Director (Board Member)
The big picture
Play a leading role in the next chapter of an organization that continues to do good in the community since 1885. National Giving Alliance has a 139-year history of providing new clothing to individuals in need. Our decorated past includes leadership from two First Ladies (Edith Roosevelt and Frances Cleveland), more than 900 local branches across the US at our peak, and over 127 million garments provided across our history – many of them handmade in the early years – to those in need.
In recent decades the organization declined from its former glory as a ubiquitous volunteer organization. Over the last seven years, with the hiring of a new Executive Director and replenishment of a working board, we’ve laid the foundation for the start of a new chapter. Our mission is as critical now as ever, and we are strategizing new service and revenue models to modernize our operations and exponentially increase our impact. The shift will move us from a decentralized ad-hoc volunteer model to a sustainable, coordinated, supply chain of goods and services.
Ready for the future
In recent years we've completed phase 1 of our new strategic planning process, clarified our vision and mission for the future in the most significant realignment in the organization’s history, and improved our bylaws and governance structure to best practices.
- Updated Vision: All people have the dignity and self-confidence to reach their unique potential.
- Updated Mission: NGA provides new clothing, essential items and other services so that children and youth have the resources to safely develop to their potential.
We need to bolster our board with top-quality board members who can steward the organization to new heights. It’s high-impact work. You will guide our operational and capital strategies that will help NGA grow to meet the moment of need in our communities.
Board recruitment (YOU!)
We are eager to add anyone dedicated to serving our mission, but there are several specific areas of industry experience that we are looking to add to the board:
- Operations, distribution logistics, supply chain
- Marketing, social media or public relations
- Development and capital campaign experience
- Industry experience in clothing/textiles
- Expertise in child/youth development (social work, psychological, etc.)
- Legal, accounting/audit, and finance professionals
We are looking for individuals with prior non-profit board experience. Our board is currently at 12 members and we're looking to add up to 6 more in the first half of 2025. Diversity – in every sense of the word – is a top priority for this process. The headquarters is in Warminster, PA, and we're looking for board members located both in the Philadelphia region and excellent candidates anywhere in the country (board and committee meetings are conducted often virtually and always hybrid, so remote participation is easy).
We want NGA board membership to be a rewarding experience for everyone involved, so we’ve taken great care recently to document what we are looking for in our board members (and likewise what we reciprocate): NGA Board Member Agreement
If what you've read so far and in that board agreement excites you, then we look forward to hearing from you! When you submit the application form, please share answers to the below questions in the Cover Letter field. This will help us to quickly get to know you, and we'll be in touch soon!
- Why are you currently looking to join a new board, and why did NGA jump out at you?
- Have you previously served on the board of any nonprofit organizations?
- In reading up on our organization, what particular contributions do you think you could make to be an impactful board member?
- Are there particular board activities that you prefer — getting in the weeds on committee work, networking to open new doors for the organization, supporting fundraising efforts, etc.?
- What would you like to know about NGA, our staff, and our board, to best understand if this is a commitment that would be a great fit for you?