Join Our Team!
Board of Directors Application
Through 2024, Pro-Choice North Carolina (501(c)4) and Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation (501(c)3) (“Pro-Choice NC”) are seeking individuals from across the state to join our Boards of Directors! Potential new board members (“candidates”) will submit their application by our deadline and may progress through our process depending on how their skill-set and qualifications match up with what is required for the functions of each board. The full application process includes an interview with Pro-Choice NC staff and board members. Board members are eligible to serve three (3) consecutive two (2) year terms. New board members will be offered a board member orientation. Board membership is voluntary, and serving on the board of directors of Pro-Choice NC is not paid work.
Who We Are
You can learn more about our organization and our work on the About Us section of our website. We are a leading grassroots abortion rights/pro-choice advocacy organization in North Carolina. We know that North Carolina needs a strong political and advocacy voice to protect the reproductive rights and health care access of women and all people who can become pregnant. Our organization strives to effectively meet the challenges to reproductive freedom we are facing in North Carolina, and a robust and dynamic Board of Directors is a key part of helping us accomplish our shared mission.
Why We Need You
Across the nation and in our state, anti-choice lawmakers are passing laws to make abortion inaccessible, unsafe, and even illegal. With the federal protections in Roe now gone, North Carolina is unique in the southeast as a state where abortion is still legal, but we don't know for how long.
Beyond abortion, all other aspects of reproductive healthcare are also under dire threat. As a state that was once considered progressive in the South when it came to abortion laws, abortion rights advocates worked tirelessly to keep our clinics open around the state, even in this post-Roe era. It’s imperative that we not just protect the abortion and reproductive healthcare access we have in North Carolina now, but that we also work to expand that access so all people across the region have the freedom to make the reproductive healthcare choices that are best for them. We seek board members who will help uphold our mission and push ever forward. We are making North Carolina a more just, compassionate, and equitable place. Join us!
The Boards
Pro-Choice North Carolina (C4)
Pro-Choice North Carolina develops and sustains a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee that every person has the right and support to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing pregnancy, carrying a pregnancy safely to term, and accessing safe abortion.
Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation (C3)
Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation (C3) supports and protects, as a fundamental right and value, a person’s freedom to make individual decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices – including preventing pregnancy, carrying a pregnancy safely to term, and accessing safe abortion – through training, education, organizing, and research. We champion public policy that addresses the racial, gender, and class disparities in our current and historical reproductive health care systems and promotes equity for all people.
The Candidates We're Looking For
Every board of directors seeks members who will uphold its organization’s mission and values, and will work to govern and direct the organization in a way that provides excellent stewardship and the success of its goals. Given the distinct work and efforts of Pro-Choice North Carolina and Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation, we believe our ideal boards are comprised of individuals who provide a balance of the following skills/experiences:
Pro-Choice North Carolina (C4)
- Political experience; campaign work, staff/elected work experience, policy work experience
- Connections to political networks
- Non-conflicting professional obligations
- Experience with Pro-Choice NC partners
Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation (C3)
- Broad range of community connections, specifically in reproductive health and other areas of social justice
- Health care providers and educators (including RNs, APPs, and MDs), specifically those providing comprehensive reproductive/sexual health and abortion care and education
- Researchers with areas of interest that overlap with our work
- Public health experts
- Representatives of our coalitions and areas of interest
Both Boards
- Diversity in life experience
- Racial/Ethnic
- Age
- Sex/Gender
- Sexual Identity
- Geographic
- Economic
- Education
- Disability
- Legal status
- Professional skill sets in areas of organizational need:
- Management/leadership skills and experience
- Financial/accounting experience
- Legal expertise
- HR knowledge/training
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy and organizational transformation
- Health practitioner, health systems, or health policy experience
- Experience in and passion for fundraising
- Ability and willingness to fundraise (with support from Pro-Choice NC staff)
- Experience in areas of Pro-Choice NC strategic interest
We are specifically seeking individuals whose lived experience and skill sets will supplement and complement the existing board composition. For these reasons, we are prioritizing candidates who can provide our board(s) with:
- Greater diversity as it pertains to race/ethnicity, age, sex/gender, geographic and socioeconomic experience, disability, education and immigration status.
- Experience in and a passion for fundraising
- Legal expertise
- Financial expertise
- Organizational development and leadership development
- Healthcare/medical systems experience
All applications will be considered. Some candidates who are not accepted in this round of recruitment may be considered for future cycles, if they wish.
Responsibilities of the Boards
Pro-Choice North Carolina board members come from all walks of life, and we all have different family, work, and volunteer obligations. We have prepared this general summary of board member responsibilities to help you decide if being a Pro-Choice North Carolina board member is right for you. You should expect to spend approximately 3-6 hours per month on Pro-Choice North Carolina business, depending on the committees you join and the work you sign up for. There will be occasional organizational activities that may take more of a board director’s time for the month.
