Committee and Board Management

ShulNET provides comprehensive tools for managing synagogue committees and the board of directors. The system supports the full lifecycle of committee and board operations including member management, meeting coordination, minute-taking, and report publishing.

Overview

The committee and board management system includes:

• Committee Management - Create and manage synagogue committees
• Board Management - Track board of directors and governance
• Member Terms - Assign members with titles and term dates
• Meeting Management - Schedule meetings with agendas and email invitations
• Meeting Minutes - Attach minutes to meetings after they occur
• Reports - Create and publish committee and board reports
• Member Portal - Members view their committees/boards and meetings
• Leadership Dashboard - Executive overview with metrics and term tracking

Committees and Boards

Creating Committees

Navigate to /admin/committees to manage all committees.

Example Committees

• Ritual Committee - Oversees religious services and lifecycle events
• Education Committee - Manages educational programs and curriculum
• Social Action Committee - Coordinates community service initiatives
• Finance Committee - Oversees budget and financial planning

Creating Boards

Navigate to /admin/boards to manage boards (typically the Board of Directors).

Example Board

Board of Directors - Provides governance and strategic direction for the congregation

Managing Committees and Boards

From the committee or board detail page, you can:

• View all members with their titles and terms
• Add new members
• Remove members
• Schedule meetings
• Create reports
• View meeting history

Member Management

Adding Members to Committees/Boards

From a committee or board detail page:

1. Click Add Member button
2. Select a member from the dropdown
3. Enter their Title (e.g., "Chair", "Vice Chair", "Secretary")
4. Set Term Start Date
5. Set Term End Date (optional)
6. Click Add Member

Member Titles

Common titles for committees and boards:

Term Tracking

Member terms are tracked with start and end dates:

Removing Members

To remove a member from a committee/board:

1. Find the member in the members list
2. Click Remove button
3. Confirm the removal

This preserves the historical record while removing active membership.

Meeting Management

Creating Meetings

Meetings are polymorphic and can be attached to either committees or boards.

Navigate to /admin/meetings/{type}/{id} where:

• {type} is either committee or board
• {id} is the committee or board ID

Meeting Fields

Scheduling Meetings

1. From committee/board detail page, click Schedule Meeting
2. Fill in meeting details
3. Click Create Meeting
4. Optionally click Send Invitations to email all members

Email Invitations

After creating a meeting, you can send email invitations to all committee/board members:

1. From the meeting detail page, click Send Invitations
2. An email will be sent to each member containing:
   • Meeting title
   • Date and time
   • Agenda
   • Meeting link (if provided)
   • Committee/board name

Adding Meeting Minutes

Minutes can be added after a meeting has occurred:

1. Navigate to the meeting detail page
2. Click Edit Meeting
3. Add minutes in the Minutes field
4. Save the meeting

Minutes support rich text and can include:

• Attendees
• Discussion points
• Decisions made
• Action items

Viewing Meetings

Upcoming Meetings

• Listed on committee/board detail pages
• Shown on leadership dashboard
• Displayed in member portal

Past Meetings

• Archived meetings with minutes
• Searchable history
• Accessible from meeting list

Zoom Integration for Meetings

ShulNET integrates with Zoom to automatically create and manage virtual meetings for committees and boards, eliminating the need to manually set up Zoom meetings.

How Zoom Integration Works

When Zoom integration is enabled, the system automatically:

• Creates a Zoom meeting when you schedule a committee or board meeting
• Adds the Zoom join link to the meeting record
• Includes the Zoom link in email invitations
• Updates Zoom meetings when you change meeting details
• Deletes Zoom meetings when you cancel meetings

Setting Up Zoom Integration

Before using Zoom with meetings, ensure Zoom integration is configured:

1. Administrator Configuration

   Your system administrator must:

   • Create a Zoom Server-to-Server OAuth app
   • Configure environment variables in .env
   • Enable Zoom integration in Settings

   See the Events - Zoom Integration section for detailed setup instructions.

2. Verify Integration Status

   Check Settings → Integrations to confirm Zoom is enabled and connected.

Creating Meetings with Zoom

Once Zoom integration is enabled, meetings automatically get Zoom links:

1. Navigate to your committee or board
2. Click "Schedule Meeting"
3. Fill in meeting details:
   • Title
   • Date and time
   • Agenda (optional)
4. Click "Create Meeting"
5. The system automatically:
   • Creates a Zoom meeting
   • Sets Zoom meeting title to your meeting title
   • Schedules Zoom for the specified date/time
   • Adds your agenda as the Zoom meeting description
   • Populates the "Meeting Link" field with the Zoom join URL

Zoom Meeting Features

• Host URLs: Meeting organizers receive special start URLs to begin meetings
• Join URLs: All members receive participant join links in email invitations
• Meeting Passwords: Automatically generated and stored for security
• Auto-sync: Changes to meeting title, date, or agenda update Zoom automatically
• Default Duration: Meetings are scheduled for 60 minutes by default

Viewing Zoom Meeting Details

On the meeting detail page, you'll see:

• Meeting Link: Zoom join URL (clickable)
• Meeting ID: Zoom meeting ID number
• Password: Meeting password (if set)
• Host URL: Special link for meeting host to start the meeting

Email Invitations with Zoom

When you send meeting invitations, the email automatically includes:

• Zoom join link (prominently displayed)
• Meeting ID and password
• One-click join button
• Meeting date, time, and agenda

Updating Meetings with Zoom

When you edit a meeting that has a Zoom link:

• Title change: Updates Zoom meeting topic
• Date/time change: Reschedules the Zoom meeting
• Agenda change: Updates Zoom meeting description

Changes sync automatically – you don't need to do anything special.

