Becoming Windows & Mirrors: Inclusive Governance Practices

Becoming Mirrors & Windows: Inclusive Governance Practices
Wednesdays, August 25, & September 1 | 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM | 2-Part Interactive Workshop (Virtual)

Presented by: Anne Gingerich, Executive Director, PANO | Beth Docherty, Board Chair, PANO, and Founder, The TRUST Project | Ifeoma Aduba, Board Member, PANO, and Principal, The Mudita Collective | Niya S. Hamilton, MBA, Principal, Niya Hamilton Consultancy LLC, and PA Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant

Offered in Partnership with: Nonprofit & Community Assistance Center (NCAC) | Northeast Library District (NELD)

Sponsored By: Commonwealth Consulting Partners | First Nonprofit

The journey toward inclusion in communities across the United States is SO HARD, informed by our differing life experiences and fraught with political nuances. As nonprofit organizations, we seek to be both mirrors and windows in our work – reflecting what currently exists and providing a view to the equitable future we are co-creating with each other. In practical terms, what does institutional racism look like? And then how can we dismantle it?

Inspired by the story of Bree Newsome as told by Bettina Love, PANO is setting out to do “just” that. As the provider and promoter of Standards for Excellence®, a set of tools and resources to help nonprofits manage and govern according to the latest “best practices”, PANO believes that we must lead the charge in asking hard questions – not just for those we ask to implement the Standards, but for those impacted, too.

In this two-part online workshop, PANO leadership will address the concept of “best practices” in general, and then participants will be invited to authentically and respectfully “workshop” three governance practices that have been considered best practice.

NOTE: A copy of the recording will be distributed to all who attend the live conversation. If you cannot make it this time around, please email Christina Spadaro at christina@pano.org to be notified of future opportunities to attend this or a similar workshop. Additionally, registration will close at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, August 24, to ensure program partners and facilitators have enough time to prepare for various activities and exercises that will take place during the workshop.

Agenda:

August 25, 1-2:30 PM – Becoming Mirrors: Reflecting Where We Are

Opening Discussion: Starting from Within (Anne Gingerich, Beth Docherty, and Ifeoma Aduba)

Discussions about racial justice get personal – really fast. In this opening discussion, PANO’s leadership shares openly about our own journey, places where we have fallen, and steps taken so far. As an organization, we have committed to doing this work, but that doesn’t mean we have all the answers. In fact, we can’t always see what it is that we need to change. Thus, we are getting in the trenches – with you – to share our own learnings and to hear yours.

Deeper Dive Discussion: The Question of “Best Practices” (Anne Gingerich, Beth Docherty, and Ifeoma Aduba)

Organizational policies create processes that influence workplace culture. As the organization that promotes Standards for Excellence®, PANO commits to identifying places where our own “best practices” may have hidden biases in them. We collectively need each other’s eyes and ears. Please join us.

Homework! Raising Questions about 3 Governance Practices (Niya Hamilton and Ifeoma Aduba)

We will assign questions to ponder over the next week about one document that is so critical to board governance: our bylaws.

• How can we make our bylaws more inclusive?
• How could bylaws be used to make board engagement more accessible to individuals who may not typically serve on boards?

September 1, 1:00-2:30 PM – Becoming Windows: Living the Culture We Want to See

Diving Even Deeper: Inclusivity Considerations for Bylaws and Board Engagement (Niya Hamilton and Ifeoma Aduba)

PANO’s Standards for Excellence® provide a lovely checklist to ensure that nonprofits are compliant with laws and regulations. This conversation is designed ensure a baseline understanding of what role bylaws play within board governance. The conversation will then move beyond the legal requirement of having bylaws to a better understanding of the whys behind bylaws. The conversation will explore how this governing document could use its power to ensure inclusion and accessibility – starting at the board level.

Conversation goals include, but are not limited to:

• Understand what aspects of the bylaws are required by law and what aspects of bylaw development are considered to be a “best practice”
• Better understand how white privilege may be reflected as “best practices” for governance
• Identify opportunities for embedding inclusivity into this document so critical to nonprofit management

*Want to attend but can’t work this into your budget right now? Scholarships may be available! Email PANO’s Administrative Coordinator Casey Colsher at casey@pano.org for information.

Single Login Cost:
$10 per person for PANO Members | $15 per person for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
Your purchase entitles you to a single login. Please do not share the login information with others, as it may interfere with your ability to join. If multiple individuals from your organization would like to attend these sessions, please purchase separate tickets for each person or consider a group screening ticket (below).

Group Screening Cost (4-10 individuals):
$35 per group for PANO Members | $50 per group for Not-Yet Members

Terms of Participation
If you have 4-10 individuals interested in attending, please have one person register selecting the group ticket. You can then enter the names and email addresses of up to 9 other individuals to add to your group ticket.

This option makes the most sense when you have 4-10 individuals interested in participating. For fewer than 4 attendees, a single login ticket for each person is the most cost-effective option. For more than 10 attendees, please email Christina at christina@pano.org to discuss options.

NOTE: Registration will close at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, August 24, to ensure program partners and facilitators have enough time to prepare for various activities and exercises that will take place during the workshop.

Materials & Login/Call-In Instructions:
Materials (PowerPoint and other handouts), along with instructions on how to login and call-in, will be emailed to attendees a few days prior to the date of the first session. PANO uses Zoom as our online learning platform; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.

