Last month, the AFA Board of Directors came together for our spring in-person meeting. While the Board meets virtually on a monthly basis, our in-person meetings give us extended time together to discuss the strategic direction of the Association, make decisions about priorities, and undergo board development opportunities. The 2025 Board of Directors is committed to strengthening the transparency surrounding decisions happening at the board level and providing educational opportunities to reinforce pathways to board service. This month’s Minute with the Board summarizes what happened before and during our meeting in Atlanta. My hope is to not only educate our constituent base about what’s coming up for AFA but also get you thinking about whether serving on the Board is for you.
The responsibilities of the Board of Directors, as outlined in AFA’s Bylaws, include management of the Association’s finances, decision-making surrounding high level direction and policy, and supervision of the Executive Director. Our goal is to elevate the fraternity/sorority profession by advancing AFA’s strategic plan, Forward to 50, and shaping the organization’s long-term success through analysis of the organization’s performance, intentional resource allocation, partnership discussions, and operational guardrails. When we come together, we are expected to think about the needs of our membership, make decisions based on data (not anecdotes), and weigh out the pros and cons of the direction we are considering. AFA board service requires mental agility to have foresight and the ability to adapt to changing situations and navigate complexities like those higher education and membership organizations are currently facing.
The work of the Board of Directors doesn’t take place at monthly meetings alone – the Board has a robust committee structure that provides substance for discussion, recommendations for consideration, and solution generation. These committees are charged with advancing items to the full Board for higher-level review and discussion. Each meeting also requires Board members to engage in carefully crafted pre-work. These materials give us insight into what is happening with the Association and provide a good framework that enables us to be focused on moving discussion forward and not getting “stuck in the weeds”. Spending sufficient time preparing prior to each meeting is an important part of board service as it fosters clear communication, allows in-depth discussion on key issues, and ensures data-based decision making and compliance with policies and procedures.
Our agenda in Atlanta was incredibly future-focused, a function of strong organizational health that gives us the opportunity to think about ‘what’s next’. During our three days together:
- We discussed the overall health of our association finances, the advances that have been made in the ‘Elevate the Standard’ Campaign ($1.65 million to date!), and the upcoming ‘1,976 Minutes of Giving’ coming up June 3-4 (save the date!).
- We learned how the Governance and Nominations Committee is gathering nominations for the upcoming term, the strategic plan milestones that have been achieved along with upcoming work the Central Office staff and volunteers are moving forward, and updates surrounding the CSAed Certification. This context building led to a robust conversation around our current strategic plan.
- We considered what essential action needs to happen to wrap up our current strategic plan while also beginning to examine what our next one should look like.
- We were asked to make complex decisions around what strategic plan items require substantial work to be completed and discussed how we wanted to communicate the success of Forward to 50 as we reach our 50th Anniversary in 2026.
- We listened to a panel of higher education experts who shared their outlook on the challenges affecting the affordability and accessibility of higher education, concerns around resource allocation, how the student body may change as a result of the direction higher education is having to take, and how learning in and outside of the classroom may look different as higher education evolves. This catalyzed a discussion focused on the future of the Association and began laying the foundation for what needs to be included in our next strategic plan.
- We ended our time together prioritizing innovations for the 2025 Annual Meeting and potential strategic investments for the rest of this fiscal year and the 2026 fiscal year.
I am excited to see how the decisions made aid our membership in advancing fraternities and sororities and higher education. As you read this update, if you have any questions about anything covered at our April meeting, I invite you to reach out to any members of the current Board of Directors – you can find the full listing of our Association leadership here. We are committed to informing our membership of what decisions are taking place and what’s on the horizon along with taking questions from those who want to understand more.
Additionally, while the Call for Nominations for the Board of Directors has closed for the 2025 election cycle, I invite you to consider if serving in a governance role for the Association is something you’d like to pursue. We are committed to building a robust pool of interested individuals who want to ensure the Association’s success through careful strategic decision making, innovation, and courage. If you’re interested, don’t hesitate to connect with any one of our current Board of Directors members or attend our upcoming virtual event on May 13 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET!
