Seminars 2003 - 2004

Beginning in May, 2002 The School of Public Affairs at Baruch College has sponsored a series of Seminars that have addressed topics of interest and concern to New York City’s nonprofit community.

October 3, 2003
CREATING A THEORY OF CHANGE FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
Panel:Kim Sabo, Ph.D, Kim Sabo Consulting Helene Clark, Ph. D, Director, ActKnowledge, Inc.

Summary: Drs. Sabo and Clark introduced the Seminar participants to Program Logic Models and Logic Models as Planning and Evaluation Tools. They then shared practical examples of how these practices had been applied at specific nonprofit organizations before having small groups use this approach to solve specific problems. Each participant left the Seminar equipped to apply Logic Models within their own organizations.

October 22, 2003
LEGAL AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR NONPROFIT MERGERS
Moderator: Joseph Cruickshank, School of Public Affairs Panel: Sean Delany, Executive Director, Lawyers Alliance for New York, Inc. Ben Esner, Deputy Director, Independence Community Foundation Sr. Pauletter LoMonaco, Executive Director, Good Shepherd Services Robert McMahon, Executive Director, St. Christopher-Ottilie

Summary: This presentation looked at nonprofit mergers first from the point of view of the legal requirements involved in this action and how funders view and can assist mergers. Then two of New York City’s most senior nonprofit leaders took the seminar participants through the several mergers they had accomplished, highlighting the practical and human considerations they had experienced.

November 20, 2003
FISCAL OVERSIGHT RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE NONPROFIT BOARD
Moderator: Stan Altman, Dean, Baruch College School of Public Affairs Keynote Speaker: Julie L. Floch, CPA, Director of Not-for-Profit Services, Eisner LLP

Summary: This Evening of Excellence presentation reviewed the legal and practical responsibilities of Board members of nonprofit organizations. Ms. Floch highlighted that fact that while new accountability requirements make Board service appear daunting, in fact this development is helping define the role that Board members have in the overall work of nonprofit organizations.

December 3, 2003
HOW TO BURNOUT PROOF YOUR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION
Panel: Gene Gitelson, Career Consultant & Executive Coach Janis Orlofsky, Licensed Clinical Social Worker Nancy Wackstein, Executive Director, United Neighborhood Houses of NY

Summary: The 3rd December proved to be just the right timing for a seminar with a topic How to Burnout Proof Your Nonprofit Organization. Twenty-five people gathered in the conference room to hear what Gene Gitelson, Janis Orlofsky and Nancy Wackstein had to say on the subject.

The panelists first talked about some factors leading to organizational burnout: chronically difficult job demands, low resources, conflicts between people, divergence between values.

How can we overcome all of these threats that take away our energy and make us so prone to stress and fatigue? Many ways were brought forward in the flow of the lecture. We could change the way we do repetitive tasks. We could do muscle relaxation. Visual imagery could be summoned to alleviate tension. We could try decompression on our way to work. We could take part in leisure activities.

Later on Gene Gitelson posed some important questions and talked about their pertinence to the topic at issue. Are we engaged in a meaningful work? What are our skills and do they match with our job? The bigger these gaps are the more we expose ourselves to burnout. Nothing is more conducive to boredom and dissatisfaction than the meaningless work and the sense of no direction of our organization. Therefore it is crucial to know where we are headed and what we want in the long run, especially if we are the leaders of a nonprofit entity.

Little things can make a big difference – this was another line of thought intertwined in the discourse. There are numerous things that nonprofit leaders can do to ease the tension and pressure at the workplace. Do you want your employees to take pleasure in their work? If so, give them recognition, give them some award, throw a party for them every now and then. Bring a human touch to the daily routine. Learn to appreciate your people. Promote learning for them, provide structures for communication within the organization, stay connected. Last but not least - do not forget yourself. If you feel stressed out, then take a vacation. Do not come to the office on the weekend. Spend more time with your family. Do something nice for yourself at least once a month.

How to Burnout Proof Your Nonprofit Organization? There is no panacea to the problem. But there are numerous things we can do and the speakers brought forward the most important of them. The Q&A part proved that the people in the audience were satisfied with what they had just heard.

February 11, 2004
BAGEL BREAKFAST WITH ROB CARMONA

Summary: Robert Carmona, President and CEO of STRIVE National, talked about the challenges facing nonprofit organizations in 2004 and how responses to those challenges are created and implemented. Themes in his presentation included the need for a strong and involved Board, constant fundraising, a clear and specific mission, and the ongoing need for passion to make the services efficient.

March 10, 2004
CONSULTING DAY

Summary: Consulting Day was the second event of this kind at the School of Public Affairs. Last year’s Consulting Day success informed us that there is huge interest on the part of nonprofit professionals for this type of service. That is why we exerted great effort to carefully prepare the second round of this event. We invited more than 30 consultants who dedicated their time during either the morning (9.00 am to 12.00 pm) or the afternoon sessions (1.00 pm to 4.00 pm). Those participating included Baruch College Professors: Susan Chambre, Joseph Cruickshank, Bill Ferns, Jack Krauskopf, Fred Lane, Lynne Weikart, and Dan Williams.

A quick look into the spacious room in the Vertical Campus revealed a vibrant working atmosphere: spread around at separate tables were the consultants each one engaged in a thoughtful conversation with their client. The 45-minute one-on-one sessions ranged in topics such as Capacity Building, Entrepreneurship, Managing Volunteers, Personal Career Management, How to Approach Foundations, Accounting, Fundraising, Personnel Management, Program Evaluation, Strategic Planning, Technology Essentials for Nonprofit Management, Contracting with New York State and New York City and many others. Most of the participants had made a list of questions that they needed advice for; still those who did not come so prepared were no less satisfied with what they learned. The most enthusiastic participants scheduled more than one session - it was not only a day of real professional consultation provided free of charge, but it was a wonderful opportunity to meet new people, network and secure future contacts in their specific field.

Whether this year’s Consulting Day was a successful event can be judged by just how many participants wanted to know when the next such day is scheduled - they did not want to miss it!