Nonprofit Professional Development Pillars

“In order for nonprofit professional development opportunities to be strategically optimized, they have to link skill-building with actionable steps that transform practices.”

Nonprofit professional development opportunities for staff members are often unaffordable for some nonprofits. Attending strategically aligned conferences is one cost-effective way to enhance the skill sets of employees and raise awareness about current trends in the nonprofit field.

Government & Nonprofit Partnerships

The Center for Non-Profits in New Jersey recently held its annual conference. The theme was Connect, Act, and Spark. In addition to updating participants on the latest trends in the nonprofit field, the Center provided multiple nonprofit professional development opportunities for the attendees.

The morning speaker, New Jersey Secretary of State, The Honorable Tahesha Way, noted that nonprofits are essential drivers of economic vitality and civic engagement. They are also essential partners for important initiatives such as the rollout of the Census. 

The panel that followed elaborated further on the importance of building partnerships between the government and nonprofits. Senator Thomas H. Kean, Jr., Lauren Zyriek, Deputy Chief of Staff, New Jersey Department of State, and Assemblywoman Carol A. Murphy served on the panel. Jon Shure, Senior Director from Toft Communication, was the moderator. 

The panel members noted that nonprofits are critical partners in the provision of critical services and programs. The government does not have the existing capacity to deliver these services, but nonprofits have the expertise needed to meet the needs of communities. Lauren Zyriek, Deputy Chief of Staff, touched upon how nonprofits facilitate transparency and increase service access to the various demographics they represent. Senator Kean also noted that nonprofits are nimble, efficient, and have a lasting impact.

Senator Kean also made a call to action. He asked the audience to mobilize support around the Charitable Deduction Bill. It was also noted that it takes 41 votes in the Assembly for the bill to pass, 21 in the Senate, and 1 vote from the governor.  

Concern was also raised about underpaid nonprofit workers and organizations that are understaffed. A member of the audience noted that the State’s budget needs to reflect funding support for direct care workers in nonprofits and budgetary allocations for nonprofits should be increased to keep up with the rising minimum wage. 

Importance of Nonprofit and Government Partnerships

A critical takeaway from the morning session is the growing importance of paying attention to nonprofit and government partnerships. Despite the growing need to invest in building nonprofit and government funding and capacity, budgetary investments in social protection are decreasing. Under-resourced public agencies and nonprofits have restructured and repurposed antiquated technology systems, managed growing workloads to the point of overextending staff, and implemented internal draconian cost-cutting measures for over 30 years. The “doing more with less” approach has been maxed out and is resulting in systemic, but preventable, inefficiencies that are threatening the quality of care. This already fragile infrastructure is facing further funding reductions that have the potential of resulting in service reductions. 

For additional information on some of the challenges nonprofits and government are facing in their collaborations, please read White Paper: Compromised Funding and Capacity for Nonprofits and Government. 

Impact Through Data

After lunch, Ann Nguyen, Technical and Creative Director at Whole Whale, focused on the Mission, Metrics, and Message: Getting Your Impact Across with Data. She equated the utilization of data with democratization. Ms. Nguyenn referenced a quote from William H. Hastie,  “Democracy is a process, not a static condition. It is becoming, rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is an eternal struggle.” Then, she went on to note how important it is to honestly contextualize and frame data while avoiding vanity metrics such as “likes” and “followers”. She also discussed how to appropriately share data based on the corresponding level of seniority. Lastly, she noted the connection between transparency and the utilization of data. 

Workshops:

Multiple nonprofit professional development opportunities were also afforded to participants. Several workshops helped participants develop skills they can bring back to their organizations. Skills included fundraising, addressing capacity issues, trends in the field, financing, diversity and inclusion, social entrepreneurship, management, and HR issues, the utilization of data in different circumstances, public policy, marketing, and the Census. 

Bringing Information Back to the Organization: 

In order for professional development opportunities to be strategically optimized, they have to link skill-building with actionable steps that transform practices. Thus, skills-building in organizations requires that participants assess their professional development opportunities before attending conferences to see if they are aligned with the needs of the organization and the employee’s professional development goals.

In order to assess how to best utilize the information gathered in a conference, employees should ask themselves the following questions: 

* What new things did I learn? 

* Does the information I gathered require a change in organizational practices? If so, what steps need to be followed and who should be involved in making the change in the organization? How can the lessons I learned be integrated into organizational systems?

* Does the information I gathered affirm that the organization is implementing best practices optimally? If so, how can we celebrate our accomplishments? If not, what can we do to improve practices? 

* How can I share lessons learned with my peers to support them in their professional development journey?

* What helped me realign and reconnect with my work and what can help my peers reconnect with the mission of the organization?

* Did I establish any connections with potential partners for the organization and how can the organization tap into those partnerships? 

* What impact will this change have on workflow, the organizational culture, clients, and quality?

* How much will the change cost and, if there is a cost associated, where is the money coming from?

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