These signature nonprofit board leadership programs are the keys to “best in class” effective board membership, maximizing each board member’s impact and enhance the overall board experience and engagement.
The board of a nonprofit plays a vital role in the organization and has an essential job to ensure the nonprofit meets its full potential. The reality is that many board members, often individuals who care about the mission of the organization as a whole, may join without an understanding of what the role really entails. Being an effective board member requires not only good intentions and a commitment to the mission, but also an understanding of the responsibilities of a board and a willingness to make decisions with the organization, team, and community in mind.
The Nonprofit Center has developed a suite of Leadership Development Programs for High Performing Boards. All are tailored to the needs of your board through review of a survey that goes out to the board prior to the session, review of organizational documents including bylaws, and financial statements, and one-on-one interviews with the chair of the board and chief executive.
This 2.5 hour session will take a holistic look at the role and responsibilities of nonprofit board members, identifying not only the individual but also the collective role that boards have with nonprofits. Participants will learn key elements/responsibilities of the board such as their role in culture development, defining governance, board/executive director/staff balance of power and collaborations, modern and reasonable expectations/obligations, and connecting with community centered work including fundraising.
Goals for this interactive session include:
The Nonprofit Center has used its four decades of experience in the nonprofit sector to create a “Day of Clarity” board retreat that effectively conveys insights and skills to nonprofit boards and enables them to move forward to engage in strategic thinking and prioritizing to successfully fulfill their goals. Based on the same content as the Building the Board Your Organization Needs training, this full-day (5 hour) retreat is designed to help your board define its priorities and create a plan for moving forward.
Continue building your boards skills with the following sessions. These can be done as a 2.5 hour session, or extended to a Day of Clarity:
Handout/information sheets for all the above are available to download:
Contact Lori Moffa for additional information on Board Education & Training at lori@npcenter.org.
Long before the term corporate social responsibility became part of our lexicon, The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University recognized the unique contributions that the business world could make to nonprofits and vice versa, by preparing individuals for informed and enlightened board service through a range of specialized training programs presented on-site and tailored to corporate audiences.
Corporations recognize that encouraging employees to serve on nonprofit boards provides a dual benefit to their business — it embodies core values of a socially responsible company and helps fulfill employees’ desire to serve their communities and causes that matter.
Our nearly four decade history of building and strengthening the nonprofit sector, first in our region, and now, increasingly throughout the country, makes The Nonprofit Center uniquely positioned to facilitate successful nonprofit board membership. Through our board leadership programs, which can be a single class, a series or a comprehensive Certificate in Board Leadership, we foster a mutually satisfying relationship between the individual and the corporation he or she represents and the nonprofit organization to be served.
Recognizing that each corporation has its own culture and needs, we collaborate to customize programs that will meet specific needs, interests, schedules and characteristics. An additional option completes the process by matching the trained employees with nonprofit organizations whose mission meets their own passions.
As we work with each company to present a program that is relevant, memorable and worthy of the investment, we create a corps of community leaders with the understanding of best practices in board leadership, a commitment to working with an organization in which they believe, and providing community organizations who are well-prepared to fulfill the role of enlightened board service.
For more information about corporate leadership development programs, contact Lori Moffa, lori@npcenter.org.
Executive coaching is an effective way to support and enhance leadership development in both current and aspiring nonprofit leaders. Long embraced by the for-profit world, nonprofits have come to appreciate the value of coaching as an investment in key individuals and a dramatic contribution to developing strong managers who think and act strategically, while inspiring others. Studies support the positive impact of executive coaching, yielding positive results like these:
The Nonprofit Center has long advocated a mix of activities to support leadership development, reflecting of a recent report from the Center for Creative Leadership that found the optimum mix of 70/20/10: 70%o on-the-job, 10% formal training, 20% coaching & mentoring.
Our experience has show that coaching results in stronger and more sustained leadership and confidence, enhancing leaders’ professional and personal development. Recognizing that nonprofit leaders often work in isolation, coaching has been found to ease this, while helping individuals cope with the endless stresses and challenges the role engenders. With executive coaching resulting in greater leadership retention, enhanced employee satisfaction, improved working environment and increased productivity, it is a contribution to the present and future state of your organization.
For more information about executive coaching from The Nonprofit Center, contact Lori Moffa, lori@npcenter.org.
The departure of an executive director is a transformational event for a nonprofit, regardless of the circumstances. Whether the departure is by accident or by design, the burden of replacing that leadership rests with the Board of Directors. Whether it’s assistance in succession planning or placing an experience Interim Executive Director, The Nonprofit Center can ease the distress often associated with significant change.
leadership? How are you grooming your future leaders? The experts tell us that there is little to lure young nonprofit professionals into future executive director positions and that we have to act to change that or risk serious damage to the nonprofit sector.
For help with issues related to leadership transition, including executive transitions, interim executive directors, and succession planning, contact The Nonprofit Center.
The Nonprofit Center conducted an informal study to get a sense of whether the Greater Philadelphia region will experience the same leadership gap predicted in other major metropolitan areas.
As today’s baby-boomers, many of whom are the executive directors of local nonprofits consider retirement, are plans being made to groom their replacements?
The answer, unfortunately, is still no.
Subsequent studies found little difference in this disturbing findings.
The Nonprofit Center, in anticipation of these pending leadership changes, has two programs to aid nonprofit boards and executives in addressing this crucial issue.
