Board of Directors

Standing Committees

Executive Committee: By resolution adopted by a majority vote of the Directors in office, the Board of Directors shall designate an Executive Committee consisting of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer of the Corporation, the Chair of the Certification Committee, and  one representative of the VBE Board Directors and one representative of the Partner Board Directors. The VBE Executive Committee member will be selected by a majority vote of the VBE Board Directors and must be approved by the President. The Partner Committee member will be selected by a majority vote of the Partner Board Directors and must be approved by the President. The Chairperson of the Board shall also be Chairperson of the Executive Committee. The Board of Directors may designate one or more of the Directors as alternate members of the Executive Committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the Committee upon the request of the Chairperson. Except as otherwise required by law or these Bylaws, the Executive Committee shall have such authority as the Board of Directors shall grant to it for the management of the Corporation, including the power to authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers that may require it. The Executive Committee shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings and shall report the same to the Board of Directors when required or at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Vacancies in the Executive Committee shall be filled by the Board of Directors at a regular or special meeting.

Finance Committee: There shall be a Finance Committee composed of not less than three Corporate Board Directors appointed by the Chairperson. The Finance Committee shall review matters associated with the internal financial controls of the Corporation and the management of risk and generally oversee the activities of the Corporation’s chief financial officer. The Finance Committee shall recommend to the Executive Committee for its approval the appointment of a firm of independent public accountants (the “auditors”) to examine and audit the accounts of the Corporation as the Finance Committee may recommend for the financial year in respect of which such appointment is made. The Finance Committee shall submit to the Board as soon as may be convenient following the conclusion of each such examination and audit a written report thereof. In addition, the Finance Committee shall periodically review the salary and benefit plans or arrangements for chief executive officers of non-profit corporations whose operations and budgets are reasonably similar in scope and size to the Corporation and report its findings to the Chairperson.

Certification Committee: The National Certification Committee will advise the Board of Directors and make recommendations on updates to the NaVOBA Certification Standards and Procedures. The Committee is responsible for verifying that the Standards and Procedures are consistently applied to certify that Veteran’s Business Enterprises (VBEs) and Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business Enterprises (SDVBEs) meet the criteria of ownership, control and operation of the business by one or more veteran and/or service-disabled veteran individuals. The committee will advise the Board of Directors on progress in the number of companies certified per quarter.

The Certification Committee Chair shall be a Corporate Board Director appointed by the Board Chair after being advised by the President and Vice President/Director of Certification (staff). The Committee Chair shall be experienced and/or familiar with the certification procedures of similar certifying organizations. There shall be a minimum of three (3) members of the Committee, which includes the Committee Chair. The majority of the Committee shall be corporate representatives and the balance of the committee shall be NaVOBA certified Veteran’s and/or Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business Enterprises® and Partner Organization Executives. The members of the Committee shall be selected through an application process and approved by the consensus of the Board Chair, President, Certification Committee Chair.

An attorney and/or a representative of the current, third-party certification processing vendor, or others may be consulted for subject matter expertise. Such ex-officio committee members can be appointed from time-to-time by the Board Chair as advised by the Committee Chair, President and VP/Director of Certification but will have no vote on the Committee.

This Committee shall meet a minimum of two (2) times per year, which may be in-person or telephonically. The purpose of the meetings is to set goals, review progress, discuss and recommend updates to the NaVOBA Certification Standards & Procedures and to review the performance of the third-party certification processing vendor. The committee will be supported by the NaVOBA VP/Director of Certification.

Marketing Committee: The National Marketing Committee will advise the Board of Directors about all matters relating to external communications of the Association. This includes but is not necessarily limited to: NaVOBA’s External Recognition programs (e.g. the Veteran’s Business Enterprise of the Year ® Awards and the Best Corporations for Veteran’s Business Enterprises® Awards); NaVOBA’s outreach and recruitment efforts for VBEs as well as NaVOBA Corporate Allies and National Press Releases.

Special Committees: The Board, by resolution may designate and appoint one or more special committees comprised of its members. Each committee shall consist of not less than three (3) persons, which shall assist the Board in carrying out the purposes of the Corporation. The Board shall establish by resolution, the mandate and membership qualification of each such committee.

Technology Committee: Ensuring that NaVOBA provides a completely digitized, secure, streamlined and efficient application process for all VBE applicants is a critical function of the Technology Committee. In addition, the Committee must ensure that NaVOBA provides its Corporate Allies a “World Class” sourcing tool and VBE Database.

The Technology Committee Chair shall be a Corporate Board Director appointed by the Board Chair after being advised by the President and Vice President. The Committee Chair shall be experienced and/or familiar with the essential Technology of similar certifying organizations. There shall be a minimum of three (3) members of the Committee, which includes the Committee Chair. The majority of the Committee shall be corporate representatives and the balance of the committee shall be NaVOBA certified Veteran’s and/or Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business Enterprises® and Partner Organization Executives. The members of the Committee shall be selected through an application process and approved by the consensus of the Board Chair, President, Technology Committee Chair.

This Committee shall meet a minimum of two (2) times per year, which may be in-person or telephonically. The purpose of the meetings is to set goals, review progress, discuss and recommend updates to the NaVOBA Application tool and VBE Database. The committee will be supported by the NaVOBA CEO and VP.

External Engagement Committee: The External Engagement Committee serves as a subcommittee of the National Marketing Committee and specializes in external outreach efforts to amplify NaVOBA’s impact with the two critical communities it serves; the Certified Veteran’s Business Enterprise® community as well as the community of organizations seeking to work with VBEs as suppliers. As outlined in NaVOBA’s strategic plan, the External Engagement Committee will work to increase the number of corporations and other organizations that accept NaVOBA’s VBE certification to measure their veteran spending. It will also work to grow the ranks of NaVOBA’s Corporate Allies. Finally, the committee is tasked with spearheading efforts to increase the number of VBEs applying for certification as well as efforts to encourage VBEs to renew their certifications every other year. advise the Board of Directors about all matters relating to external communications of the Association.