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What You Can Do

Become a Board Member

Thank you for your interest in becoming a board member of NCADV. Please know that recruitment for the Board of NCADV is a long process as the board only meets in person three times each year and by phone once a month. Please accept the board's apologies for delays and thank you for your patience.

Who is the NCADV Board?

The NCADV Board is a group of individuals representing the caucuses and constituencies of NCADV. We come together at least three times yearly (at no expense to Board Members) to conduct the organization's business. In addition, the entire Board plans, runs, and attends the seven-day biennial NCADV conference. As a working Board we expect ourselves to attend all meetings, maintain the spirit and letter of our By-laws, maintain a commitment to social justice and ensure that NCADV is able to continue to uphold its 25-year history of service to Battered Women.

What is the structure of the NCADV Board?

The NCADV Board may have up to 21 members--13 in caucus positions and 6 at large members. Priority in filling Board positions will go to ensuring that there is at least one seat for each caucus. Not having a fixed number of seats per caucus allows the Board to increase its diversity. In keeping with NCADV's commitment to give voice to organizationally underrepresented groups, the recruitment committee considers geographic, ethnic and professional diversity and caucus representation in recommending candidates to the Board. Because NCADV is dedicated to the empowerment of battered women and believes that the strength of our Movement comes from the leaders and vision of women who are battered, the February 1995 Board reached consensus on the following: That the recruitment and selection process for filling open board seats be expanded to include the policy that battered and formerly battered women fill 50 percent of the total board seats in the future and forever.

What is the Selection Process?

By applying to the NCADV Board you are offering to take on an important volunteer job, with significant responsibilities and commitments. After you complete the written application, the Board Recruitment Committee will review what you sent us with an eye to answering the following questions: Does this person offer the organizational, corporate/fiscal, board and social justice commitments needed to participate in NCADV Board work and to support NCADV's mission? Does this person fill the requirements of caucus, geographic, battered/formerly battered women representation, and skill areas that the committee is charged with meeting? Would this person's presence on the Board strengthen the ability of the Board and Staff of NCADV to carry out their responsibilities to the organization and to the Movement? Please see Responsibilities, Qualifications and Commitments sheet to give you information about what Board members are called to do. If you have other questions as you complete your application, please email the Recruitment Chair at mainoffice@ncadv.org with any questions. The Recruitment committee reviews applications monthly. Once your application is complete, you will hear from the recruitment committee within 45 days. Applicants whose written materials suggest that they meet the criteria above will be invited to participate in a telephone interview with members of the recruitment committee. Within one week of the interview, you will be notified of the committee's decision. Candidates who are invited to the next stage will be invited to come, at NCADV's expense, for an in-person interview with the full Board at the next scheduled Board meeting. Applicants are then notified by mail about the Board's decision following that interview.

What if I'm not selected?

Sometimes the recruitment committee receives applications from wonderful women with a strong commitment to the battered women's movement, but whose applications do not tell us that they will fill the needs of the Board at this time. If you are not asked to join the Board, please understand that our decision is not a judgment on your commitment to battered women, or your understanding of the issues of domestic violence. Even if you are not asked to interview or to join the board, you are an important member of NCADV. Please reach out to us and tell us that you want to be involved. Our members are the strength of NCADV. We will let you know of other ways that you can be of service to NCADV and the Movement.

Voices Against Violence

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is proud to list the "Voices Against Violence." Members of this media coalition are joining the NCADV and the general public in the campaign against domestic violence.
The committee is in name only and requires no personal commitment other than the celebrity lending their name to the cause. While it is in name only, some of the celebrities have lent their voice and image in public service announcements to further the cause. The "Voices Against Violence" are listed here. Soon, active links will be established between those "Voices" who have provided photos, shot PSA's or given us other special items like David Wilcox's song "Chain of Anger."
The pervasive problem of domestic violence takes everyone to make it stop. Won't you lend your voice to the list? Together with the "Voices Against Violence" we can make a difference. Let your voice be heard.
We encourage you to keep visiting this site to see what new and exciting things our "Voices" are accomplishing in the campaign against domestic violence!
For more information on this exciting project, or to suggest new members, e-mail NCADV Voices Against Violence National Organizer, Rita Smith, at rsmith@ncadv.org or contact NCADV.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the first Day of Unity observed in October, 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The intent was to connect battered women’s advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children. The Day of Unity soon became a special week when a range of activities were conducted at the local, state, and national levels.
These activities were as varied and diverse as the program sponsors but had common themes: mourning those who have died because of domestic violence, celebrating those who have survived, and connecting those who work to end violence.
In October 1987, the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month was observed. That same year the first national toll-free hotline was begun. In 1989 the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month Commemorative Legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress. Such legislation has passed every year since with NCADV providing key leadership in this effort.
In October 1994 NCADV, in conjunction with Ms. Magazine, created the "Remember My Name" project, a national registry to increase public awareness of domestic violence deaths. Since then, NCADV has been collecting information on women who have been killed by an intimate partner and produces a poster each October for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, listing the names of those documented in that year.
The Day of Unity is celebrated the first Monday in October. NCADV hopes that events in communities and regions across the fifty states will culminate in a powerful statement celebrating the strength of battered women and their children.