The BNI Foundation Advisory Council has historically been comprised of BNI Executive Directors whose BNI franchise regions were involved with the philanthropic efforts of the BNI-Misner Foundation, and/or the Misner Family Foundation, assisting Beth & Ivan Misner in the mini-grant donation process, via the California Community Foundation. As funds were raised throughout the course of each year from private donations and other allowed fundraising, the council would gather twice annually to intake mini-grant requests, review their merits, and determine their fit for the foundation’s resources.

As we have filed our own non-profit status, hired an experienced Executive Director, expanded our Board of Directors and are in the process of converting from a Private Foundation to a Public Foundation, our needs are changing. These include the need to expand our reach beyond BNI, grow our resources with fundraising and friend-raising, and expand our council’s membership and scope to include people from outside of BNI. These new members should have diverse backgrounds and experiences, proven leadership skills that in some way relate to non-profit services, along with a passion for children and education.

The Advisory Council will convene at minimum four times each year by phone to provide insight, recommendations, ideas, feedback and collaboration on a pre-set agenda of items being worked on by the BNI Foundation. The topics we cover on our agenda might be fundraising, development, marketing, governance and/or a mix of all of these. The Chairman will host and lead these meetings, and each member will have an opportunity to share their experiences, expertise, and perspectives – as Advisory Council members. We will also include input, as needed or requested, from a variety of sources including our Board Committees, and/or our Volunteers, to enhance the quality of the work being achieved by the volunteers, Board Committees, and Board of Directors.

The Advisory Council is not a Board of Directors, nor does it have any financial, legal, or other liability to the BNI Foundation as an organization. Membership is by Chairman’s Invitation Only, and completely voluntary. The Advisory Council is a special committee of highly qualified professionals from diverse backgrounds, most of whom are BNI Alumni or BNI Friends, who are dedicated leaders in their field, known in their communities, with access, influence, and passion for helping the BNI Foundation to succeed with its philanthropic activities.