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I believe God has a special place in His heart and in His kingdom for those Vincentians who heed His call to servant leadership in our Society.  Such service is a consummate example of following in the footsteps of St. Vincent, Blessed Frederic and Jesus Christ Himself. The spiritual rewards of doing so are many and meaningful.

Our mission says we lead men and women to join together to grow spiritually. Serving in a leadership role is a wonderful way to become closer to Jesus, the ultimate servant leader.  And we can be sure He will bless our efforts.

God wants us to utilize the unique talents He has given us to assist those in need. If we have been gifted with the ability to lead as well, He expects that we will do so as part of our commitment to our Vincentian vocation.

Serving as the president of a Council or Conference provides an ideal platform from which to enhance one’s own spiritual life. And a great privilege of leadership is the priceless opportunity to nurture the spirituality of fellow Vincentians while inspiring them to be ambassadors of the mission of St. Vincent de Paul in our communities…to bring the love and mercy of Christ to His suffering children.

Council and Conference presidents have told me that their years as a servant leader have been the richest part of their lives in terms of personal spirituality and appreciation of the eternally valuable gifts God had bestowed on them. Their uplifting experiences changed them in many ways that strengthened their relationship to God and acquainted them intimately with the innate goodness and generosity of the human spirit.

Each of us has been chosen for a purpose. That is evident in the day-to-day reality of our beautiful vocation. Our Lord will happily help us discern that purpose…the special way He wants us to support the magnificent mission of St. Vincent de Paul.

Since our founding, Vincentians have been bolstered by an unwavering trust in the providence of God who has demonstrated during the past 189 years that He attaches a high priority to the success of our Society. As we continue our grace-filled journeys to our heavenly homecoming, I am sure He is smiling down on us, cheering us on and clearing our path. We have, after all, said “yes” to His call – and He wants us to succeed, whatever role we play in His plan for our personal ministry of love and compassion.

May God continue to bless you abundantly in your exceptional service to His beloved poor.

Many people hesitate to pursue leadership positions in a Conference or Council because they feel there is too much they don’t know or understand. Shatter the notion that being a Conference/Council president is overwhelming by consolidating pertinent materials into a well-organized packet or binder. We suggest you include the following:

Records

• A current roster of members
• Minutes from previous meetings
• Financial records, along with a current balance sheet and a list of anticipated expenses
• A brief history of your Conference
• Information on the founders and patrons of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Timing

• An annual calendar of your Conference’s typical activities (include contact information for key people for each event)
• A schedule of tasks you usually do each month to support the Conference

Contact Information

• Members
• Other Conference/Council presidents in your area
• Diocesan Council president, regional vice president and National Office (perhaps include examples of situations when you might expect to contact or hear from these contacts)
• A list of partners you work with in your area/city with their contact information
• If relevant, local Council and staff contacts

Notes

• How your Conference/Council operates within your parish/diocese (e.g., how often you meet with the pastor, what kinds of communications are preferred, which parish staff members interact with your Conference)
• How your Conference functions (regarding home visits, food drives, etc.)
• A list of roles in your Conference and their responsibilities (officers, home visit coordinator, committee chairs, etc.)
• Your own personal notes and suggestions about where your Conference/Council is poised to head next
• Instruction sheet for how to use the National Database (Members Portal)
• Instruction sheet for how to fill out the Annual Report
• Information about the next regional and national meetings

Resource List

• The Rule, Manual, copy of Conference/Council bylaws, information on Ozanam Orientation, Serving in Hope, Servant Leadership and Vincentian Spirituality (including spiritual reflections and prayer cards), material you have on how to run an effective meeting and any other reference resources that would be helpful

Take the fear of the unknown out of the equation for a potential leader.  Make sure your Conference knows about this Conference President binder.  Sit down with potential successors and talk through it with them.  Then watch to see how many more people might be able to envision themselves doing what you never thought you could do either.

FULL DISCLOSURE (TRANSPARENCY)

Council finances should be fully disclosed to all members of the Council on a regular basis. They can be disseminated to all Vincentians through Council members or a regular mailing. The frequency depends somewhat on the extent of the Council’s financial activities, but no less than once a quarter. As with Council action items financial reports should be furnished to Council/Board members well before the Council/Board meeting.

There should be some basic training for all Council/Board members on how to read and understand a Balance Sheet and a Profit and Loss Statement. This needs to be given periodically as new Council/Board members begin their term.

