AAF Seattle Board of Directors

AAF Seattle is the Western Washington chapter of the American Advertising Federation. Founded in 1909, we serve as a voice for the creative professionals, agencies and vendors that make up our vibrant community. 

Like the other clubs and chapters of the American Advertising Federation, AAF Seattle is an all-volunteer organization that strives to actively champion and instigate conversation within the Seattle creative community and beyond. Our club’s success depends on active and engaged participation of our members, sponsors, committees, and our board of directors — yes, people like you. 

Lead by the club President and in consultation with the Executive Committee, our AAF Seattle Board of Directors is responsible for all club operations and activities. Our local board works together to formulate club goals to best serve our membership as well as the greater Seattle advertising and creative community.  

The following is a list of the positions that will begin July 1, 2016. Each of these open positions are at the Director level and require a commitment of one year, with the term set to end June 30, 2017. Each Director will be responsible for building and maintaining a strong committee to help facilitate all committee goals and objectives. Please review the basic responsibilities and qualifications on the following pages, and if you’d like to be considered for one of the available positions, please fill our application.   (You can also grab this open position description info as a PDF.)

• Secretary (member of the Executive Committee)  
• Treasurer (member of Executive Committee)  
• Membership Director  
• Programs Director
• Sponsorship Director
• Advertising Education Director
• Government Relations Director  
• Advocacy Director
• Insights Director 

General Responsibilities:   

• Must be an AAF Seattle Member in good-standing, either as an individual or through your company’s corporate membership
• Understand and support the policies, initiatives and programs of AAF Seattle
• Awareness of District and National initiatives, as reported on by the AAF Seattle President and/or Vice President
• Actively assist in resolving problems, meeting needs or answering concerns facing any board member or committee
• Actively participate in AAF Seattle content creation via website, newsletter and LinkedIn channels  
• Continually recruit, inform and retain volunteers to support the club goals and growth of the AAF Seattle membership  
• Attends at least three-quarters of all scheduled monthly board meetings. Per our club’s by-laws, if you fail to meet certain criteria around this, you may be asked to step down from your board position. If you are unable to attend, you are responsible notifying the President in advance of the meeting, and submit a written report to be entered into the official board meeting minutes. You may also arrange for a representative from your committee to attend in your place.
• Attend at least 75% of all scheduled events each year  
• Attend annual club board retreat, generally taking place late summer/early fall 

Legal Responsibilities:

As Board Members of a 501(c)(6) Non-Profit, we have a legal responsibility to the local club, our district and the national organization. The following guidelines are recommended for non-profit organizations to reduce liability.  

• Attend board meetings regularly
• Be familiar with AAF Seattle’s by-laws and annual goals, objectives and programs
• Make sure the club keeps a written, permanent record of all board minutes
• Be certain to fulfill all aspects of non-profit and tax exempt status
• Exercise general supervision over AAF Seattle’s affairs
• Be familiar with the budget, budget process and financial health of the club, assuring the club maintains good credit and financial standing (as reported on by the club’s Treasurer) 
• Insist on meaningful board meetings with full disclosure of operating results
• Require the club to engage competent legal counsel, when necessary
• Require committees to report activities and achievements at board meetings
• Know the directors and officers of the club
• Adopt and follow sound business policies and practices
• Avoid conflicts of interest
• Monitor the community and professional image of the club
• Review the organization’s insurance program
• Question policies and practices that you don’t understand or cause concern   

SECRETARY  

Basic responsibilities include:

• Adhering to all general Board of Director responsibilities, outlined earlier in this document
• Attending and participating in AAF Executive Committee meetings, outside of regular monthly board meetings
• Partnering with Executive Director and President to develop meeting agendas, send meeting reminders, and collect and review committee reports from directors
• Recording and distributing monthly board meeting minutes
• Assisting President, VP, and Immediate Past President with planning and organizing annual board retreat
• Working with Immediate Past President and other Executive Committee Members on writing and crafting the narrative report for the club achievement submissions  

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the mission and goals of AAF Seattle and the National organization
• Strong attention to detail with an interest in operational procedures
• Strong communication and facilitation skills
• Willingness and ability to follow through on commitments within the timeframe allowed.   

