We are honored that you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors.  To complete your application, please click here.

Information from the one-page application will be distributed to existing Board Members and will aid in understanding how you would like to contribute to WMCA’s work. Contact and demographic information will not be shared.
What is Community Action: The nation’s Community Action network – including 1,000 plus Community Action Agencies – is a robust, national, state, and local force, reaching children, aging adults, and families in 99% of America’s counties with life-changing services that create pathways to opportunity and prosperity. Community Action Agencies connect people to greater opportunity, transforming their lives and making our communities stronger.

Western Maine Community Action: Established in 1965, Western Maine Community Action (WMCA) is a social service agency that has been assisting low- and mid-income families living in the western mountain region of Maine for nearly 60 years. WMCA is funded with private, local, state and federal money. Our mission is to advocate for, strengthen, and coordinate all resources – private, local, state, and federal – that will assist us in promoting the self-sufficiency of people. A belief in basic human dignity and the exercise of free choice motivates the agency to approach this goal in two ways: by providing services to alleviate the conditions of economic uncertainty and by advocating for changes to eliminate the causes of poverty.

Board of Directors
WMCA is governed by an elected and appointed Board of Directors of 15 members and is a tripartite board consisting of members with lived experience and from the public and private sectors.  The Board follows WMCA By-laws and various federal and state rules and regulations. The Board governs the overall execution of the organization’s mission. Principally, the Board manages organizational finances and sets long term priorities for programs. Additionally, the Board oversees the Executive Director, who is responsible for the day-to-day management of WMCA.  Overall, the members of the Board contribute the management, legal, and financial skills needed to guarantee long-term organizational stability and ensure year-to-year programmatic excellence for WMCA’s programs.

Responsibilities

  1. Terms: Board member terms are three (3) years, and members are expected to attend at least 75% of regularly scheduled meetings in a fiscal year (September-August). Board members should attend meetings prepared to discuss and vote on different agency issues.
  2. Committees: Board members agree to serve on at least one Board committee (Executive, Finance, Personnel, Recruitment, and/or Planning and Review Committees).
  3. Fiduciary responsibility: Board members also hold a fiduciary responsibility for the management of   organizational capital and ensuring appropriate filings with federal, state, and local authorities consistent with WMCA’s status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
  4. Program Planning: Board members determine overall program plans and priorities; decide on major personnel, organization, and program policies; and guide the agency in its mission by providing a framework for program and fiscal integrity, responsibility, and accountability.

Logistics

  1. Meetings are typically held on the third Wednesday of every month in the evening and are usually less than two hours. Committees may meet as often as once a month. The time and location of committee meetings are at the discretion of the committee.
  2. The location of regularly scheduled Board meetings can rotate between Wilton and the Auburn/Lewiston area.
  3. Board members may participate in all meetings by Webex. Connection information is provided prior to the meeting date.
  4. A Director of the WMCA Board of is not a paid position, but an individual may be reimbursed for mileage for travel to meetings. Additional expenses, such as child care, may also be reimbursed.
Committees
All committees unless otherwise indicated, consist of Board Members appointed by the Board President after Board member preferences are taken into consideration.

  1. Executive Committee: Consists of the officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) and two additional Board members selected by the Board President and endorsed by the board. The main       responsibility of the Executive Committee is the oversee Board activities and make recommendations for Agency fiscal and policy change.
  2. Finance Committee: Reviews Agency finance reports, provides report to the Board of Directors; selects Audit firm, reviews annual audit, tax returns, and annual budget prior to presentation to full board.
  3. Personnel Committee: Responsible for WMCA’s personnel policy, wages and salaries, compliance with Affirmative Action, and Equal Employment Opportunity Laws.
  4. Planning and Review Committee: Monitors, evaluates, and reports back to the Board on the strategic plan and its implementation as well as makes recommendations for future programming.
  5. Board Recruitment (Ad Hoc Committee): Ensures that the Board remains at 15 members and recruits and nominates new members in accordance with the tripartite structure and representation from the entire service area.