As we move forward from this unbelievable year, we’d like to remember and share some of the positive changes and outcomes we saw at the Center. We’d like to hear about your achievements as well. Email Ellen Pochekailo with your proudest moments, and we’ll share with our networks.

Review the Center’s 2020 Look Back below or download a PDF here.

We’d like to thank Greater Washington Community Foundation for also sharing their impact report. They launched the COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund on March 12, 2020 and led a coordinated regional philanthropic response to the pandemic and resulting economic crisis. See the results here.

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… about why we should apply a racial equity lens to our year-end (and year round) giving

By intentionally applying a racial equity lens to our giving, we can not only support organizations that are advancing critical work, but can also send a powerful message to other groups, encouraging them to follow through on their commitment. Glen shares suggestions about how we can all play a role in advancing racial equity, justice and inclusion, creating a positive impact on our communities. We encourage you to read the full article.

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… now available in an easy to read digital format!

In this year’s issue, experts weigh in on key topics such as improving cyber security, planning through uncertainty, taking meaningful steps in DEI and more. We encourage you to give it a read!

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The Center is governed by a small Board of Directors, which has four standing committees: Governance, Finance, Benefits Trust Advisory and Resource Development.

The purpose of the Resource Development Committee is to collaborate with senior team members to; oversee the development and implementation of the Center’s fundraising plan; identify and solicit support from external sources; and promote all revenue-generating activities.

Given our small size and the importance of our mission, the Resource Development Committee seeks to add three new committee members who have the skills, expertise and connections that can help us achieve our goals. These committee members will not be members of the Board and thus will not have the obligations and responsibilities of serving on the Board.

Responsibilities of the Committee Members

• Participate in bi-monthly meetings. (Date/time of meetings is set in advance and based on availability of committee members)
• Help identify and connect with prospective new nonprofit organizations and industry experts to join the center.
• Help support the Center’s key events, such as the Annual Celebration, Public Private Partnership Conference and Award Showcases.
• Serve as ambassador for the Center in the community
• Help develop marketing tools and materials that board members can use to promote and advocate for the Center.

Desired Qualifications:

• Familiarity with nonprofits, foundations, and/or corporate organizations in the region, especially in Northern Virginia, Prince George’s County, and growing Maryland counties.
• Fundraising and/or development experience
• Ability to commit to one year of service (Jan 2020-Dec 2021)
• Good marketing and communications skills
• Generous “rolodex”

If interested, submit a letter of interest and resume to Taylor Strange by December 1, 2020.

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The 2020 presidential election is approaching rapidly! In our current political, social and pandemic environment, this year’s election process is bound to encounter uncharted territory and unique dilemmas. It’s never been more important to encourage your staff, donors, volunteers and clients to make their voices heard.

You can start by sharing important details with your audiences.

How to register:

The first step for some will be to register. Maryland and District of Columbia residents can register in person up to and on November 3 (Election Day). But to register online or by mail (this is NOT the same as mail-in ballots, see below), the deadline is October 13. Virginia residents MUST be registered by October 13, as there are NO walk-in registrations accepted.

Mail-in ballots:

It’s important to note two key deadlines—one for requesting a mail-in ballot and one for submitting your vote. These dates are different for each state: Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia.

Foster an environment that encourages voting:

• On election day, either give employees a few hours of PTO, reduce business hours or, if possible, consider closing that day (as the Center plans to do)
• Make resources available that detail how to register to vote, where to vote and why it is important
• Include reminders in your communications with registration dates and a countdown to Election Day
• Communicate with your clients who need help registering or voting to ensure they understand the process and have access to available support services

Encourage voting, but stay nonpartisan:

Remaining nonpartisan can be tricky especially when it comes to the complexities of communicating your ‘get out the vote’ messaging. A few things to watch out for:

• Your message can encourage people to vote based on a broad, overarching belief or movement that doesn’t particularly fit an agenda. For example, ‘vote for ending world poverty’ or ‘vote for clean water.’ It can NOT involve more specific beliefs like ‘vote for universal healthcare.”
• Besides the community you serve and those known to need help voting, you may not target particular groups with your ‘get out to vote’ messaging.
• If you work with senior citizens, only medical and senior living staff/personnel or a person the senior has indicated with the state may help them fill out an absentee form. (This one can be confusing, be sure to check out your state’s voting information or contact a representative if you have any questions.)
• It is okay to have an item or merchandise from a particular candidate at your home, outside of work, other settings unrelated to your organization or even in your work office, but having or wearing that item in a public work setting should be avoided.

