Board Member – Fundraising
Massachusetts Debt Relief Foundation, Inc.
300 Commercial Street, Boston, MA 02113
Board Member – Fundraising
| Our board | Currently our board consists of lawyers who practice bankruptcy, someone who works in housing, someone with non-profit experience, and a prior client. Our members have ties to areas across the state. |
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| Position | Our Organization provides pro bono debt relief legal advice and representation in chapter 7 bankruptcies to low-income individuals throughout Massachusetts. We are looking for an energetic individual who is passionate about helping families better their financial well-being to help our Organization to strengthen and expand on our fundraising efforts. Ideally the board member would have strong community connects in Massachusetts, and an ability to assist us with individual, corporate and grant funding resources. Our Organization is very small and does not require a lot of funding. We currently rely on fundraising events, a small number of individual donors, and a small amount of grant funding. We also rely heavily on in-kind donations and volunteers. |
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| Desired skills *required |
Event Management, Grants, Fundraising* |
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| When | Our Board generally meets every other month. |
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| Where | Either in-person or telephonically. |
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| Commitment | 1 to 3 hours/month |
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| Donation | Organization strives for 100% board giving, but have no strict guidelines around financial contributions. |
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| Requirements |
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| Additional Info | Our program provides 100% pro bono legal representation in Chapter 7 bankruptcy to low-income residents of Massachusetts by attorneys who specialize in bankruptcy. Our office relies on volunteer attorneys and paralegals and in-kind donations in order to have office locations across the state in Natick, Boston, Worcester and Springfield, to ensure all residents have access to our services. Our specialized care ensures effective representation and minimizes the stress on court time and resources. Although the Program’s main focus is providing chapter 7 bankruptcy representation, many of those who come to us for help are able to avoid a bankruptcy filing. Our comprehensive consultations allow clients to find solutions to their financial problems through providing advice on credit repair, budgeting, student loan payment options, and other debt relief alternatives. We help over one hundred individuals each year, just with our consultations. When the best option is a bankruptcy filing, we then offer representation to those who qualify. Our clients must live at or below 150% of the poverty line, or if the client is a veteran or servicemember, at or below 200% of the poverty line, and they cannot have resources over $2,000 with which they could afford a legal fee. We also take additional hardships into consideration, such as homelessness, if the person is otherwise ineligible. MDRF’s innovative program is designed to immeasurably better the lives of families, while improving the overall financial well-being of our community. These legal services would usually cost up to $2000, which does not include the $335 filing fee and the two required bankruptcy courses that can reach up to $100 in total cost. Our attorneys handle each case individually, putting tremendous amount of time and effort into each case. Our main costs include the costs for one staff attorney, specific bankruptcy software, advertisements, and office supplies for filings. Any donations and grants that we receive will go directly to the pro bono legal services that we provide. Our Program continues to grow each year, with referrals from other non-profits and community organizations increasing monthly. Our Managing Attorney Maegan Hurley works full-time overseeing every case that is filed. In 2018 she was recognized by American Bankruptcy Institute as a member of their second class of 40 under 40 for her years of dedication to MDRF. From 2011 to 2018 our Organization had filed a total of 224 chapter 7 bankruptcies, discharging over $7.4 million in debt. As of June 1, we have filed 20 cases so far in 2019, and based on the current caseload, we are confident we will significantly exceed last year’s 47 cases filed. Our long-term goal is to be able to assist every qualifying Massachusetts resident in need of our assistance, whether or not they are aware that bankruptcy is even an option. |
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| Our mission | Our mission is to improve the quality of life for people who are unduly burdened with excessive debt by providing compassionate and effective pro bono legal representation in order to eliminate debt and restore peace of mind. |
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| Causes |
Education, Health, Life Skills
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