Nonprofit Leadership Center at Angelina College Holds Panel Forum

Angelina College’s Nonprofit Leadership on Thursday wrapped up its summer “Lunch & Learn” series in an event featuring a panel of experts in various areas vital to successful nonprofit leadership.

Jane Ainsworth, Kim Johnson, Dr. Wayne Lawrence and Chris Moss were on-hand to serve as the panel fielding questions from attendees, who included members and leaders of nonprofits located throughout East Texas.

Heather Kartye, Director of the NPLC at AC, said the format typically features one guest speaker, but for Thursday’s particular subject matter – “Financial Resilience for Nonprofits” – a full panel seemed to offer a little more.

“We feel this course is being offered at a very timely point for all our area nonprofits,” Kartye said, “and we wanted to bring in experts who could talk about best practices for financial management. We have a former Executive Director, a Certified Public Accountant, a person with an MBA with a lot of experience in nonprofit training and we have a financial advisor. With each having his or her own area of expertise, we felt we could provide some significant insight to help them be better.

“When nonprofit organizations are better, the entire community is better.”

AC’s NLPC offers a full curriculum leading to a Nonprofit Leadership Management Certificate, and sessions such as Thursday’s are considered “electives” to the curriculum. In designing the course, Kartye said it all comes down to a mix of accumulated knowledge and requested material.

As AC’s NLPC continues to expand its reach, such feedback is even more important, Kartye said.

“What we were hearing from a lot of the people who serve on nonprofit boards in this community is about not knowing how to read a financial statement,” Kartye said. “That is a very important role and responsibility for any board member, so we’re working the NPLC to ensure we’re meeting those needs.

“We want to make sure they have the tools and resources to be successful in their endeavors.”

The course schedule for the 2024-2025 year is as follows:

Fall 2024 Courses:

Nonprofit Financial Management (Core class), Sept. 9, 16, 23 and 30, 9-11 a.m.

Mental Health First Aid for Adults (Elective), Sept. 12, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Donor Development: The Fundraising Cycle (Core class), Oct. 2 and 9, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Board Governance Essentials (Core class), Nov. 7 and 14, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Lunch & Learn: Leader Burnout and Resilience (Elective), Dec. 4, 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.

Spring 2025 Courses:

NPLC Biennial Conference, Jan. 31, 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Youth Mental Health First Aid (Elective), Feb. 6, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Nonprofit Marketing and Communication (Core class), Feb. 20, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

High-Impact Leadership (Core Class), March 19 and 26, 1-5 p.m.

Human Resources Management (Core class), April 23 and 30, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m.

Communication for Leaders (Elective), May 14 and 21, 1-5 p.m.

For information regarding Angelina College’s Nonprofit Leadership Center, email nonprofit@angelina.edu or visit the web page at https://www.angelina.edu/nonprofit-leadership-center/