AUDITS

If the Council has stores and/or special works, a full audit by a CPA or accounting firm should be accomplished annually. There are three levels of audits: Compilation, Review, and Full Audit. Select the one appropriate to the size and complexity of your Council. Those smaller Councils that have no stores or special works may plan and execute an informal audit. In any case, a Council audit should be performed annually.

A copy of the audit report should be given to each Council/Board member and discussed at the Council/Board meeting. Results of the audit should be made known to all subsidiary Councils and Conferences. Pay particular attention to any changes suggested to operations or record keeping that are in the report. The Council is accountable to its subsidiaries and upper Councils for the results of the audit. Statements on the audit of impropriety must be addressed before the next audit.

BUDGETS

A budget should be developed each year. The Council financial report should show how closely the operation is tracking with the budget each month. Any significant variance that develops should be dealt with in an established “process” manner. If the need for correction persists, action is required by the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director, Board, or Council. Expenses can be well predicted. It is the income that is uncertain. Don’t fall into the trap of balancing the budget by simply increasing the expected income.

The budget should be formally approved by the Council. It should be treated as a governance document that the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director and staff must operate within. However, staff should have the latitude to make decisions within the limits of the budget without exceeding those limits.

INSURANCE – CONSIDERATIONS

Adequate insurance coverages and limits should be maintained. It should include Directors and Officers Liability, Employee Practices, and Sexual Abuse coverage to protect the Council in addition to the normal coverages of Property, Liability, Vehicle, and etc. The Liability Insurance should include coverage for all members and volunteers. Annual evaluations should be made of all insurance policies.

An annual update of values should be done on all property insurance. Experts in appraisal, construction, banking, or insurance can be called upon to assist. The cost of insurance is extremely low in comparison to an uninsured or underinsured claim. Determine the cost to replace/rebuild with outside contractors, not the market value of the property.

In most cases of Council operations, limits of $1,000,000 would be considered inadequate. Establish limits with the advice of experts.

FUNDRAISING

Fundraising, as a general rule, is a long-term project. There may be various short-term fundraising projects that are planned but they should be part of a large effort. Develop a fundraising plan and work the plan over a long period of time. Adjust the plan as needed but the most important aspect is to make it a day to day process at all times. Don’t rely on a few resources; continue to search out new avenues to finance our work. The old tried and true may have been discovered by many other nonprofits resulting in less income than in the past.

RESERVE FUNDS

Establish a reserve fund if the Council has works that require payroll, bank payments or any other ongoing expenses. Decide how long a period of operation you would need to fund in case of loss of the normal source of funding or some operational disaster. This gives you time to adjust operations in case of unexpected losses in any year.

The Manual suggests 50% of annual budget (a six-month reserve). This may be too much depending on ongoing commitments and time to shut down various works if a critical situation arises. If financial results are negative, take corrective action as soon as possible to avoid invading the reserve fund.

Conferences and Councils with no extended obligations need little or no reserves. The money belongs to God’s poor. We are stewards of those funds.

SOLIDARITY

The Rule permits Councils at each level to assess its subsidiaries a solidarity contribution to help offset its cost of operations. This starts at the Council General International (CGI) and goes to each level beneath: National Council, Diocesan Council, District Council, and Conference. This is an obligation that each subsidiary must fulfill.

CGI assesses an annual solidarity contribution from National Councils. The National Council assesses an annual contribution from its Diocesan Councils, District Councils, and Conferences. Diocesan Councils can assess periodic contributions from its District Councils and Conferences. District Councils can assess periodic contributions from its Conferences.

The National Council makes its assessment in October of each year (the beginning of the fiscal year). It assesses to Councils and Isolated Conferences in each diocese. The Councils are expected to make the solidarity contribution. They are then expected, if they choose, to collect the appropriate portion of the contribution from their subsidiary Councils, Conferences, stores, and special works.

The members of the National Governance Committee wish you and your families a beautiful and blessed Christmas and a new year filled with the fullest measure of happiness and good health.

PROCESS

All business should be done by process – not reaction to individual situations. Council/Board policies and management procedures form the processes. Once formed, the process should not be violated except for very serious reasons. Processes must be in writing. They can be either Council/Board policy or operational procedures.

MEETING AGENDA

All Council/Board agenda items are designated as either action items or information. A process is to be developed so all Council/Board members have all information on action Items well before the Council/Board meeting so all votes are based on informed opinions. There should be no action taken on any motion not fully disclosed. The only exception in Roberts Rules is a “motion to suspend the rules.” This motion only applies to the issue at hand and must be passed by a two-thirds vote. Then that matter can be brought up and acted upon. A typical time that this should be used is in the case of a serious time problem on a critical issue.

