Café PANO (January 2026) - Towards Standards that Work for All

Café PANO – Towards Standards that Work for All: An Update on PANO’s Racial Justice Work within the Standards for Excellence
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 9:45 AM | Virtual Gathering (PANO Members)

Hosted by: Stephanie Chapuis, PANO’s Membership & Consultant Collaborative Manager

Guest Speaker: Melissa Sines, PANO’s Interim Standards for Excellence Director

Calling all PANO Members!

In 2014, PANO hosted a listening tour with 20 stops around the state that engaged 320 individuals in conversations about the unique challenges facing nonprofits in various regions of the Commonwealth, the successes various organizations were proud of, and the role PANO could play in both addressing those challenges as well as lifting up those successes. 10 years later (and counting), we’re still listening! And one thing we keep hearing is a strong desire and need for connection.

To that end, we introduced Café PANO in 2024: a supportive space for PANO Members to come together, share experiences, and find inspiration. Based on what we’ve learned since then, we will alternate between shorter (30 minutes) unprogrammed gatherings one month, and longer (45 minutes to an hour) discussions the opposite months on a particular topic, to be identified by our members and shared in advance. We hope this will allow folks to address those in-the-moment needs that we don’t always have time to plan for as well as the need for more focused discussion around relevant themes that keep popping up around the state.

»» This month, we’ve invited PANO’s Interim Standards for Excellence Director, Melissa Sines, and Strategic Initiatives Project Manager, Kevin Burrell, to offer PANO Members early access to the results of the racial justice work they’ve been doing for the last few years. From 2021-2024, PANO hosted 13 cohorts and 68 conversations exploring how nonprofit best practice frameworks (e.g., Standards for Excellence) can better reflect the values and realities of today’s sector. Participants offered honest insights into where these standards help, where they fall short, and how they can evolve. Join Melissa and Kevin for a “sneak peek” at the key themes that emerged, how participant feedback has been integrated into Standards 3.0, and what’s still to come.

Got a topic in mind for a future gathering? Let us know here, along with any recommendations for time of year and/or suggested facilitator(s).

So, PANO Members, brew up your favorite morning beverage and then let's brew up some community together!

Single Login Cost:
FREE for PANO Members | Not-Yet Members, look out for future opportunities to join us for informal conversation or become a member now!

Terms of Participation
Your registration 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 participate, please register each person separately.

Materials & Login Instructions:
Materials (PowerPoint and other handouts), along with instructions on how to login, will be emailed to attendees a day or two prior to the program date. PANO uses Zoom as our virtual gathering platform; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.

This program will be recorded for internal purposes only. If you’d like to attend but can’t make the date, look out for future gatherings at Café PANO!

About the Member Benefit:

PANO is the statewide membership organization supporting the thousands of nonprofits that serve millions of people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. While other associations cater to specific nonprofit trades, PANO is the only one that supports PA’s nonprofit sector as a collective whole. And THAT is the number one benefit of joining PANO – connection to other nonprofit professionals! Yes, the discounts on trainings, free Standards for Excellence resources, discounted products and services, and other benefits are great, too, but the true value of a network like this is that you are not alone. Together, we are 25,000 voices strong.

Learn more about PANO membership here and join today!