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2026 Nonprofit Basics Virtual Cohort: Policy and Practice for Small & New Nonprofits
Thursdays, July 23, July 30, August 6, August 13, August 20, & August 27, 2026 | 1:00 PM-4:00 PM | Online Cohort
Presented by: Melissa Sines, Interim Standards for Excellence Director, PANO
In partnership with: Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants
FULL SERIES* REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Thursday, July 16, 11:59 PM
*Registration for individual sessions will open once we have reached a minimum number of attendees for the full series. Registration for individual sessions will close at 11:59 PM the night before each date.
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Designed specifically for leaders from small and new nonprofits (under $500K), this six-week cohort experience will help strengthen your organization’s management, governance, culture, and operations, while connecting you with nonprofit leaders from across the state who are also committed to strengthening their organization’s capacity. We’ll use this time together to engage in peer learning and share ideas as we work our way through the foundational components of nonprofit policy and practice.
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.
- Dive into our newly released resources, Standards for All and the Values to Action Roadmap to help you adapt the Standards resources to your own context as a small or emerging nonprofit.
- 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 and set aside time for you and your team to develop your capacity in 6 key areas:
- Mission, Impact, and Programming
- Leadership: Board, Staff, and Volunteers
- Ethics and Legal Compliance
- Finance and Operations
- Resource Development and Fundraising
- Public Awareness, Engagement & Advocacy
While it will be most beneficial for the same person from each organization to be present for the full series, organizations may, if needed, send different representatives to different sessions based on participant availability.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- Peer Engagement: These sessions are designed to be interactive and allow for time for you to work with the tools and learn from your peers – please plan to stay focused during course time to support your learning and the learning of your peers. Additionally, while the learning portions of each session will be recorded if you have to miss a session, the peer sharing conversations will not be recorded.
- Sequential Learning: Each of the sessions builds on the previous, so attendance at all sessions is recommended.
- Assignments: Attendees will be encouraged to complete “homework” ahead of the first session and between sessions to gather any current policies, practices, or questions they’d like to bring to the session for review and discussion.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This course is designed specifically for:
- Organizations with a budget of $500,000 or less
- New nonprofits
- Teams to attend together (board + staff or volunteers)
However, all organization leaders will find value in this mid-year clean-up and refresh!
STANDARDS BASICS RECOGNITION + CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
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. All organizations that have attendees present for at least 5 out of 6 sessions will receive a certificate of completion!
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AGENDA
Session 1 – July 23
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 – July 30
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 – August 6
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 – August 13
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 – August 20
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 – August 27
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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REGISTRATION FEES
FULL SERIES REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Thursday, July 16, 11:59 PM
SINGLE LOGIN TICKET
Per Session* – $50 per person for PANO Members | $90 per person for Not-Yet Members
*Registration for individual sessions will open once we have reached a minimum number of attendees for the full series. Registration for individual sessions will close at 11:59 PM the night before each date.
For the Full Series (20% discount!) – $240 per person for PANO Members | $435 per person for Not-Yet Members
Single Login Ticket 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 participate, please purchase separate tickets for each person or consider a group ticket (below). While it will be most beneficial for the same person from each organization to be present for the full series, organizations may, if needed, purchase one single login ticket and send different representatives to different sessions based on participant availability.
GROUP TICKET (2-4 Individuals)
Per Session – N/A
For the Full Series – $350 for PANO Members | $600 for Not-Yet Members
Group Ticket Instructions & Terms of Participation
This option is only available for the full series. If you have up to four individuals from the same organization interested in attending the full series together, please have one person register for ONE group ticket (do not select 2, 3, or 4 group tickets). That person can then enter the names and email addresses of up to 3 other individuals to add to the group ticket. Each person registered will receive their own unique login instructions and may join from wherever is most convenient for them.
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MATERIALS, LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS, & RECORDING
PANO uses Zoom as our virtual gathering platform; you can familiarize yourself with Zoom and/or join a test meeting prior to these sessions.
Login instructions and materials for the full series will be sent to the email address for each registrant one week in advance.
Login instructions and materials for those attending individual sessions only will be sent to the email address for each registrant within 24 hours of the session.
All registrants will receive a copy of the recording, regardless of whether you are able to attend in real time. As noted above, only the learning portions of each session will be recorded (peer sharing conversations will be omitted from the recordings).
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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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