engagement. Oversees the annual membership survey.    Relationship Building Point of contact for Partnership for Peace program. Maintains relationships and proposes collaborations between RPCV/W, Peace Corps, NPCA, local affinity groups, and friends of groups.   Event Planning Responsible for scheduling, planning and conducting Board retreats. Leads and organizes training sessions for board professional development.   Treasurer Essential Qualifications: Requires strong accounting expertise, QuickBooks database management, budgeting expertise, nonprofit tax filing, investment management, and bill paying.   What a successful candidate looks like: Will have prior experience on a nonprofit board of directors and a deep understanding of nonprofit financial management and IRS guidelines. Should have a successful track record creating budgets, filing nonprofit taxes, paying bills, and basic accounting.   General Operations Works with Executive Board to ensure taxes and paperwork are filed. Works with Executive Board to maintain internal financial controls. Drafts yearly budget for board approval and works with individual directors on budget management. Reports on monthly P&Ls and year-to-date financials at every board meeting. Ensures that bills are paid and taxes are filed. Invests and Manages RPCV/Ws assets to ensure the value of the portfolio grows  Compiles historical spending by board director roles before the retreat and at the end of the year by spending class.   Event Planning Responsible for payment (Venmo, Square, PayPal, etc) at RPCV/W paid events (BBQ, holiday party, etc).   Communications Essential Qualifications: Requires strong marketing and communications skills with an understanding of social media channels, website management, and team management. You should have strong writing skills and basic graphic design skills. An understanding of nonprofits and membership organizations communication styles is strongly encouraged.   What a successful candidate looks like: Will have successfully built social media campaigns to garner new members, followers, sales, and donors. Will have evidence of successfully meeting or exceeding communications goals for an organization.   Marketing Operates the website, social media accounts, blog, and other online services. Troubleshoots technical issues and works with board’s data/tech analyst to keep web content current and fresh. Works with other directors to promote their materials across social media channels (content will be developed by individual directors and their respective committees, not communications). Works with the Executive Board in response to press inquiries. Editor-in-Chief of RPCV/W’s weekly newsletter that goes out every Sunday evening. Works with the Executive Committee and Communications Director to maintain website content on www.rpcvw.org.   Event Planning Facilitates and works to improve internal communications regarding events across all program areas. Supports the Special Events Director with advertising and ticket sale promotion for the Summer BBQ, Holiday Party, and other major events. Sits on the Special Events committee.   Professional Development Essential Qualifications: Must have a basic understanding of HR, a strong network of diverse employers (nonprofits, international development, corporate, consulting, etc) and a willingness to proactively connect job seekers with job opportunities and recruiters. You should be willing to attend monthly networking events in the community that may be of interest to our job-hunting members.   What a successful candidate looks like: Will have successfully worked with job seekers to set up initial interviews, successfully negotiate in their job, or participate in effective job networking due to updated resume/cover letter/interview skills.     Career Services Meets with job-seekers, reviews resumes, and provides basic job interviewing services Work closely with Mentoring and sit on the Mentoring committee. Moderates LinkedIn page (with the support of the Communications and Outreach Directors) for individuals to share jobs and other professional opportunities. Manages 1x weekly post for individuals to share jobs on Facebook (moderates FB and LinkedIn posts with the support of the Communications Director).   Event Planning Plans quarterly Career Panel and Networking events bringing together professionals and job seekers.   Fundraising and Relationship Building Supports Development in relationship building to external partners and sits on the Development committee. Works with Development to encourage hiring managers to potentially sponsor or advertise when filling RPCV-friendly jobs.   Mentoring Essential Qualifications: Must have a basic understanding of HR, a strong network of professionals for mentorship in a range of career fields (nonprofits, international development, corporate, consulting, etc). You should also possess strong networking skills, a basic understanding of event planning, logistical coordination, rate negotiation, and advertising.   What a successful candidate looks like: Will have successfully worked with a mentor/mentee program that shows long-term outcomes for both participants.   Event Planning Plans monthly mentoring events. Organizes events to train mentors, make matches and expand the program.   Career Services Helps interested members find mentors whose experiences compliment their interests. Manages the mentoring listserv. Recruits and instructs mentors. Collaborates with the Professional Development Director. Sits on the Professional Development committee. Development Essential Qualifications: Requires an understanding of basic fundraising knowledge including sponsorships, advertising, fundraising sales, donor engagement, stewardship, etc. Must be willing to help raise $20,000 a year to reach the RPCV/W Endowment goal of $100,000.   What a successful candidate looks like: Will have successfully fundraised gifts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 on behalf of an organization and built relationships with donors from cultivation to ask to stewardship.   Fundraising Use fundraising strategies to help raise $20,000 a year towards the endowment fund to create long-term sustainability for the organization. Negotiates and is the primary point of contact for sponsorship agreements and advertising contracts. Supplements RPCV/W revenue through various channels, including sales of t-shirts, yoga mats, etc. Supports Outreach and Professional Development in relationship building to members and external partners and sits on the Outreach and Professional Development committees.   Event Planning Plans and solicits donations for the Silent Auction and other fundraising activities at the annual Holiday Party and BBQ. Working closely with other Directors as necessary, such as Social, Special Events, Professional Development, and Community Service Directors to plan events geared towards different types of sponsors and advertisers.

