NYCON's 2014 "Being a Successful Executive Director" Retreat is 12/10-12/12/14

Our annual conference for newer Executive Directors (5 years or less at current organization) will be in Latham, NY this year Dec 10-12.  And limited grant sponsorship dollars from the Dyson Foundation are available for Executive Directors of organizations in Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, or Ulster Counties!!!

Helping You Become A Better Leader
This intimate retreat setting is the perfect opportunity for Executive Directors to engage with other nonprofit leaders currently in this role, master the critical skills necessary for effective nonprofit management, and receive individual consultation with industry experts on the issues that your nonprofit is facing.
NYCON’s annual Executive Director Retreat is oriented and specifically designed for those nonprofit Executives who are in their first 5 years of service in this role.
The retreat is designed to introduce, through practical application, the many and varied functions and competencies necessary for a successful Nonprofit Leader. An intensive emphasis is placed on several of the most critical, multi-disciplinary “real world” elements of executive leadership, management, and problem-solving.
This retreat is an essential part of the toolkit for your professional and organizational development.
2013 Participant:
“One of the most important and useful training any new executive director of a not for profit could attend is the NYCON New Executive Director Training.”
Questions? Contact Us! Kate Pauly— Membership & Events Coordinator, NYCON 1 (800) 515-5012 ext. 126 or email kpauly@nycon.org
Learn More & Apply Today! Executive Director Retreat 2014 December 10th-12th, 2014 The Century House Latham NY 12110
 Are you a new Executive Director or CEO with less than five (5) years of experience?
Rates & Other Information:
NYCON Member Rate: $745.00
 (Including two overnights and all meals)
NYCON Member Rate: $555.00
 (Meals With No Overnight Room)
Non-Member Rate: $855.00
 (Including two overnights and all meals)
Non-Member Rate: $640.00
 (Meals With No Overnight Room)
Please see www.nycon.org for full details.
LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE!
“Being A Successful Executive Director”

For even more information and to register please follow this link: http://www.nycon.org/index.php/latest-news/events/leadership-retreat-being-successful-executive-director-latham-ny/#.VA3gw_mwIUs

Special 4-Day Bonus Issue from the Blue Avocado

Free Webinar! Google Analytics for the Enthusiastic Beginner
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 3:00 pm eastern /12:00 noon Pacific

Speaker:  Bonnie Massa, Massa & Company

Wonder what all the hype is about around web analytics? Thanks to Blue Avocado and American Nonprofits, you can join this overview of Google Analytics, a free web analytics tool that shows you how visitors are using your site. We will start with how to capture data on visitors and then hit the highlights of using Google Analytics to improve your website. This overview is for beginners and executives that want to know the value of the tool but not necessarily how to operate it . . . Click here to register free . . . offer closes March 15, 2013.

Another Free Webinar! Nonprofit Sustainability:  Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability 
April 12, 2013  12:00 pm eastern/9:00 am pacific

Speakers:  Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado and CEO of CalNonprofits, and Steve Zimmerman, Spectrum Nonprofit Services

Too often program goals are discussed separately from financial means, although we all know that both must be discussed together. Jan and Steve will present the methodology for doing so from the book they co-authored with Jeanne Bell: Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability. This model can be used as an adjunct to or substitute for traditional strategic planning. Click here to register free. Offer ends March 15.

Board Recruitment Time? Learn the Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee Technique
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 3:00 pm eastern/12:00 pm pacific

Speaker:  Jan Masaoka, Blue Avocado and CEO of CalNonprofits

Board recruitment discussions usually start with the tired question, "Who do we know?" Instead, let's start with "What are the three most important things for the board to accomplish this year, and what kind of board members do we need in order to do so?" Tested successfully with hundreds of nonprofits, we'll also tackle some difficult questions such as whether and how to recruit people of different races or educational backgrounds, whether to have clients or parents (or other direct beneficiaries) on the board, and whether to have fundraising or donation requirements. Based on the tested and popular Blue Ribbon Nominating Committee technique. Click here to register free . . . through March 15 only.

Free "Gift of Learning" online courses from Cornerstone

This was such a hit in the last Bonus Issue, we’re pleased to offer this again. And we’re grateful to Cornerstone to offer this once more to Blue Avocado readers and American Nonprofit members!

The Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation established the “Gift of Learning” program to over 40 classes of downloadable e-learning content -- such as leadership training, effective communication, project management, and desktop product tutorials -- to nonprofit professionals at no cost.

