|
NAWBOCalifValueVision 2005
October 31, 2005
NAWBO CALIFORNIA Vision/Value Statement 2005
NAWBO California was incorporated in 1992 to serve as the statewide "senate" representing NAWBO chapters, whose volunteer board members from each chapter convene three times a year to share best practices of chapter management, build business relationships throughout the state, and form lasting partnerships with corporations and government entities to benefit participating chapters statewide. California has more women business owners than any other state, and NAWBO California helps its chapters serve the interests and needs of those 1.3 million women business owners.
NAWBO California History—the first and primary purpose that brought representatives of the California chapters together back in 1992 was to build friendships and support among the California leaders and members of NAWBO chapters in the state. After the chapter leaders got to know one another informally, they realized an organized body called NAWBO-California could add significant support to provide CA chapters what was then missing from National.
At the time, there were limited National services to chapters: no centralized membership/dues collection; no organized membership marketing; no website, no email; and very little attention paid by National to the California chapters. NAWBO National offered one-day board member training at its annual convention, which few Californians could travel across the country to attend.
After a few informal meetings, presidents of the California chapters decided to incorporate as NAWBO California, when Tana Davis was CA President (and past-President of Los Angeles.) Tana Davis owns a CPA firm and developed the non-profit association, with bylaws, a board which meets three or four times annually, and pays corporate taxes annually. NAWBO CA is not a chapter itself, but a consortium or statewide federation of the CA chapters.
NAWBO California board-members are officers of their various chapters. They started to share “best practices” with in-coming chapter board members to help them with chapter management and marketing (when most chapters still used xerox label sheets to keep track of their members and dues-paying.) Chapters collected their own dues and submitted the National portion to National. There are no dues paid to NAWBO California.
There are three in-person CA Board meetings: the August chapter board-training event; the November board meeting (now taking place at the Western Regional conference in Las Vegas;) and the April Legislative Action Day in Sacramento. The board engaged the services of a woman-owned management firm in Orange County, who also is a NAWBO member, to provide CA administration.
NAWBO California also supports development of new CA chapters--the Desert Cities Chapter is a success story. CA helped with seed money and has provided board training for three consecutive years. CA has long hoped to launch a chapter in Fresno, but has not had the local volunteer resources to date.
Website issues with National--In 2000 it was clear that National was not getting its website together, and California chapters were far ahead with technology, and frustrated. So NAWBO California chapters agreed to forego their receipt of corporate dollar allotments in order to send $40,000 to National as a gift to help fund development of a National website which would also serve the needs of California chapters.
Patience of the California chapters wore thin when National would not take counsel as to what our chapters needed from the national website. National would not budge when CA insisted that their system was too cumbersome to use and required an even greater level of administrative work in order to use the event management capability, membership tracking and mailing services on the website.
California chapters were not well-served, and NAWBO California lost face with its own chapters, and influence with National, by advocating proactively for a website that would serve all chapters well, including the CA chapters. NAWBO California’s management firm, Association Management & Event Solutions (AMES), owned by Tammie Fletcher, dedicated hundreds of volunteer hours to help National with its website.
Meanwhile, NAWBO National was having financial problems. Hence, the national website has never properly worked and most chapters developed their own websites to serve their members. California simultaneously developed its own website—trying to adhere to the National format/software, which was not user-friendly.
To date, the two CA chapters that elected to keep trying to move their application services on line with National are still dealing with continued technology glitches and delays. Across the nation, fewer than a dozen chapters are using the online event management component.
Today, NAWBO CALIFORNIA maintains its support system to California chapters, based on its original purpose: to provide friendship, “best practices,” board resources and potential corporate fund-raising to the chapters in the state. NAWBO California also provides a single funnel through which statewide corporate partner contributions can flow to the chapters, for those corporate partners who want their sponsorship to go to all chapters in the state.
NAWBO CALIFORNIA is comprised of chapter board representatives (could be any of the board officers a chapter chooses to send, but usually the representatives are chapter president, past president, vice president, or president-elect.) All California board members are volunteers who own their own companies, who also maintain their own chapter board duties as well. Just like a “Senate,” each chapter has one vote at the CA board meeting.