Please email Jenna Smith at [email protected] with a 200 word message if you are interested in any of these positions for the 2023 term ending in December 2024. Please review the expectations below and confirm you are able to commit to the role you are applying for.   

Dear RPCV/W Community, 2020 was a year no one expected. This has been a year of challenges, sadness, reckoning, and reflection. In this maelstrom of events, there has been one word that holds true: community. What does it mean to be a member of a community? A member of the Washington DC/DMV community? A member of the RPCV or international community? A member of a community whose government leaves so many behind despite claims of unity and exceptionalism? 

Dear RPCV/W Community, I hope you are doing okay.  From my heart to yours, I really do.  But if you are not. That is okay too. All I can offer is grace and compassion. Take as much as you need; there is an ever-flowing supply. 

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC, 2022 Board Positions Do you want to apply your talents to the growth of a nonprofit organization? Do you want to be part of building a community that connects Returned Peace Corps Volunteers? Do you want to be challenged, learn a ton of stuff, have a lot of fun, and make a significant impact? Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington D.C. (RPCV/W), a nonprofit organization, is looking for stellar leaders to take on volunteer roles on committees and its board of directors. This is a great opportunity for someone who wants not just a volunteer activity, but a long-term opportunity to empower the RPCV community, support returning volunteers, and build a network with volunteers from the last six decades. You should be a go-getter, self-starter, big-picture, strategist with an eye for detail and a willingness to support the entire board of directors and work collaboratively with other committee members. You must be willing to produce prompt and effective results within your board role. You will have the opportunity to play a key role in expanding the organization and should have a minimum of 10-15 hours a month to dedicate to your position on the board of directors and at least one committee. Board members can expect to spend 15-20 hours a month dedicated to their position, committees, and mentorship. We look forward to having you join our team! The RPCV/W board has 14 voting board members. Active RPCV/W members may apply for a board position.  How do I apply?  RPCV/W will accept self-nominations for two weeks: October 27- November 24! (Extended from November 10) To apply, you must first confirm that your membership is active, here. Then, submit a concise, 250-maximum-word essay to [email protected] expressing your interest. Please be sure to highlight why you feel you'd be a good candidate for the particular position(s) you're running for.    

Q:I've been working for a while in my field and I see some of my colleagues moving into the consulting field. They have the freedom to choose the projects they'd like to work on and I'm envious of that. However, I've always worked at large organizations with benefits like health care coverage. I'm worried about going into consulting, how to navigate the process of getting my own insurance, paying higher taxes, how to market myself, etc. What are your thoughts?