TREASURER  

Basic responsibilities include:

• Adhering to all general Board of Director responsibilities, outlined earlier in this document • Attending and participating in AAF Executive Committee meetings, outside of regular monthly board meetings
• Working with AAF Seattle Executive Committee and/or Executive Director to keep financial accounts in good standing by means of bookkeeping, managing checking and other bank accounts, preparing and/or filing financial reports with AAF National, District XI, the IRS, and maintaining historical spending records for events
• Preparing and disbursing a monthly Treasurer’s Report at each Board meeting, including a summary of banking activities and balances, checks deposited, expenses paid, etc.
• Ensuring that the incoming Treasurer receives a complete set of financial records and relevant financial files, documents and instruments (i.e., access to accounting software, various passwords, checkbook etc.,)
• Creating and managing an annual budget with the support of the executive board
• Working with Immediate Past President and other Executive Committee Members on writing and crafting the narrative report for the club achievement submissions  

Additional responsibilities if the club does not have an Executive Director include:

• Keeping physical records of key financial forms and documents (i.e., IRS 990 tax returns and non-profit status forms)
• Recording revenue and expenses associated with each Club event or activity, and preparing a final profit and loss statement for each event, as part of a monthly budget report
• Managing use of the cash box (i.e., ensuring that adequate change and a receipt book are provided, that good cash handling practices are followed, and that admission and other fees are collected at the door) at each Club activity or event
• Managing and executing the payment of annual National membership dues, as well as District and National American Advertising fees  

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the mission and goals of AAF Seattle and the National organization
• Familiarity with the financial management of an organization, 501(c)(6) non-profit in particular
• Strong attention to detail with an interest in setting budgets
• Ability to communicate financial metrics to non-finance savvy board members
• Passion for bar charts and data visualization a plus  

MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR   

Basic responsibilities include:

• Adhering to all general Board of Director responsibilities, outlined earlier in this document
• Developing, implementing, and facilitating new and innovative strategies and themes for the recruitment of membership, focusing on questions/outline set forth in the AAF National Club Achievement package for Membership. Strategy to be presented at annual board retreat
• Organizing and leading a committee to assist with duties and responsibilities, scheduling and managing a monthly meeting with the committee, outside of regular board meetings
• Availability to meet on-site with current and potential corporate members to inform leadership and staff of the benefits of corporate membership
• Managing an accurate membership directory to pass on to the next Membership Director
• Assuring that the membership committee is well-versed in the national and local benefits of being a member, as well as carrying a positive and welcoming presence throughout all AAF Seattle activities
• Give regular updates on membership numbers, including retention and growth  
• Familiarizing yourself and committee with resources available on the national website and national membership database, and facilitate other board members with acquiring this information when needed
• Coordinating with Education Director(s) and/or American Advertising Awards Student Chair to reach potential student members and current student members more effectively
• Overseeing the planning of the AAF Annual Volunteer Appreciation Event
• Assuring membership table is present and attended (by members of the membership committee) at each AAF Seattle event
• Working with Immediate Past President on writing and crafting the narrative report for the club achievement submissions  

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the mission and goals of AAF Seattle and the National organization
• Understanding how the club’s mission to actively champion and instigate creativity within the Seattle creative community and beyond applies to membership
• Willingness to recruit, inform, motivate and recognize fellow volunteers and board members with a positive and welcome presence
• Strong communication and facilitation skills   

PROGRAMS DIRECTOR  

Basic responsibilities include:

• Adhering to all general Board of Director responsibilities, outlined earlier in this document
• Developing an annual Programs strategy and plan with the board, and executing the strategy within the Programs committee. This strategy should take into account the questions/outline set forth in the AAF National Club Achievement package for Programs. Strategy to be presented at annual board retreat.
• Organizing and leading a committee to assist with duties and responsibilities as set forth in the Programs strategy, and scheduling and managing a monthly meeting with the committee, outside of regular board meetings
• Developing a budget for each event and obtaining board approval within the guidelines outlined in the Finance Policies
• Working with the Communications Director to develop a communications plan for promoting events throughout the year
• Coordinating joint events with other industry-adjacent clubs in the area as appropriate
• Working with Immediate Past President on writing and crafting the narrative report for the club achievement submissions  

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the mission and goals of AAF Seattle and the National organization
• Past experience on Programs committee preferred
• Effective communication and facilitation skills
• Ability to follow through on commitments within the time frame allotted  

SPONSORSHIP DIRECTOR

Basic responsibilities include:

• Adhering to all general Board of Director responsibilities, outlined earlier in this document
• Developing an annual Sponsorship strategy and plan with the board, and executing the within the Sponsorship committee. Strategy to be presented at annual board retreat.
• Organizing and leading a committee to assist with duties and responsibilities as set forth in the Sponsorship strategy, and scheduling and managing a monthly meeting with the committee, outside of regular board meetings
• Identifying, creating and/or overseeing projects and programs designed to build effective relationships with current and potential sponsors.
• Developing sponsorship packages for annual and event-specific sponsorships
• Working with the Executive Director and/or Treasurer to invoice sponsors and facilitate collections if necessary
• Working with Programs, American Advertising Awards and other directors as necessary to identify and fill sponsorship needs and opportunities  

Qualifications:

• Knowledge of the mission and goals of AAF Seattle and the National organization
• Familiarity with effective corporate fundraising strategies
• Effective communication and facilitation skills
• Ability to follow through on commitments within the time frame allotted

Download the nomination form now and get it in before April 22!