Board of Directors

Call to Action

On behalf of The Writers’ Rooms, I want to thank you for supporting us. Over the past four years, we’ve brought seven Rooms to the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids Corridor and fostered relationships between writers, both new and experienced. The literary community has been vital to The Writers’ Rooms growth and prosperity, and we hope to be part of it for many years to come.

We all know the world is changing drastically right now. And, in turn, The Writers’ Rooms is changing as well. At the end of April 2022, I will be stepping down as Director of The Writers’ Rooms, and in my place I am appointing a Board of Directors consisting of three officers: President, Secretary, and Treasurer. This was not an easy decision to make, but I think it is in the best interest of The Writers’ Rooms, and our community, that we have new voices carrying forth our mission.

The positions of the Board President, Secretary, and Treasurer, are required by the state of Iowa to legally continue as a non-profit corporation. Therefore, filling these positions is vital to continuing The Writers' Rooms. I wanted to formally invite you to apply for one of these positions. If applying is not feasible at this time, please do pass along this application to anyone you think would bring a positive and passionate voice to the Board of Directors. We especially are looking for someone who values diversity, creativity, community, and the art of writing.

You can find the application here or down below.

Thank you again for your support. I really appreciate you considering this call to action.

Sincerely,
Erin Casey
Founder and Director of The Writers' Rooms

The Writers' Rooms is a non-profit corporation that focuses on providing a free, safe environment for all writers. We are Writers Helping Writers. We started in 2018 and consist of 7 different writing Rooms that meet weekly and provide space for writers. 

Our mission: The Writers' Rooms endeavors to help all writers with their craft. We strive to encourage and foster community-sourced knowledge to help lead literary sessions and provide a safe, positive writing environment.

Rooms are led by Concierges. Concierges are responsible for bringing writers together for writing sessions, lessons, and other social events in the literary community. 

Call to Action

In order to continue our organization, we need a brand new Board of Directors consisting of a President, Secretary, and Treasurer. 

Minimum Requirements for All Board Members: 

  • 1 year commitment, up to 5 consecutive years

  • Only 2 officers can be up for reelection per year.

  • Board meets at least once a year, (suggested quarterly)

  • This includes discussing annual budget, operational and strategic decisions requiring votes.

  • Will vote for future Board Members

  • Actively promotes The Writers’ Rooms (such as passing out business cards and using social media as appropriate)

  • Plan TWR general events (Writing Socials, IOWA, NaNo-allied events, etc)

  • Maintain positive relationships with Room locations (currently ICPL, CRPL, NLPL, CPL, Sanctuary, Critical Hits) and allied organizations (Iowa City Pride, UNESCO City of Lit, etc)

  • Review and approve proposals for new Rooms, I.O.W.A. and Publication Committee proposals, and other changes that affect TWR as a whole

Note: If a Board Member is also an active Concierge, these duties (and officer-specific duties) are in addition to rather than in place of Concierge duties. 

The specific duties for President, Secretary, and Treasurer are listed below. If you are interested in applying, please click the button to the right.

Important Dates and Deadlines: 

This application is active until March 18, 2022. Interviews will be held (virtually) from March 18 to March 25, 2022. A decision will be made by March 31st and all applicants will be contacted at that time. Training will be provided beginning April 4. The Board will take on full duties on April 30, 2022.

Duties of All Board Members 

Term Limits: 1-5 consecutive years, rotating between officers

Annual elections/reelections

  • Plan TWR general events (Writing Socials, IOWA, NaNo-allied events, etc) 

  • Actively participate in Board meetings (at least annually, but quarterly or monthly is preferred) 

  • All Board Members have to be listed on the Articles of Incorporation in order for it to be renewed every 2 years, on the odd year

  • Maintain positive relationships with Room locations (currently ICPL, CRPL, NLPL, CPL, Sanctuary, Critical Hits) and allied organizations (Iowa City Pride, UNESCO City of Lit, etc)

  • Market The Writers’ Rooms via passing out business cards when/where appropriate

  • Review and approve proposals for new Rooms, I.O.W.A. and Publication Committee proposals, and other changes that affect TWR as a whole

If a Board Member is also an active Concierge, these duties (and officer-specific duties) are in addition to rather than in place of Concierge duties.

Duties of President: the Face of The Writers’ Rooms and Keeper of TWR’s structure

Networking

  • Appear at literary conventions/organizations to talk about The Writers’ Rooms

  • Appear at Prides, Iowa City Book Festival, NaNo, and other events to represent The Writers’ Rooms. 

  • Keep positive relationships with literary organizations in the Corridor

  • Speak with newspaper/radio station/other media outlets about The Writers’ Rooms

  • Reach out to organizations to host new Rooms (ie Library, Sanctuary, Merge, UNESCO, Iowa City Poetry, etc)  

Board Meeting Chair

  • Prepare agenda for the Board of Directors’ meeting and send to Secretary to distribute 

  • Lead the Board meeting

Concierge Meeting Lead

The Concierges are the leaders of the individual Rooms and are responsible for bringing writers together for writing sessions, lessons, and other social events in the literary community. 

