By Annette Look, Nonprofit Leadership Initiative

Annette Look

What is expected of you? In your work, as a family member, a community member, a volunteer? It seems like a straight-forward question – what is expected of you? How do you feel when you don’t know what is expected?

In the case of nonprofit staff and boards of directors, Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (NPLI) is committed to ensuring that feeling of uncertainty about expectations isn’t the norm for nonprofit leaders in the Fox Valley.

Board members and nonprofit staff are invited to Get on the Same Page – A Guide for Nonprofit Boards and Staff on Roles and Responsibilities to jump-start their understanding of board governance. A strong healthy board-staff relationship, with an understanding of who is responsible for what, is critical for nonprofit effectiveness. It provides opportunity for dialogue of best practices of how to work together to meet the organization’s mission and builds trust between board members and staff.

NPLI is offering the program as a two-part webinar series, Nov. 5 and Nov. 10, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.; free to nonprofits based in the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region’s service area. Nonprofits based outside the Community Foundation’s service area may pay a small fee to attend. Registrants unable to attend during the scheduled time can still register and receive a recording of the training. Register here.

Mary Stelletello

Mary Stelletello, Vista Global Counsulting, will lead the series and has been an instructor for NPLI’s Leadership Institute since 2016. Mary has led five different nonprofits and served on numerous nonprofit boards throughout her career, so understands the perspective of both staff and board members. Kim O’Brien, executive director of NPLI, commented, “Mary provides an element of fun in all of her training sessions as well as opportunities for participants to learn from each other in small group discussion. Her trainings are always engaging in addition to being packed with information that can be implemented immediately by nonprofit leaders.”

The two-hour webinar series will provide an excellent overview of board roles and responsibilities. An in-depth study of the topic is being offered in NPLI’s new Board Academy program. The Board Academy, developed in partnership with Leadership Fox Cities Alumni Association, is a six-session series beginning in January 2021 designed for current and aspiring board members.

The Nonprofit Leadership Initiative is a partnership of Fox Valley-area nonprofits, funders, educational institutions and businesses dedicated to providing resources needed by effective nonprofit boards and executive leaders. NPLI offers a wide range of leadership, management and technical skill-building programs, as well as peer learning circles, to the entire nonprofit sector in the Fox Valley.

We support  NPLI with a grant from the Bright Idea Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, one among many community partners supporting NPLI. Click here to learn more.