Sessions
Below are the list of sessions for the 10th Annual Washington State Nonprofit Governance Conference.
Presenter biographies may be found here.
Session Descriptions
Achieving Healthy Partnerships between the Board and the Executive Director presented by Dennis McMillian
The relationship between the Board and the organization’s professional leader – Executive Director, CEO or whatever the title – has been characterized as one of the most challenging for a nonprofit as well as one of the most critical factors in the success of the organization. This session will offer opportunities to discuss and discover the components of this complex relationship as well as provide useful tools for strengthening the relationship.
Audits – Who, Why and How Much presented by Sharron O’Donnell
Having an audit is a significant investment for most nonprofits. This session will focus on the critical questions a board must address, whether this is your first or fiftieth audit — “What will an audit tell us?” “Do we really need an audit committee?” “How do we pick a good auditor?” “How much will it cost?”
Basic Financial Oversight presented by Alan Strand
When it comes to the financial health of your nonprofit, the Board plays a major role. This session will help Board members and those who work with boards understand their fiduciary responsibilities, how to assess the board’s financial performance, and the financial reports they should be looking at – and what information they should be getting from them.
Be a Positive Force in Conflict presented by Stew Henderson
Conflict situations – whether between an Executive Director and a Board, between Board members, or between an Executive Director and staff – can be the most stressful aspect of being a Board member. Left unattended or poorly handled, conflict can damage or even destroy a nonprofit’s effectiveness. What’s a Board member to do? Between the two most common responses – staying out of the fight (and witnessing a trainwreck that could have been avoided) or taking sides (and making things worse) – lies a whole set of positive things you can do to restore harmony and alignment. By promoting positive and mature responses to conflict, you can diminish conflict’s destructive aspects, and release its creative potential for individual and organizational change and renewal.
The Board and HR – An Evolutionary Path presented by Pete Donor
The role of the board of directors in personnel or human resource administration is frequently a sticky issue for nonprofits. Conflicts inevitably arise when individuals don’t understand their defined roles and step into other areas. The board is ultimately responsible for HR policies and results. However, the level of involvement in HR management practices will depend in part on how long the organization has been in existence and the governance structure (model) used. Understand where your agency is and how your board should address HR.
Building Nonprofit Resiliency: What Does It Take for a Nonprofit to Sustain Itself? presented by Dennis McMillian
Join this session to learn about the four signs of nonprofit sustainability. Organizations that exhibit these factors are outperforming those that don’t, and knowing them can help you decide what type of capacity to invest in, and feel confident in your decision
Executive Director Evaluation presented by Pete Donor
It’s one of the board’s key responsibilities but often it doesn’t happen or happen well. Explore varying methods for evaluating your Executive Director/CEO and discuss both the pitfalls and benefits of the process.
Governance Models presented by David Ball
This review and discussion of current nonprofit governance practices and models will help boards develop understand the variety of tools, strategies and changes from which they can draw to generate improvement in their present governance work.
Greater Than the Sum of the Parts – Collaborations, Partnerships and More presented by Melora Hiller
Challenging financial times require us to develop collaborations and partnerships for greater effectiveness. Some organizations are considering mergers which will bring scarce resources together for more mission impact. This session will focus on the types of relationships that can be created, their values and their challenges.
How to Grow in Tough Economic Times, Part I presented by Emile Haddad
If your organization is delivering the same service in the same way or with the same type of funding then you are delivering boom services in a recessionary environment. This session will present the concepts of economic cycles, timing of our response to those cycles and risks that will be encountered.
How to Grow in Tough Economic Times, Part II presented by Emile Haddad
Part II of this session will focus on opportunities in this economic cycle and what we can do to take advantage of them, including strategies in building relationships and allocation of resources. This session will be grounded in the information presented in Part I so participants should plan on attending both sessions.
Investment Oversight presented by Sharron O’Donnell
In July SEI released the results of a poll of 160 nonprofits with significant investments. They reported that “Nearly one-third (30 percent) of all polled said that defining investment management fiduciary responsibilities for trustees and investment consultants is a top priority.” Join Sharron O’Donnell of Bader Martin to discuss how your board can improve its investment management practices.
The Joys & Challenges of All-Volunteer Organizations presented by Lynn Hoffman
Organizing and performing the work in an all-volunteer organization requires special skills. As committed as board members are to the mission, it is not always easy to get the work done, on time, with the highest quality. Learn about models of volunteer organizations, how to structure leadership and committees, and get ideas on fundraising.
Master Class presented by Paul Light
Join our Keynote Speaker, Paul Light, to explore in greater detail the concepts presented in his presentation. This is a great opportunity to learn how to incorporate his wisdom into your organization.
Nonprofit Accountability Clubs presented by Mary Kay Gugerty
Nonprofits in Washington and Washington Nonprofits presented by Put Barber & Melora Hiller
Information about Washington’s nonprofit sector and how we can be more effective together will be the focus of this discussion of two critical areas of focus. The data about the sector included in “Nonprofits in Washington 2009” will be reviewed by its Principal Author, Putnam Barber, and Melora Hiller will present the work underway to create a state association of nonprofits, seeking participants’ input on the services to be provided..
Recruiting for Board Success presented by Sharon Lucas
Have you ever wondered why some boards are so good at “minding the mission” and others are best at “running the business”? We’ll review some new research plus tried and true board recruitment methods to provide some answers to this question. Please come prepared to talk about what your board does well, what you wish it did better, and to share your own successful board recruitment methods.
Strategic Planning in Real Time presented by Sally Perkins
Strategic planning is even more challenging in a time of great uncertainty, when trends don’t trend and the business environment is hard to predict. This workshop will discuss how several non-profits are adapting and applying the concepts in David La Piana’s book, The Non-Profit Strategy Revolution. La Piana provides a useful framework for organizing the work to be done to support strategic planning. The workshop will cover the pluses and challenges of using this framework, and offer suggestions for how to maximize the value of the concepts and tools provided.
Succession Planning: Building Organizational Resilience in Turbulent Times presented by Rae Levine
Is your organization looking for a new executive director now, or might it be in the foreseeable future? Is your board chair stepping down? Wherever your organization is in its lifecycle, it’s only a matter of time until its next leadership change. Succession Planning is an opportunity to build organizational resilience, and it doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. This interactive session will give you practical tips to use now to save time and trouble when the inevitable leadership change occurs.
Voice of the Next Generation presented by Joe Lawless, Dr. Jill Purdy & students
Through a partnership between The Nonprofit Center and the Center for Leadership & Social Responsibility at the Milgard School of Business, UWT students are gaining first-hand experience as interns on nonprofit boards in the Tacoma area. Students will provide their perspectives on governance in this session based on their learnings in the classroom and the boardroom.
Roundtables
Legal Q & A – presented by Scott Winshipnd and Valarie Zeeck
The Role of the Chair – presented by Jeanne Kojis
The Role of the Treasurer – presented by Liz Heath
What’s on Your Agenda – presented by Don Rennegarbe