ELECTION – COUNCIL PRESIDENT

All elections are held in conformance with bylaws. The Nationally Approved Bylaws have the same authority as the Rule. As a result of the process that occurred when the National Council approved Part III of the Rule and the Nationally Approved Bylaws at the National Assembly in Chicago in 2005, every Council and Conference is expected to adopt a set of bylaws corresponding to the Nationally Approved Bylaws.

All Council elections should begin at the Conference member level. All ballots are secret. Ballots for this election are usually counted by the Spiritual Advisor and one other disinterested person. It is suggested that only the winner is announced, not how close or unanimous the vote may have been. Revealing the actual vote only creates problems no matter how close or wide the vote is.

Conference Presidents are expected to vote the way their members instructed. If a significant development occurs changing the situation, such as the withdrawal of one or more candidates, the Conference President should use his/her best judgment of how the Conference would vote and then cast the ballot. If the election is put off to another time, the Conference members should be given an opportunity to express their wishes in another secret ballot.

MANAGEMENT

The Council, Council President and Board are responsible for oversight of the management of the Council. However, if the Council has a Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director, the Council, Council President and Board are NOT responsible for the actual day to day management. The Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director is responsible for the business of the Council.

Typically, a Council will not hire a Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director unless it operated one or more stores or Special Works. The business activities of the Council are handled by the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director. The Council, President and Board are responsible for the Vincentian work of the Council.

An issue with an individual, the clergy, or a Vincentian issue with the Council or a Conference is normally handled by the appropriate members of the Council/ Board. In many parts of the country, the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director aids the Council/Board with some of those issues. However, the following principle should be kept in mind: The primary role of paid staff in the Society is to AID Vincentians in the work they must do; it is NOT to do their work for them.

OBLIGATING THE COUNCIL

The Council/Board is the only entity that can authorize an obligation to be placed on the Council. This authority may be delegated by the Council/Board in certain cases to specific persons. No new ministries or significant additional services are undertaken without Council approval. Obtaining a grant for a special work or service that will obligate the Council to continue even if the grant is not received in the following year is unacceptable planning. The cost of a ministry is not only the space or start-up cost; it is the continuing expense to operate year after year.

In most cases, the structure of the Society is such that the Council is incorporated, has its Tax ID (EIN), is insured and is the SVdP legal entity in its area of coverage. It provides legal authority and coverage to the Conferences, stores and special works that are its subsidiaries. Therefore, it is important that all Conferences, stores and special works submit their plans for grant requests and other new activities to the Council/Board for approval. Since the Council is the legal entity, the grant or new activity becomes the responsibility of the Council.

PLANNING

Planning, both long and short range should be a continuing process and examined in depth at least once a year. Times for regular annual planning meetings, usually before budget time, should be established and adhered to.

CROSSING INTO ANOTHER COUNCIL’S AREA

In 1979, the National Council passed a resolution that essentially stated that no Council or Conference can cross into the boundaries of another Council or Conference with the intent to set up operations of some work or do fundraising without their permission. This resolution was re-enforced by Resolution 104, passed by the National Council on April 12, 2013. For example, this prevents Council A from establishing a store or special work within the Council B boundaries without Council B granting them permission. The same holds true for targeted fundraising.

*Excerpt from Vincentian Life: Council

OFFICERS

Servant Leadership

Officers are servant leaders and should strive to put the good of the Society, Councils, Conferences, Vincentians, poor and benefactors above their own. True servant leadership is a sacrifice given to God for the blessing of being able to help in service to his poor. What greater role model than Jesus. “And he that will be first among you shall be our servant. Even as the son of man has not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as redemption for many.” (Matthew 20: 27-28)

Training

Officers should seek out knowledge of responsibilities from training resources and guidance from the Society.  The National Council has developed many resources for helping officers to understand their roles better.  These resources can be found on the National Council members’ website under various Organization & Membership categories:  Governance, Leadership Resources, Servant Leadership, and many more.

Training programs such as the Ozanam Orientation, Servant Leadership Workshop, and the Governance for Councils and Boards DVD have also been developed.

Experience/Limitations

1. Officers need to recognize their limitations of knowledge and experience. Unless they have similar leadership and business background, it is difficult to step into the position that is controlled by complex issues in all areas. Our leaders are chosen because they are wonderful spiritual Vincentians willing to take on the responsibility of being a Council President.
2. Some of them have not had knowledge, training or experience to operate the complex business side of our Society.
3. They do the best they can.
4. One new Council President said, “I don’t know anything about a budget for a business. I haven’t even made a written budget for my own family.”
5. He recognized his weakness and asked for help.

