Natchitoches Tribe Volunteerism
Join us in celebrating culture, community, and volunteerism.
About Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana
Our Mission
The Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana Volunteers is dedicated to preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Natchitoches Tribal people. We strive to promote community engagement and support initiatives that benefit our members and the surrounding community.
We connect locally, nationally, and internationally with our Volunteers.
GUIDELINES FOR COMMITTEE LIAISON BOARD MEMBERS & VOLUNTEERS
Our Mission
NATCHITOCHES TRIBE OF LOUISIANA (NTL)
GUIDELINES FOR COMMITTEE LIAISON BOARD MEMBERS & VOLUNTEERS
The work product of a committee has a direct impact on the decisions made by the entire Board of Directors and Officers of NTL. The energy that volunteers put into their work on the committee has a direct influence on the direction taken by NTL.
The committee is tasked with the communication of information. This website is specifically designed for that purpose. The information posted here serves the legal mandate of providing periodic reports to the Board of Directors by the Liaison Board Members. Prior to a Quorum Board meeting, all Directors will review postings made by each individual committee, compare work products and information across all committees, and make informed judgments based upon the accuracy of these postings. There are no private secrets to be shared on this website.
These Committee webpages become a public document which will serve the dual function of being part of the BAI application for Federal Tribal Recognition. The day-to-day functioning of these committees provide the community training of how tribal citizens will be expected to contribute to the success of a Federally Recognized Tribal Nation.
Furthermore, these committees serve the purpose of creating current community among all Tribal Registry members. Volunteers can serve no matter where they may live. Non-Tribal Registry members can also serve on these committees.
The Liaison Board Members have the authority to take applications from volunteers and enlist those volunteers who demonstrate the following characteristics:
1) Know who the Liaison Board Members are.
2) Know the specific responsibilities of the committee.
3) Know the general legal guidelines of an IRS 501c3 nonprofit corporation.
4) Know the responsibilities of a specific committee to the knowledge being sought by the Board of Directors of NTL.
5) Know what the past performance of the committee has been.
6) Know the extent to which they can get involved and participate.
In order to demonstrate these characteristics, each potential volunteer for any committee will participate in a general training for volunteers. They will receive training on the history of NTL, the Louisiana State laws of nonprofit corporations, the IRS 501c3 guidelines to maintain tax-exempt status, and an understanding of the legal ByLaws which govern NTL. They will receive an introduction into the functioning of each committee, be guided in how to fill out an application form, and understand the volunteers’ contractual agreement and the limits of insurance coverage.
Committee Volunteer Participation requires that you will be asked to:
1) Study the meeting agenda before coming to the committee meeting and ask for clarification if any items are unclear. Review the supporting material.
2) Stick to the agenda during the meeting. Bring up new business only at the appropriate time.
3) Seek information; do not deliver an oration.
4) Wait until you have the attention of all the committee volunteers before speaking. Get the “floor attention” from the Liaison Board Member.
5) Sum up remarks of a lengthy discussion. Someone may have forgotten your objective before you’ve finished.
6) Don’t hesitate to comment, criticize constructively, or disagree. But know your subject; do not give unsupported biased opinions. Gossip about others is prohibited.
A Quote: “Effective committees don’t just happen. They are a combination of the right individuals, a mission, good leadership, and good staff work.”
The Liaison Board Members have received their own training in the leadership of an effective Committee. In particular, they have gained an understanding of how to encourage a clash of ideas, but not of personalities. Good decisions are made when committees examine all sides of an issue, but don’t let volunteers personalize the debate. Emotional discussion of an idea is good, but an emotional reaction to a person is bad. When emotions are high, the Liaison Board Members will return “the floor” to a neutral person, seek a factual answer, or “take a break” for the entire committee to resume at a later time or date.
It is the responsibility of the Liaison Board Members to keep all minutes, records, videos, recordings, photos, or other media which reflect the workings and achievements of their committee. That information is given to the Communications Committee, which will post all the material to these website pages.