On February 2nd, 2019, more than 250 nonprofit professionals gathered for the Center for Nonprofit Stewardship’s 15th annual conference, Guiding More Good. The morning began with a keynote presentation from Anne Kubisch, President of The Ford Family Foundation. Ms. Kubisch spoke about the importance of nonprofits as community builders and their many contributions to our collective quality of life. The day-long event ran from 8:30…
This exercise can determine which programs you want to evaluate. PURPOSE This exercise will help you identify your organization’s key program areas and help you to decide which ones you may want to evaluate. INSTRUCTIONS Make a copy of this handout for each board member. Take 10 minutes at your next board meeting and ask each board member to complete it. Use a flip chart…
Generational shifts in leadership are happening across all sectors, the nonprofit sector is not unique in facing this challenge. Each generational group has its own unique life experiences, learning styles, strengths, weaknesses, and values. To successfully integrate these diverse generations into your board of directors, organizations will need to embrace changes in recruitment and orientation strategies, how expectations are communicated, and creating an organizational culture that actively demonstrates…
This exercise can spark important discussion about diversity. PURPOSE This exercise allows each individual to assess how the organization plans for and implements change. By the end of the exercise, the Board will identify how the organization typically thinks about change. INSTRUCTIONS Make a copy of this handout for each board member. Have each board member think about how your organization typically plans for and…
In a recent newsletter, we discussed voting by email and the State of Oregon’s requirements that outline how it must be done. Below, are some notes and steps for creating and adopting an email voting policy. Need a refresher? Nonprofits and Email Voting: What Does Oregon Law Allow? Developing a Voting By Email Policy Outlining the potential for voting by email in advance of the…
Center for Nonprofit Stewardship (CNS) is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with Mid-Valley Development Professionals (MVDP). MVDP serves professionals in Oregon’s Mid-Willamette Valley who raise funds for nonprofit organizations. CNS will maintain MVDP’s commitment to providing development professionals in the Salem-Keizer, Albany and Corvallis areas with affordable opportunities for professional growth and development. Since holding its first general membership meeting in February 1998,…
PURPOSE This board exercise will clarify methods used by your organization to process financial transactions. It will identify who currently handles different accounting tasks and indicate if there is adequate segregation of duties. Strengthening internal accounting controls protects the organization’s financial assets against theft and protects those performing the financial duties against erroneous accusations. INSTRUCTIONS Step One: Select one person from your board that is…
Since 2012, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has been known as #GivingTuesday. This annual day of giving, recognized around the world, serves to bring attention to philanthropy and encourage generosity after the commercialism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While many organizations debate the return on investment of #GivingTuesday efforts, it can’t be ignored that donations made on this day are increasing. In 2017, #GivingTuesday donations…
A question that comes up frequently in our work relates to something we all generally take for granted—communication by email. As our lives are becoming busier and we often turn to the internet to stay connected, many board members wonder about conducting business via email. Is it legal? What are the pitfalls? Many boards are getting work done by email, some even have written policies…
“CNS offered a Learn@Lunch series of workshops in my area covering some great fundraising and board development topics. These workshops were inexpensive, accessible, and thoughtfully executed in a “bite-sized” fashion to reach busy non-profit staff and volunteers with vital information. L@L is a great model and will make me look for more CNS programming. Thank you for being a great resource for non-profits, CNS!”