Board of Trustees - Candidate Information

Dear Potential Board Member,
Thank you for your interest in the Museum of North Idaho Board of Trustee position.

Meeting schedule:
Regular quarterly Board meetings are the second Tuesday of January, April, July and October. The third Tuesday of April is the annual meeting/banquet and program, which is open to the public. The fourth Tuesday of April is the election of officers and orientation. Special and committee meetings are called as needed.

Board Philosophy:

The Museum Board believes they exist to provide leadership, long-term vision and stability for the Museum. Board Members are the link between the Museum and the community the Museum serves. This connection provides needed insight and information for the decisions the Board makes about what it can and will do to serve the community. Trustees lead by setting policy rather than by making decisions about particular events. They begin with the larger issues and focus on the big picture. Trustees create policies in categories appropriate to governance rather than mimicking those of administration or staff. This philosophy is part of John Carver’s Policy Governance Model which, is based on his book “Boards That Make A Difference A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations”.

As the Museum works towards a new facility and expanded programming the Board’s role in connecting with community leaders and potential donors is essential.

Next Step:
 If you decide you would like to serve on the Board, we will need a resume or letter discussing your strengths and an interview will be set up with the committee. If, after the interview, you and the committee agree that you should be nominated, then a short write up about your qualifications is needed for the ballot. Trustees are elected by the Museum membership and ballots go out in the mail the first part of April and must be received back by the third Tuesday in April. You must be a current member of the Museum to serve on the Board.If you have any questions please call Dorothy Dahlgren, the Director of the Museum, at 664-3448 or email: dd@museumni.org.

Museum of North Idaho - Board Policies

Museum of North Idaho

Mission Statement

Adopted April 10, 2007

The Museum ofNorth Idaho collects, preserves and interprets the history of the Coeur d'AleneRegion to foster appreciation of the area’s heritage.

Ends Policy
Adopted Oct 23, 2000

Implementation of this mission will give the community and its visitors an awareness, understanding and appreciation of the area’s cultural heritage.

*A community that understands its past develops community pride, which leads to involvement and support of historical programs, projects and preservation.

*To achieve its mission the Museum has a comprehensive collection of artifacts and materials that reflect the history of the area.  The collection is preserved, exhibited and is available to the general public and researchers according to professional museum standards.

Previous Mission Statement
Adopted January 11, 2000

The Mission of the Museum of North Idaho is to educate the community and visitors about the history of the Coeur d'Alene region

Museum of North Idaho
Executive Limitations Policies
Adopted March 4, 1997

The Director shall not cause or allow any practice, organizational circumstance, activity, or decision that is either imprudent or in violation of commonly accepted business or professional ethics; Nor shall the Director violate the Missionor Ends statements.

1.  The paid staff and volunteers shall not be subjected to unfair, undignified, or unsafe treatment or conditions.

2.  The budgeting of any fiscal year or remaining part thereof, shall not deviate materially from board ENDS policies, risk fiscal jeopardy, or fail to be derived from a multiple year plan.

3.  The assets including financial as well as the collections and reputation may not be inadequately maintained, unnecessarily risked, or unprotected.

Accordingly, the Director shall not:
a.  Fail to insure against theft and casualty and or liability at least to current standards.
b.  Unnecessarily expose the organization, staff or board members to claims of liability.

4.  Actual financial conditions and performance shall not incur jeopardy nor compromise the board’s ENDS priorities.  The conditions for which funds are accepted must be consistent with the ENDS and Mission. 

The Director shall not: (Amended 12/7/1999)
a.  Expend more funds for general operations than what is reasonably expected to be received by the end of the year.
b. Fail to settle payroll and debts in a timely manner.

5.  Board information will have no significant gaps in timeliness, accuracy, or completeness.

Museum of North Idaho
Governance Process Policies
Adopted March 4, 1997

The role of the board, on behalf of the citizens of our service area in portions of Kootenai, Shoshone, and Benewah Counties, Idaho, is to assure that the Museum of North Idaho (a) effectively contributes to the community’s understanding of area history, and (b) avoids unacceptable activities and conditions.

1.  The board will engage in continual, structured contact with the citizens of our service area in order to represent their diversity.  Our ownership includes the membership, the people whose history we are preserving and interpreting, and the taxpayers of Kootenai County.
A. Board members behave in the belief that they are moral trustees for the ownership; this attitude establishes a frame of mind that leads the board to appropriate considerations and loyalties when resolving value issues.
B. The Board gathers statistical evidence of the owners’ concerns, needs, demands, and fears.  Techniques include surveys, interviews by third parties, and statistical data.
C.  Board members are encouraged to engage in contact with owners in activities such as interviews, focus groups, public forums, invited presentations at board meetings, dialogue with other boards and public officials, or other intimate exchanges.  For example, board members will attend annual meetings and volunteer appreciation parties to open channels of communication.

2.  The Board focuses on its ends policies, which are defined separately in terms of benefits, recipients, and their relative priorities.  It will define in executive limitations policies those activities and conditions it considers unacceptable.  The board will delegate performance on these matters to the Museum Director.

3. The Board will carry out its job with discipline, emphasizing strategic rather than short-term issues, policy rather than single events, and group rather than individual decisions.
A.  The Board generates their meeting agenda by including only those issues that conform to the following screening questions:
a. What Board policy area is this? (Board-Museum Director relationship? Linkage with the Ownership? Executive Limitations? Board Process?)
b. Whose issue is it? (Board or Museum Director?  Someone needs to own every issue.)
c. What has the Board already said on this policy area and how is the issue at hand related?

4. For continuity and discipline in governance, officers of the board are in service to the board.  As such they are bound by board wishes and limits of board authority.

A.  The President is charged to make decisions on issues of governance process and board-staff linkage within board policies.  The job result of the President is that the Board behaves consistently with its own rules and those legitimately imposed upon it from outside the organization.
a.  Meeting discussion content will only be those issues which, according to board policy, clearly belong to the Board to decide, not the Museum Director.
b.  Deliberation will be fair, open, and thorough, but also efficient, timely, orderly, and kept to the point.  Robert’s Rule of Order will be used.
c.  The authority of the President consists in making decisions that fall within the topics covered by Board policies on Governance process and Board-Museum Director relationship, except where the Board specifically delegates portions of this authority to others.  The President is authorized to use any reasonable interpretation of the provisions in these policies.

1.  The President is empowered to chair Board meetings with all the commonly accepted power of that position (e.g., ruling, recognizing).
2.  The President has no individual authority to make decisions about policies within Ends and Executive Limitations policy areas.  Therefore, the President has no authority to supervise or direct the Museum Director or staff.
3.  The President may represent the Board to outside parties in announcing Board-stated positions.
B. The Vice President will act in the absence of the President.
C. Treasurer is to perform duties in connection with monitoring of finances.
D. The Secretary, by affixing his or her signature, shall attest formally to the legitimacy of Board documents.  The Secretary also in responsible to the Board for reporting on and noting any inconsistencies of Board actions.

Museum of North Idaho | P.O. Box 812, Coeur d'Alene, ID  83816-0812 | 208-664-3448 | museum@museumni.org