Organization Structure

This document is a draft and is subject to change.

Terminology

Board of Directors

Responsible for the long term legal and financial management of the organization - not responsible for day to day operations

Committees

Subdivisions of the board consisting of one or more (generally more) board members and potentially some non-board members depending on the bylaws

Officers

Elected or appointed positions responsible for the day to day operation of the organization - in small organizations some or all of the officers are also board members

What's Required

1. The state of Michigan requires we have the following officers: president, treasurer, and secretary
2. Our bylaws require we have the following:
   1. A board member elected to the position of executive director whose sole responsibility is to make sure the bylaws are reviewed every 3 years. This title is likely incorrect and should be changed. An executive directory is generally the CEO of a non-profit, and is rarely a board member.
   2. Three standing board committees: fundraising, financial, and governance

Past Organization

In the past the board seems to have been organized into 5 single member committees: fundraising, financial, governance/operations, membership, and education.

In addition to the committees, three officers were also defined: marketing, treasurer (day to day of financial), and sysop (day to day of operations). The membership committee also has day to day responsibilities (access card creation in particular), but has no office defined. Additionally, it's unclear who the secretary is.

No board member was defined as the executive director.

Proposed Interim Organization

This is a proposal to bring us into compliance with the state, our bylaws, and norms of non-profits for the next few months until the bylaws can be reviewed. The idea is to make the smallest changes possible to create the least disruption.

Committees

Limit to the committees defined in the bylaws: fundraising, financial, and governance. Each committee should consist of at least 2 board members. Each board member should belong to at least one committee. One of the members of each committee is defined as the chair. This person sets the direction of the committee and is responsible for reporting back to the board on the committee's work. The roles of these committees, and guidelines for board involvement and chairing these committees, are defined in the standing rules.

The role of the education committee should fall to all board members as it's an integral part of our mission. The day to day responsibilities of this committee include the coordinating core classes and community outreach about our mission. These responsibilities should fall to all board members in the interim. In the long term the responsibilities should be codified as part of the bylaws and distributed amongst the board as officers at a later date.

The role of the membership committee should fall to all board members as it's an integral part of our mission. The day to day responsibilities of this committee (creation of access cards and member onboarding) should fall to all board members. In the long term these responsibilities should fall to members working open hours.

While removing the ad-hoc education and membership committees is not required by either the government or our bylaw requirements, doing so will simplify our organization structure in the interim period while we review our bylaws.

Officers

President/Chair (Government requirement - must be a board member)

This office should fall to the chair of the governance committee. Runs board meetings including communicating with officers and committee chairs to establish an agenda. Has check signing authority as a backup to the treasurer.

Treasurer (Government requirement - should be a board member)

This office should fall to the chair of the finance committee. Responsible for keeping the financial records of the organization. Has check signing authority.

Secretary (Government requirement)

This office is responsible for taking meeting minutes, keeping track of the organization's policies and documents, and submitting annual reports

Sysop (Existing office, currently held by Nate Yost)

This office is responsible for the day to day technical/computer operations of the organization.

Shop Manager (Proposed new office)

This is a new office that I believe is necessary. In our organization there is no CEO or operational leader. This is by design. However, I believe we do need someone who's capable of managing the physical space, just as the sysop manages the virtual space. Responsibilities would include notifying the treasurer to order consumables, keeping the space clean and organized, and keeping the board apprised of any physical/operational issues.

Executive Director (Bylaw requirement)

For the interim, it's suggested that either the secretary or the president take on this minor responsibility. In the long term this role should be renamed and clarified in the bylaws.