Leadership Tallahassee's Building Better Boards

BUILDING BETTER BOARDS
Tuesday, May 5 from 4:30 – 8:30
TCC’s Center for Workforce Development 

ON SITE REGISTRATION OPENS AT 4:30 PM MAY 5

CENTER FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS ON
TALLAHASSEE COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S MAIN CAMPUT

For the best in board training, be sure to register for this year’s Building Better Boards on Tuesday, May 5 at TCC’s Center for Workforce Development. Presented by Leadership Tallahassee, this series of workshops has something for everyone. Cost: $40 (includes 2 workshops and box dinner with keynote speaker).   

Keynote Speaker: Barry Altland, Head, Heart and Hands Engagement Collective

Whom Do You Serve? We all serve somebody. In our professional, personal, service, family, social and spiritual lives, our efforts have an impact on others. Who is it that benefits from yours? Derived from the learning messages of the forthcoming book, “Engaging the Head, Heart and Hands of a Volunteer,” nonprofit Board members and leaders of volunteers are encouraged to consider and confirm their link in The Chain of Volunteer Service. By exploring and identifying their link, a leader’s clarity of purpose crystallizes, allowing their efforts to achieve the optimal impact on those who serve.

Barry Altland is a writer, speaker, thought leader and expert on leading and engaging volunteers. He blends fifteen years of strategic and tactical initiative leadership in talent strategy, organizational development and learning and performance and ten years of hospitality leadership experience. Barry has driven learning and organizational performance initiatives at several mid- and large-sized companies in the central Florida area in a variety of industries, including hospitality, theme park/resort destination, real estate development, agribusiness, supply chain, financial services and not-for-profit healthcare. Barry’s current book, “Engaging the Head, Heart and Hands of a Volunteer," is a simple guide for leaders of volunteers to feed the passion of those who choose to serve. Blending a multitude of experiences as both a volunteer and a leader of volunteers with his deep leadership and learning leadership acumen, Barry shares tips and techniques that help leaders engage, sustain, and at times, redirect the passions of those who share their time and talents. Leaders in the for-profit world will discover the lessons offered to leaders of volunteers apply equally well when seeking to engage the heads, hearts and hands of paid professionals. Barry currently resides in Winter Garden, FL, a quaint suburb west of Orlando.

5:00 - 6:15 offerings: 

The 7 Best Ways to Strengthen your Board Alyce Lee Stansbury, Stansbury Consulting LLC

You joined a board because you believe in the mission and want to make a difference. With the best of intentions, many boards struggle to be high performing and some may fail. In this highly interactive session, we’ll talk candidly about why Boards fail and identity practical strategies to avoid common pitfalls that can lead to stagnation. We’ll discuss effective ways to advance the goals of the organization and enable every Board to contribute in a meaningful way and feel good doing it!

How Millennials are Changing Philanthropy Robin Johnston, Motivation Design Group

Millennials – those born from 1981-1995 – will change the world as dramatically as the Baby Boomers. What are the implications for philanthropy and for volunteerism? This session will examine what makes Millennials different from and similar to their predecessors, and provide tips for engaging them as both donors and volunteers. This session will focus on information for board members who want to understand how Millennials are different from and similar to members of other generations, learn the key values and trends underlying decision-making among Millennials. Participants will see the scope of the economic impact that Millennials will have on U.S. consumerism and philanthropy, and come to understand Millennials’ financial values. In addition, participants will learn how to present their organizations better to encourage involvement of and investment from Millennials.

New Board Member Guide to Starting Out  Barbara Boone, Leadership Tallahassee; Rob Renzi, Big Bend Cares; Laura Rogers, World Class Schools

Whether you have just started service as a board member or would like to get involved in the future as a new board member, this session will give you tips on how to be an effective board member from the start. Learn about the roles and responsibilities of board members, the difference between governance and management, and how to understand governance and financial documents, so that your board service can be an asset to the organization from day one.

Digitalizing Fundraising the Social Media Way Allison North Jones, North Public Relations

Learning more about the rapidly changing communication landscape and its intersection with fundraising campaigns, is at the core of this workshop designed for the novice to seasoned nonprofit board member. One of Tallahassee’s successful public relations strategists, Allison North Jones, will provide the basics of tapping into the social media world to optimize fundraising tactics for nonprofit board members. Special attention will be devoted to examining digital media trends, strategic communications and how to engage board members in effective and safe messaging for optimal results.

Understanding the Financial Statement and Internal Controls Mark Payne, James Moore & Co., CPA’s

This session will cover the basic financial statements and reveal what the numbers are actually saying. In addition, some basic internal controls will be covered so that a good understanding may be obtained on internal controls. We will review checklist of items so that you will know when an Organization is having financial problems.

Strategic Planning: Why Bother? Margaret Lynn Duggar, Margaret Lynn Duggar and Associates

Who the heck has time for strategic planning? You’re too busy being successful every day, month after month. And, what good is a strategic plan anyway? Who needs one? We know what we need to be doing. This interactive session offers: 8 valid reasons to make strategic planning fun and integral to ongoing operations; options for levels and types of strategic planning and the plan documents; and effective uses of a strategic plan for ongoing Board and staff communications, relationships and activities. As someone who has served as CEO to numerous nonprofit organizations over the past 40 years, and staffs 3 through contracts now, presenter Margaret Lynn Duggar says she would never be without a strategic plan -- for her own protection!  

