2023 – 2026 Board Recruitment
Posted July 6, 2023, updated July 24, 2023.
CAPAL is looking for passionate and talented leaders to join our Board of Directors for the 2023-2026 term!
We empower Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth by increasing access to public service opportunities and building a strong AANHPI public service pipeline. We envision a future with equitable AANHPI representation throughout all levels of government and public service.
We’ve served over 600 public service professionals for 34 years through our programs, including our Public Service Scholarship & Internship program, Washington Leadership Program, roundtables, professional development workshops, mentorship program, Community Action Projects, and more.
Submit an application by 11:59 PM PT on Monday, July 31, 2023 — extended deadline!
Apply if you are passionate about:
- Contributing to a nonprofit founded by Asian Americans for AANHPI students
- Advancing our mission of building a strong AANHPI public service pipeline and advancing equitable AANHPI representation across public service
- Encouraging and mentoring emerging AANHPI leaders
- Expanding and growing our organization by contributing your expertise and strategic counsel to CAPAL’s organizational priorities, financial decisions, and community engagement strategies
- Deepening your knowledge and ties with national and local AANHPI communities across the U.S.
We’re looking for candidates who:
- Are passionate about our mission, vision, values, and work
- Have some experience in the following areas*:
- Development / Finance: development and financial management of an organization or department, including institutional and high-dollar individual fundraising, corporate sponsorships, accounting, individual/peer-to-peer development
- Human Resources / People Operations: experience with recruitment and retention; onboarding, training, and succession planning; employee benefits; familiarity of new, anticipated, and existing federal, state, and local labor laws and compliance; program participant policies; etc.
- Communications: traditional press strategy (drafting press releases, pitching, tracking, etc.); organic and/or paid social; SEO; SEM; WordPress management; digital fundraising; graphic design; email marketing
- Community Engagement / Partnership Development: youth alumni relations; identifying and cultivating relationships with other organizations for partnerships; experience engaging AANHPI sub-groups and peer AANHPI organizations
- Youth Programming: direct service or youth programming; program participant alumni engagement strategy; curriculum building; program analysis
- Nonprofit Governance: nonprofit measurement and evaluation experience, long-term strategic organizational planning, transitioning a working Board to a Governing Board
- Organizational Strategy: Ability to see the big picture of an organization, to work with internal and external stakeholders, and to plan and drive strategic projects through implementation
*We do not expect every candidate to have expertise in all or most of these areas. If you have at least moderate experience in one or more of the areas above, we encourage you to apply.
Board Expectations
- Members of the Board of Directors serve an initial term of three years and may serve up to six years. Board Directors commit an average of 5-7 hours a week, with the time commitment varying throughout the year. This is a volunteer leadership position, with no monetary compensation provided.
- Actively engage in Board meetings that shape CAPAL’s long-term strategy and programs. Meetings may occur in the evenings or on weekends.
- Participate in a virtual retreat once per year
- Serve on at least one Board “Task Force” and fulfill its associated responsibilities
- Task Forces in the 2022-2023 year included Communications, Community Engagement, Development, and Human Resources
- Serve as a passionate advocate and ambassador for CAPAL by periodically attending and supporting CAPAL virtual and/or in-person programming, in addition to occasional partner events
- Willing to contribute personally significant financial support and engage others in your networks for financial and in-kind support
- Leverage and cultivate personal and professional networks to recruit donors, partners, speakers, volunteers, and program applicants and participants
- Oversee fiscal and legal responsibilities, including determining budget allocations, program budgets, staff salaries, and internal policies
- Support staff with programmatic planning and implementation when necessary
While CAPAL is based in the D.C. Metro Area, remote candidates from across the U.S. are invited to apply. All candidates are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet every qualification described. All applications will be considered holistically.
Those from historically underrepresented AANHPI ethnic communities (South Asians, Southeast Asians, Central Asians, Native Hawaiians, Polynesians, Melanesians, Micronesians), including those residing in non-bicoastal major cities and states; LGBTQ+ individuals, women, non-binary, and genderfluid; non-citizens, etc., are encouraged to apply.
The Board will contact you with any updates from BoardApplications@capal.org. Applicants and prospective applicants can contact this email with any questions or concerns, including requesting reasonable accommodations to complete the application.
To apply, submit an application by 11:59 PM PT on Monday, July 31st, 2023 — extended deadline!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Below is additional information about our Board recruitment process and Board Member expectations, based on frequently asked questions during the recruitment process.
If you have any further questions or concerns about the application process, including reasonable accommodation requests, please email BoardApplications@capal.org. Thank you for your interest in joining our Board of Directors and we look forward to reviewing your application!
- Thursday, July 6 – Monday, July 31, 2023: Extended application period
- Thursday, July 20 – Thursday, August 10, 2023: Virtual interviews* conducted on a rolling basis
- Week of Sunday, August 27, 2023: Applicants notified; offers extended
- October 1, 2023: Board term begins
*Virtual interviews will be approximately 45 minutes in length and will be facilitated by two Board Members. Reasonable accommodations may be requested throughout the application process and upon interview offer.