While we provide estimates for how much time you should expect to spend on board member tasks, please be aware that it can vary. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the executive director or a board member if you have any questions.
The Boards’ purpose is to guide the organization’s development, strategic direction, and mission. The Boards work to oversee and direct Pro-Choice North Carolina’s affairs in accordance with its mission, operating procedures, and standards of fiscal responsibility. To give applicants a better idea of the “day to day” responsibilities of serving on the board, please see the list below:
- Prepare for and attend quarterly board meetings.
- Meetings are typically 1.5-3 hours long. Prior to the COVID19 public health crisis, we often met in spaces somewhere in the Triangle, but we are now meeting remotely during this time. We do not know how long we will be meeting virtually, but we will continue to do so for as long as necessary for the safety of board and staff. We also always provide for remote participation even during in-person meetings; and we try to provide support for travel to board meetings.
- There is typically an hour of reading (of reports and other documents) that needs to be done in advance of each meeting. We expect everyone to read the material, regardless of attendance at the meeting.
- The quarterly meetings are typically in February, May, August, and November.
- Annual Gala (April/May, typically in Chapel Hill, NC; but has been virtual since 2020)
- Promote and attend (virtually or in person) our signature annual event. Make contact (phone calls/emails) with Pro-Choice North Carolina supporters in advance of the event and invite your networks. Contribute to the board’s decision-making regarding speakers and awardees. Participate in the program as needed.
- Participate on at least one committee/working group.
- Examples include governance, recruitment, programs, and fundraising.
- Meeting as a full board only once per quarter means the Boards and Executive Director communicate frequently on-line (email, shared documents, other on-line communications). All directors are expected to participate in those communications as needed, and respond promptly when asked.
- There may also be one short (one hour or less) board call in between the quarterly meetings.
- Act as a representative and ambassador of the organization in appropriate settings, to build connections and opportunities as appropriate.
- Attend any board trainings and retreats (organization usually has one half or full-day retreat each year).
- Make an annual personal financial contribution to the organization at a level that is meaningful to you.
- Participate in fundraising efforts with support from staff.
We are specifically seeking individuals whose lived experience and skill sets will supplement and complement the existing board composition. For these reasons, we are prioritizing candidates who can provide our board(s) with:
- Greater diversity as it pertains to race/ethnicity, age, sex/gender, geographic and socioeconomic experience, disability, education and immigration status.
- Experience in and a passion for fundraising
- Legal expertise
- Financial expertise
- Organizational development and leadership development
- Healthcare/medical systems experience
All applications will be considered. Some candidates who are not accepted in this round of recruitment may be considered for future cycles, if they wish. Since we receive more Board applications from highly qualified candidates than we can accept at any given time, we hope you will also consider volunteering for other important Pro-Choice North Carolina activities and responsibilities, such as hosting local rallies or community education events, supporting our fundraising events, organizing constituent visits to elected officials, providing research support on our community campaigns, and so much more!
Term: Our bylaws allow for three consecutive two-year terms, beginning after election to the Board.
Board Application Process
Pro-Choice North Carolina is committed to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion at the organization, and has been working with our partners, staff, board, donors and supporters to take concrete steps to ensure our organization is reflective of the community we represent, and that we have racial equity throughout our organizational policies and practices. Increasing our diversity on our board is a part of that commitment.
We were founded as a reproductive rights and health organization, and we are also committed to promoting the reproductive justice framework to inform our work. Through our programming and our advocacy, both our C3 and C4 organizations strive to build a world that promotes reproductive freedom for all North Carolinians. For our 2022 board recruitment, we are particularly interested in inviting the leadership of people of color, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, men, people who identify as LGBTQ+, immigrants/refugees, people with disabilities, and people directly impacted by the work we are doing. It is critical to achieving our mission that our boards reflect the diverse skills, abilities, experience, wisdom, and rich diversity of our community.
Application Timeline
Across the nation and in our state, anti-choice lawmakers are passing laws to make abortion inaccessible, unsafe, and even illegal with the fall of Roe. Beyond abortion, all other aspects of reproductive healthcare are also under dire threat. As a state that was once considered progressive in the south when it came to abortion laws, abortion rights advocates have worked hard to keep a handful of clinics open around the state, even in. this post-Roe era. It’s imperative that we not just protect the abortion and reproductive healthcare access we have in North Carolina now, but work to expand that access so people from across the region have the freedom to make the reproductive healthcare choices that are best for them. We seek board members who will help uphold our mission and push ever forward. We are making North Carolina a more just, compassionate, and equitable place. Join us!
Application Instructions
Please fill out the application on-line, and email your resume or CV (if you have one) and the names and contact information for 1-2 references who can speak to the skills and experience you hope to bring to the Board to us at info@prochoicenc.org. To reduce confusion, please include your last name in the document name of any application materials you send.
Thank you to Pro-Choice Oregon for application packet inspiration.