The Soulforce Organizational Chart is a visual depiction of the working elements of Soulforce to date and the day to day decision making process. It is meant to be a tool to help enhance our working together, to create clear channels of communication in order to better accomplish our goals and objectives. We are all in this together. We will continue to seek the input from leadership volunteers in our planning, goal setting, and strategizing.
Below are descriptions of individual responsibilities and the interconnectedness of all programs and positions. We hope that it will give you a better insight and understanding of the inter-workings of Soulforce that enables us to accomplish all that we do.
Soulforce Inc. is governed by the Soulforce Board of Directors which currently consists of eight people. They are listed on the organizational chart.
The Executive Director is Mel White. Mel is primarily responsible for Soulforce Inc. staff, volunteers, programs, fundraising, and the overall functioning of Soulforce, Inc. He is assisted by the Executive Assistant/Treasurer, Gary Nixon who is primarily responsible for the fiscal maintenance and record keeping of Soulforce. Along with his duties as Executive Director, Mel White is also the key person who writes and creates publications and videos for Soulforce, Inc.
Mel White, Executive Director, works closely with the Director of Communications, Laura Montgomery Rutt, and the Director of Operations, Karen Weldin. These three (along with Gary Nixon) make most operational decisions on a daily basis. To date there is not a Financial Development Director; however, acquiring a Financial Development Director is a goal for Soulforce. Once acquired, this person will join working with the Executive Director, Director of Communications, and the Director of Operations.
The Director of Communications works directly with the Executive Director and the Director of Operations to fulfill her responsibilities. She is responsible for all media work, print materials, publicity/PR, maintaining the website, and supervision of email. She is also primarily responsible for Soulforce special events.
The Director of Operations works directly with the Executive Director and the Director of Communications. Her primary responsibility is to oversee the day to day functioning of Soulforce and to oversee all Soulforce programs. She facilitates the Program Team, stays informed of all Soulforce activities, and makes sure that all staff and volunteers are following through with Soulforce’s mission, goals, and objectives. She also oversees the Systems Information project, the Legal Liaison, and Soulforce merchandising. (The Systems Information project is primarily responsible for maintaining data bases of direct action participants contact information. The Legal Liaison is available to consult with and assist in legal matters in reference to direct actions and programs. The Soulforce merchandising is primarily concerned with Soulforce apparel for direct actions.)
The Financial Development Director will be responsible for developing a fundraising plan for Soulforce and for implementing it. This will include direct fundraising, grant writing, and training. It will also include overseeing the Financial Development Task Force which is a task force made up of Soulforce volunteers developing and implementing specific fundraising ideas.
The Program Team is made up of the Executive Director, the Director of Communications, the Director of Operations, the Financial Development Director, and one representative from each of the eight Soulforce programs. (See the list of programs underneath "Program Team" on the organizational chart.) This is a total of twelve people. In most cases the representative for the Program Team will be the program coordinator. If the program coordinator is already a representative on the program team (because of another role in Soulforce), then that particular program will select another representative to be on the program team.
The purpose of the program team is to:
- Provide input/advise to the Executive Director, Director of Communications, and the Director of Operations for planning purposes.
- Enhance communication between all programs.
- Share ideas and to evaluate existing programs and projects.
- Provide a forum to stay connected to one another.
The Program Team meets once a month through teleconference calls and as needed. The purpose of the monthly calls is to share progress reports and to assist one another in fulfilling Soulforce’s mission and goals.
The purpose of the Denominational/Faith Group Teams and Televangelist Teams is to keep Soulforce leadership informed about the state of the denomination or televangelist’s attitude about GLBT people, and secondly give insights and suggestions about the need for negotiation and/or direct action.
In Summary:
The Soulforce Organizational Chart is a visual depiction of the working elements of Soulforce to date. It is meant to be a tool to help enhance working together and our communication in order to accomplish our goals and objectives. We hope that it will help Soulforce volunteers and staff to understand the working responsibilities of each person, to see the multitude of programs and projects already implemented by Soulforce, and to be able to direct questions and comments to the appropriate person.
VIEW THE SOULFORCE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART [ PDF File 24K ]