Board Member

Social Justice Collaborative ("SJC") is a nonprofit legal aid organization that provides free and low-cost legal services to noncitizens at risk for removal from the United States. SJC is headquartered in Berkeley, CA, and serves clients in the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley. SJC offers direct representation in immigration court, and also represents a small number of its immigration clients in civil litigation. We believe strongly in advocating for the rights of non-citizens, in particular by securing legal status and legal work authorization for our clients, as well as by connecting them with resources that allow them to fully care for themselves and their families. 

SJC is looking for new members of the board of directors to help support SJC’s work. Our board consists of professionals from various backgrounds who work together to support the current operation and future success of SJC. This includes assisting with fundraising, marketing, financial oversight, strategic planning, and other tasks supporting SJC’s mission. New board members join one or more committees (donors & events, finance, recruitment & retention, or governance), which meet monthly to work on current initiatives. The full board meets quarterly with one of SJC’s founders, who serves as the Executive Director. The upcoming board term starts in January 2025 and is a 2-year term with the possibility of renewal. New board members are paired with a continuing board member to assist with transitioning into their new role. 

SJC believes that drawing from a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, skill sets, areas of expertise, and lived experiences will help us avoid decision-making that could diminish the impact of our work. SJC predominantly serves people of color and people from immigrant communities, but our Board (like those of many nonprofits) remains mostly white. We are actively seeking people of color, as well as gender-diverse individuals, to join our board to better reflect the community we serve.

Ideal candidates will be: 

• Passionate about SJC’s mission
• Connected to the Bay Area / California 
• Able to to attend board meetings 4x a year remotely
• Able to attend 1 event per year in the Bay Area (likely Berkeley or Oakland) to support fundraising efforts
• Experienced and interested in using one or more of the following skills during board service: accounting, advocacy, board governance, donor fundraising, event fundraising, finance, human resources, legal, marketing, media relations, program evaluation, and strategic planning 
• Willing to either fundraise or personally make an annual donation 
• Available to contribute 5+ hours per month to board service 

Currently, we are prioritizing candidates who: 

• Have a strong personal connection to Latinx and/or immigrant communities 
• Have experience in human resources
• Are passionate about fundraising, development, and event planning
• Have significant professional experience and well-established local social networks (great for retirees and late career professionals)