New Challenges, Stronger Organizations

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Colorado Mountain College, Rifle, CO

The Regional Leadership Committee of the Western Slope invites you to a gathering of nonprofit leaders seeking to strengthen organizations and regional collaboration during a day of exploration, skill building and opportunities to build you, your staff and the region! 

CRC’s Regional Leadership Committees work together to support collaborations that result in stronger nonprofits throughout their regions. Local communities decide on projects and events to bring to fruition, and seek to ensure the flow of information, resources and opportunities to all nonprofits. 

In preparation for the 2024 Western Slope Rural Philanthropy Days, New Challenges, Stronger Organizations is designed to highlight some of the important trends in the region, including 

  • Learnings from the Western Slope Capacity Building Program of 2022
  • Trends in retaining staff through new ways of envisioning nonprofit work culture and organizational structures
  • The latest news on funding opportunities from Western Slope funders
  • How organizations are building strength by sharing resources, including space, back office functions, or even fundraising activities
  • The opportunity to let planners of Rural Philanthropy Day know which topics you would like to see offered in workshops

We will start the day with an interactive panel that will explore the ways in which the Western Slope Capacity Building Program made a difference in the lives of the people and their organizations who participated, with an eye toward what this might mean for the future. There will be morning and afternoon participatory workshop sessions with topics on Retaining Staff, Sustaining Nonprofit Leaders, the Funding Landscape and Resource Sharing Among Organizations. The end of the day will allow for networking and discussion and a synthesizing presentation about what will come out of our time together. Throughout the day, talented performance artist and teacher Merrily Talbot will enliven our bodies and our hearts with exercises to put us all in the mood for learning!

If cost or travel is a barrier to your participation, please email Natalie at email hidden; JavaScript is required

Morning Sessions:

This session will focus on the urgency of more effectively sustaining our leaders, particularly Executive Directors. Sarah Amberg, ED of ED will share their experiences, and then participants will work in small groups to assess how supportive your organization is, or could be, in supporting your key leaders. 

Speakers:

  • Sarah Amberg, Executive Director, Youth Power365
  • April-Dawn Knudsen, Consultant and Executive Director, Summit Habitat for Humanity

This session will explore some of the creative ways that nonprofits are finding to retain staff in an era of high turnover. Two EDs will share their experiences and reflect on how new ways of creating work cultures and structuring organizations can build thriving organizations without high end salaries.

Facilitator: Lisa Duran, Assistant Director of Statewide Education, CRC

Speakers: 

    • Hali Nurnberg, ED, Western Slope Counseling and Education Center
    • Michelle Stecher, ED Mountain Youth

Afternoon Sessions:

A Western Slope funder and her colleague will share how the funding landscape is changing and changing again. Information will include how to access new government funding, where information can be found and how funding and fundraising might become a shared endeavor.

Facilitator: Rebecca Gorrell, Chief Program Officer, CRC; 

Speaker: Tedi Gillespie, Western Colorado Community Foundation

Nonprofits have always been creative about sustaining themselves on a shoe string. This workshop will explore how some Western Slope organizations have created successful partnerships through sharing functions, resources or space, and other assets.

Facilitator: April-Dawn Knudsen, Consultant and Executive Director, Summit Habitat for Humanity

Register Now

July 19th, 2023 | 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Colorado Mountain College | 3695 Airport Rd | Rifle, CO

Registration Fee | Lunch Included

Early Bird: $75

Western slope based participant: $100

Statewide Participant: $125

Questions? Please Contact:

Natalie Georgalas
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