Highlight: Classy Awards Nominee for Young Nonprofit Leader of the Year, Emily Davis

For more than 15 years Emily has been committed to the nonprofit sector as employee, trainer, board member, philanthropist, and consultant. Currently, Emily serves as the Executive Director for the Hemophilia Society of Colorado and is authoring a publication for the AFP Fund Series, Fundraising and the Next Generation, due out in 2012. Emily serves on a number of committees and advisory boards including Social Venture Partners of Boulder County, Nonprofit World Magazine, and Nonprofit Cultivation Center. Her passion is serving cause she truly believes in and strengthening the entire nonprofit community by leveraging every generation for the future. Her impact is vast as she continues to develop leadership, engage in conversations, and coach the next generation of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders.

Emily’s upbringing included a significant mix philanthropic and nonprofit exposure which is where her passion for nonprofit work started. In college, Emily shifted her focus from a career in dance to a full time commitment to the nonprofit sector. Emily’s work in ending violence against women & women’s health proved to be an enormous asset to her as she formally launched her nonprofit work. Emily began her career working in the field of ending violence against women more than 15 years ago as a community activist, victim advocate, and trainer. After focusing on women’s health and sexual assault, she became involved in environmental issues, international human rights, and philanthropy. In 2007, Emily completed innovative research, Preparing the Path to Leadership, on emerging leaders within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. She is currently writing a book for the AFP Fund Series through Wile Publications, Fundraising and the Next Generation, due out in 2012. She continues to serve as a consultant on multi-generational issues in both philanthropy, fundraising, and the nonprofit sector. Emily is a consultant for multi-generational family philanthropy through 21/64, part of the Brofman Philanthropies.

Emily understands all that it takes to start a nonprofit and employ best practices when starting a business; she herself has started a nonprofit in San Diego, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network San Diego and now serves as the Executive Director for the Hemophilia Society of Colorado. She continues to train on topics such as board development, social media for nonprofits, and fundraising from the next generation. Recently, Emily completed serving as an adjunct professor in the fundraising and development certificate program at UCSD Extension in 2011. Emily has served in numerous leadership roles for organizations such as YNPN Denver, Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, Colorado College’s Public Interest Fellowship Program and many more. Emily serves on a number of committees and advisory boards including Social Venture Partners of Boulder County, The Gordian Fund, Nonprofit World Magazine, and Nonprofit Cultivation Center.

Please note this is Part 1 of a three-part series wherein YNPN San Diego highlights the three San Diego leaders nominated for the 2011 Classy Awards Young Nonprofit Leader of the Year honor.

Thanks YNPN San Diego Volunteers!!!

In honor of National Volunteer Week, YNPN San Diego would like to thank all of the volunteers who have made YNPN San Diego’s first year in operation a huge success. YNPN San Diego volunteers can feel proud about their accomplishments in this past year which include growing the membership to over 400 members and holding numerous successful Meet and Greet events and Professional Development seminars. We look forward to another great year as we continue to engage and support future nonprofit and community leaders through professional development, networking and social opportunities. We hope everyone will join us at our upcoming events including our next Professional Development workshop - Powerful Partnerships: Intergenerational Coaching. We are also always looking for new members for our board and committees.

Find us on our blog, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn

Please show your support by considering a donation to YNPN San Diego today!

The Fiscal Sponsorship Process

The process of establishing YNPN San Diego’s fiscal sponsorship was both educational and challenging. The YNPN SD Finance Committee was fortunate enough to have a member, also the Vice-Chair, who had experience establishing fiscal sponsorships. The committee met over a series of months to:

• establish a plan of action,
• review the legal aspects of fiscal sponsorships,
• review potential sponsors,
• meet with potential sponsors,
• prepare a draft of the fiscal sponsorship agreement, and
• evaluate the sponsors proposals.

As the Committee began to develop a process for obtaining fiscal sponsorship and evaluating the legal aspects of such a relationship we relied heavily on a great book, Fiscal Sponsorship by Gregory L. Colvin. The book does a great job of explaining fiscal sponsorship and laying out six models for fiscal sponsorship including direct project, independent contractor project, preapproved grant relationship, group exemption, supporting organization and technical assistance. YNPN SD settled on an agreement that mixes direct project and independent contractor project.

After identifying the type of relationship YNPN was looking for, the Finance Committee considered other non-profits in San Diego that might be interested in sponsoring YNPN. Of the five or six organizations identified the committee chose to approach two organizations. We met with the Executive Director of each organization, explored their interest in sponsoring YNPN SD and shared the mutual benefits we saw in the potential relationship.

