2024

Native Nonprofit Learning Series Report

for Tribal & Native Nonprofits & Charities

The Native Nonprofit Learning Series (NNLS) was delivered over six months by Native Action Network (NAN), a Native-led nonprofit with a 22-year history of service to the Native community. The NNLS provided capacity-building services for Native organizations comprising nonprofit corporations, charities, and “foreign entities,” as tribally-founded organizations are classified. Through training and resource sharing, the NNLS expanded culturally appropriate capacity building and contributed to increased compliance with state law.

The report is intended to highlight the impact of the capacity-building training series for participating organizations. Findings will be used to advance future programming and to share teachings with the broader community.

You can read the complete report here.

2023

Work Effectively for Bigger Impact

Native Action Network, through a partnership with the Washington Office of the Secretary of State, offered a learning series for Native nonprofit leaders that ran from January - May 2023. The Nonprofit Learning Series gave information and tools to strengthen the nonprofit practice of Native nonprofit leaders, or those leaders working within Native-led or Native-focused organizations. It provides practical, hands-on, remote learning to help you learn at your desk.

We also created short videos related to Native nonprofit compliance:

Nonprofit Compliance in Washington State

Nonprofit Finance: Reading Key Financial Statements

Nonprofit law: Keeping your organization in good standing


Nonprofit Boards - January 12

Handout

Recording

Go farther by watching videos on:

The Role of the Board

How to build an effective board

Know the job

Nonprofit Finance - February 9

Handout

Recording

I really like the finance learning tools on Propel Nonprofits. You may find something helpful there as you strengthen your finance practice.

Nonprofit Law - April 13

Recording

Handout

Slides in handout form

Nonprofit Fundraising - May 4

Recording

Slides

Workbook

Nonprofit Boards | How To Build a Powerhouse Team

What you need to know to achieve your mission

January 12, 2023 3:00-5:00pm

Presenters: Nancy Bacon and Melanie Montgomery

Effective boards bring an energy to their work. They make good decisions on behalf of their mission. They are nimble, influential, effective, and connected. You may have seen such a board in your community—maybe you serve on one. If so, you know the joy that comes when a group of people comes together and really makes a difference.

 In Nonprofit Boards, we will talk about how to build and sustain an effective board. By the end of the class, you will be able to:

·        Describe the job of a board member

·        Explain ways to identify people to recruit to serve on your board

·        Create a board structure, including meetings and committees, to make progress

·        Name what board members need to know to stay compliant with the law

 Bring your questions and ideas—this is an interactive session with time to talk about challenges and opportunities.

Presenters

Nancy Bacon is a nonprofit educator who has trained hundreds of board members across Washington. Since 1996, Nancy has served in the roles of board member, chair, Executive Director, program director, volunteer, and nonprofit cheerleader. She has centered nonprofit teaching around helping rural, all-volunteer, and historically-marginalized nonprofit leaders get the information and tools they need to thrive. Nancy co-hosts the Nonprofit Radio Show, providing regular free nonprofit learning opportunities. She has created two curricula on boards: Boards in Gear and the Nonprofit Board Certificate Course. www.nancybacon.com

Melanie Montgomery is a member of the Quinault Indian Nation and serves on the board of Native Action Network, a nonprofit focused on facilitating leadership development and creating opportunities for Native womxn. She is an Associate with the Shandel Group, where she guides individuals and organizations through their journey of leadership development via training and executive coaching as well as organizational development initiatives. Before transitioning into consulting, Melanie spent 17 years building a career in the Hospitality and Gaming industries. She served in many different capacities, including Executive Leadership, Hospitality Management, Tribal Gaming and Human Resources. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Business Management and a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership. www.shandelgroup.com.

Nonprofit Finance | Understanding the Money of Your Organization

February 9, 2023 3:00-5:00pm

Presenter: Nancy Bacon 

Money is the fuel that drives your organization forward. You need to understand the tools nonprofits use to track, manage, and oversee money if you are going to make the best decisions for your organization. Nonprofit Finance is designed to give nonprofit staff and board members the knowledge and opportunity to practice they need to strengthen their organization’s financial literacy. By the end of the session, you will be able to show your colleagues what you know about your organization’s financial picture.

