What's the difference between a Facilitator and a Decision Maker?

In short:

• Facilitators lead Club students through the curriculum.
• Decision Makers serve as the point of contact between Girls Who Code and the non-profit organization hosting the Club.

Each Girls Who Code (GWC) Club requires a Decision Maker - a point of contact who is affiliated with the Club's non-profit host organization in an official capacity.

The Decision Maker can also serve as the Club Facilitator, the person who leads the Club through the GWC curriculum, but they don't have to.

If the Decision Maker is unable to serve as the Facilitator, they can recruit one to lead the Club. (GWC provides guidance on recruiting additional Facilitators: Check out our Clubs Outreach Toolkit.)

As long as a Decision Maker has been identified, the Decision Maker or Facilitator may apply to start or renew a Club! 

Example: A librarian wants to start a GWC Club at her library and applies to do so. They recruit a programmer who works at a local company to serve as the Club Facilitator.

In this case, the librarian is the Decision Maker; they are the point of contact for the host organization. The programmer is the Facilitator, leading students through the curriculum.

If the librarian wanted to start a Club and lead it though, they would be both the Decision Maker and the Facilitator.