The Nonprofit Center is available to help your organization’s executive director and board face its responsibilities for transition planning now. For more information, contact Lori Moffa at lori@npcenter.org.
We are always looking for potential interim executive directors. If you have been a nonprofit executive director and are seeking a new career as an interim executive, contact Lori Moffa.
Executive Directors are in a unique position – straddling that challenging space between staff and board. The incessant demands on executive directors require supports designed specifically for them, from executive coaching that identifies and amplifies skills while minimizing weaknesses to specialized peer support.
For more than a dozen years, The Nonprofit Center has facilitated an innovative approach to leadership growth and development for both executive directors and for future nonprofit leaders. These peer leadership learning circles (originally called “CLEAR Circles” for Cultivating Leadership Excellence and Responsibility), create an ongoing peer group to freely discuss issues that other nonprofit executive directors (or emerging leaders) best understand. They are for professionals who want to participate in a shared brain trust where they can jointly strategize and problem-solve among peers who are equally committed to increasing their leadership capacity, following the edict that we achieve more in groups than we do as individuals.
We have successfully applied this model to
Peer Leadership Learning Circles consist of seven or eight individuals who meet monthly for two hours over eight months, with a professional facilitator. Discussion is driven and shaped by group members, with the goal of helping each other achieve goals through an action learning experience. Problem-solving, professional development and peer support are all by-products emerging from this confidential, supportive environment.
Circles can be geographically-oriented and built on a rolling calendar, depending upon interest. In other words, you can help us start a Circle in a preferred location. Experience for yourself the power of peer support, contact Lori Moffa at lori@npcenter.org for more information and to be added to a waiting list.
Get our “Peer Learning Circle” Fact Sheet >
Addressing the Leadership Gap as Emerging Leaders Learn and Grow Together. Studies confirm that we achieve more when working in groups than as individuals.
If you’re paying attention, you’re aware of the coming leadership gap in the nonprofit sector. Studies indicate that we now need to attract and develop 640,000 new senior managers to replace departing leaders. That’s 2.4 times the current number currently employed in those roles. The Nonprofit Center’s own survey found that 71 percent of our current leaders plan to exit their jobs in the coming year. So where will tomorrow’s nonprofit leaders come from? How are they being prepared to take over these formidable responsibilities. The future of the nonprofit world really lies in the answers to these questions.
Peer Leadership Learning Circles are a cutting-edge program The Nonprofit Center has developed, first to provide a unique forum for executive directors to jointly problem-solve, brainstorm and support each other. We took this concept a step further by forming Leadership Learning Circles for Emerging Leaders and also for newer executive directors, for even more targeted peer interaction.
Our leaders are among the top two resources (after funding, of course) we depend on to fulfill our missions. The greatest gift you can give to ensure your organization’s future is to create a legacy of leadership by fostering its future leaders.
For years, nonprofit executive directors have found problem-solving strategies and shared emotional support through this program, which consists of groups of up to eight peers who meet monthly in two hour increments for eight months. These professionally facilitated circles provide new insights in a supportive and confidential environment that enables them to learn from each other and share experiences that they would never raise with co-workers or board members. This same theory is being successfully applied to future leaders and less experienced executive directors.
For more information about Peer Leadership Learning Circles for current or future leaders, contact Lori Moffa at lori@npcenter.org.
Get our learning circles information sheet >
When I attend seminars, I come away personally thinking they are successful if I have one new idea to consider and possibly implement. I left [The Nonprofit Center Board Training] with no fewer than 12 ideas for consideration! Your knowledge base is phenomenal and your teaching expertise is evident. I am very hopeful you have helped to move DAP forward.
Because of the Certificate in Fundraising, I attained more than the number of educational points required for the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) application. I was approved to sit for the exam this year and I successfully passed and earned the CFRE designation. It was quite an exam, the hardest professional endeavor thus far in my career. I can’t thank you all enough for offering such a comprehensive, informative, and honestly, professionally-life changing series. I used all my workbooks and notes to study and will continue to keep them as I move forward (and share with my peers to help boost their work). I came across some CFRE refresher books thru AFP and I just smiled in reviewing, seeing similar content pertaining to donor and operations I learned through The Nonprofit Center, boosting my testing confidence.
The Nonprofit Center’s leadership development programs mesh perfectly with PECO’s interest in encouraging its employees to support their communities through nonprofit board service. The interest in these programs grows each year, as more employees appreciate the insights and knowledge these customized programs offer them toward making their nonprofit board memberships more impactful and fulfilling. The Center works collaboratively with us to create programs that meet our scheduling demands, corporate goals and budget, while continuing to exceed succeed expectations.
[The circle] was in many ways like building a family of supporters and brainstormers that every month could help you step away from your daily grind and kind of find a space of solace to reflect and strategize.
I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to be involved with {Peer Learning Circle}. The friendships that have formed will be impossible to duplicate. To say that I am sad that it is going to end, is an understatement. The bonding, professional and emotional support, along with the shared experiences and stories have been extremely valuable (and we laughed a lot too!) I can honestly say, that I am a stronger and a more empowered woman because of the time I spent with my Circle friends!
I found the {Executive Director Peer Learning Circle} a tremendous support system unlike anything else I could use to assist me through obstacles and roadblocks…I highly recommend {them} for new and not-so-new directors to find the support and encouragement that overcomes the feeling of being alone in the position of director.
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