About our organization:
Samaritans is a Massachusetts-based suicide prevention organization that offers free, 24/7 services to all who need them. We offer an ear to the struggling, a community for the grieving, and free education to all so that everyone can be a part of our mission. Each day, Samaritans supports hundreds of people through the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and Hey Sam, a peer-to-peer mental health support textline for young people. Samaritans also offers support groups for those grieving a loss to suicide and educational programming so anyone can learn to help those in crisis. Since 1974, Samaritans has answered 3 million calls, texts, and chats; educated 180,000 people to recognize signs of suicide; supported 17,000 suicide loss survivors; and trained 6,500 volunteers to provide compassionate support.
Learn more about our mission and programs, and view our Annual Report on our web site: Samaritanshope.org.
About our Board of Directors:
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We are a mission-driven, working board with the following committees, most of which meet on a monthly basis:
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Nominating and Governance Committee
- Program Committee
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Finance Committee
- Advocacy and Public Policy Committee
- Marketing / Communications / PR Committee
- Technology Committee
- Human Resources Committee
- Campaign Cabinet (We’re currently in the quiet phase of a capital campaign.)
- Special Event Committees (cyclical)
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- All board members must commit to attending 75% of meetings. There are 6 per fiscal year: 3 in-person, 3 virtual.
- We have a $10K give/get requirement in each fiscal year for board members.
- We cannot appoint more than one member from the same company/organization to the board, and we cannot appoint 2 members of the same family.
- Knowledge of the local community is preferred.
- Samaritans operates on a July-June fiscal year.
About our nominating cycle:
- March – May: Board candidate interviews
- June: New board member slate voted in
- August: Dinner/Social event to welcome new members
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September : New board member orientation
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October: First board meeting of the fiscal year
