nbn

Cynthia Cumfer, Community Development Law Center

May 11, 2010
Networking over pizza begins at 5:00 pm, presentation from 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Take a "big picture" approach to adopting board policies. Rules and procedures not only keep your organization in compliance, they can also lend more efficiency, effectiveness, and legitimacy to board proceedings. Even if your board is in compliance, codifying policies can provide structure in the face of board turnover.

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS' Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership, and increase board effectiveness. Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Kay Sohl, Kay Sohl Consulting and Founder of TACS

April 13, 2010
Networking over pizza begins at 5:00 pm, presentation from 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Event Description

Explore new tools to help your Board:

• Build a powerful mental map of your nonprofit's financial health
• Provide effective financial oversight
• Set meaningful goals to increase sustainability
• Spot trouble before it becomes crisis

Many board members would rank reading nonprofit financial statements slightly below the pleasures of a root canal. Learn how to transform your Board's discussions of finances into productive, mission-focused conversations that include participation by all Board members. Say good-bye to financial reports followed by moments of silent, glazed over reflection or agitated frenzy about inconsequential details. Escape the GAAP trap of financial reports that numb readers and cloud understanding of key financial choices and challenges.

Join Kay Sohl, co-author of The Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook, and national trainer and consultant on effective board financial oversight topics, for a lively discussion of strategies to make nonprofit financial information understandable and board discussions engaging opportunities to set direction, monitor progress, and make significant decisions. Check out sample formats and presentation strategies and share your successes and frustrations.

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS' Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership, and increase board effectiveness. Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Dahnesh Medora, Director of Strategic Initiatives, TACS

February 9, 2010
Networking over pizza begins at 5:00 pm, presentation from 5:30 to 7:00 pm

In this interactive session, we will discuss some of the inherent challenges in traditional boards and explore a new model that prioritizes accountability to constituents.  Join us to discuss emerging thinking on board structures and leave with practical tips for making your board model more connected to those you serve.  

Explore:

• Inherent challenges in traditional board models
• Recent research on governance
• The Engagement Governance Model
• Approaches to utilizing the Engagement Governance Model

The presenter

Dahnesh Medora provides consulting support to nonprofits, supports select initiatives, and guides the organizational development consulting program. As both a consultant and coach, Dahnesh provides support on issues such as leadership development, organizational change, and cross cultural effectiveness. Before joining TACS in 2007, Dahnesh was the Director of Organizational Services for the National Community Development Institute in Oakland, CA, where he provided capacity building support to community-based organizations working primarily in communities of color and on issues of social justice.

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209

Nonprofit Board Network

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS' Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership, and increase board effectiveness. Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Guadalupe Guajardo, TACS Senior Associate

January 12, 2010
Networking over pizza begins at 5:00 pm, presentation from 5:30 to 7:00 pm

In today’s environment, boards of directors are working harder than ever to ensure their organizations remain viable. Facing decisions that balance changing and increasing needs with bottom lines, it’s easy to risk straying from mission. How do we know if our focus is on the key issues?

Top 5 reasons to conduct a board self-assessment:

1. To be mindful of baseline governance roles and responsibilities
2. To refocus on critical issues as they correspond to your organization’s age
3. To determine how to best lead during times of financial decline
4. To invigorate board participation and engagement
5. To make board meetings a life-giving and engaging process

Join Guadalupe Guajardo for a look at valuable assessment tools and how you can prepare for and conduct a self-assessment, and what to do with what you learn. Find out how to help your board members see this as an opportunity to create a foundation that supports the organization, and craft a process that encourages full and candid participation.

The Presenter

Guadalupe brings acute understanding of organizations—particularly systems and strategy, board development, leadership evolution, creative strategic planning, fund development, and cultural competency. Her specialties include working with new and emerging nonprofits, as well as those in transition, to increase their organizational health and well-being.

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209

Nonprofit Board Network

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS' Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership, and increase board effectiveness. Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Cliff Jones, Senior Associate, TACS

November 10, 2009
Networking over pizza begins at 5:00 pm, presentation from 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Event Description

In an economic climate characterized by unpredictability and resource scarcity, a talented, diverse, and responsive board is an essential element for addressing organizational challenges and creating long term stability and health. Learn to develop and implement a recruitment strategy that will secure board members capable of strengthening your board capacity and leadership.

Also, examine your process for orienting new board members. Identify concrete orientation steps that will ensure new members understand the background and current context of the organization. This will enable them to ask the right questions and hit the ground running.