Statewide Corporate Partner Outreach Since about 2000, the primary corporate partners of NAWBO CA have been Union Bank of California, SBC, AT&T (formerly), and WellPoint. Wells Fargo was a statewide corporate partner earlier, but change in staff at Wells changed the relationship. California board members over the years have been advocates for marketing to statewide corporate partners, and distributing dollars to the chapters. CA also provides exposure for statewide corporate partners through its website and quarterly CA newsletter for stakeholders, corporate partners, legislators and chapter leadership.
Corporations want to access the statewide network of chapters, including coverage of partnership activities in chapter newsletters, opportunity to purchase ads in the local membership directory, attendance at local chapter meetings and local opportunities for joint sponsorship of promotional activities.
NAWBO California in 2003 developed a very proactive outreach to prospective corporate partners, and worked closely with the CA chapters to establish “off limits” lists so that CA would not approach existing local chapter partners. An active Corporate Relations committee with a member from each chapter was developed, who met monthly by conference call. This well-intended effort has not produced the new statewide partners envisioned, but NAWBO California has maintained its solid relationships with the three primary partners above.
Through NAWBO California…
The Presidents of the California chapters participate in a monthly conference call to share best practices, make friends, and help the Presidents keep ahead of events and issues facing their chapters and all 1.3 million women business owners in the state.
- All chapters are able to offer statewide exposure and networking to their members which is included in their single local NAWBO membership when their members participate in CA events. (We believe countless members statewide would benefit from the experience, sophistication and best practices demonstrated by the Los Angeles chapter.)
- All chapters have the opportunity to be represented at a first-ever California Women Business Owners Conference and Expo in 2007, which NAWBO CA is supporting, along with other minority business development organizations, geared to procurement with sponsoring corporations. This event will also help market new membership for the participating chapters.
- Additional revenue stream from those CA Corporate Sponsors who want to have the convenience of a single entry-point to statewide exposure without having to establish multiple relationships with each separate chapter. Those chapters (smaller than LA and SF) that do not have the numbers nor the clout to develop corporate partnerships on their own, especially benefit from the statewide efforts.
- All chapters’ board members have the open access to share best practices with other board members throughout CA. All who attend board training receive board training books which compile National and other CA chapter best practices. All California chapters are welcome to take advantage of these extra-help services from CA.
- NAWBO-CA is a FREE Marketing source for its participating chapters. NAWBO-CA markets all participating chapters to the Corporate Partners and interested potential members.
NAWBO CALIFORNIA Legislative Action Committee and our Legislative Action Day event has been a significant opportunity for all California chapter members to gain access to state legislators and present the views of women business owners. The board established two purposes for the committee:
- provide timely information and education so that NAWBO-CA chapter boards and members can make their own informed decisions regarding Public Policy issues.
- Oversee and make recommendations regarding specific pieces of legislation that have been selected as priorities by the statewide Legislative Action Committee as directly impacting business in California or nationwide (three issues to be determined by the board annually—currently for 2005 thes epriority categories are healthcare costs, worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance.)
Like NAWBO National, NAWBO California is bi-partisan and no longer takes positions on bills unless there is a majority vote to do so. Thanks to our first statewide legislation, AB 1643 in 2003, NAWBO California was recognized as an engaged organization.
NAWBO members statewide learned a great deal about the intricacies of sponsoring legislation. Such responsibility is not taken lightly. And because of NAWBO CA’s Legislative Action Day, members throughout the state continue to have the opportunity to learn about Sacramento, how to be involved. It provides a unique day to meet one another and develop business relationships with other NAWBO members from around the state.
The NAWBO CALIFORNIA Vision is to continue to help California chapters thrive by
- Building friendships among them;
- Sharing best practices for chapter management;
- Providing membership marketing through statewide PR efforts, newsletter and website (which includes links to all chapter sites;)
- Helping to raise funds for all CA chapters through corporate partners who want a one-stop solution for visibility among all participating chapters in the state.
- Maintaining a Sacramento Legislative Action Day specifically focused on women business owners--to educate NAWBO members in California about their interests in state government.
|
