Los Alamos Community Foundation Seeks A Foundation Director
The Los Alamos Community Foundation is seeking to hire a Foundation Director. For more information about this position and to apply, please go to the Jobs page.
Posts by David Izraelevitz
October 19, 2017 – Attracting and Nurturing Volunteers – A Conversation
Attracting and Nurturing Volunteers: A Conversation
Diana Martinez, Los Alamos Family YMCA
and
Todd Nickols, Los Alamos Historical Society
Thursday, October 19, 5-6pm
UNM-LA, Lecture Hall (Bldg 2)
Please join us for this interactive panel discussion, led by leaders of two local organizations with robust volunteer programs. We will discuss the joys (and pains) of engaging the community in our nonprofit efforts. Among the topics we may touch on are:
- How to recruit and retain volunteers for your organization
- Different ways to recognize the work of your volunteers
- Identify resources for developing or strengthening your own volunteer program
- How to engage youth volunteers
- Recruiting volunteers to help with programming
- Preparing for group volunteer activities.
Diana and Todd will begin the discussion with their experiences and insights, but we hope to engage the audience with their questions and comments. Please bring your ideas and questions regarding this lifeblood of any nonprofit organization.
August 24, 2017 – Social Media for Nonprofits
Jennifer Bennett, the Finance and Development Manager of the Los Alamos Historical Society, Social Media Class presenter for the next installment of LACF’s “Harnessing the Power of the Media” nonprofit training series:
Harnessing the Power of the Media – Part 2:
Social Media for Nonprofits
Thursday, August 24, 5pm
UNM-LA, Lecture Hall (Bldg 2)
Jennifer Bennett is a recent transplant to Los Alamos. She previously worked for Whole Foods Market in the Silicon Valley in California as a Marketing and Community Outreach Lead. Jennifer utilized Facebook and Instagram to highlight the store and community events for ten stores in the Silicon Valley. She is excited to share her knowledge so that we can all utilize social media to its fullest potential to support each other and highlight the great work of nonprofits.
Here are the notes from the session.
Thursday, May 25 – Preparing for Volunteer Fair
Does your nonprofit rely on volunteers? Los Alamos Community Foundation is excited to be teaming up with Leadership Los Alamos and United Way Northern New Mexico to host the first “Volunteer Fair at Chamberfest” on Saturday, June 10th.
<!–Handouts:
Sample Word Template
Sample Powerpoint Template
Sign-up Sheet–>
The format for this year’s “Volunteer Fair at Chamberfest” will be different than past volunteer fairs. The LACF Chamberfest booth will feature table space for nonprofits to display information about volunteer opportunities. You don’t have to staff the booth! You simply provide the materials using easy-to-use templates available at the May 25th nonprofit training session.
Preparing Your Nonprofit to Participate in the “Volunteer Fair at Chamberfest”
Thursday, May 25th, 5:00pm
UNM-LA, Wallace Hall (Bldg 5)
Martha Katko of Leadership Los Alamos will explain the all-new format of this year’s volunteer fair and provide easy-to-use templates for creating the necessary “rack cards” with information about your organization’s volunteer opportunities. Martha will discuss best practices when recruiting volunteers, highlight how to maximize the effectiveness of your Volunteer Fair “rack cards”, and give tips and pointers for avoiding pitfalls after a potential volunteer has expressed interest.
Please RSVP to Laura.Crotzer@losalamoscf.org to attend the May 25th training session and indicate interest in the June 10th “Volunteer Fair at Chamberfest.”
Spreading the word:
We’d love to see the 2017 “Volunteer Fair at Chamberfest” be a huge success. Please share this e-mail with your nonprofit friends and associates. As a young nonprofit, LACF has worked hard to build a mailing list and offer quality training programs each month, but we know there are organizations who are not receiving these newsletters. If you can help spread the word of this great opportunity to expand the volunteer pool, the whole community benefits!
Can’t attend on May 25th?
In order to participate in the “Volunteer Fair at Chamberfest” someone from your nonprofit MUST attend the May 25th training session. If you are unable to attend the May 25th training session, we strongly encourage you to send a substitute. Executive directors, staff, board members and volunteers are all always welcome at all monthly nonprofit training sessions.
Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.
2017 Annual Conference for Nonprofits
Friday, April 28, 2017: Annual Conference for Nonprofits
Practicing the Art of Working Together: Public/Private and Peer Partnerships – facilitated by Mark D. Bennett, Decision Resources, Inc.
An increasing number of nonprofit organizations are discovering the benefits of forming collaborative associations with peer organizations, government and quasi-government entities, and grantor organizations. These collaborations often require development of clearly written agreements which can sometimes be simple and other times quite complex.
The workshop took place April 28, 2017, with full-capacity attendance. The benefits and process of developing effective agreements that not only help nonprofits achieve their missions but also build trusting relationships that efficiently deploy limited resources were discussed. Presenters from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos Public Schools and Los Alamos County presented information about the purpose, mechanics and success stories of these collaborative partnerships.
Handouts:
How an Idea Becomes a County Service
Working in Partnership – LAPS
Collaboration Workbook
Collaboration Action Plan
Collaboration Checklist
Sample MOU
Sample MOA
This conference was jointly sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation in partnership with United Way of Northern New Mexico. Special thanks to the LANL Foundation for funding support and the University of New Mexico – Los Alamos for providing space for the conference.
