Advisory Boards
THE BASICS
Within the Camp Kesem Operating Standards, the local advisory board (or advisory
committee) is described as follows:
Advisory Committee: Advisory Committees are organized on a local level to assist the local Camp Kesem. These
volunteer advisors are professionals in the community, who provide insight for students they work with. Advisors
however, are not fiduciary sponsors, and are not connected with the Board of Directors.
Practically speaking, an advisory board is a group of professionals recruited by students in the
local chapter who provide support to students throughout the year. This support can take
many forms, from help with program planning to providing contacts for fundraising
campaigns.
According to the 2011 Campus Diagnostic conducted by Camp Kesem National, campuses with
an active advisory board have average revenues 65% higher than those campuses without an
advisory board ($37,293 and $22,604 respectively).
Starting in the 2011-2012 school year, each CK Campus will be required to recruit and
maintain an advisory board as a top priority. Advisory Board updates will be included on
weekly call agendas with CKN Program Directors.
ADVISORY BOARD COMPOSITION
Advisory Boards should consist of community members who can provide support across
numerous areas. The most effective advisory boards are those in which board members
“know their role” and are given something to do!
Beginning in 2011-2012, CKN will encourage all campus chapters to call on all advisory board
members to help with fundraising by contacting people within their network, and by
performing other functions which will be outlined in the advisory board agreement sent by
campuses to all AB members.
In addition to the general responsibilities of all advisory board members, as outlined in the
advisory board agreement, advisory board members may provide knowledge and guidance to
students regarding specific elements of planning and execution.
On the next page is a sample list of advisory board members’ areas of expertise and
corresponding potential contributions to a local Camp Kesem chapter.
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© 2004 Camp Kesem National. All Rights Reserved. Camp Kesem & the Camp Kesem logo are trademarks of Camp Kesem National.
SAMPLE ADVISORY BOARD COMPOSITION AND CONTRIBUTIONS
Area of Expertise
Development/Fundraising Professional (Check
out local non-profits, or your university’s
alumni relations/development office)
Mental Health Professional (Check out your
university’s school of social work; counseling
department of student health services; local
mental health clinics; local hospitals)
Hospice Professional (Contact your local
hospice organization)
Oncologist (Check out your university’s
medical school faculty, or local hospitals)
Camp/Youth Development Professional
(Check out local overnight and day camps,
after-school programs)
CK Family Members
Alumni Rep (Check with CKAA, senior
students)**
University Faculty and/or Administrators
Potential Contributions
Guidance in event planning, donor
communications, and donor
identification/outreach
Insight into program planning; connection to
pool of potential camp therapists; connection
to community of potential camp families
Insight into program planning; connection to
pool of potential camp nurses/therapists;
strong connection to potential camp families
Connection to cancer community, potential
camp families, pool of potential camp nurses
and therapists
Guidance with program planning, staff
training, camp site selection, youth
development best practices; counselor
recruitment and selection
Parents/guardians of past campers; may
provide expertise in any number of AB areas.
Particularly valuable AB member for reaching
out to new/returning camper families,
enlisting families to serve as speakers at
events, planning reunions and other events
for camper families throughout the year.
Alumni donor outreach; program planning;
Co-chair and committee member selection.
Promote good CK/university relations;
development of CK/curricular connections
(leadership development education; potential
class credit for CK participation)
**A Note About Alumni Representatives to Campus Advisory Boards:
Part of what makes the Camp Kesem experience unique is that, upon graduation, students become a
part of worldwide alumni network of Camp Kesem participants from 41 institutions (and growing!).
While the CKAA facilitates engagement across campus alumni networks, many CK alumni also wish to
stay engaged with their alma mater on a local level. In past years, alumni involvement in campus
chapters has been loosely defined. Moving forward, the position of alumni representative(s) will
hopefully allow for more structured alumni involvement in ongoing campus-level CK operations. On
campuses with more than one interested alumnus, designating multiple alumni representatives
spanning diverse areas of expertise may be appropriate. Ultimately the role of the alumni
representative(s) is to contribute to the success of the local advisory board and chapter, while
upholding CK’s cross-campus commitment to developing undergraduate student leadership. For new
campuses, alumni from other CK campuses who live or work near the new campus may be recruited to
serve on the advisory board.
Rev. 7/11
© 2004 Camp Kesem National. All Rights Reserved. Camp Kesem & the Camp Kesem logo are trademarks of Camp Kesem National.
