CHARTER OF THE BUSINESS MENTORING ALLIANCE
The Charter of the Business Mentoring Alliance (BMA) was adopted May 2007.
History
In 2003, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce (DSCC) partnered with the Delaware Mentoring Council (DMC) to establish a Business Mentoring Task Force. This task force was charged with exploring ways to increase involvement of small and medium-sized businesses in the one-to-one youth mentoring initiative. Its goal was to increase recruitment, advocacy and support for mentoring programs across the state.
In July 2006, the Business Mentoring Task Force became the Business Mentoring Alliance (BMA) in order to continue its mission of developing and implementing strategies to increase and sustain business community involvement in one-to-one mentoring of Delaware’s youth.
Mission
The BMA develops and implements strategies to increase and sustain business community involvement in one-to-one mentoring of Delaware’s youth. The BMA focuses on the unique needs of small and medium size businesses with no businesses excluded. The implementation of these strategies is supported by the DMC Office housed at the University of Delaware and the DSCC.
Membership
Up to ten members will serve on the BMA. Members may begin serving with majority approval of current BMA members. This number may need to be adjusted as Chapters of the BMA are established. (See below 4. Goals and Functions for more details.)
Members can be from any sector of the business community, public or private, and may be active or retired. They may be appointed through nomination by a current BMA member or by volunteering through a current member of the BMA, DSCC, DMC, or DMC Office. There are no official credentials required, just a passion for mentoring and a willingness to serve.
One staff member from the DMC Office and one staff member from the DSCC will be assigned to the BMA and have voting privileges but will not be considered one of the ten appointed members. Any additional attendees from the DMC Office and DSCC Office will serve in an advisory capacity. A DMC representative will be responsible for recording, preparing and distributing meeting minutes as official record to the members.
A DMC representative will support all of the efforts of the BMA through close collaboration and administrative support.
BMA members will be appointed to serve for three-year terms. They may be reappointed at the end of their term. There is no limit to terms of service.
There are no set times to make appointments. Appointments will be made when vacancies occur.
Members may resign at any time but will be asked to replace themselves, if possible.
Representatives from mentoring development agencies/organizations or mentoring programs are welcome to attend BMA meetings in an advisory capacity after requesting to do so through the Delaware Mentoring Council. The DMC, in cooperation with the BMA, reserves the right to limit the number of advisory attendees at any one meeting. Any mentoring development agency/organization or program requesting attendance is encouraged to follow the ten basic standards for safe and effective mentoring programs and share with the BMA any business contacts that they may have for statistical and outreach purposes. Any business mentoring program requesting attendance will be listed on the BMA’s Business Mentoring Database which is updated regularly by the Delaware Mentoring Council. Representatives from mentoring agencies/organizations will have no voting rights in BMA decisions.