NOTE: A copy of the recording will be distributed to all who attend the live conversation. If you cannot make it this time around, please email Christina Spadaro at christina@pano.org to be notified of future opportunities to attend this or a similar workshop. Additionally, registration will close at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, August 24, to ensure program partners and facilitators have enough time to prepare for various activities and exercises that will take place during the workshop.

What People are Saying about Similar Programs:
“I was not expecting this deep conversation, this amount of content shared. I was extremely impressed.” – 2020 Participant, On Changing Institutional Racism in Our Fundraising Practice

“Excellent and candid virtual event, I learned so much.” – 2020 Participant, On Changing Institutional Racism in Our Fundraising Practice

“I enjoyed hearing the journey of lessons learned of PANO and an opportunity at the end to dig into some ethical challenges.” – 2020 Participant, On Changing Institutional Racism in Our Fundraising Practice

“We live in an imperfect world. When we can be led and inspired by a group of people who could choose to do nothing and get by but instead looked to the future to state authentic truth, it prepares a path for all of us.” – 2020 Participant, On Changing Institutional Racism in Our Fundraising Practice

About the Facilitators:

Anne Gingerich, MSW

Starting in her current position as PANO’s Executive Director in 2013, Anne brought with her a wide breadth and depth of experience, including previous roles as director of Nonprofit Resource Network at Millersville University, adjunct professor with Millersville’s Masters of Social Work Program, and Senior Development Officer at Lancaster General Health Foundation (just to name a few!).

With a firm belief in the abundance of resources available, Anne loves to don her visionary hat and consider what might be possible for PNO members, the nonprofit community, and PANO in partnership with various organizations, companies, and government entities. Anne takes a systems approach to her work, engaging multiple individuals and groups to identify and implement collaborative solutions to community problems.

Anne holds a BA in Social Work from Millersville University and a Masters in Social Work from Marywood University. The owner of a beautiful Victorian home in Lancaster County, Anne enjoys cooking, Rails-to-Trails biking, reading, and good coffee. Learn more about Anne here.

Ifeoma (Ify) Aduba

Ify is a vision-based, strategic thinker committed to a cross-sector, collaborative approach to building thriving communities. She applies a catalytic thinking model to capacity building while creating the conditions to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

Her professional career includes numerous successes in executive leadership, bridge building, and creative thinking that have made it possible to achieve greater holistic impact. Her background includes fundraising, communications, community outreach, education, and program design, implementation, and evaluation. She has trained and developed individuals and teams and facilitated discussions developing visions, missions, values, strategic plans, and collaborative ventures.

Prior to launching The Mudita Collective, Ify served in executive and leadership roles with such organizations as A Woman’s Place in Bucks County, PA, Pennsylvania Hospital, and Liberty Hill Foundation in Los Angeles, CA. She’s been a fellow and faculty with Creating the Future since 2015, teaching and practicing Catalytic Thinking with a collection of individuals from around the world. She is an active volunteer with several organizations, including the Bucks County Women’s Advocacy Coalition, the Doylestown Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Doylestown Rotary, and PANO (where she currently serves as a board member). She is also a member of PANO’s Consultant Collaborative.

Ify holds a BA in Politics from Mount Holyoke College and a Masters in Nonprofit Management from Eastern University. She is raising two amazing girls and ambitiously seeks time to work out at least three days a week. Learn more about Ify here.

Beth Docherty

Beth is a researcher and an educator, and has worked as a research chemist for several Pittsburgh companies, including PPG Industries Inc. and Duquesne University.

She is currently a private consutlant, serving as principal of The TRUST Project, which educates medical professionals and students about sexual abuse and trauma and their impact on health and wellbeing. Beth also educates the community about becoming trauma-informed. She is a member of the Physical and Behavioral Action Team of HEAL PA (trauma-informed PA). Beth has testified in judicial policy hearings and presents and speaks nationally about sexual abuse and trauma-informed care. In 2009, she received the Jefferson Award for her work at Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR).

Beth is passionate about strengthening communities and has accumulated much experience while serving on local and state boards and advisory boards, including PAAR, Vision of Hope, and PA Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), The Center for Children's Justice and Crime Victims Alliance of PA. She is currently the Board President at PANO.

Beth lives in the North Hills of Pittsburgh with her husband and Labrador Retriever puppy. They enjoy camping, paddling, and competitive ballroom dancing together (just Beth and her husband, not the dog). Beth plays guitar and sings in Pittsburgh-based band Acoustic Diversion and also plays flute in the Edgewood Symphony.

Niya S. Hamilton, MBA

Niya is the principal of Niya Hamilton Consultancy LLC. As a finance professional, she provides nonprofits and businesses alike advisory consultative services in business development, management, and finance functions. She is a PA Licensed Standards for Excellence Consultant with PANO.

In her years of working in the corporate space, Niya led and trained teams of analysts, increased sales, and provided financial reporting and assessments to executives and board leadership to make informed business decisions. She has applied those key skills in assisting nonprofits to formulate processes and create oversight in meeting their goals and complying with industry standards. She has also successfully managed large-sum grant awards and budgets in adherence to contracts and administrative guidelines.

As a former board chair, she understands the value and mission of nonprofits and their commitment to the public and the clients they serve.

Niya holds a BS in Business Administration from Johnson C. Smith University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. In her free time, she enjoys her family and loved ones. Whenever possible, she supports public programs by providing workshops on financial literacy, personal development, and career strategy. Learn more about Niya here.