MBA Non-Profit Board Fellows: Taking Local Leadership to the Next Level

By Alden Fontaine and Ali Probst, MBA'19

The life of an MBA student is pretty packed, especially in the fall of your first semester. With a full class load, looking for internships, graduate assistantships, football and friends, it’s hard to know which additional opportunities get a “yes.” But for us, the Non-Profit Board Fellows Program was an easy choice. Both of us are out-of-state students and saw the Board Fellows program as a way to not only get connected to but also start serving the Athens community immediately. Looking back, now weeks away from graduation, we’re so grateful we did!

Full-time MBA students Kaley Tabor, Alex Gunn, Ali Probst (Board Fellow for The Cancer Foundation) and Drew Chaplain volunteer at The Cancer Foundation’s Cocktails fundraising event.

The MBA Non-Profit Board Fellows Program was presented to us in the summer before we started classes. A group of us, via an application process, were selected to take on a two-year commitment to sit on an Athens non-profit board. These participating non-profits include: The American Red Cross of Northeast Georgia, Athensmade, Hope Haven, Athens Area Community Foundation, Athens Community Council on Aging, Athens Land Trust, The Cancer Foundation of Northeast Georgia, and others. Each of these organizations offered to provide an MBA student a spot on its Executive Board in exchange for help with various projects and input. When asking one of our classmates and co-board fellow Rob Vendley what stood out to him the most during his two-year commitment, he replied, “Without a doubt, my favorite experience with the Red Cross of Northeast Georgia was their Heroes event last April. Hearing and celebrating the incredible stories of our local law enforcement, teachers, EMTs, and firefighters was easily one of the most humbling experiences of my life.”

As active board members, each of us have impacted our organizations in different ways. We’ve created social media content, filmed and edited donor appreciation videos, volunteered at fundraising events and galas, conducted surveys, directed social media plans, designed and attended executive board retreats, facilitated marking plans and SWOT analyses, and consulted on strategic board objectives for next year and beyond.

To top it off, we’ve all felt like we’ve formed meaningful relationships with our non-profit Executive Directors and the individual members of our working boards. Being a part of this program has enhanced our leadership skills and has given us real-life scenarios and exposure to the inner workings of an executive team.

Full-time MBA students Brenna Tudor (Board Fellow for Java Joy, an extension of Extra Special People), Maggie Rheney, Neeraja Sarda, Jillian Farr, Scott Giveans and David Waters attend Big Hearts at Bat benefitting Extra Special People.

The two-year commitment to our board has been an amazing opportunity. The first year was a great onboarding, get-to-know-you type of process. Once we each began feeling more comfortable interacting with our executive boards and fully understanding our non-profit’s mission and vision, we were able to contribute in a more meaningful way our second year. We’re looking forward to seeing the relationship between the Georgia Full-Time MBA program and these non-profits flourish as we mentor and coach the incoming students who will serve as Board Fellows. We’re proud to set a standard of leadership for years to come.

Go dawgs!