Faith-Based Initiatives Require an Initiator
Mind the ‘three Ts’ when considering board service, says Bucher
Gail Phillips Bucher clearly understands what “faith-based initiative” means, and political interpretations don’t enter into it. To her, “faith-based” simply means putting her life, intellect, and a considerable amount of energy where her faith is: in service to people in need.
For several years, Alliance for Children and Families member Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS), Wellesley, Mass., has been a principle beneficiary of Bucher’s enlightened understanding. In addition to serving as a director on the governing board, Bucher volunteers with many LSS programs.
“The first question to ask yourself when selecting an organization to serve is: What am I passionate about and which nonprofit organization’s mission is consistent with that passion?” Bucher says. “For me, helping others has been my passion throughout life. … I like to think that my time, talent, and gifts, in some small way, further the mission of LSS.”
Bucher took early retirement in 1996 from a thriving 35-year career in pharmacology and cosmetic science with The Gillette Company and Colgate Palmolive to pursue a ministry to people who are poor and marginalized. She began in her own congregation, University Lutheran Church, Cambridge, Mass.
University Lutheran Church founded one of the Boston area’s first overnight homeless shelters in 1983. Today the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter is a student run and staffed enterprise that provides a hot meal and overnight accommodation for 24 adults during the five coldest months of the year.
In 2002, Bucher brought the same combination of passion and enthusiasm she first felt for her work with the homeless shelter to the LSS Board of Directors. 
“Nonprofit board, council, or leadership team membership is an honor and a privilege, and it should be taken seriously,” Bucher says.
She recommends that individuals look inward before accepting an invitation to serve in any of these capacities.
“The nominee should be able to answer the following in the affirmative: Am I passionate or deeply interested in this organization’s mission? Is this organization’s mission consistent with my own values? Am I committed to the ‘three Ts’—time, talent, and treasure? Can I help to make a difference by serving this organization, rather than just adding to my curriculum vitae?”
A Stake in the Success of Agency Programs
Today Bucher serves as the board’s vice chair, and she chairs the advisory boards of two LSS subsidiary programs: Ruth House and Good News Garage. The two programs, both of which serve clients impacted by poverty and homelessness, “touched me most, because they both offer hope to families,” Bucher says.
Ruth House, Brockton, Mass., was founded by LSS in 1996 to meet the needs of homeless single teenage mothers and their children, a particularly vulnerable group that had fallen through the cracks of welfare reform. “One cannot begin to fathom the helplessness of these mothers, who are barely out of childhood themselves,” Bucher says.
In addition to volunteering and visiting Ruth House regularly, Bucher serves on the program’s capital campaign committee.
The second of the two subsidiary programs, Good News Garage, is a groundbreaking LSS car donation program that has been featured by several national media sources.
As chair of Good News Garage’s advisory board, Bucher played a significant role in the expansion of this program, which, since 1996, has donated more than
3,200 reliable used cars to qualified families, enabling them to move from public assistance to financial independence.
“My LSS activity represents the spectrum of human need,” Bucher says. She adds that while she enjoys playing a direct role in relieving immediate needs, such as serving
meals at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter or volunteering with LSS programs, she recognizes the influential role she plays as a director. “I also truly enjoy engaging in the decision-making processes that bring about change in the way programs are administered, to make them more effective and reach more people.”
According to Heather Feltman, president and CEO of LSS, “Gail Bucher is a phenomenon. She never says ‘no,’ and then, once she has embraced a new commitment to an LSS program, she brings her compassion and intelligence to bear in ways that are truly transformative.”
Learn more about LSS and its board of directors.
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Martha Lindberg Mann is vice president for communications and marketing for Alliance member Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS), Wellesley, Mass. She has been the chief communications officer for LSS since 1993. In this capacity, she recently helped the organization through a major rebranding project, the result of which can be seen at LSS' website. |
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Board Service Requires Commitment to the ‘Three Ts’
Gail Bucher, a board director for Alliance member Lutheran Social Services of New England, Wellesley, Mass., recommends that individuals considering board service first reflect on their personal motivations.
In addition to thinking about whether the organization’s mission is compatible with their own interests and values, she says individuals should be committed to the “three Ts”:
- Time. Nominees should ask themselves, “Do I have the time to learn as much as possible about the organization? Time to attend board meetings and be prepared to engage in the work of the organization? Time to tell the organization’s ‘story’ to others?”
- Talent. This involves thinking about whether the individual’s skills, influence, and/or experience can help the organization move forward.
- Treasure. The nominee should be willing and able to commit to becoming a significant donor, as well as commit to assisting with the identifying of other significant donors, foundations, and funding sources.
Faith-Based Organization Serves and is Supported by all Denominations
Alliance member Lutheran Social Services of New England (LSS), Wellesley, Mass., has a 138-year history of serving people in need, a tradition that began with the organization’s first program, the Martin Luther Orphans Home at Brook Farm.
LSS is one of the largest faith-based, multiservice human service organizations in New England—even though Lutherans number less than 0.5 percent of New England’s population.
With more than 60 programs located throughout the region and an annual budget of $74 million, LSS serves approximately 5,000 individuals on a daily basis, employs 1,600 staff, and benefits from the volunteerism of thousands of community residents.
LSS programs include a broad array of services. The organization provides services for children, teens, and families; new Americans; older adults; and adults with chronic disabilities, developmental disabilities, or deafness. The agency also provides low-income housing and a nationally acclaimed Good News Garage program, which was one of the first programs in the country to provide donated cars to low-income families so that they could move from welfare to work.
The LSS governing board has 18 directors who travel from all corners of New England for the board’s quarterly meetings. All current directors are Lutheran, although the bylaws require only a simple majority. Directors come from a variety of professions and walks of life, including Lutheran clergy and professionals in business, finance, and human care.
Several LSS programs, including Ruth House, Good News Garage, and eldercare residential programs, have advisory boards that support the work and missions of these specific programs. Advisory boards include some members of the governing board, but are comprised mostly of individuals who do not serve on the board.