March 23, 2017 – Press Releases and Community News Reporting
Thursday, March 23, 2017: Press Releases and Community News Reporting – Carol A. Clark, Publisher of the Los Alamos Daily Post, and Bonnie Gordon, Lifestyles Editor and Artistic Director of the LA Daily Post
Handout: Press Release Tips
Getting the word out is a critical task for the success of any nonprofit. Los Alamos Community Foundation is excited to announce a series of training sessions designed to help nonprofit organizations make better use of a variety of media resources.
Harnessing the Power of the Media – Part 1:
Press Releases and Community News Reporting
Thursday, Mar 23rd, 5:00 p.m.
Bldg. 2 Lecture Hall, UNM-LA
When your press release is done right the first time, it has the greatest chance of being published in a timely fashion. Carol A. Clark, the publisher and editor of the Los Alamos Daily Post, will teach you how to put together a proper press release containing all the essential elements. And although there are more events taking place in this vibrant community than there are reporters to cover those events, Bonnie Gordon, the lifestyles editor and artistic director of the LA Daily Post, will talk about steps you can take to bring greater recognition to your nonprofit activities.
This training session is an excellent opportunity for anyone associated with a nonprofit organization to learn key skills that boost efficiency and save time. Executive directors, staff, board members and volunteers are all welcome and encouraged to attend.
<!– Your RSVP to Laura.Crotzer@losalamoscf.org will ensure we have enough handouts for attendees. Thank you! –>
Note: Part 2 of this series will take place later in the summer and will focus on social media. Stay tuned for details in future newsletters and updates!
Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.
February 16, 2017 – Strategic Planning for the Time-Challenged
February 16, 2017: Strategic Planning for the Time-Challenged – Felicia Orth, Attorney at Law
Handouts:
Powerpoint presentation
PEEC Dashboard View
PEEC Strategic Plan
The ability to look to the future with vision and use strategic planning to achieve desired goals is a skill that is useful for everyone. Los Alamos Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Felicia Orth will be sharing her strategic planning insights and tips at the next LACF nonprofit training session.
Strategic Planning for the Time-Challenged
Thursday, Feb 16th, 5:00 p.m.
Bldg. 2 Lecture Hall, UNM-LA
Have you avoided leading your board into strategic planning for fear that the process would be endless? Or worse, pointless? What’s so ‘strategic’ about strategic planning anyway? Felicia will speak about the importance of organizational strategy, provide sample strategic plans, and share tools to help you efficiently develop a plan for your own organization. This training session is appropriate for executive directors, board members, and volunteers alike.
“The future doesn’t just happen — it’s shaped by decisions.” — NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue
Felicia Orth is a semi-retired Administrative Law Judge who has served on a number of nonprofit boards over the last thirty years, providing primarily legal assistance, administrative and policy development, fundraising, and hospitality. During her time as PEEC’s board president, Felicia facilitated the development of PEEC’s strategic plan. She and her family have lived in Los Alamos for twenty years, and she has been proud and happy to see the recent transformations in the community brought about by nonprofits and public-private partnerships.
Nonprofit training sessions sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation are made possible with generous support from UNM-Los Alamos and the LANL Foundation.
January 12, 2017 – Overview of Accounting & Taxation for Nonprofits
January 12, 2017: Overview of Accounting & Taxation for Nonprofits – Dennis Kennedy, CPA
Handout: Records Retention Guidelines
In this interactive session, CPA Dennis Kennedy will discuss accounting and taxation issues related to nonprofits for 2016, impacting 2017, including, taxation for nonprofits , year-end reporting requirements, revenue recognition and classification, including allowable and non-allowable expenses, audit requirements, reconciling fund balances, and financial budgeting.
This nonprofit training session sponsored by Los Alamos Community Foundation and projectY is made possible with generous support from the LANL Foundation.
November 3, 2016 – Why Board Development Matters
November 3, 2016: Why Board Development Matters – Joanna Gillespie, Executive Director, Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation
Individuals serve on nonprofit boards for a wide variety of reasons. No matter how much experience your board members have, you can help them better understand their role by ensuring that board development is part of every regular meeting. Beginning with recruitment, Executive Directors have the ability to guide strategic direction while growing board members, smoothing out rough relationships and making the management of programs mutually satisfying for board and staff alike.
2016 Annual Conference for Nonprofits
The subject of the 2016 Annual Conference for Nonprofits was Creative Collaboration: Practicing the Art of Working Together and it was facilitated by Mark D. Bennett, Decision Resources, Inc.
Every community and region faces the reality of human needs that exceed the public and private sector financial resources available. There is widespread acknowledgement that effective collaboration is an important strategy to strengthen the capacity for joint action, generate new ideas, improve methods, and leverage limited resources for maximum impact. Please join us for a dynamic session that will explore proven strategies for nonprofits, government agencies, and funding agencies in our region to build successful collaborations.
The workshop took place April 8, 2016 at UNM-LA, and about thirty participants discussed areas of future joint efforts. Feedback was collected by LACF and UWNNM and has formed the basis for a community action list.