Explore:

• Strategies to identify your board's "talent gaps"
• Getting to "yes" with board prospects
• The strengths of an economically and culturally diverse board
• Engaging Generation X
• The best recruiting methods to build your board
• Effectively managing transitions on your board

Cliff Jones is a human rights activist with over 25 years of experience in social service, community education, and human rights advocacy.
His professional capabilities include skill-building for boards and supervisors, planning, mediation, workplace diversity, multicultural alliances, conflict resolution, and group facilitation. He has consulted for all kinds of nonprofits - grassroots groups, social service agencies, housing authorities, and government bureaus. Cliff has a comprehensive view of nonprofit functioning due to his experience as a frontline staff member, supervisor, project manager, and executive director in the sector.

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209

Points awarded in Category 1.B – Education of the CFRE International application for certification.

Attend this session and the rest of the series with a money saving season pass!

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS' Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership, and increase board effectiveness. Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Carol Cheney, TACS Associate Consultant

October 13, 2009
Networking over pizza begins at 5:00 pm, presentation is from 5:30 to 7:00 pm

Ben Bernanke said that the recession is over, but Oregon nonprofits won’t see the effects of that good news for a while. Yet, some local nonprofits weathered the recession and even made some gains. Many of these organizations had board members who bit the bullet, hit the pavement and built ties to donors that were about more than just money. Join Carol Cheney, TACS Associate Consultant, for a frank call to action for Board members.

You’ll learn:

• How to take the fear out of fundraising
• How to successfully partner with your staff on fundraising efforts
• How to “leave a legacy” that will support your nonprofit in good times and bad

Come to this session prepared to roll up your sleeves, share your deepest fears, stretch your thinking and be surprised at how easy fundraising can be!

The Presenter

Carol has 16 years experience with grassroots and mid-sized nonprofits and in state government as program manager, Board member, grantmaker and volunteer. At TACS, Carol managed programs to develop and deliver training in rural areas of Oregon and has provided training and consultation to emerging faith and community organizations that serve immigrants, refugees and communities of color. She brings expertise in Strategic Planning, Board Development, Volunteer Program Development and Management, Community Outreach and Engagement, Individual Donor Fundraising, Grantwriting Basics, and Cultural Competency.

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209

Attend this session and the rest of the series with a money saving season pass!

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS' Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership, and increase board effectiveness. Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Discussion Leader: Alanna Hein, Hein Consulting Group Date: May 12, 2009 Time: 5:00 - 5:30 pm pizza and networking 5:30 - 7:00 pm presentation

Sponsored by:

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Event Description

Learn to:

• Connect greater board diversity to greater organizational diversity
• Identify what cultural practices within your board may be exclusive
• Strengthen the board's skills in functioning in an inclusive manner
• Envision celebrating board and organizational diversity
• Understand steps you can take, right away, to be more welcoming

Diverse boards are an important asset to nonprofit organizations because of the wider pool of strategies, thinking, experience, contacts and resources greater diversity can bring to support the organization's success. Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment is central to taping into those resources; this benefits the whole organization as well as all board members. It is critical to build a welcoming and inclusive culture within the Board before you begin to diversify. This session of the Nonprofit Board Network will provide an overview to board welcoming and inclusion and will suggest specific steps and strategies for building an open and inclusive environment within your board.

Alanna Hein, Hein Consulting Group, has a long established consulting, training and executive coaching practice which focuses on: building high performing teams, valuing diversity, organizational development, planning for and managing change, conflict resolution, and applying emotional intelligence. Her consulting and training clients have included: private non-profit organizations and foundations, all levels of government agencies, universities, and corporations of all sizes.  Alanna taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in the business and management department for many years at Marylhurst University. Her training and consulting are recognized as exceptionally effective, and her jokes are almost always funny.

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS’ new Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership and increase board effectiveness.

Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
Click here for driving and parking directions

Discussion Leaders: Alice Forbes, Operations Director, TACS and Cliff Jones, Senior Associate, TACS Date: April 14, 2009 Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Sponsored by:

Cost: $25.00
NAO Nonprofit Members: $22.50 Join the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Event Description

In a changing environment, strategic planning can provide meaningful guidance that helps focus and revitalize your organization's energy, and resolve critical choices. What makes for a successful strategic planning process?

We'll explore:

• The strategic planning continuum
• How strategic planning can benefit your organization
• How to use the planning results
• How long it takes and how much it costs

Join Cliff Jones, TACS Senior Associate, and Alice Forbes, TACS Operations Director, to find out how you can help prepare your organization for an effective planning process that balances the willingness and capacity of your Board with the needs of your organization. We'll take a look at the Board's responsibility in the strategic planning process, the distinctions between staff and Board roles, and how to develop clear expectations for what you and your fellow board members need from the planning process. Gain an understanding of the different parts of a strategic plan - from mission and vision, to strategic goals and operational plans - and how they work with your organization's unique position.