7:15 – 8:30 offerings:

Cybersecurity: What the Board of Directors Needs to Ask Ben Graybar, Hancock Bank; Michael Rosciam, Thomas Howell Ferguson

We’ve all seen the recent upsets within companies over hacked computers with emails and critical data being displayed in humiliating ways for the companies that were attacked. How much of this could have been prevented? Seeing these corporate giants and their IT departments receive a litany of scrutiny is eye opening to the average small business or nonprofit. Questions are raised, “If it can happen to them, could it happen to us?” Not-for-profit databases are filled with data for not just the people they are helping but also of the people donating money. Credit card numbers, social security numbers, and medical data are just a few examples of the private information that can be hacked. A core responsibility of every Board member is to request information and develop awareness to help them secure the future of their organization. Cybersecurity risk is a subject the Board should become better educated on to be able to ask critical and thoughtful questions of management. This presentation will outline fundamental tasks and questions that every Board member should consider in order to enhance their oversight of cyber risks. Participants will learn what cybersecurity is and areas and legal implications of cyber risks.

Thinking Outside the Box Russell Daws, Tallahassee Museum; Jennifer Stanford, Big Brothers Big Sisters

In the social sector, there is not a clear path between providing sophisticated and effective service programs, and finding sustainable ways to fund these programs. Two organizations have independently found ways to launch entrepreneurial ventures intended to bring different dollars to their revenue portfolios, and engaging different types of board members and community partners. During this workshop, you’ll hear from Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend, the Tallahassee Museum - local organizations that have launched the general concept of obtaining revenue from a sales model. Learn about the opportunities and challenges experienced in the start-up phase of these social entrepreneurial ventures and how your Board can be prepared and questions that should be asked.

Essentials in Nonprofit Governance Kelly Otte, PACE Center for Girls

This workshop is designed for people in the first five years of board service or who are considering service for the first time. The ultimate goal of the workshop is to help participants not only truly understand what their role is but how to be a rock star board member. Topics included will be an overview of best practice in personal board member responsibilities, board governance and fundraising, information about the roles of the board and staff, and tips for productive board meetings.

Tips for Board Diversity Ellen Piekalkiewicz, United Partners for Human Services (moderator); Marta Arrington, ECHO; Tyler Harris, Jr., Pace Center for Girls; Judge Errol Powell, Elder Care Services

Foundations, donors and grant funders have increasingly placed a high value on the diversity of the nonprofit boards that are seeking funding. Nonprofits are strengthened by having a board that is reflective of the constituents they are serving. Diversity brings richness. Diversity brings new ideas. Diversity brings growth. Diversity brings dynamism. Board diversity is best achieved when it is understood, prioritized, and integrated into the board recruitment process. The workshop will feature a panel of Executive Directors and Board members representing local nonprofit organizations that have made board diversity a priority. The panel will discuss policies, practices and processes they used to achieve their goal of purposeful recruitment, and will also discuss the importance of board diversity, how it strengthens an organization’s connectedness to its constituency and helps the organization be more effective at carrying out its mission.

Fundraising Judo: Engaging Volunteers and Raising Funds the Gentle Way Robin Johnston, Motivation Design Group

All too often, organizations try and coerce their volunteers into raising funds from donors by brute force. Fundraising staff often feel that there are no alternatives to cajoling, pleading with, bribing or beating Board members and other volunteers into raising funds. This traditional model is uncomfortable for both volunteers and donors, and produces suboptimal fundraising results. Enter Fundraising Judo. This innovative model provides a framework for engaging volunteers and connecting with donors in a way that is easy and natural for them, and productive for us. This session introduces the Fundraising Judo concept, and emphasizes the keys of passion, intrinsic motivation and alignment. Participants will learn how to align the interests of volunteers, donors and organizations to achieve maximum fundraising success, while creating a more harmonious and productive fundraising relationship for everyone involved.

Why Succession Planning Matters Marion McGee, John G. Riley Center/Museum of African American History & Culture

Change is critical to the evolution of all organizations. Yet, it has been described as one of the most difficult things organizations can undergo, particularly when forced to make rapid adjustments due to a sudden loss or change in senior leadership. Author John Maxwell once said that “Change makes people insecure, so leaders must see ahead and prepare for it. People can live without certainty, but not without clarity regarding future direction.” Forward thinking succession planning is more critical than ever because the current pool of seasoned professionals is approaching a large-scale tipping point as the largest single generation of professionals (Baby Boomers) prepare to transition into retirement over the next two decades. Yet, very few organizations are taking the time to plan for this inevitable change in leadership. Whether you are a board member, an executive director, a staff member, or an intern or volunteer, if your organization is facing a change in leadership, we feel that the information provided in this session will better equip you to address the questions that arise during leadership transitions.

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Building Better Boards
Tuesday, May 5 from 4:30 – 8:30
TCC’s Center for Workforce Development