Join our Board
JOIN THE OBUSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thank you for your interest in Outward Bound USA’s Board of Directors.
Outward Bound builds more resilient, compassionate individuals at all levels, from students to staff to Board members. Take the next step to incorporate purpose driven leadership into your daily work by championing the Outward Bound mission to change lives through challenge and discovery.
OBUSA Board members play a vital role in the success of the organization. They are advisors, mentors, and cheerleaders. The Board supports the work of a network of Outward Bound Schools across the country by providing centralized governance, expanding the organization’s reach, and by contributing financially. While day-to-day operations are led by OBUSA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Board-CEO relationship is a partnership, and the appropriate involvement of the Board is both critical and expected. As a Board member, you’ll make meaningful contributions to the work of the OBUSA strategic plan, and your expertise and insights will directly influence the stability and resiliency of existing and new initiatives, making a tangible difference to Outward Bound Schools and their students across the country.
OBUSA Board Member Guidelines & Expectations
OBUSA Board Members are responsible for ensuring the organization does its best work in pursuit of its mission and goals. Read more about the OBUSA’s current Board of Directors here.
The duty of OBUSA Board Members is to serve the interests of the entire Outward Bound network in the United States. Read more about the network OBUSA Schools here.
The OBUSA Board strives to recruit new members who ensure balanced representation and reflect the diversity of the OBUSA network and the communities we serve – taking into consideration gender, age, race, geographic region, and business sector. We find value in a Board made up of members who have served or participated in Outward Bound across the network, but equally value other and different perspectives from the broader educational field. Review our Equity Statement here.
If you know someone who would make a great addition to the OBUSA Board, please complete this survey to nominate them.
While the Board Governance Committee reviews new Board candidates on a rolling basis, our primary recruitment season is January-May and closes on May 31st each year. Finalists participate in extended conversations and interviews throughout the summer in preparation for the Board’s annual Fall meeting where the Board reviews and approves each year’s incoming class of new Board members.
If you're interested in joining the OBUSA Board, please complete this survey to express your interest and share more about yourself with the recruitment committee.
Questions? Please contact Greta Blessing at gblessing@outwardbound.org.
As a Board Member of Outward Bound USA, responsibilities include:
- Oversight responsibility, along with fellow Board Members, for the well-being of the organization, including:
- Familiarity with the annual budget and active participation in the budget approval process.
- Active and engaged participation in the decision-making process regarding organizational issues and Board matters.
- Interpretation of the organization’s work and values to the community, representing the organization and serving as a spokesperson.
- Keeping up to date on the business of the organization. - Participating in 4-6 meetings per year, 2-4 of these via video conference (typically 2 hours each) and 2 in-person at rotating sites around the country (typically 1.5 days each). If occasionally unable to attend in-person, Board members still participate via video conference. Additionally, Board Members serve on at least one Board Committee and attend 3-5 scheduled committee meetings throughout the year (typically 1.5-2 hours each). We strive to schedule all meetings a year in advance when possible.
- Supporting, advising, and developing the OBUSA leadership team.
- Engaging in Outward Bound activities, which may include school visits, safety audits, etc. Participation in Outward Bound activities is an important element of Board involvement.
- Making an annual personal financial contribution to the organization.Board members are expected to make Outward Bound USA their most important charitable donation. We expect board members to commit to give directly or leverage financial contribution(s) to the organization. Leveraging a contribution can happen in many different ways including: securing valuable sponsorship for an OBUSA event, connecting the OBUSA Advancement office with a major donor within your network and helping to secure a donation, securing a donation through an employer program, and more. Board gifts are considered unrestricted for general operations. Additionally, Board members are encouraged to support events, benefits and/or invitational expeditions separately throughout the year.
- Actively participate in one or more fundraising activities. This may include individual and/or special event solicitation, direct mail appeals, alumni events, course-end graduation events, and Board-hosted Invitational Expeditions.
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