Nonprofit Finance is an interactive learning event that covers these topics:

·        Financial statements (Balance Sheet & Income Statement)

·        Cash flow

·        Budget

·        Data

·        Oversight

Presenter

Nancy Bacon is a nonprofit educator who has trained hundreds of board members across Washington. Since 1996, Nancy has served in the roles of board member, chair, Executive Director, program director, volunteer, and nonprofit cheerleader. She has centered nonprofit teaching around helping rural, all-volunteer, and historically-marginalized nonprofit leaders get the information and tools they need to thrive. Nancy co-hosts the Nonprofit Radio Show, providing regular free nonprofit learning opportunities. Originally a non-finance person, Nancy loves teaching finance to non-finance people. 

The Accidental Grant Writer | Writing Proposals with Purpose

March 2, 2023 3-5 p.m.

Presenter: Katie Howard

If you’re working or volunteering in the nonprofit sector, odds are you’ll find yourself writing or helping with a grant proposal someday. You might even inherit the responsibility of writing all of your organization’s grants! If grants feel like a mystery, this workshop is for you! Designed for beginners or for people who are not having the grant success they desire, this workshop will introduce participants to the terminology, tasks, and best practices of grant writing. 

Throughout our two hours together, participants will learn tips and tricks that will help you pursue the right grants at the right time. Participants will also have the opportunity to get into the mind of the grant reviewer through a hands-on exercise where you'll read and score a grant proposal and discuss it with other learners. You will leave with a deeper understanding of grant proposals, greater confidence, and tools you can put to work as you start writing grants.

Presenter

Katie Howard has been writing proposals for more than 20 years. She trains and manages a team of eight grant writers and, with the help of this team, has secured more than $315 million in grant and contract awards. She has trained thousands of nonprofits in grant writing skills since 2004, and she has worked with American Indian and Alaska Native communities since 2007.

Nonprofit Law | What you need to know to stay compliant

April 13, 2023 3:00-5:00pm 

Presenter: Nancy Bacon  

 While you are busy achieving your mission, you also need to make sure you are following the law. We’ve made it easier for you to breaking down what every nonprofit needs to be paying attention to when it comes to state and federal law.

Nonprofit Law is an interactive learning event that covers these topics:

·        State law: incorporation, bylaws, taxes, registration, and worker-related rules

·        Federal law: annual filing, politics & lobbying, donations, donor restrictions

·        Native/Tribal-based nonprofits: what you need to know

Come with your questions. We’ll work to get you answers.

Presenter

Fundraising | Generosity & Gratitude: Essentials for Fundraising

May 4, 2023 3:00-5:00pm

The prospect of raising friends and funds to fuel your nonprofit organization can be a daunting one. But it doesn’t have to be! This training helps participants master the skills essential to building relationships to raise money for your mission.

Participants will leave with new confidence, skills, and tools to:

  • design a fundraising plan that fits your organization’s age, budget, and goals;

  • learn the three crucial elements of storytelling;

  • develop and practice telling your story; and

  • put gratitude into action.

Presenter

Katie Howard has been writing proposals for more than 20 years. She trains and manages a team of eight grant writers and, with the help of this team, has secured more than $315 million in grant and contract awards. She has trained thousands of nonprofits in grant writing skills since 2004, and she has worked with American Indian and Alaska Native communities since 2007.

Jacob Ferrari is inspired by nonprofit organizations, their impact, their leadership, and their passion. His primary practice works with nonprofits at every growth stage which includes formation, application for tax exemption, board governance, and corporate exit plans. He prides himself on listening to clients, counseling them through difficulties, and being a trustworthy voice in all of his clients’ endeavors. He attended University of California, Los Angeles, earning a B.A. in American Literature and Culture, cum laude, 2013, and University of Washington School of Law, JD, 2016. He has been a member of the Washington State Bar since 2016.