Interested in Serving on a Nonprofit Board?

Are you passionate about serving your community and interested in participating in a significant way? Then Get on Board is for you! Get on Board is a one-stop-shop for interested, passionate individuals looking to increase their civic involvement at a leadership level. Join more than 500 other experienced and aspiring community leaders on Monday, October 1 from 4:00-6:30pm at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis as you interact with one hundred nonprofit organizations with board and committee vacancies in a single evening.

Again this year, I will be joined by Sandra Emmanuel, a long-time local nonprofit leader and consultant, to present 20-30 minute overviews of what it means to be a board member and help you think about the type of organization that could be a great match for your skills and interest.

Get on Board is hosted by Lacy Leadership Association and since its inception ten years ago, has connected more than 2,000 new board members, committee members, and leadership volunteers into the local non-profit community. Charitable Advisors has been involved with GOB since the beginning and is pleased to be a sponsor again this year. Check out the list of exhibiting organizations, see what past year's attendees have to say, pre-register at: http://www.lacyleadership.org/GetOnBoard.html. Help spread the word within your company or professional circle. Nonprofit board service is acknowledged as a great way to build leadership skills as well as use them.

Friend-to-Friend Fundraising Works-Why Aren't You Doing it?

(Andrea Berry - Idealware)

I'm a pretty passionate advocate of nonprofits trying Friend-to-Friend or Social Fundraising techniques for their organizations. Having come out of the health fundraising world, I've seen the power of having supporters fundraising on your behalf. Mobilizing an army of passionate advocates for your organization can tap into thousands of dollars in unseen funds and link your organization to hundreds--if not thousands--of new supporters. But why hasn't it caught on?


A Few Good Tools for Friend-to-Friend Fundraising
By Andrea Berry and Stella Hernandez, July, 2011

A Violation of Trust: Fraud Risk in Not-for-Profit Organizations

(A White Paper from Crowe Horwath CPA)

The risk of fraud is a serious concern for all types of enterprises, but fraud can be particularly damaging to a not-for-profit organization, for which a damaged reputation can have devastating consequences. In addition to setting the right "tone from the top," the officers and governing board of a not-for-profit organization must take the lead in establishing and maintaining a formal fraud risk management program, which must include a fraud risk assessment designed to identify certain vulnerabilities and internal control gaps that could leave the organization exposed to financial and reputational damage. This Crowe Horwath publication provides example red flags, and suggestions for assessing fraud risks within your organization.

Read the entire article.

Time to reinvest in nonprofit leadership (Detroit)

From a business person - nonprofits are not like businesses

We often refer to the bedrock beneath Detroit as the foundation for what has been built here. I suggest that in addition to the geological bedrock, Detroit is supported by a foundation of nonprofit cultural, business development and human service organizations that collectively are just as substantial -- and maybe even more important to the structure and stability of our city.

As strong as this foundation has been historically, it is time to reinforce it, or we risk its instability at a time when there is still so much to be accomplished.

Like the minerals and compounds that make up the ground we stand on, the nonprofits of our community are also formed with key ingredients. The most important is the partnership between the professional and volunteer leaders -- from entrepreneurs and philanthropists to executive officers of our region's most important companies. Serving in a top position in any of these organizations has always been rewarding and sometimes challenging, especially so during this difficult economic period.

Read the entire article.