Board Leadership Institute
A strong board is key for a successful nonprofit.
The nonprofit board is charged with:
- Legal, fiduciary oversight
- Attracting and stewarding resources
- Planning and setting strategic direction
- Hiring and evaluating the chief executive
Your leadership team can learn and adopt the practices of high performing boards.
Note: Applications for 2023 BLI - Santa Barbara Cohort have been closed.
We are currently recruiting for the Cohort II of the 2023 Board Leadeship Institute with a deadline to apply of Friday, June 16, 2023 no later than 12:00 noon. Most meetings will be hosted via Zoom, with the final module hosted in-person. This cohort will be limited to Santa Barbara County Headquartered nonprofit organizations.
About the Board Leadership Institute
The Center for Nonprofit Leadership at California Lutheran is pleased to announce the application process for the 2023 cohort of the Board Leadership Institute. This five-month certificate program will enhance the knowledge and skills among leadership teams comprised of nonprofit board members and their head of staff (CEO or Executive Directors).
Download the 2023 cohort #2 flyer
Thank You to Our Partners!
This program is generously underwritten by the Amgen Foundation and the Santa Barbara
Foundation..
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Certification
Each organization, as well as each fully participating board and staff leader, will receive a Certificate of Completion, useful for resumes, references, and grant applications. All Certificate holders will be listed on the Center for Nonprofit Leadership’s website.
Who Should Attend?
This cohort is open to Santa Barbara County headquartered nonprofit organizations. Each participating organization is required to send a leadership team of two to three board members and the organization’s current head of staff (CEO or Executive Director). Ideally this is a mix of seasoned board members and emerging leaders. For the greatest impact, the board chair is strongly encouraged to be part of this group. We ask that the team remain consistent through the life of the program; and each person make every effort to attend all sessions to offer the greatest depth and continuity to the Board Leadership Institute experience.
How to Apply
Applications for remaining team slots are accepted on a rolling basis.
The deadline to submit an application for the next cohort is 12:00 noon Friday, June 16, 2023.
Location, Dates and Times
The 2023 cohort of the Board Leadership Institute will be hosted primarily via Zoom. There will be a mandatory 75-minute Zoom-based orientation to launch the program. Gatherings for Modules I-IV of the program will be conducted each month as two 2-hour sessions from 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Zoom with subject matter experts, tools & templates and interactive team excercises. We kindly ask that all participants log in no later than 8:45 a.m. to get settled and to network with other program participants. The final Module will be conducted in-person as a single session from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Zoom log-in information will be sent prior to the orientation.
Important Dates
-
Mandatory Orientation
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Log-in: 9:45 a.m. | Session 10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. -
Board Service 101
Tuesdays - July 18 & 25
Log-in: 8:45 a.m. | Session 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. -
Strategy, Planning & Strategic Recruitment
Tuesdays - August 22 & 29
Log-in: 8:45 a.m. | Session 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Board/Staff Partnership
Tuesdays - September 19 & 26
Log-in: 8:45 a.m. | Session 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. -
Financial Oversight
Tuesdays - October 17 & 24
Log-in: 8:45 a.m. | Session 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. -
Development & Fundraising
Tuesday - November 14
Arrive: 8:45 a.m. | Session 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.In-Person: TBD - Santa Barbara County Location
Pricing/Cost
Program fees include all facilitated sessions, digital program materials, and access to an online library of resources.
For a team of up to four (4):
Not-Yet-an-Organizational Member: $150 per team
CNL Organizational Members: no additional fee to participate
Meet the Faculty

Caryn Bosson
Principal, Caryn Bosson Consulting

René Castro, MSW
Senior Consultant, Equity Praxis Group

David Greco
President & CEO, Social Sector Partners and Professional Speaker

Doug Green

Judy Guillermo-Newton, MFT
Senior Consultant, Equity Praxis Group

Becca Merrell, CFRE
Executive Vice President, Central Coast Region of Netzel Grigsby Associates

Norbert Tan
Principal, S.B. Lemons & Company

Jarrod Schwartz
Founder and Principal Consultant, Equity Praxis Group

Steve Willmont
Vice President, Netzel Grigsby Associates