Advisory Board F.A.Q.’s
We want to ask someone to be on our advisory board. What do we do?
Depending on the student’s relationship with an advisory board member, approaching a
potential advisory board member can happen in a couple of different ways. Your approach to
a camper parent will be different than, say, your approach to the Chair of the Oncology
Department at your University’s medical school.
In most cases an introductory email should be sent to the potential AB member, and
depending on circumstances, may include a request for a brief in-person meeting. An
introductory email/request for a meeting should include some basic information about your
Camp Kesem chapter (age of chapter, number of campers served last year, etc) along with a
brief description of why you are interested in the AB member’s support. A very simple
example of this sort of email can be found in the manual (Advisor Recruitment Introductory
Email.doc).
If you have the opportunity to meet in person with the potential AB member, both co-chairs
and/or a committee chair member may be present. Come prepared with information about
CKN, your chapter, and an outline of the duties of AB members. At the conclusion of the
meeting, or as a follow up, you can present the AB member with a copy of the AB agreement
(available in the manual, AB Agreement.2011.doc) for their review. Once the agreement is
signed, he or she is on board! **Please be sure to provide your program director with a
copy of the signed advisory board agreement**
How long do advisory board members serve?
The standard AB Agreement lists a commitment of two years. For newer advisory board
members, newer campuses, or campuses with newer advisory boards, a one-year commitment
is also acceptable.
What do we do if an advisory board member isn’t participating? Can we kick them off of
the advisory board?
Some advisory board members will offer more contributions than others. If you have an
advisory board member who is not contributing at all to your campus chapter, there could be
many reasons why. Perhaps their work or family obligations are preventing them from
participating, or they may be overextended in terms of their community commitments. It will
usually be helpful to find out what is preventing their participation before taking any action.
Before kicking someone off of your advisory board, please consult your Program Director to
come up with a strategy. Maintaining good relationships with community members is
important for future success.
What if we ask someone to be on our Advisory Board and they say no?
Rev. 7/11
© 2004 Camp Kesem National. All Rights Reserved. Camp Kesem & the Camp Kesem logo are trademarks of Camp Kesem National.
This could happen, and it should not deter you from building a strong advisory board. There
are many reasons why a potential AB member may not be willing to be on your Advisory Board
(lack of time, other board commitments, an upcoming Sabbatical, etc.)
Thank them for their time and ask if it would be alright for your chapter to keep the person
on your chapter’s mailing list. In most cases, it will be appropriate to ask them if they can
suggest another person in their field who might be interested or available to serve on the
advisory board. If one of these contacts ends up joining your advisory board, be sure to
follow up with the potential AB member who declined to let them know the good news and
thank them.
How many people do we have to have on our advisory board?
There is no “magic” number of CK Chapter AB members. The average CK campus advisory
board has around 12 members, just over half of whom are described as “active” by students.
Some chapters have very large advisory boards (16+ members), while others have small
advisory boards (2-5 members).
Generally speaking, advisory boards with 8-14 members seem to function best. You do not
need to have a full advisory board in order to start holding meetings. In fact, campuses
whose advisory boards have just a few members may find that existing members effectively
recruit new members throughout the year.
How often should our advisory board meet?
In addition to seeking on-going support from A.B. members in one or more areas of camp
planning and operations, campuses should hold advisory board meetings throughout the year
to promote group collaboration. A suggested schedule of advisory board meetings, and
themes/discussion topics for each meeting, are listed below:
Early October
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January
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First meeting of the year
Kick-offs, introductions
Outline general plans for the year;
identify areas of contribution for
advisory members
Distribute calendar of all AB meetings
and major events (camper reunions,
big fundraisers, etc) so that AB
members can begin to make
commitments
For new AB members, an introduction
to CK
Second meeting of the year
Focus on fundraising, AB letter writing
campaigns
© 2004 Camp Kesem National. All Rights Reserved. Camp Kesem & the Camp Kesem logo are trademarks of Camp Kesem National.
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March
May
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Begin planning for the Make the Magic
(if being held that year)
Operational Update: number of
campers and counselors, fundraising
goals
Final list of “Make the Magic” Invitees
End-of-year “send-off”
Thank yous
Final fundraising and planning push
© 2004 Camp Kesem National. All Rights Reserved. Camp Kesem & the Camp Kesem logo are trademarks of Camp Kesem National.