Two Kids’ Chance state organizations—New York and Delaware—recently injected new life into their organizations by re-imagining their boards.

How did they do it?

New York leveraged existing board members to attract new ones, while Delaware did so by reorganizing their board committee structure.

Let’s take a closer look at each.

Kids’ Chance of New York (KCNY) has been operating since 2014. David Wehner joined in 2016 and became Board President in January of 2020.

David realized that—six years after the state organization had been set up—changes needed to be made in order to grow and diversify the organization. One of the big changes would be to get more board members involved.

He spoke to current members regarding board expansion and knew it would be hard to find the right mix of people without affecting the current dynamic of the board. COVID-19 also limited the organization’s fundraising capabilities, but this presented an opportunity: KCNY got more board members involved through fundraising and visibility efforts.

During Kids’ Chance Awareness Week, KCNY started a salute to each board member and challenged them to utilize their individual social media contacts to increase awareness and solicit donations. It was a great success, and KCNY’s social media presence increased considerably.

KCNY’s board member spotlights on social media.

Due to the increased involvement of KCNY’s board members, their organization is stronger than ever before. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, KCNY is stronger than it’s ever been, and we are excited about the future,” said David.

They have not only increased their social media presence but have more successfully reached out to both former and current scholarship recipients.

“One thing I learned through this process: reach out to Kids’ Chance of America as well as other state organizations because we all have similar challenges,” said David. “I have learned a tremendous amount from the webinars and conversations with my colleagues.”

Structure Brings New Vitality

Kids’ Chance of Delaware (KCOD) was founded in the winter of 2017, and Geoff Lavinson joined in the winter of 2018. He served as the vice president from 2019-2020 and became president in January 2021.

As a young chapter, Geoff noticed that they didn’t have much process or structure in place. Things were executed in a more reactive instead of proactive manner. As a result, board members really didn’t know what they should be doing and not much was happening.

Additionally, Delaware is a small state with a population base of only about one million citizens, which makes finding donors and eligible students for KCOD’s scholarships more challenging than in larger, more populated states. “A well-coordinated effort by the entire board is needed,” said Geoff. “Really, that’s needed at every state organization, but especially at this one.”

To tackle these issues head-on, Geoff reviewed the organization from top to bottom. He wanted to make sure that each board member genuinely wanted to be part of KCOD. If they did, he wanted to know that they were willing to commit to the organization and dedicate themselves to making it successful.

This commitment, especially from the officers of the board, ensured that they—alongside Geoff—were going to be the driving force for change. Once he had their buy-in, he reorganized the committees to ensure that the chairpersons were committed to leading their respective committees. He also made sure each board member was a part of committees they enjoyed where they could best utilize their talents and skills.

Once this reorganization was complete, Geoff began to establish processes and procedures. He wanted everyone to know where things were (e.g. forms, documents), what needed to be done (e.g. meetings, action items), and when it needed to be done by (e.g. due dates).

The enthusiasm of the chapter has increased. “Now that we have the board members aligned with agreed-upon goals, we can all see where we want this organization to be in the coming years,” Geoff shared. “This alone makes us a stronger chapter. Once we start seeing the results of our efforts, we’ll be even stronger. I’m very excited about the future of Kids’ Chance of Delaware, and I’m confident we are on the right path to success.”