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Nonprofit Board Addresses Having Done Serious Harm

Nonprofit Board Addresses Having Done Serious Harm

What do you do when your organization's president and other top administrators appear to have failed to significantly develop and institute polices and procedures that would fully protect the organization from harm and harming?  Well, first you release yourself from any obligations and connections to those that failed.  You also start developing and putting into place the means to ensure this does not happen going forward.  And finally, you look to put into place individuals you, those you serve, and the public can have confidence that going forward, all will be well.

And thus, the Penn State board begins a new chapter having followed the above route and Monday announced the appointment of its new President .  For those harmed, the University Board may always be in debt.  For the future, now's the time to ensure that no new harm will occur under its or anyone's watch.

 

 

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The New Haven Early Childhood Council will hold an Information Session on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH at 12pm  the Early Childhood Learning Center, 495 Blake Street, Room 15 for any persons or organizations interested in applying for a School Readiness grant.  School Readiness funds are for licensed child care centers that serve New Haven children ages 3 to 5 years old.  This is a competitive grant process and contingent upon State funding.   Anyone interested should contact Denise Duclos, School Readiness Project Director by email prior to the meeting for a copy of the guidelines and grant application. Her email is denise.duclos@new-haven.k12.ct.us .  You may also call 203-946-7875 for additional information.  

 

CONTACT:

Denise Duclos

203-946-7875

denise.duclos@new-haven.k12.ct.us

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Nonprofit Governance Not Intuitive

Included in February 2014 Governing Magazine is an article on the challenges public officials and boards face understanding the nuances of finances.  Within the article is a line: "government finance is anything but intuitive."  

To this point I propose that nonprofit governance is anything but intuitive, at least for the majority of board members.  Let's consider that most of the folks who serve in a board capacity do not have extensive experience in governing a nonprofit.  Even for those who have experience as a small business owner or an accountant or a lawyer, professions most likely to have the pertinent or related skills needed to govern a nonprofit, sitting in an actual board seat is pretty much unique to most other experiences the average citizen who might be a board member would encounter.

So what you might ask?  First, just recognizing that nonprofit governance is not intuitive nor have most been trained for this work should serve as a lesson for nonprofit CEOs and equally important, board governance committees.  The lesson: onboarding and continuous training must be deep and wide and include understanding of cultural nuances and protocols, meeting management, decision making, strategic and programmatic fundamentals, pertinent legal and fiduciary matters, and of course financials.  

We cannot simply assume and presume that joining a nonprofit board means that those who sign-on are instantly ready to get to work and have the impact they would like.

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The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven 2014 Neighborhood Leadership Program is an eight month training and grant program that supports community leaders in imagining, testing, developing, and realizing projects which build community and provide positive outcomes in New Haven neighborhoods.

Who should apply?

If you are a resident of New Haven (or contiguous towns) who has demonstrated commitment to making a positive difference through resident engagement, and if you are eager to build skills, develop your capacity to increase your impact, and engage with other leaders in learning, practice, and project execution, you should apply to this program.

You will learn the skills and practices of:

  • appreciating and using your personal strengths and core values
  • building relational culture in your community and with other leaders
  • understanding the resources and challenges involved in creating the community you want
  • creating and using a group of allies to support you in your work
  • designing and implementing a pilot project that will positively impact your community
  • learning from your pilot how to modify or scale up your project
  • developing and managing the human and material resources you need to produce effective positive impact

What’s required of you?

  • Participation in 3 eight-hour training sessions: 4 hours Friday evening and 4 hours Saturday morning on April 25-26, July 18-19, and September 12-13, 2014
  • An estimated 10 hours per month: 2 hours per week on building relational culture and 3 two-hour small group and coaching sessions after each training
  • Plan, carry out, and evaluate a pilot project
  • Plan and seek local resources to help support a your second project based on your experience with the pilot project; the second project could be one that grows your pilot project to a bigger scale, a new project in a new community or a collaboration with another leader you have met in the leadership program. 

What’s provided?

  • Meals and parking/transit assistance at training sessions
  • Up to $500 in expenses for pilot project; another $500 for your second project upon successful completion of the leadership program
  • Up to $2000 additional in 2:1 match (The Community Foundation will contribute $2 for every $1 you receive in donations of money or items). You must provide receipts and a narrative report explaining how you used the money you receive from The Community Foundation within 30 days of the end of your project.

Applications and logistics

  • If you are ready to apply, download the application here. This is a Microsoft Word document. Please download the document to your computer and complete the form. You can return your application, ask for the form via email or get answers to most questions by writing to Jermell Smart: jsmart@cfgnh.org
  • Applications are due by Noon on Monday February 24, 2014. 
  • A group interview is required. You will be able to see and hear other program applicants. The interviews will be at the Grove, 760 Chapel Street, New Haven.
  • Selection of participants will be completed by March 28, 2014.
  • All training (see  schedule above) will take place at the Grove, 760 Chapel St., New Haven.

For further information contact:  Jermell Smart at jsmart@cfgnh.org or at 203-777-7084.

Source: http://www.cfgnh.org/Grant/GrantsYouCanApplyFor/tabid/199/itemid/289/Default.aspx 

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Nonprofit Finance Fund (nff.org) is conducting its sixth annual nationwide survey examining the current state of the nonprofit sector, and we hope that you will add your voice.13358887064?profile=original

NFF’s Survey is one of many tools that The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven uses to inform improvements in funding practices, and the more data we have, the more effective our decision-making becomes.

The survey, which is anonymous and takes only 10 minutes to fill out, collects data on important financial and management issues facing nonprofits. To take the 2014 survey, please click on this link before it closes on February 17th:http://nff.org/2014

NFF will analyze the results and distribute them to the community in April. Respondents who choose to give their contact information will receive the results directly. View previous years' findings and media attention here: http://nff.org/survey

If you have already filled out the 2014 survey, thank you for supporting this community organizing effort!

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