  • Prepare agenda for the Concierge meeting

  • Lead the Concierge meeting 

  • Take minutes at the meeting and send to Secretary

Leadership Committee Lead 

The Leadership Committee advises the Board (via the President) on matters of policy, legal and ethical requirements, and issues relating to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

  • Set up the Leadership meeting (Zoom/in person, typically 1-2x a month) 

  • Prepare agenda for the Leadership meeting

  • Lead Leadership meetings

  • Take minutes at the Leadership meeting and send to Secretary and Leadership Committee members

  • Delegate action items to committee members

Website Structural Maintenance

  • Update Concierge page with current Concierges as needed

  • Update I.O.W.A. page as needed

  • Update Call for Submissions page (https://www.thewritersrooms.org/upcoming-events) as needed

  • Create gallery of photos from TWR events and other necessary website alterations

  • Maintain TWR branding (cover pictures, formatting, etc)

  • Provide Public Health information (COVID news, etc) to Secretary as needed

Duties of Secretary: the Voice of The Writers’ Rooms and Keeper of TWR’s legal records

Communication

  • Answer all questions directed to TWR through email (welcome@thewritersrooms.org through gmail) 

  • Spearhead event planning communication intra-organization, to the wider TWR community, and to allied organizations

Newsletters

  • Remind Concierges to send topics to the TWR email address via Facebook and email 

  • Gather Concierge topics and general Room news to create a monthly email newsletter

  • Send out the monthly email newsletter to the wider TWR community and post to Facebook page

Concierge Meeting Setup

The Concierges are the leaders of the individual Rooms and are responsible for bringing writers together for writing sessions, lessons, and other social events in the literary community. 

  • Set up Concierge Meetings (Zoom/in person) and send out reminder emails and Facebook messages

  • Present the minutes (as written by the President) to the Board

  • Send the minutes from the Concierge Meeting out to the Concierges (as provided by the President) 

Board Meeting Secretary

  • Set up the Board of Directors’ Meeting (Zoom/in person) and send out reminders

  • Send out agenda (as prepared by the President) to the Board

  • Take minutes at the Board meeting and send minutes to Board

Legal Documentation and Records Maintenance

  • Renew non-profit corporation status with the state every 2 years, on the odd year

  • Maintain records regarding non-profit corporation status, 501c3 status (if applicable), bylaws, etc.

Website Routine Maintenance

  • Update the monthly calendar

  • Share calendar image on Facebook TWR page monthly  

  • Add news to the front page as needed

  • Maintain gallery of photos from TWR events and other routine maintenance

  • Update Public Health information (COVID news, etc) as provided by President

Sign-ups 

  • Add new sign-ups from Rooms and events to Mailchimp (lists of sign-ups will be provided by the Concierges or other TWR community members leading Rooms and events) 

  • Send welcome letter to new sign-ups. 

  • Send most recent monthly newsletter out to brand new sign-ups as needed

New Room Setup

  • Create Room-specific Facebook group and assign Concierges as Admins 

  • Create Mailchimp Template for new Rooms

  • Present new logos (as designed by Concierges) to the Board for approval

Until Publicity Committee is established

Publicity

  • Post news including Room-specific Events, monthly newsletter, other literary events on TWR Facebook page

  • Create and/or delegate posts for social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) 

  • Creates promotional material for general TWR use (posters, banner)

  • Designs new Teespring merchandise (or delegates as needed)

Fundraising Platforms

  • Maintain and update verbiage on Patreon/Ko-fi/Cashapp homepages as needed 

  • Post Patron perks on Patreon (when available)

  • Promote Patreon/Ko-fi/Cashapp/PayPal in the public sphere regularly

  • Send thank-you email when new Patrons sign up (unless automated) and in response to large donations as needed

After Publicity Committee is established

Publicity Committee Lead

The Publicity Committee advises the Board (via the Secretary) on matters of marketing, promotions, public relations, social media, event appearances, and networking.

  • Set up the Publicity meeting (Zoom/in person) 

  • Prepare agenda for the Publicity meeting

  • Lead Publicity meetings

  • Take minutes at the Publicity meeting and send to Publicity Committee members and the Board

  • Delegate action items to committee members


Duties of Treasurer: the Lifeblood of The Writers’ Rooms and Keeper of TWR financial records

 Board Meetings

  • Present quarterly or monthly financial reports 

TWR Bank Account

  • Pull the GreenState bank account into their name (work with the current Director)

  • Make sure any parties who are no longer included in the account are removed

  • Archive bank statements securely

Finances

  • Balance and reconcile TWR budget and prepare financial reports

  • Purchase items for TWR and reimburse Concierges/Board/TWR community members for necessary TWR/Room/Committee purchases

  • Collect donations that are given to TWR and Concierges 

  • Archive receipts of everything purchased and reimbursed for securely 

  • Securely store physical donation jar with other financial materials

Budget Meetings 

The Budgeting Committee advises the Board (via the Treasurer) on matters of financial stability, fundraising efforts, unexpected windfalls and expenses, and budget adjustments.

  • Set up the Budget meeting (Zoom/in person) and send out reminders

  • Prepare agenda for the Budget meeting

  • Lead Budget meetings

  • Take minutes at the Budget meeting and send to the Budget Committee members and the Secretary

  • Delegate action items to committee members

Website/Virtual Donations 

  • Maintain records of website sales

  • Upload and maintain TWR merchandise listings (anthologies on Amazon, branded merch on Teespring)

  • Keep Teespring updated both on the website and at Teespring

  • Maintain fundraising platform accounts and withdraw funds into TWR bank account regularly

Inventory 

  • Create and maintain inventory of general TWR supplies 

  • Create and maintain inventory of anthologies, TWR prizes, and packing supplies 

  • Create and maintain inventory of TWR event supplies (to be borrowed by Rooms and Committees as needed)

Sending TWR Materials (Anthologies, Prizes) 

  • Mailing and emailing anthologies people have ordered (print or ebook)

  • Mailing TWR prizes from events (like I.O.W.A.)