The Foundation is offering this to five individuals per organization...and 300 organizations will be selelcted to receive the access to the Gift of Learning library. How do you become eligible? The first 300 Blue Avocado readers that respond on March 15, 2013 (starting 9 am Pacific/12 noon Eastern) are eligble.  Send an email to Blue Avocado's Susan Sanow at blueavocado@hotmail.com with the subject line "Gift of Learning” will be awarded the opportunity to access thousands of courses. Your e-mail must include the following information:

• Your organization's name
• Nonprofit tax ID number: you must have U.S. 501(c)(3) status to qualify
• Name of the contact person, and contact person's e-mail address and phone number

Once we reach 300 interested organizations, this offer will expire.

If your organization is chosen to participate, you will receive an introductory email directly from the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation no later than March 29, 2013. Selected nonprofits will have access to the Gift of Learning for a three month period (April 1, 2013-July 1, 2013.)

(And if you were awarded the "Gift of Learning" last fall, please step aside and let another organization benefit!)

April 1? No Foolin'… It’s a Blue Avocado Contest!

As April Fool's Day approaches, we wonder what our best April Fool's joke news headlines would be for the nonprofit community. So give it a try. Submit your headline with a 2-to-3 sentence opening paragraph. Here is a sample to get you started:

AmeriCorps to Exclusively Serve Businesses in 2014
The AmeriCorps program announced that beginning in 2014, AmeriCorps Volunteers will only be placed in small for-profit businesses.  While historically placed with nonprofits, it is clear that nonprofits are better managed and there is a greater need to support the small business community.

Submit your April 1 headline and 2-3 opening sentences tosusan@blueavocado.org.  Use the subject line April Fool's. Send in your entry by Friday, March 22, 2013.  You may be featured in our special April Fool's Day issue!  What's in it for our top 10 favorite/funniest entries? You'll win a copy of Jan Masaoka’s book, The Nonprofit’s Guide to Human Resources. Good luck!

February 1 Deadline for Nonprofit Learning Program

The South Berkshire County Fund is accepting applications through February 1 for participation in the 2010 Nonprofit Learning Program, which provides intensive training in management and governance to nonprofit organizations.

The South Berkshire County Fund, an endowment of Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, will underwrite the cost of participation for one nonprofit group serving the south Berkshire County towns of Alford, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham and West Stockbridge. Since 2005, the Nonprofit Learning Program has trained 140 board and staff leaders of 35 organizations from northwest Litchfield County in Connecticut, and northeast Dutchess County and Columbia County in New York. This is the first year that Berkshire County organizations have been invited to apply.

Organizations participating in the Nonprofit Learning Program create four-person teams of board and staff to work under the guidance of Simone Joyaux, a nationally-known consultant in nonprofit management. They receive four free training sessions and two private, full-day consultations for the organization’s board after the group training is completed, as well as donor communications training with communications expert, Tom Ahern. After successful completion of these components, each organization receives a $2,000 grant to help it move forward based on what the team members have learned.

The participants are chosen through a competitive application process. More information and applications for the Nonprofit Learning Program are available by contacting Berkshire Taconic at http://berkshiretaconic.org/nonprofits/NonprofitLearning.shtml or by calling 413-528-8039.

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation builds stronger communities and improves the quality of life for all residents of Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT. Thanks to its generous donors, in 2009 Berkshire Taconic distributed nearly $7 million in scholarships and grants for programs in the arts and education, health and human services, and environmental protection. Berkshire Taconic is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.

Online Learning Center Offers Fundraising Resources

Looking for fundraising information and assistance? Check our For Impact, a partner of the New York Council of Nonprofits (formerly CCSNYS), and their Online Learning Center. Their resource offers a mix of documents, mp3s, and videos. You can use this information to train, supplement, or change your approach to fundraising.

Want to hear more about For Impact? Come to Money for Mission V: New Perspectives on Raising Money, Visibility & our Voice! set for June 23rd at The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in Albany, NY. Click here for info on the conference speakers like For Impact and more.

Nonprofit Conference List

An interesting list of upcoming nonprofit conference opportunities:

Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Leaders Conference April 24-25
Nonprofit Technology Conference April 26-28
Nonprofit Congress May 14-16
Alliance for Nonprofit Management July 15-17
Blogher July 24-25
Academy of Management August 7-11
Nonprofit Day August 27th
Risk Management and Finance Summit for Nonprofits September 20-22
Nonprofit HR Conference October 4-6
Independent Sector Nov 4-6
International Leadership Association Nov 11-14
ARNOVA Nov 19-22
Board Source Leadership Forum Nov 20-21
American Humanics Management Institute Jan 2010
Nonprofit Governance Symposium Jan 2010
Nonprofit Bootcamp Date TBD
California Association of Nonprofits Date TBD