Other resources:

Nonprofit Vote
Maryland State Board of Elections
District of Columbia Board of Elections
Virginia State Department of Elections

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There’s still time to participate in the Center’s Nonprofit Survey: Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Greater Washington, DC Area

As part of our Rebuilding Campaign, the Center has partnered with Industry Expert Brighter Strategies to survey nonprofit leaders about how COVID has impacted nonprofits in our region. This data will help us better understand and address your specific needs, as well as the current and expected capacity building needs of our community. It will be shared with decision makers across philanthropy, government and nonprofit sectors.

We need your input! Please submit the survey by COB Thursday, September 10, 2020.

Your responses will be confidential and will only be shared in aggregate. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete.

As a special thank you for completing the survey, you’ll receive a professional development class scholarship from the Center for you to use personally (or assign to a member of your team) by December 31, 2020. (A registration code will be emailed to you after completion of the survey).

Should you have any questions about this survey, please contact Glen O’Gilvie, CEO of the Center for Nonprofit Advancement or Dr. Liz Scott, CEO of Brighter Strategies.

Once the survey data has been collected, we plan to follow-up with qualitative research to dig deeper into the survey results. We also plan to release the topline results of the survey to engage you in further discussion later in September.

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On behalf of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), Executive Director Meira Neggaz expresses thanks for being selected as the winner of the 2020 Board Leadership Award, and shares appreciation to all who played a role in earning this achievement. Click on the image to hear her message.

Also hear from Carrie Stoltzfus, Executive Director of this year’s Honorable Mention—Food & Friends. Carrie thanks her dedicated board for their service and leadership, as well as the sponsors who make this award possible

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Completing the course in a creatively adapted virtual format

For this year’s class, the Executive Preparation Institute had some unique challenges. After only holding one day of the series in person, we had to move everything to a virtual setting. We worried about how this would impact the experience and that there would be less of a chance to have peer-to-peer networking. Luckily, our participants were willing to roll with the punches, and our attendance stayed high throughout. Our presenters worked to make their sessions more interactive and incorporate Zoom functions like polling, annotating and breakout rooms to ensure participation. Participants were encouraged to use the chat functions, as well as chiming in to the whole group with any comments they may have had.

Presenters included Center faculty members who spoke on a wide range of topics according to the focus of each day: board governance, fundraising, finances, strategic planning and program evaluation. This year, we started the series with a brand new session on implicit bias to help ground everyone and reveal their own biases so they could be more open to understanding their peers’ experiences and perspectives. The participants also took a DISC Assessment to better understand their own workplace behaviors.

On the last day of the series, our Coaching program facilitators at ProInspire explained the benefits of executive coaching and how the program would function moving forward. Participants also heard from a panel of previous EXCEL Award winners to get firsthand accounts of what it is like to serve in an executive role.

We were happy to be joined this year by a representative of the Coaching program’s funder, American Express. Rebecca Gnessin, Manager, Philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility, was able to join us at the end of our coaching discussion and even shared a little bit about her own journey into her current role. This is the 4^th consecutive year American Express has funded the program!

As always, the cohort was tasked with reading a book that was to be discussed on our last day. This year’s book was Take Me With You by Scott Jackson, President and CEO at Center Member Global Impact. His book discusses his personal journey to find the charity within, a great way to end the series and remind us all why we choose to work in the nonprofit sector. We were excited to have him on hand to lead actual discussion!

Details for EPI 2021 will be available in Fall 2020. Registration is scheduled to go live by the end of September.

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Glen O’Gilvie comments on struggle nonprofits face in surviving the pandemic.

On August 3, 2020, The Washington Post published an article about how the twin crises of pandemic and recession are straining the region’s philanthropies and could force as many as a third of nonprofits to close or merge before the economy recovers … Read more.

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