The Drupal Association has grown an immense amount in the past year and we have been  busy building a stronger Association. Last year the Drupal Association made a decision to shift to a staffed organization to better support the community. In this process we recognized that we had internal faults with our governance and board management that would prevent the Association from reaching its next level of growth. In the Fall of 2010 we began a process to evaluate and create a new structure to help support the Drupal community in the future.

Over the past year I have been working with the Drupal Association to build an organization that not only supports and fosters the growth of the Drupal community but also one that the Drupal community can be proud. In this post I would like to address the transparency around the Drupal community’s largest financial event; DrupalCon. In just a few short years this event has grown from a small handful of people to a million dollar event and we have expanded our reach by beginning to work outside of the United States and Europe.

The Drupal Association is seeking nine candidates for its Board of Directors. The Board of Directors establishes policy, hires and manages an executive director, reviews and approves the budget and financial reports, and participates in fundraising. For more details on the organizational structure see earlier posts.

Strategic priorities for the Drupal Association include: implementing its new bylaws and organizational structure, starting leading and participating in standing committees, pursuing transparency through active communication, achieving operational efficiency, promotion, and expanding assistance to organizers of community events and activities.

The board usually meets at least twice per month. Directors must be prepared to commit at least 15 hours per month to the Board and related activities.

The Drupal Association has grown rapidly over the past few years and is entering a new stage in its growth from an all-volunteer run organization to one that employs a growing number of paid staff members. Part of this transition is a move from a working (or task-oriented) board of directors to a policy-focused board. The goal of this move is to greatly enhance the transparency and accountability of the Association and provide the board the tools they need to focus on the long-term strategy of the Association.

These changes are necessary in order to lay the foundation for our next stage of growth. To keep our community informed, here's an overview of what's happened so far and where we're going from here.