Orange County, FL
09/04/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/04/2024 07:05
Empowering Good Positions Local Nonprofits for Long-Term Success Through Training Support
Empowering Good Positions Local Nonprofits for Long-Term Success Through Training Support
Investing in the community is always a good thing. Local non-profit leaders are reaping the benefits of this investment through Empowering Good, a nonprofit capacity building program designed to help Orange County nonprofits sustain to thrive and ultimately serve more people.
Just over two years ago, Orange County Government and the Rollins Crummer Graduate School of Business announced a multi-million-dollar partnership offering tools and training to nonprofits through American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Since its inception, Empowering Good has provided resources to more than 100 local non-profit organizations representing 266 total participating leaders. Experts at Crummer's Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership execute the multi-faceted cohort training that strives to help nonprofit leaders strengthen, innovate network and grow.
"Our main goal and reason for being is to connect and strengthen nonprofit and philanthropic organizations through inspiring educational services," said Min Sun Kim, Executive Director of the Edyth Bush Institute.
The pandemic forced nonprofits to take a hard look at their business models, life stages and seek ways to harness innovation and reinvent their agencies.
"Whether it's the largest nonprofit in town or a smaller nonprofit, every organization was looking at their life cycle and their business to see what they needed to do to recalibrate, because the community was changing," said Kim.
Edith Gendron, executive director with the Alzheimer's & Dementia Resource Center is currently participating in Empowering Good. She said the skill-building exercises have been impactful.
"I learned something new and useful immediately from the modules. To have immediate tools that I can implement strategies for - you can't beat that," she said. "It will help us become more efficient and work smarter."
The cohort-style training sessions cover fundraising, risk management, innovation, impact measurement and financial management topics.
Each nonprofit is paired with a coach throughout the six-month training program that also includes in-person and virtual sessions.
Gendron praised the personalized guidance from her coach who has kept them on track. "She's been a guiding light," she said. "She was like my private tutor, breaking it down step by step. She demonstrated that she cared about our success and told us what we were doing well."
Marie-Jose Francois, founder and CEO of the Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention, Inc., participated in the program last year. She said the training was "on point" to guide and assist her agency.
"I knew our agency needed some enhancements in the infrastructure," she said. "We are now better equipped. We can use the learning and put it into our strategic plan."
Keith Gooden, marketing development director for the Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention Inc, said the training helped them reassess current procedures and determine how the agency could be refreshed.
"It made us look at the policies and procedures that are in place and the impact they have on the agency," he said "Overall, Empowering Good was a good eye opener for us and helped us to focus more, not just on our numbers, but how we are impacting the community and changing lives."
Other past Empowering Good participants have shown an ability to expand their impact, enjoy stronger financial stability, improved management, board oversight and increased funding.
To apply for the training program a nonprofit must meet these requirements:
- Must have existed before 2020
- Experienced an increase or decrease in service delivery
- Be physically located in Orange County (or 50 percent or more of clients must be Orange County residents)
Nonprofit leaders interested in more information, and to access the application, can visit empowering-good.org.