By: Deb Shapiro, Board Member
Let’s Find Out More About Willy Street Board Committees
Serving on a Board committee is a great way for Owners to get more involved with the Co-op. These committees are established by the Board to delve more deeply into specific areas of the Co-op’s work than the Board as a whole is able to do, as well as supply additional expertise and feedback from Owners. There are three Board committees currently: Board Development, Finance, and Policy Governance.
All of these committees have seats for Co-op Owners, who serve alongside Board members to research and make decisions that can lead to improving processes at the Co-op. You’ll find more description and lists of the committees’ duties on this page (www.willystreet.coop/Ownership/committees/) on the Willy Street Co-op website. As a Board member who just finished a term on the Board Development Committee and is currently serving on Finance, I can tell you a little bit about those two committees’ recent activities.
Prior to the 2025 Board election in October, the Board Development Committee (BDC) worked on improving and clarifying the application process for those Owners who wished to run for the Board. This included editing the wording of the application packet and discussing the requirements for candidates. Ultimately seven candidates decided to run for the Board in 2025, which is a mark of the success of BDC’s efforts. Nonetheless, after the election BDC spent several meetings analyzing how the election process had gone to try to improve the process even more for next year.
In November, among other things, the Finance Committee looked at quarterly financials, discussed information security, and heard a brief report from the General Manager on updates to the Co-op’s strategic plan that had been approved by the Board at a planning retreat in September. The Committee also reappointed one Owner member and elected a chair.
Owners may also express interest in operational committees, such as the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) Committee. This committee evaluates applications from local qualified nonprofit organizations and other co-ops who apply for grant funding.
For most committees, the time commitment is attending one one-hour meeting per month. The CRF committee meets on a much more compressed timeframe in February and March to review grant applications. Owner Committee members receive a 15% discount on their grocery purchases at the Co-op in recognition of their contributions.
If this has gotten you interested in serving on a committee, please visit the committee page on the Willy Street Co-op website (www.willystreet.coop/Ownership/committees/), where you’ll find the committee interest form that you can fill out. Also, watch the Reader for calls for committee members when a committee is actively recruiting.