5:00 - 5:30 pm doors open, pizza, networking
5:30 - 7:00 pm presentation

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS’ new Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership and increase board effectiveness.

Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
Click here for driving and parking directions

Discussion Leaders: Jeri Alcock, CFRE, Principal, On Course Consulting and Guadalupe Guajardo, PhD, Senior Associate, TACS Date: March 10, 2009 Time: 5:30 - 7:00 pm presentation

Sponsored by:

Cost: $25.00
NAO Members: $22.50 Join the Nonproifit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Join us for special consultation before this session, Mini Fundraising Consultation for Boards - see details below

Event Description

Kevin Johnson of Retriever Development Counsel, will be a special guest at this session. He will lead off the presentation at 5:30 with a brief review of the findings from the survey on 2009 nonprofit fundraising trends which he authored in collaboration with NAO and local grantmakers. Survey findings should be of particular interest to nonprofit board members!

Nonprofit boards can have an enormous impact on fundraising, and in tough economic times this impact—positive or negative—is magnified.

Whether they can give big bucks themselves or help bring in big bucks, there is a job for everyone. From support tasks to making a direct ask to grant writing, there are numerous ways board members individually and collectively can help bring in revenue.

In this session of NBN, identify next steps for increasing your board’s fundraising success. Learn how to match board member strengths with fundraising activities that build support for your organization. Join fundraising consultants Guadalupe Guajardo and Jeri Alcock to explore:

•    Fundraising in tough economic times – what’s not negotiable
•    Sustainable fund development models
•    Strategies for greater board involvement
•    What the board needs to know to raise money
•    Short term money raising activities
•    Board and staff fundraising roles

Mini Fundraising Consultation for Boards

Would you like input about your Board and fundraising? Come early, 4:30– 5:30 pm, for a first-come, first-served mini consultation. TACS Staff will provide a 15-minute consultation regarding a question or issue related to fundraising and your board. Come as an individual or small group. Also, we will make sure your questions get on a list to help focus the presentation on your needs.

Don’t miss this opportunity. TACS staff members Alice Forbes, Carol Cheney, Carol Hickman, Cathey Briggs, Cliff Jones, Dahnesh Medora, Flora Melhouse, and Shawn Michael will be available from 4:30–5:30 pm—check in at the registration table to sign up.

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS’ new Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership and increase board effectiveness.

Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
Click here for driving and parking directions

Discussion Leader: Margaret Mahoney, Senior Consultant, TACS Date: February 10, 2009 Time: 5:00 - 5:30 pm pizza and networking 5:30 - 7:00 pm presentation

Sponsored by:

Cost: $25.00
NAO Members: $22.50 Join the Nonproifit Association of Oregon (NAO). View the NAO member list.

Includes Continental Breakfast

Event Description

What information do board members need to carry out your organization’s fiduciary responsibilities? How can you work with your executive director to utilize your nonprofit's financial statements effectively? What other types of information do you need in order to make strategic decisions toward fulfilling your mission and maintaining the financial health of your agency? Understand your role in the financial management of your nonprofit and learn how to:

• Provide guidance to your management staff about what financial information you need and want as a board member
• Tap into board member talents to share expertise with those members who "don't like numbers"
• Encourage productive board discussions about financial decisions
• Focus board attention on critical indicators

Join Margaret Mahoney, TACS Senior Consultant, to find out how to get the information your Board needs to make the best decisions for your organization in the challenging times ahead. Margaret brings over 25 years of public management of large organizations and nonprofit board service to her consulting at TACS. She currently works with public and nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, business systems management, human resources management, and policy and program development. As a public manager she has been responsible for budgets in excess of 30 million dollars, and as Treasurer and other officer positions on five nonprofit boards, she has worked with budgets ranging from $25,000 to over $20 million.

Network Description

Help your board really make a difference for your nonprofit! TACS’ new Nonprofit Board Network (NBN) offers board members a monthly networking opportunity to build skills, strengthen leadership and increase board effectiveness.

Join other board leaders to learn from each other and top experts in governance, board structure, strategic planning, and fundraising. NBN meets over pizza and beer in the heart of the Pearl District. Relax, share experiences, and learn!

Location

Ecotrust Conference Center
721 NW 9th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97209
Click here for driving and parking directions