Manual Zoom Links

If you prefer to use your own Zoom meeting or another platform:

1. Create the meeting without Zoom integration (disable in Settings temporarily)
2. Manually paste your Zoom/Teams/Meet link in the "Meeting Link" field
3. The link will be included in invitations but won't be managed by ShulNET

Troubleshooting Zoom Meetings

No Zoom link created

• Verify Zoom integration is enabled in Settings
• Check that environment variables are configured
• Review application logs for API errors
• Ensure meeting date is in the future

Zoom link not in email invitations

• Confirm the meeting has a Zoom meeting ID stored
• Check the "Meeting Link" field is populated
• Re-send invitations after verifying the link

Can't join Zoom meeting

• Ensure the link includes https:// protocol
• Verify the meeting hasn't been deleted in Zoom
• Check that the meeting time hasn't passed (Zoom removes old meetings)
• Try using the Meeting ID directly in Zoom app

Best Practices

1. Test First: Create a test meeting to verify Zoom integration is working
2. Add Agendas: Include detailed agendas – they appear in Zoom meeting descriptions
3. Schedule in Advance: Create meetings at least a day before to allow proper email distribution
4. Check Host URLs: Meeting chairs should use the host URL to ensure they have full control
5. Monitor Limits: Be aware of your Zoom account's meeting duration and participant limits

Reports

Creating Reports

Reports can be created for committees or boards to document activities, findings, or updates.

Navigate to /admin/reports/{type}/{id} where:

• {type} is either committee or board
• {id} is the committee or board ID

Report Fields

Report Types

Common report types:

• Monthly Reports - Regular activity summaries
• Annual Reports - Yearly summaries
• Financial Reports - Budget and expense reports (for boards)
• Project Reports - Specific initiative updates
• Committee Findings - Research or investigation results

Viewing Reports

Reports can be viewed by:

Member Portal

Members can access their committees and boards through the member-facing portal.

My Committees

Navigate to /member/committees

Features:

• View all committees the member belongs to
• See member's title and term dates
• Access committee details

My Boards

Navigate to /member/boards

Features:

• View all boards the member belongs to
• See member's title and term dates
• Access board details

Committee/Board Detail Pages

From the member portal, click on a committee or board to view:

Upcoming Meetings

• Next 5 upcoming meetings
• Meeting date, time, and title
• Meeting link (if available)
• Agenda preview

Members

• All current committee/board members
• Member names, titles, and contact information
• Ability to connect with other members

Reports

• Recent reports (last 5)
• Report titles, dates, and previews
• Full report access

Leadership Dashboard

The leadership dashboard provides an executive overview of all committee and board activities.

Navigate to /admin/leadership

Dashboard Statistics

Upcoming Meetings

Displays the next 30 days of scheduled meetings:

• Meeting title
• Entity name (committee or board)
• Entity type badge
• Date and time
• Link to meeting details

Recent Meetings

Shows meetings from the past 30 days:

• Meeting title
• Entity name
• Date
• Minutes indicator (badge shows if minutes have been added)
• Link to meeting details

Expiring Terms

Lists all committee and board member terms expiring in the next 60 days.

Color-coded Urgency

Information shown:

• Member name
• Title
• Entity name (committee or board)
• Days until term expires

Recent Reports

Displays reports from the current month:

• Report title
• Entity name
• Report date
• Content preview (first 200 characters)
• Link to full report

Quick Actions

Two buttons for quick access:

• View All Committees - Navigate to committee management
• View All Boards - Navigate to board management

Best Practices

Committee Management

1. Clear Descriptions - Write detailed committee descriptions
2. Regular Terms - Use consistent term lengths (e.g., 2-year terms)
3. Term Overlap - Stagger term end dates to ensure continuity
4. Title Consistency - Use standard titles across committees

Meeting Management

1. Advance Scheduling - Schedule meetings well in advance
2. Send Invitations - Always email invitations after creating meetings
3. Add Agendas - Include detailed agendas so members can prepare
4. Record Minutes - Add minutes promptly after meetings
5. Include Links - Provide virtual meeting links for remote participation

Report Management

1. Regular Reporting - Establish reporting schedules (monthly, quarterly, annual)
2. Consistent Format - Use consistent report formats for easier reading
3. Timely Publishing - Publish reports soon after completion
4. Comprehensive Content - Include all relevant information and decisions

Term Management

1. Monitor Expirations - Check the leadership dashboard regularly
2. Advance Planning - Begin succession planning 60-90 days before term ends
3. Overlap Period - Consider having new members join before old terms end
4. Document Handoffs - Create transition documents for outgoing members

Troubleshooting

Members can't see their committees/boards

• Verify the member has been added to the committee/board
• Check that the term dates are valid (start date in past, end date in future or null)
• Ensure member is logged in

Email invitations not sending

• Check mail configuration in .env
• Verify MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS is set
• Test mail with php artisan tinker and Mail::raw()

Terms not showing as expiring

• Verify term end dates are set
• Check that term end dates are within the next 60 days
• Refresh the leadership dashboard

Meeting link not clickable

• Ensure the link includes the protocol (https://)
• Example: https://zoom.us/j/123456789
• If using Zoom integration, the system adds this automatically

Zoom integration not working

• Verify Zoom is enabled in Settings → Integrations
• Check .env file has correct Zoom credentials
• Run php artisan config:clear to refresh configuration
• Review logs at storage/logs/laravel.log for Zoom API errors
• See Zoom Integration Setup for detailed troubleshooting