2008 Regional Conferences

Risk Management & Finance Essentials for Nonprofit Leaders

June 11, 2008 • University of Arkansas Extension Service Office • Little Rock, AR


The Center is grateful to the Public Entity Risk Institute for its generous sponsorship of this conference.

I attended the regional conference in Denver last week. Thank you for putting together such an informative day! It was just what I needed to help get our agency going in the right direction in looking at these risk issues.

— Tamra Schmitt, Adoption Alliance, Denver, CO

For the second year in a row, the Nonprofit Risk Management Center and the Arkansas Coalition for Excellence are teaming up to present a conference designed to help nonprofit leaders effectively integrate sound finance and risk management principles into day-to-day operations. This year we’ll be presenting the program in two locations: Little Rock (on June 11) and Springdale (on June 12). The conference offers a time and place for the sharing of ideas, the opportunity to acquire information for informed decision-making and a welcoming environment for champions of effective financial and risk management in the nonprofit sector. The conference is designed for nonprofit CFOs, finance professionals, CEOs, program managers, board members, department heads and professional advisors serving nonprofit organizations. Veteran nonprofit professionals, as well as new managers, will feel at home at this challenging, information-packed educational event. Join us in Little Rock or Springdale this June for an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen the mission of your nonprofit.

This Training Is for You

  • executive directors
  • chief operating officers
  • chief financial officers and treasurers
  • fiscal managers
  • professional risk managers
  • program managers
  • board members
  • advisors to nonprofits

Conference Agenda

8:00–9:00 am Registration
9:00–9:15 am

Welcome

Hunter Phillips Goodman, Executive Director, Arkansas Coalition for Excellence
9:15–10:30 am

Good Governance, Financial Health and Mission: Perfect Harmony or Perfect Storm?

Nonprofits are facing greater scrutiny than ever in how they manage their organizations and their finances to achieve their missions. Your board members may be dedicated to mission, excellent ambassadors and donors of substantial time and money, but are they engaged in basic financial oversight? Aware of best practices in governance? This session will illuminate the risks facing organizations in today's environment and how and why paying careful attention to good governance practice is good risk management.

Speaker: Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director, Nonprofit Risk Management Center
10:45–12:30 am

Effective and Legal Employment Practices: Hot Topics, Emerging Issues and Proven Strategies

This session will explore employment topics on the radar screen for 2008. What risks lurk in your current employment practices? What changes in law and regulation are most likely to result in errors on the part of even a dedicated nonprofit leader? Learn what your organization can and must do to “take the high road” with its employees while remaining safely within the lanes of legal conduct.

Speaker: Jennifer Chandler Hauge
12:30–1:15 pm Buffet Lunch
1:30–3:00 pm

Key Risk Management Policies: What Are They and How Do I Get Started?

Designing corporate policies that will keep your nonprofit out of trouble sounds like a great idea, but how exactly can that be accomplished? Using real-life situations that have derailed other nonprofits, this workshop will identify critical policies that every nonprofit needs to have in their arsenal of risk management strategies. Workshop participants will also gain valuable insight in techniques for working with board members and staff to integrate risk management policies into the nonprofit’s everyday operations.

Speaker: Melanie Lockwood Herman
3:00–4:00 pm

The New 990: Friend or Foe? What You Need to Know to Prepare Your Organization and the Board for the Road Ahead

The IRS released the new Form 990 on December 20th, 2007. The new form will be required beginning in 2009 (Covering tax year 2008). This workshop will give your organization’s staff and board members a head start in preparing for the significant reporting changes required by the new IRS Form 990, and provide background on policy and procedural changes helpful in ensuring compliance with the new requirements. As a bonus you’ll also learn how to turn your organization’s annual financial reporting process into a significant risk management tool.

Speaker: Jennifer Chandler Hauge
4:00 pm

Tools You Can Use!

