Board members play a critical role in the success of organizations. Strong, knowledgeable boards help organizations gain credibility, build financial resources by providing access to the community, and serve as advocates and ambassadors of the organization. To help nonprofits increase the effectiveness and leadership capacity of their boards, we're offering this workshop specifically geared for board members who are in leadership positions or who are moving towards leadership roles on nonprofit boards as officers or committee chairs. Topics include a review of board officer roles and responsibilities, committee chair accountabilities, attributes of effective board and committee leaders, a self-assessment leadership instrument, advanced Roberts Rules of Order training, planning processes and tools, leading and conducting effective meetings, group communications, appraising board and committee effectiveness, and other topics of interest as identified by workshop participants.

The workshop will be led by Karl Yena. Karl retired from RJR Nabisco, Inc. as Director of Worldwide Organization Development & Training. He served over 20 years as a senior level manager providing consulting services to RJR corporate and operating company management of Del Monte, Nabisco, Sea Land Shipping , Kentucky Fried Chicken, etc. on a national and international (over 30 countries) basis in the areas of strategic and operational planning, organizational analysis, staffing structure, training and leadership development. Now an avid volunteer, Karl works annually with over 100 nonprofits in North Carolina and across the region, providing on-going mentoring/coaching and assistance and guidance on all areas of nonprofit management and governance. He currently Chairs one board and serves on ten local nonprofit boards, including Komen Breast Cancer, Shepherd's Center, Leadership Winston-Salem, Second Harvest Food Bank, Forsyth County Youth Council, and Twin City Stage. Over the past 30 years, he has served on over 200 non-profit Boards. 

We were very excited that our Neighboring Collaborative in the Waughtown neighborhood was featured in a front-page cover story in the Winston-Salem Chronicle last week. The story covered the Collaborative's first Community Meal, which we held on January 30th.  Hosted by Exodus Baptist Church, the event drew nearly 40 neighbors from the Forest Park area of Waughtown together for a free meal and conversation about the future of the neighborhood. Our Neighboring VISTA member, Morgan Owen, facilitated a discussion about the needs of the community, and also debriefed them on a survey neighbors had completed earlier about volunteer-driven projects that they are interested in starting. The survey also assessed which residents have the skills already to help make the projects work. We look forward to having similar meetings the last Monday of every month to help forward this work. If you're interested in getting involved, don't hesitate to contact Morgan Owen or call her at 336-724-2866.

AlertTrax is a service designed to facilitate easy and efficient communications between organizations and their customers, staff, and members through SMS messaging and social media management. Subscribers opt in to the free service by SMS code (that AlertTrax gives you to distribute) or by completing their profiles on line. They can then receive messages as scheduled or initiated from the host organization. AlertTrax allows nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and schools to use their service free of charge!  Using this kind of service can help you get important news and updates to your subscribers cheaply and easily.

You can learn more about AlertTrax on their website. To get started, e-mail AlertTrax to get an account set up for your organization, school, or church.

While we all know that volunteering can "make you feel good," a recent report published in the December 2011 issue of The International Journal of Person Centered Medicine, demonstrated that people who give back to others do actually lead happier and healthier lives than those who do not volunteer. At a time when Americans are under stress like never before, the study discusses the need for primary care physicians to share the physical and mental health benefits of volunteering with their patients. The study indicated that volunteering is particularly beneficial for patients with mild to moderate depression, the elderly, and for those with chronic diseases and substance abuse problems. 

The report is the fifth annual article to examine the most recent research on the health impact of altruism. The report reviewed more than 50 studies published during the past 40 years on the connection between altruism and physical and mental well-being. To read a full article on the study and its results, click here.

Many of us are in the process of creating our annual reports for the year, or even debating if it is worth doing one. Annual reports can be a valuable tool for highlighting your organization's impact to current and potential supporters. However, for some, the annual report has become bland and boring. Your donors may even be able to predict what you will send out - same design, typography, and images you have been using for years.