Nonprofit Resiliency Institute

About this event

Nonprofit Resiliency Institute

Equipping Ventura County Nonprofits to become financially stronger and more resilient than ever.

Ventura County’s nonprofit organizations and their vibrant missions are critical to our social fabric. The 2017 Thomas Fire revealed the vulnerability of our nonprofit sector, much of which was impacted financially by the disaster which came during peak fundraising season.  But even before the fire, local nonprofits lagged behind our neighboring counties in per capita revenue. Rather than reflecting a lack of donor potential, this shows the need of Ventura County nonprofits to strengthen financial oversight practice, hone their ability to attract local wealth, and build ample operating reserves.

Thanks to funding from Kaiser Permanente and the Amgen Foundation, sixteen local organizations impacted financially by the Thomas Fire will be selected to participate in the 2019 Nonprofit Resiliency Institute. There,  organizational leaders will gain financial management and fundraising strength to better prepare for, withstand, and adapt to future challenges and opportunities.

About the Nonprofit Resiliency Institute

This Institute builds Ventura County’s long-term community recovery and resilience.  Teams from participating organization will work with top nonprofit experts in a tailored, interactive peer learning environment to:

• Assess current organizational financial and fundraising capacity
• Analyze current business model & revenue mix
• Adopt sound financial systems, practices and policies
• Implement fund development strategies to build more unrestricted operating support and operating reserves to better weather future interruptions.

Who Should Apply?

If your organization is based in Ventura County, has been financially impacted by the Thomas Fire, and has full-time paid staff, you are eligible to apply. Each organization is required to send a committed leadership team of staff and board leaders, which includes the Chief Executive to participate in four in-person, half-day sessions spaced six weeks apart, as well as three coaching calls.     

Program Components

• Organizational Assessment & Financial Health Goal Setting
• Training & Peer Learning in Financial Management and Fundraising
• Accountability Coaching to reach Organizational Goals

How to Apply

Participation in the Nonprofit Resiliency Institute is free of charge, thanks to our generous funders. Application deadline for the first cohort is midnight Sunday, January 6, and for the second cohort midnight March 24.

Timeline & Important Dates

All workshops take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cal Lutheran Oxnard campus, rooms 104/105, at 2201 Outlet Drive, Oxnard, CA 93036. Continental breakfast will be served.

Eight organizations will be selected by application to participate in each session free of charge. Educational materials and refreshments included. Participating organizations will go through an assessment and onboarding process, and receive three phone coaching sessions throughout the program.

Thank You to Our Partners!

This program is generously underwritten by Kaiser Permanente Southern California and the Amgen Foundation.

Faculty

Caryn Bosson

Caryn Bosson is the principal of Caryn Bosson Consulting, supporting individuals, teams and nonprofit organizations to achieve their greatest impact. Caryn brings skills and wisdom gained from three decades of successful nonprofit management. Her specialities include executive leadership and coaching, strategic planning, fund development, communications, leadership and organizational development.

Caryn also serves as Community Development Director of The CREW, which since 1991 has provided employment and leadership experience to local youth as they participate in vital conservation work. Caryn’s background includes nearly a decade of senior leadership roles at TreePeople, an urban forestry pioneer in Los Angeles. Prior to that, she founded and led as Executive Director for ten years the innovative Ojai Valley Youth Foundation, which she helped grow into a statewide model for involving young people as partners in strengthening their communities.

Caryn believes in strength-based, shared leadership as the essential way to grow stronger communities and organizations, and in the power we all have to envision and shape a better future. She has been named an Ojai Living Treasure, a Woman of the Ojai, and received the Carla Bard Community Service Award. Caryn has served on several boards in Ojai, where she is an active community volunteer. She has a BA in Literature from UCSB's College of Creative Studies, and a MS in Organizational Leadership from Manhattan College.