During this session the conference faculty will show live demonstrations of free and affordable online tools that you can use to strengthen your human resource, risk management and governance practices. You’ll leave this session ready to log in when you return to your office!
4:30 pm

Presentation of Certificates

About the Faculty

Jennifer Chandler Hauge, Esq. is the former Assistant Director of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector, which was convened by Independent Sector (Washington, D.C.) to present recommendations to Congress and the nonprofit sector on charity reforms, among them self-regulation, accountability, and financial reporting. Prior to her service at Independent Sector, Jennifer’ served as Deputy Director of the Pro Bono Partnership, a tax-exempt legal services organization that provides pro bono legal assistance to public charities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Jennifer is a frequent presenter at national and regional conferences on employment law topics and governance topics as they impact the nonprofit sector. She has taught courses at the Rutgers School of Social Work, Continuing Education program, on the legal and ethical responsibilities of social workers, and is the author of two texts on employment law for nonprofits: Taking the High Road: A Guide to Effective and Legal Employment Practices for Nonprofits, published by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Washington, D.C. and Hiring, Firing and Risk Management, published by the Center for Non Profit Corporations, New Brunswick, New Jersey. She received her undergraduate degree in French and English with Distinction from Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH) and her JD from Boston College (Newton, MA). Jenny's a member of the New York, New Jersey and American Bar Associations.

Melanie Lockwood Herman, Esq. serves as Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, a Washington, DC-based resource center serving the nonprofit sector. The Center provides training, technical assistance and informational resources on a wide range of topics, including risk management, liability, employment practices, accountability, insurance, and child abuse prevention. Melanie has spent her entire career in the nonprofit sector and has authored and co-authored more than 15 books covering a wide spectrum of risk management issues. Each year she delivers numerous workshops, seminars and keynote presentations on risk management, liability and insurance topics. Her most recent books are Taking the High Road: A Guide to Effective and Legal Employment Practices for Nonprofits (2nd Edition), and Pillars of Accountability: A Risk Management Guide for Nonprofit Boards (2nd Edition). Melanie earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Affairs from the American University (Washington, DC) and a Juris Doctor from George Mason University (Arlington, VA). She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association.

Conference Workshops

  • Good Governance, Financial Health and Mission: Perfect Harmony or Perfect Storm?
  • Effective and Legal Employment Practices: Hot Topics, Emerging Issues and Proven Strategies
  • Key Risk Management Policies: What Are They and How Do I Get Started?
  • The New 990: Friend or Foe? What You Need to Know to Prepare Your Organization and the Board for the Road Ahead
  • Tools You Can Use!

Conference Sponsors

Arkansas Coalition for Excellence

The mission of ACE is to unite Arkansans with a passion for nonprofit organizations. ACE pursues its mission by:

  • Championing excellence in governance, management and programs
  • Promoting the highest standards of financial integrity and stewardship
  • Building the capacity of nonprofits to serve Arkansans
  • Achieving superior performance in the nonprofit sector
  • Improving the quality of life for all Arkansans

For more information about ACE, visit www.acenonprofit.org

Nonprofit Risk Management Center

The Center provides free technical assistance on risk management, liability, and insurance matters; offers interactive risk assessment programs online; publishes easy-to-use written resources; designs and delivers workshops and conferences; and offers competitively priced consulting services. The Center’s library of affordable publications includes more than 20 titles, and its software resources include My Risk Management Plan and the Risk Management Classroom. For more information, visit www.nonprofitrisk.org or call (202) 785-3891.

Arkansas Coalition for Excellence

The Arkansas Coalition for Excellence and Nonprofit Risk Management Center thank our local sponsors for their support of the 2008 Risk Management Essentials for Nonprofit Leaders conferences in Springdale and Little Rock. These organizations are champions of the nonprofit sector in Arkansas, and we appreciate their generosity.

Conference Location

University of Arkansas Extension Service Office
2301 South University Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72204

Conference Registration Fee

  • $70 for each registration if your organization is a member of the Arkansas Coalition for Excellence
  • $95 for the each registration if your organization is not a member

The Conference Registration Fee includes breakfast and lunch. Registrants will also receive a resource guide containing handout materials.

Refund Policy

Cancellations received in writing by June 2, 2008 will be eligible for a refund, minus a $50 processing fee. No refunds will be given after June 2, 2008, however all registrations are transferable.

Questions?

Call (202) 785-3891 or send an email.