The real problems are: we don’t know that we don’t know and we ask for help too late. Help is available. The National Council has sponsored a mentoring program for Council Presidents and Chief Executive Officer/Executive Directors. Contact the National Council office or check the National Council website for information about this.

Seek Expert Advice

With the recognition of limitations, experts in the required fields of knowledge should be sought. Some of the areas are budgeting, taxes, EEOC, hiring, labor laws, accounting, insurance, legal matters of all kinds, personnel policies, pay scales and many others. There are willing helpers in every community. Make the effort to seek them out.

No Surprises (Transparency)

Good Vincentian leaders try very hard to build consensus before acting on significant issues. A cardinal rule of all business and even in life is, NO SURPRISES. Tell the facts as early as possible to those involved before the crisis decision time arrives.

Involve Everyone

No Lone Rangers allowed. An election should not turn over the management of the entire Council to the new President. The President doesn’t know everything and the President doesn’t do everything. The President must keep all of the members involved. This is NOT a personal ministry. Over the years, many Conferences and Councils have failed, many have folded, and many members have been lost because of the effects of a Lone Ranger.

No Absentee Presidents

If you accept the position of responsibility, you owe it to the Council and the Society to be actively involved locally and at required meetings in the Region and at the National level. If you don’t want the entire responsibility don’t just accept a couple of areas that you like. The President is expected to be present and involved throughout his/her term. This also means NO Snowbirds.

Succession Planning

One of our primary responsibilities of leaders of a Council is to leave the Council in as good or better condition when our term is up as it was when we became the leader. There is much more work to be done long after we are gone. We must do our share to be sure our Council is there to do it. This also includes the President making every effort to nurture future leaders in the Council. There is no automatic succession in the Society, so this means that the concepts of leadership should be regularly promoted.

Special Conditions

In the chapter on Conferences, mention was made of two special concerns: President’s term of office and inappropriate appointment of officers. Both of these conditions come into play at the Council level as well. The Council is not only to monitor this at the Conference level but within itself as well.

In August of 1833, Leon Le Prevost, a member of the first Conference who later went on to establish the Religious Order of St. Vincent de Paul, wrote: In this moment there is a great movement of charity and of faith…” The same could be said of our time and our place in this world. Although we are often distracted by negative forces, influences, and movements, we must never lose sight of the hearts of our non-Vincentian brothers and sisters who like us long to help others. We witness that concern and compassion flow out of the actions of individuals, families, corporations, faith-based groups, and civic organizations as they respond to natural disasters and other large-scale tragedies.

From the very early days of the Society, our founders understood the need to work collaboratively with the government and other organizations in order to better assist the poor and suffering. In December of 1833, the first Conference accepted the role of “Commissioners of Charity” for the administrators of the La Bienfaisance neighborhood. While our present-day Councils often enter into collaborative agreements and relationships, our local Conferences tend to function primarily in cooperation with other Conferences and Councils, seldom reaching out to other groups in their local area.

If Conferences are isolated and do not interact and cooperate with other local faith-based groups and charitable organizations, we are overlooking resources including potential volunteers who can assist us in providing assistance to our neighbors in need.  By joining forces we not only increase our ability to help others but we also engage the community and provide others with the opportunity to be actively involved in helping those in need. Additionally, our outreach efforts help spread knowledge about the Society and our mission of charity and love.

On the Conference level, most collaborative relationships do not require a formal contract but more of a mutual understanding based on agreement in protocols and policies. Identifying groups in your area should be the starting point followed by outreach and relationship-building. Such relationships should start by sharing with the group’s leaders or members our history and mission, as well as letting them know how we currently serve those in need in our community.

The process must include a two-way conversation that provides us with an understanding of who they are and how they currently serve the community. Once that relationship is built, we can begin a conversation on how we can work together to benefit the needy, always keeping in mind that we can only function within the Rule of the Society. Just as we honor who they are and their procedures and guidelines, they must honor ours. For example, potential collaborative partners need to understand early on we cannot share funds with them or any project that our members are not involved in through person-to person contact with the poor.

When Frederic Ozanam helped to establish the Society, he envisioned a network of charity that would encompass the world. Vincentians are only part of that network. Our vocation calls us to reach out and serve beside other people of goodwill to help relieve poverty and injustice. By reaching out to them we can enhance the work of our Conferences and provide opportunities for them to join us in service to the least among us.

Such collaboration can make a huge difference. Ask yourself, “How can our Conference build relationships with other groups and churches?” With the help of others, we can do more and experience the love of Christ in those whom we serve and in those whom we serve beside.