Yes! As long as you are passionate about empowering Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students to pursue public service careers, and have the skills and expertise to contribute to our organization and community, we welcome your application. You do not have to be a current public sector employee or currently employed to apply.
Yes, you can apply! While CAPAL is based in DC and serves the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) area, we welcome Board applicants from across the country. In the last two years, our Board has shifted to remote meetings, expanding our Board membership to outside of the DMV area. We’ve had Board Members from all timezones and even Board Members working abroad. We’ve also worked with community partners and placed interns in field offices across the US annually.
All Board Members are expected to attend our virtual meetings, including Board Meetings (roughly once a month) and respective Task Force meetings, for a total of 5-7 hours a month. As long as you can commit to being an active Board Member, we encourage you to apply.
Board activities have primarily remained remote and our youth programs are now offered both virtually and in-person. We do not ask nor require CAPAL personnel to travel, but we encourage Board members who live within a reasonable distance to the DMV to support in-person programming, when possible.
Please see our question below about Board Member fundraising expectations for examples of contributions.
As an AANHPI organization, we recognize the vast diversity of our community, and that includes recognizing that not everyone in our community may hold US citizenship status. We welcome applicants who are US citizens, naturalized citizens, permanent residents, undocumented residents, DACA recipients, TPS holders, asylees, refugees, and more. This will not negatively affect your application and can bring a unique perspective to our work.
As a registered 501(c)(3) organization, our Board Members are listed on publicly available organization tax documents when we file annually with the US IRS and Board Members hold a fiduciary responsibility to the organization. Some of our Board Members, especially Governance Committee Board Members (Chair(s), Vice Chair(s), Secretary, and Treasurers), may need to sign off on documents or authorize actions on CAPAL’s behalf. Additionally, our Board of Directors are listed publicly on our physical and digital materials/platforms.
No. CAPAL does not request any references or recommendation letters to be submitted for our Board of Directors application process. You’re welcome to include how you learned about our Board application and mention from whom, if it was from a CAPAL community member (staff, Board/program alumni, etc.), but this will not affect your application.
If recommendations are submitted on behalf of applicants or by applicants, they will be disregarded out of fairness to all applicants.
We recommend that you reach out to your employer and affiliations to ask about any conflicts of interests policies as an applicant and a potential Board Member if you are offered a position on the Board. This office or personnel may be located in the Human Resources/People Operations, Compliance, or Legal/Ethics teams but may vary, depending on organization and sector.
Board Members are required to serve a 3-year term at minimum. After serving the minimum requirement of 3 years, Board Members have the option to renew annually thereafter. Board Members cannot remain on the Board for longer than six consecutive years.
As per our Board Bylaws, our Board term begins annually on October 1 and concludes on September 30 the following year.
For example, if you apply this year and accept an offer to join the Board, your term will begin October 1, 2023. You will then be expected to serve for three years through September 30, 2026, as part of the 3-year minimum Board service requirement. In your last required year (October 2025 – September 2026), you will have the opportunity to renew for another year – a fourth year – on the CAPAL Board. You will have up to three more years after your last required term is served, for a maximum of six consecutive years served.
Securing valuable resources to support our mission helps us further our goals and impact. Fundraising is an important part of every Board Member’s responsibility. In 2023, the Board collectively aimed to raise $30,000. We understand that fundraising may not be an area of expertise for all of our Board Members and we will offer training and professional development to help members generate ideas and strategies for fundraising.
Here are some examples of ways that Board Members can contribute toward CAPAL’s collective fundraising goal:
- identifying new funding opportunities for CAPAL
- introducing CAPAL to prospective supporters
- leveraging networks for giving campaigns
- launching a personal fundraiser
- identifying gift-matching opportunities
- pursuing corporate sponsorships
- supporting the organization’s grant writing efforts
- participating in board-sponsored fundraising events (e.g. gala, happy hours, etc.)
- personally joining or encouraging others to join the CAPAL Leadership Circle ($25 -$49 per month) or Executive Leadership Circle ($50 or more per month)
It is not expected that Board Members contribute in all of these ways and there are many additional options not included on this list that would support our mission, including commitments of time, talent, and personal lived experience shared with our Board.
As a working Board, Board Members are expected to commit 5-7 hours per week, with time commitment varying throughout the year and based on your Task Forces. Board Meetings occur roughly once a month, with Board Members expected to complete any pre-reads and pre-work to prepare for Board Meetings. This pre-work is usually no more than an hour.
CAPAL’s Board of Directors is a volunteer, unpaid position. Board Members currently volunteer their time and expertise to our organization to further our mission.
If you have any further questions or concerns about the application process, including reasonable accommodation requests, please email BoardApplications@capal.org. Thank you for your interest in joining our Board of Directors and we look forward to your application!