Friends of Nepal

Friends of Nepal has 6 board positions which are up for election. President, Treasurer, Secretary and 3 at large seats. At large seats are currently: Newsletter Editor, Grants Committee Coordinator, and Bhutanese Refugee Assistance program. You must be a member to vote. You must be a member of FoN and NPCA to hold an office.

If you would like to run, please send your nomination to our election monitor, and FoN member, Dan Donaghue (dandonaghue@yahoo.com). Feel free to write with questions as well. If you are interested in getting more involved the board is just one means – you could also contribute as a member of the grants committee or volunteer with the Bhutanese Refugee project, write for the newsletter, organize an event, help with the 50th Anniversary reunion…

The election will be held electronically (online) between January 20 to January 25. Nominations are due by January 18.

Here is a brief description of the positions:

President – Responsible for strategic planning, budgeting, facilitating board meetings and organizational development. Because FoN has no staff the president takes responsibility for conducting organizational operations not falling within the pervue of the other board roles.

Treasurer – Maintains the books for FoN. Interface with NPCA regarding joint memberships (FoN and NPCA). Keep the FoN membership database updated. Send out letters recognizing financial donations received by FoN. Pay out grant awards approved by the Grant Comm. File required IRS forms annually. Assist with the  annual NPCA affiliate group renewal filing. Keep abreast of NPCA activities/projects and their possible impact to FoN.

Grants Committee – Manages activities of the grants committee including: first vetting of grant proposals. Maintains communication with other committee members. Provides orientation to and recruits new members as necessary. Manages followup reporting by granttes. Involved in strategic planning and policy making as related to grants committee.

Newsletter/ Secretary – Edits and produces newsletter on approximately a quarterly basis. Coordinates with writers, and printer. Maintains records of board communication and board meetings.

Bhutanese Refugee Resettlement – Coordinates efforts of many of our members across the country who are volunteering in their communities by helping refugees. Sharing of best-practices. Facilitating conference calls. Recruiting new volunteers. Liaison with the board.

Networking – This is a new position. Focus will be on building networks and partnerships with other organizations with similar missions/ goals. Focus will be on building relationships with other groups working on resettlement in the United States.