As a follow up to our initial meeting with the Executive Directors the Committee prepared a formal proposal including a history of YNPN San Diego, board member biographies, a pitch on the benefits of the relationship and a draft of the sponsorship agreement. Each of the Executive Directors presented our proposal to their boards and came back to us with follow up questions and adjustments to the draft agreement. Both organizations expressed their boards’ excitement for the potential relationship.

The Finance Committee presented the agreements and an evaluation of each of potential sponsors to YNPN San Diego’s Advisory Board. We noted the board’s questions, concerns and enthusiasm, and spent the proceeding weeks gathering additional information and finalizing the agreements. In December 2008 the board selected Volunteer San Diego as our fiscal sponsor!


Since December the Finance Committee has been working on documenting accounting policies and procedures and is proud that YNPN San Diego is now accepting tax-deductible donations. Support emerging leaders in the nonprofit community by making a tax-deductibel donation today!

If you are interested in learning more about the fiscal sponsorship process or in joining the Finance Committee, please visit the YNPN San Diego website.

THANK YOU to everyone involved in the fiscal sponsorship process!

Social Media Resources

With all the different kinds of social media out there today it can be confusing. YNPN San Diego has been built on social media to recruit more than 350 members in less than a year! YNPN SD primarily uses Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, and its listserv to communicate with its members. We use these different tooks because we know that different people have different needs and understanding of social media.

In addition to these tools, YNPN San Diego recently added a page on its website for a list of definitions and resources on social media. Check out our website to find information on the following online networking resources:

• Online Networking
• YNPN San Diego Listserv
• Facebook Group & Cause
• LinkedIn Group
• Twitter
• Blog
• More Social Media
  

Want to help develop and manage YNPN San Diego communications with its members and the San Diego community? Comsider joining the Communications Team! Click here to learn more.

We hope that these resources and information help you as you use more and more social media. Thank you to Emily at EDA Consulting LLC for sharing this list of definitions and recommended reading. You can contact EDA Consulting to learn more about using social media as a fundraising and communications tool.

Join the YNPN Communications Team!

The YNPN San Diego Communications Team is a subcommittee of the Membership Committee and is responsible for marketing, communications, and outreach with and for the YNPN SD membership. The Team is now in the process of creating a communications plan to outline specific outreach tools, coordinate communications between committees, and better serve the YNPN SD membership. The Team currently is focusing on the following topics:

• Social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Listserv)
• Website management, development, and maintenance
• Press release development and distribution
• Program messaging
• Member communications and recruitment
• Advisory Board and Committee support

The Communications Team is currently looking for additional members. If you are knowledgeable in the area of social media or are interested in learning more and have 5 – 10 hours to dedicate to YNPN San Diego, we want YOU! Communications Team members must:

1. Complete a Membership Form
2. Submit a Committee Application
3. Submit a resume to YNPN San Diego (sandiego@ynpn.org)
   
4. Contact the Communications Team chair, Emily Davis (edaconsulting@gmail.com)
   

Thank you for your interest in being part of the YNPN San Diego Communications Team!!!

YNPN SD Aceepting Advisory Board Members!

YNPN San Diego accepting board applications!

As YNPN San Diego grows we are looking for more board members to help us better serve our membership. Our current board consists of ten members and we are looking to bring on as many as five more. We encourage anyone interested in becoming involved with our rapidly-growing and successful organization to apply for a board position.

Here is how some of the current board members describe the YNPN San Diego board leadership:

• “The culture is one of respect, openness, and trust. While disagreements may arise, they are handled tactfully and board members listen to what others are saying. I also believe we have the membership's best interest in mind.”
• “Supportive, hardworking and fun.”
• “Transparent, collaborative, high standards.”

As you may know, in the spring we will be completing our first year in the community with significant success. As of January 1, YNPN San Diego has achieved tax exempt status through our fiscal sponsorship with Volunteer San Diego. We will engage in a strategic planning retreat in April with previous, current, and new board members.

We now have six committees including Meet and Greet, Professional Development, Finance, Membership, Board Development, and Partnerships. We ask every board member to serve on at least one committee and each committee is chaired by a board member, but that does not mean that every board member serves as a committee chair.

To learn more about the YNPN San Diego board priorities and board description, visit the YNPN San Diego website. If you have any questions, please contact Board Development Chair, Dan Buryj or Advisory Board Chair, Emily Davis.