2024 Grassroots Director nominations are open!

Would you like to take leadership in shaping our community of advocates uniting to end poverty and oppression? Do you know someone who would be a strong voice for guiding our organization?

We are now accepting nominations for the open Grassroots Board Director seat on the boards of the RESULTS Educational Fund and RESULTS, Inc. This three-year term will start in July 2024. Nominate someone who would be a strong voice representing RESULTS volunteers OR nominate yourself to take a bold new step in leadership. The election will be held throughout June. Nominations will close on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

The real power of RESULTS comes from the grassroots. As volunteer advocates, we shape the organization. We lift up solutions to U.S. and global poverty, and we address and raise issues of equity. That’s why it’s so important to have these four grassroots voices as members of the RESULTS Board. We call RESULTS advocates  “everyday heroes,”  and that’s the truth. Just the concept of a “Board” can sound intimidating though.

This commitment is a big one, but it’s also one where RESULTS advocates bring real wisdom to the table. We must have accountability, dependability, and reliability in folks who choose this role. Grassroots advocate directors bring much to RESULTS leadership, but also gain a lot, as recent board member, Maxine Thomas, shared in reflecting on her two terms (2016-2022): “During my tenure of service to the RESULTS Board of Directors, I learned so much about the ins and outs of the work we do at RESULTS. Also, being able to share from my personal experiences and perspectives, I felt heard and respected by my peers on the board. This opportunity has opened up doors for me and now I’m able to bring my board leadership experience to other organizations that I now serve on.”

Any committed grassroots advocate is a great candidate

We encourage participation from any active RESULTS volunteer. We especially invite those from diverse backgrounds to participate. Backgrounds may include younger advocates, people with lived experience of our poverty issues, and parents. Find details of Grassroots Director role online here.

In short, candidates must have at least one year of active experience as a RESULTS volunteer in the United States and be:

• a current volunteer
• committed to the mission of RESULTS and the anti-oppression values, and
• ready and willing to meet the responsibilities of Grassroots Directors

All interested grassroots volunteers should feel encouraged to apply. There are no specific requirements or expectations for background, education, or profession. Lived experience brings invaluable wisdom, and that can come from anyone. We need the perspectives of both parents and people without children of their own. We need younger voices, and we need seasoned perspectives. We need people with lived experience of our poverty issues, which include homelessness, eviction, treatable/curable infectious disease, and more. We need people with lived experience from all different identities and walks of life.

Submit nominations by April 24 for the May-June election

Nominations must reach the RESULTS office by close of business on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Candidates can nominate themselves or be nominated by any active RESULTS grassroots member. Please email name(s) to Jesse Marsden at [email protected] and current board member Allison Gallaher at [email protected].

After nominations close, nominees will submit a photo, a brief RESULTS biography, a video, and a statement of intent for their service on the Board by Sunday, May 5. Candidates will introduce themselves at the RESULTS Grassroots Board Town Hall on Thursday, May 9 at 9:00 p.m. ET and the RESULTS June national webinar.

Online voting will open after the May 9 Town Hall and continue through June 22 at midnight. Grassroots volunteers will elect will elect a “slate” of nominees. In this case, the “slate ”will be just one person because there is only one open seat. The slate will go to  the RESULTS Educational Fund (REF) Board for formal election. Under DC law, where REF is organized, only the Board of Directors may elect new Board members. Active grassroots volunteers will choose the new Board Member by voting for the slate and the Board of Directors then elects the exact slate the volunteers approved. If this seems different from the past, it is. Our recent bylaws revision has exposed the need for this clarification of our election process. This shift ensures RESULTS is in compliance with the law.

Grassroots Director elections timeline

March 14–April 24:  Submit nominations to [email protected] and [email protected]

By May 5:  Nominees submit prepared statement, video, and photo

May 9 at 9 p.m. ET:  Candidates forum

May 9: Online voting opens

June 1: Candidates speak on the June national webinar

June 22 @midnight: Online voting closes

June 23–27: RESULTS Board elects the slate nominated by the volunteers

By July 1:  All candidates are informed privately of the outcome and the successful candidate takes office