Governance workshop helps area nonprofits
Lawyers Clearinghouse often partners with Boston Private Bank & Trust Company’s Community Investment Series to host legal workshops for nonprofits. These workshops, led by lawyers, consultants and other experts, cover a range of important topics, including merger and collaboration strategies; practical tips regarding volunteers, interns and independent contractors; and corporate governance. Workshop attendees are often board members and staff members of nonprofits, or are interested in starting their own.
When one of the workshops, Corporate Governance and Compliance for Not for Profit Organizations, was held in July, I went, determined to learn more about such programs, the attendees and nonprofits in general.
The presenter, lawyer Teresa Santalucia, of Klein Hornig, spoke to attendees about the characteristics of nonprofits and provided in-depth information about board membership and responsibilities, document retention, whistleblowing, fundraising, the differences in oversight between the state and the federal government and more. Santalucia, whose practice focuses on affordable housing and community development, also engaged with the audience, answering questions and providing useful tips (some examples include: maintain your bylaws as living documents; use your form 990 as a marketing tool to show the organization’s strengths; and, as a board member, ask for and understand your finances.)
Following the presentation, I interviewed two of the attendees, John Pynchon and Michelle Moon, via email. Through their responses, I learned more about their respective organizations, their motivations for attending the seminar and their opinions of the presentation. Our conversations are below.
John Pynchon:
What organization are you affiliated with and what is the mission of this organization?
The Tuesday Club, whose charge is the preservation of The Loring-Greenough House, a historic house dating from 1760 in Jamaica Plain.
What is your role with this organization?
I am a board member and am head of the Landscape Committee which in large part is responsible for the physical condition of everything outside of the house and relevant aspects of the relationships with people and entities that interact with the outdoors, from individual guests to the Farmers’ Market we host.
Why were you interested in attending the Governance and Compliance presentation?
Our president suggested I attend as a step toward better education of our board.
Did you find the presentation to be helpful/useful for your organization? Why or why not?
I was surprised and very pleased with the great degree of relevance of the seminar to my existence on the Board of Directors. Much of the discussion was familiar but I did not have a prior understanding of the legal framework upon which our structure is built. Suddenly a great deal began to make sense.
Do you have any other comments about the presentation?
I was very impressed by the presentation itself and our speaker, the high degree of organization represented by the PowerPoint presentation and materials given us, and by the knowledge of our speaker and her ability to expertly field all questions. Things were made remarkably clear.
Michelle Moon:
What organization are you affiliated with and what is the mission of this organization?
Fairmount Greenway (PDF) — to change vacant lots into parks and to create a bike boulevard along the Fairmount Rail Line, and the Fairmount/Indigo CDC Collaborative — here are the goals for the collaborative: http://fairmountcollaborative.org/about-us/goals/.
What is your role with this organization?
I’m the project manager for the Fairmount Greenway, so I’ve been doing planning, site design, grant writing, community visioning, research on long-term ownership strategies, etc.
Why were you interested in attending the Governance and Compliance presentation?
Fairmount Greenway Task Force is at the very beginning of the process to start a land trust, so one of us needed to know what we need to do. Also, I’m just generally interested in learning more about how to run a non-profit.
Did you find the presentation to be helpful/useful for your organization? Why or why not?
Yes – I have a better sense of what we’ll need to do in the future.
Do you have any other comments about the presentation?
I really enjoyed the presentation and would definitely recommend it to folks. It’s really great to have the event, especially that it’s free.
The next workshop, Merger and Collaboration Strategies for Nonprofits, will be held on October 8, from 9 – 11 am at Boston Private Bank & Trust Company. More information, as well as RSVP directions, can be found on the event page. Check the event calendar for a complete schedule of Clearinghouse programs.