ACLU of Maryland - Board Member (Volunteer)

ACLU of Maryland Volunteer Board Recruitment Announcement

The ACLU of Maryland is recruiting members for our volunteer governance board of directors. Membership on our board of directors is a unique opportunity to support the civil rights and civil liberties work of the ACLU of Maryland. Board members oversee the governance of the organization, including responsibility for approving the annual budget and evaluating the Executive Director. Specific expectations and responsibilities of board members are set out below, as well as instructions for how to apply.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with interviews for the first cohort of new members to begin December 2023 through January 2024, and new members selected by February 2024.

ACLU of Maryland Board Member Expectations

The ACLU of Maryland is comprised of two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland (501(c)4) and the ACLU Foundation of Maryland (501(c)3). Although both the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the ACLU Foundation of Maryland are part of the same overall organization, it is necessary that the ACLU of Maryland have two separate organizations for the ACLU of Maryland to do a broad range of work in protecting civil rights and civil liberties. Members of the Board of Directors serve in the same role for both corporate entities.

In order to remain a visible, effective and efficient organization, all ACLU Board members are asked to fulfill a basic set of expectations.

Expectations of Board Members

• Contributor to Both Organizations - All board members must be dues-paying members to the Union (non taxable) and contributors to the Foundation (taxable) on an annual basis. There is no minimum donation amount, and board members are encouraged to give within their means.

• Attendance at Meetings and Events - Board members are expected to regularly participate in Board business meetings and events hosted by the Board. Five regular Board meetings are held during the year, as well as one all-day annual Board Retreat in the summer.

• Volunteer Commitment - In addition to board meeting attendance, members are expected to serve on one or more board committees. The approximate time commitment requested is 4-8 hours per month, which includes board and committee meetings.

• Fundraising and Membership Recruitment - It is essential to the financial health of the organization that all board members assist with fund-raising activities as well as membership recruitment efforts for the organization. Training, materials, and assistance by the ACLU-MD Development Department are provided.

• What You Can Expect from Board Membership - Being an ACLU board member is not a one-way street! You should expect to receive as much from your work and participation as you give. In particular, you should expect:
  • To do interesting and effective work on a variety of civil liberties/civil rights issues directly affecting our community,
  • To be given opportunities to take a leadership role on various issues,
  • To receive training in anti-racist/anti-oppression practices, race equity, fundraising, budgeting, and other topics to support their effectiveness and contributions to ACLU-MD,
  • That meetings are efficiently conducted, and
  • To receive meeting agendas and other relevant information well in advance of every board meeting.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and the  demographic and background information as requested. Applicants are also encouraged to submit an optional letter of interest. Please note that board members are volunteers and do not receive any compensation for their board service.

Who We Are

Our Mission

ACLU of Maryland exists to empower Marylanders to exercise their rights so the law values and uplifts their humanity.

Our Vision

Maryland’s people are united in affirming and exercising their rights in order to address inequities and fulfill the country’s unrealized promise of justice and freedom for all.

Our Core Values

Transparency

We are committed to open communication and honesty about our intentions, actions, and decisions.

Collaboration

We partner with those who share our values to protect civil rights and civil liberties.

Equity

We value people’s humanity, and are informed by historic and ongoing wrongs, so that we create processes and outcomes that balance the scales of justice.

Integrity

We can be counted on to honor our mission and values.

Accountability

We listen and align our actions to serve the people of Maryland and are answerable to the promises we make.

Race Equity Statement

The ACLU of Maryland is committed to centering race equity in our work, internally and externally, in order to better support and be accountable to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, whose civil rights and civil liberties are systematically threatened by white supremacy. We know that the ACLU of Maryland operates within and is often privileged by white supremacy.

We understand that many of the institutions within which the ACLU of Maryland operates, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, were founded upon and are sustained by white supremacy. We aim not only to defend people’s rights but also to upend the systems of bias that undergird these institutions. It is not sufficient to defend civil rights and civil liberties without also challenging the systems that perpetuate white supremacy, which itself fuels the rights violations that the ACLU of Maryland is pledged to challenge. We must challenge white supremacist norms that privilege our organization, and disadvantage BIPOC children, families, communities, and institutions.

