CSM Hosted Conference Designed to Assist Nonprofits

More Than 150 Attended ‘Jumpstart Your Leadership!’

More than 150 nonprofit employees and supporters participated in this year’s annual Nonprofit Institute Conference at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM). The seventh annual conference, which featured local experts on nonprofits and leadership issues, was held April 28 at CSM’s La Plata Campus.

“This year’s Nonprofit Institute Conference, Jumpstart Leadership, was a great success,” said Barbara Ives, CSM director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships. “This conference focused on refreshing leadership skills, board development and branding importance. Events like this provide the nonprofit organization board members, executive directors and staff members opportunities to network, collaborate with other nonprofits and share best practices. The panel discussion this year was especially enlightening with five recognized nonprofit community leaders sharing insights on leadership, some of their leadership challenges and how they overcame them and their greatest successes. It was truly a great learning and sharing day for all that attended.”

Conference participants chose from a variety of workshops, including workshops on social media analytics, content marketing, mission-driven branding, fundraising development, a board’s role in advancement and development, unemployment insurance, building diversity, nonprofit financial literacy, strategic planning, board recruitment, how to be an effective board member, leadership during a crisis and cultivating staff and volunteers for leadership roles.

Following lunch, the conference culminated with a panel discussion on leadership in the nonprofit community featuring Director of Hospice of St. Mary’s Kathy Franzen, CEO of Walden/Sierra Dr. Kathy O’Brien, U.S. Navy veteran and veteran advocate Bill Buffington, Southern Maryland Regional Director for the Small Business Development Center Ellen Flowers-Fields and founder of Farming 4 Hunger Bernie Fowler Jr. The video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/jO_m8pmXL-U.

Ives said that planning for next year’s conference has already begun. In response to feedback that suggested that late winter would fit in better with nonprofit schedules, the conference in 2018 is being planned for late February instead of April.

The Nonprofit Institute was established by the College of Southern Maryland to assist nonprofit organizations throughout the region to enhance their effectiveness and achieve success in fulfilling their missions. For information about programs sponsored by the Nonprofit Institute, visit http://www.csmd.edu/community/ institutes/nonprofit- institute/.

To view a gallery of photos from the event, visit http://csmphoto.zenfolio.com/ 17npi.