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2026 Nonprofit Basics Series (Virtual)
Thursdays, March 26, April 2, April 9, April 16, April 23, & April 30, 2026 | 1:00 PM-3:00 PM | Online Workshop Series
Presented by: Melissa Sines, Interim Standards for Excellence Director, PANO
In partnership with: Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants
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Nonprofit leaders are facing mounting pressure related to increased needs, decreased funding, and the shifting compliance environment. Add all this to the everyday demands of running a nonprofit and it can be challenging to find the time and space to prioritize organizational capacity building. Yet, even faced with competing priorities, nonprofit professionals continue to seek ways to strengthen their organization’s management, governance, culture, and operations – all without re-inventing the wheel.
If any of this sounds all too familiar, this interactive training program is for you! Join us to:
- Learn about key recommended practices for nonprofit management and governance as outlined in the Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector.
- Understand how embracing and living by Standards-recommended practices can improve effectiveness and sustainability.
- Assess your organization against the benchmarks of the Standards for Excellence code.
- Connect with peers to share concrete ways to strengthen the management, governance, culture, and operations of your organizations.
- Develop a work plan for improvement in the 6 key areas of the Standards for Excellence code:
- Mission, Program, & Evaluation
- Leadership: Board, Staff, and Volunteers
- Ethics and Legal
- Finance and Operations
- Resource Development
- Public Awareness, Engagement and Advocacy
These sessions are designed to be interactive and allow for time for you to work with the tools and learn from your peers, so plan to stay focused during course time to support your learning and the learning of your peers.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is designed specifically for:
- Organizations with a budget of $500,000 or less
- New nonprofits
However, all organization leaders will find value in this spring clean-up and refresh!
STANDARDS BASICS RECOGNITION
The course will highlight the areas of practice recommended for the Standards Basics Recognition, providing the add-on opportunity for leaders to complete the Standards Basics Application. Organizations that attend this 6-part course and successfully complete the application will receive the Standards Basics Recognition for their organization.
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AGENDA
Session 1 – March 26, 2026
Theme: Why we do this work
- Section A: Overview - We’ll start by providing an overview of the nonprofit practices included in the Standards and introducing participants to the tools and resources we’ll be using in our time together.
- Section B: Mission, Strategy, and Impact - Here, we’ll delve into the heart of nonprofit work: mission, strategy, and impact, and highlight areas that are most important to get right from the ground up. We’ll cover the importance of having a clear mission statement, your board’s role in defining the mission, and how to stay true to your mission when there are so many competing priorities. We’ll also cover the basics of defining your desired outcomes and setting up a basic evaluation framework.
Session 2 – April 2, 2026
Theme: Developing Leaders for the work
- Section C: Boards - Focus on must-haves for basic nonprofit fiduciary and governance responsibilities, like getting your bylaws right, keeping minutes and materials organized and safe in a digital world, and tackling the board and committee meeting scheduling beast. We’ll also explore strategies for setting expectations for board participation, ways to encourage and support participation, and we’ll talk about what it looks like when participation isn’t happening.
Session 3 – April 9, 2026
Theme: Developing Leaders for the work
- Section D: Management - In the first section, we’ll split into two groups – for those organizations with and without paid staff - and we’ll talk day-to-day management of the operations of the organization. For all-volunteer organizations, we’ll dive into how to develop roles, responsibilities, trust, and accountability, and for organizations with staff, we’ll talk about what it looks like to be a governing board and responsible for working with an executive director or CEO.
- Section E: Volunteers - We’ll review some key practices to have in place for managing volunteers and share resources and tools that can help you recruit, retain, and recognize your volunteers.
Session 4 – April 16, 2026
Theme: Keeping the Engines Running
- Section F: Ethics - In our fourth session, we’ll dive into ethics and values, and how these guide foundational practices like conflicts of interest, working with the public, and managing conflicts between people in the organization or in the community.
- Section G: Legal Compliance - We’ll also describe and review the legal requirements and required public disclosures for nonprofit organizations, and share a tested tool for checking the boxes on compliance.
- Section H: Basic Financial Practices - We’ll explore issues related to budgeting, internal controls, and determining programming, administrative, and fundraising expenses.
- Section I: Operational Security - While not required for Basics recognition, we’ll cover some important policies to consider right now, including crisis and disaster planning, IT and data security, and social media policies.
- Section J: Risk Management - We’ll share tools for assessing and managing organizational risk, particularly as it relates to the current moment.
Session 5 – April 23, 2026
Theme: Show Me the Money
- Section K: Exploring Sources of Income - Nonprofits fund their missions in all kinds of ways, and we’ll explore some of the most common sources of income: individual and corporate donors, foundations, governments, and fee-for-service activities
- Section L: Following the Fundraising Rules - In this section, we’ll explore the rules of the road related to soliciting charitable contributions and respecting your community and donors.
- Section M: Working with Fundraisers - With so much need, many individuals are activated to get involved and help raise money on your behalf. Make sure you’ve got your necessary guidelines, registrations, and compensation frameworks in place.
Session 6 – April 30, 2026
Theme: Working For and With Community
- Section N: Educating and Engaging the Public - Working with and for your constituencies requires transparency and clear communications. We’ll cover some basics for ensuring that you’re sharing key information in ways that are accessible and getting input and feedback from your community
- Section O: Articulating and Enacting Your Advocacy Goals - There is no shortage of critical policy issues at the local, state, and federal level that are impacting your communities. We’ll dive into the differences between advocacy and lobbying and share ideas for amplifying your community’s voice.
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SINGLE LOGIN COST
Per Session – $50 per person for PANO Members | $110 per person for Not-Yet Members
For the Full Series (20% discount!) – $240 per person for PANO Members | $530 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 view the webinar, please purchase separate tickets for each person. A copy of the recording and supporting materials will be shared with all registrants afterward, regardless of your ability to attend in real time.
Group Screening Cost (4-10 individuals): N/A
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MATERIALS, LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS, & RECORDING
Materials (PowerPoint and other handouts), along with login instructions, will be emailed to attendees a week in advance. PANO uses Zoom as our webinar platform; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.
All registrants will receive a copy of the recording and supporting materials, regardless of whether you are able to attend in real time.
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ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Melissa Sines, PANO
Melissa Sines is a dynamic leader and strategist and one of the co-founders of Colmena Consulting. Melissa brings deep expertise to her work with public sector organizations, focusing on building collective vision, nurturing emergent strategy, and developing and holding meaningful spaces for building community, learning together, and supporting leadership at all levels for nonprofit and philanthropy boards of directors, executive leadership, and program and operations staff.
At her core, Melissa’s purpose is to build deep and authentic connections, share knowledge, and be the voice that questions assumptions and challenges the status quo. She is a sense-maker, connector, and network strategist that can help navigate the space between what we are and what we have the ability to become – a sector full of people, movements, and organizations that live our values through our work.
Learn more about Melissa here.
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