We will continue to learn about how structural racism and white supremacy operate in society and in our own organization in ways that diminish and minimize the contributions and power of BIPOC. We will use intentional strategies to address racial inequity where we find it in our work both internally and externally. We hope that by making this commitment, the ACLU of Maryland can contribute to a more racially equitable reality, which we believe is vital to address inequities and fulfill the country's unrealized promise of justice and freedom for all.

Black Lives Matter

Read Our Statement Updated July 7, 2020:

Because Black Lives Matter, the ACLU of Maryland works to end racism and oppression against Black people.

Access to justice and opportunity in America is too often defined by skin color. Historically and currently, Black people have been forced to navigate a world that is structured to dehumanize and criminalize them. Black people and their communities face disinvestment, disregard, and demonization that are rooted in white supremacy. Yet for centuries, Black people have persisted in their struggle for liberation. The ACLU of Maryland knows that Black people deserve to always have their whole selves and voices considered and valued in the laws, policies, and practices of our institutions, particularly in our government.

The dangerous and persistent problem of police violence against Black people has its roots in paying white people to catch Black people who were enslaved. The people who are killed by police are disproportionately Black – across the nation and in the state of Maryland. As nationwide protests continue in the wake of police officers murdering George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade, we remember victims of police killings in Maryland, too, and support communities advocating for reform in their names: Emanuel Oates, Anton Black, Leonard Shand, Korryn Gaines, Manuel Espina, William Green, Tyrone West, Christopher Brown, Archie "Artie" Elliott III, Gary Hopkins Jr., Robert White, Freddie Gray, and too many more.

Voter suppression is the denial of political power and another key way that white supremacy has undermined Black lives. Most voter disenfranchisement laws for people who are incarcerated came into existence in response to the end of slavery and the beginning of mass incarceration. Today, too many elected leaders and government officials believe it is the right thing to stop individual citizens, especially people who are incarcerated, from voting. Maryland has one of the worst racial disparities of people who are incarcerated in the country. Despite comprising only 30 percent of the state’s population, Black people make up 70 percent of the population in prisons and jails. The racialized impact of policing and incarceration, combined with blocking the fundamental right to vote, has created an unacceptable reality of Black people denied the opportunity to shape the laws, policies, and practices that effect their lives.

We know that the ACLU of Maryland operates within and is often privileged by white supremacy. For many decades, the ACLU of Maryland has been committed to challenging violence against Black Marylanders – in the form of historic and still lingering institutional racism in policing, incarceration, education, housing, free speech and voting rights. In recent years, the ACLU of Maryland has renewed that commitment to work with a race equity lens, internally and externally. We work with and are led by communities and advocacy partners to ensure the promises of freedom, justice, and opportunity enshrined in our Constitution and civil rights laws are fully realized for all people.

We look and work forward to the day our Constitution, laws, and principles equitably protect Black communities.

The Bare Facts

Founded: March 8, 1931- the 10th state ACLU affiliate. (National ACLU founded in 1920).

Membership Size: Approximately 30,000 in Maryland; nationwide there are more than 2 million members, activists and supporters; Dues $20.00/ year and up (dues not tax-deductible).

Tax-deductible Gifts: may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Maryland (ACLUF-MD), the ACLU-MD's tax-deductible arm. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) involved in litigation and public education.

Jurisdiction: State of Maryland

ACLU of Maryland headquarters is located in Baltimore City.

American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and ACLU Foundation of Maryland: What is the Difference?

The ACLU is comprised of two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the ACLU Foundation of Maryland. Although both the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland and the ACLU Foundation of Maryland are part of the same overall organization, it is necessary that the ACLU of Maryland have two separate organizations in order for the ACLU of Maryland to do a broad range of work in protecting civil liberties. This website collectively refers to the two organizations under the name "ACLU of Maryland".

Powered by JazzHR

Md5EOQBjzh