2014 Spring Newsletter Nonprofit Leadership Alliance

The Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Student Association took home the 2014

Gold Medallion Award for Best Student Organization!

Pictured from left to right: Michelle Kuhar, Jennifer Dumas, Dean Tom

Venner, Cherise Floyd, Colleen Cartwright, and Daryl Holman, Jr.

http://www.emich.edu/nonprofit

Eastern Michigan University

Nonprofit Leadership Alliance Program (NLA)

332/A King Hall, EMU

Phone: 734-487-1612

E-mail: nonprofit@emich.edu

Facebook: facebook.com/emu.nla

Twitter: twitter.com/emunla

New NLA Campus Director for 2014-2015

Out and About

After nine years of running the NLA program, Dr. Petrescu will

take one year off to work on policies and procedures with the

Graduate School as a Faculty Associate. Dr. Jenny Kindred, a

strong supporter of community engagement and strong believer

in the NLA program, will be NLA’s campus director for the peri-

od May 2014-April 2015.

Dr. Kindred joined the CMTA department in the Fall of 2006 and

teaches primarily the Communication Capstone, Communication

Theory, and Organizational Communication courses. The Com-

munication program's Capstone course is taught as an Academic

Service Learning (ASL) course, and each year Dr. Kindred supervises approximately 40 student ini-

tiated community ASL projects. She was recently honored by Michigan Campus Compact for her

efforts related to ASL at Eastern, receiving the Faculty/Community Service-Learning Award during

the 2014 Civic Engagement Institute. Her research interests center on the Scholarship of Teaching

and Learning, investigating, for example, the use of Academic Service Learning experiences to en-

hance Student Affective learning. In addition, she has recently worked on several nonprofit and

community based projects with Dr. Petrescu, focusing largely on nonprofit collaboration and uni-

versity-community partnerships.

Jeannette Kindred, Associate Profes-

sor, Department of Communication,

Media and Theatre Arts

Olivia Mateso Mbala-Nkanga, Col-

leen Cartwright, Daryl Holman Jr.,

and Cherise Floyd (above from left to

right) attend the NAACP Image

Awards where the NLA was nomi-

nated for the NAACP Award.

Olivia Mateso Nbala-Mkanga (right) helps

drop off over 300 personal care products

donated by the EMU community for the NLA

sponsored Personal Care Product Drive to

benefit SOS Community Services here in Ypsi-

lanti.

We love signing and seal-

ing those CNP certificates!

Cherise Floyd and Cassie

Richard (left) pose with

their certificates. Congrats

to all of our CNP recipi-

ents!

Women’s History Month

On March 17th, the NLA students and one board member organized a

panel titled “Student Empowerment through Nonprofit Education.” The

women on the panel shared their personal experiences in the nonprofit

sector, and relayed wonderful insights about what to consider while pav-

ing your own journey.

Speaking on empathy and the need to engage clients with compassion,

Michelle Kuhar shared, "Our hearts pull us in, but the trick is to not get

caught up in the sorrow or heartache of other people’s stories to the point

that it drags us down. Be present, enter in, but don’t take it on." Her point:

The goal is to serve the community effectively—which you cannot do when

you are overwhelmed. Achieving this balance is a process which takes time

to learn, but the outcome is worth it.

NLA Board Member, Laura Pipis, shared what she loves best about her

position as CEO of the Monroe County Red Cross: “I enjoy the macro and

micro levels of nonprofit management. I enjoy the daily challenge of run-

ning an agency and balancing the service delivery, financial, HR, and vol-

unteer management, marketing/PR, and fundraising needs of the organi-

zation. There is never a dull moment and I meet LOTS of great people

AND I get to help save the world!!”

On March 24th Laura Pipis held another event, this time engaging stu-

dents and faculty in a lecture for Women’s History Month titled “Clara

Barton and Susie King Taylor: Pioneering Nurses on the Civil War Battle-

field.” Pipis explained how both these women faced much discrimination

as they paved the way for women both on and off the battlefield.

Panelists from left to right: Jennifer Oatis, Colleen Cartwright, Laura Pipis, Olivia

Mateso Mbala-Nkanga, Michelle Kuhar

NLA Advisory

Board:

Cheryl Aubuchon Lecturer, EMU

Caryn Charter

ORD, EMU

Mike Corbin National Network for Arab American Com-

munities

Theresa Dark General Education

program, EMU

John Fike Philanthropy Solu-

tions, LLC

Dr. Chris Wood Foreman

General Education programEMU

Diane Hockett

Consultant

Barbar Nies-May SafeHouse Center

Laura Pipis

American Red Cross

Bill Reminder THI

A BIG welcome to

our new Board Member:

Kim Kopka COB, EMU

Alliance Management Institute

In January, NLA students braved a monstrous snow storm to attend the 2014 Alliance Management

Institute (AMI) in Chicago, Illinois. Students talk about their AMI experience:

2014 Alliance Management Institute student attendees from various universities all over the country

“My case study was VERY informative and helped me gain some on the job firsthand field experi-

ence in a nonprofit health sector which is the area I want to work. It was with Washington Square

Health Foundation. We helped revamp the website as well as created a new workshop for the or-

ganization to use. We served as consultants to the organization, and they actually valued and

planned on implementing some of our ideas which was exciting! “ -Cherise Floyd, CNP (!)

“I wanted to attend workshops that covered an array of topics at AMI. I attended one that ad-

dressed targeting specific audiences when designing programs, leveraging nonprofit experienc-

es in the job search, and using competition among workers to increase productivity. One of the

things I learned was that framing a message is important to reaching the service recipient and

selling an idea to an organization. I hope to incorporate this in my future work.”

-Cassie Richard, CNP (!)

“There were workshops available to learn about how to utilize language to get what you want. For

grant writing, I learned that grammatical errors, not fully answering the questions, and mathe-

matical errors are the biggest reasons applications are denied. There was a workshop about learn-

ing how to handle paperwork and communication with the IRS. There was a wonderful workshop

about internships, resume building, and establishing initial connections (with nonprofit organiza-

tions)….I left feeling empowered.” -La’Tricia Hall, Junior

“In the future I want to do fundraising, and my CNP certification will help me to stand out among

other applicants. My contacts I made at AMI will be valuable resources that I will keep for years.

The knowledge I have from attending all the workshops I will be able to take with me to future jobs

and it will give me a one up in the world of nonprofits.” -Abigail Wright-Geddes, CNP (!)

On March 22 the NLA sponsored the annual Career Sum-

mit, bringing in nonprofit professionals and consultants

from around the area who shared their expertise in sever-

al areas of nonprofit management.

The event was kicked off by an informative and inspira-

tional keynote by Shirin Kambin Timms, Executive

Director of the Refugee Development Center in Lansing,

and Associate Professor of Political Science at Jackson

Community College. Ms. Timms enlightened those in at-

tendance with statistics and harsh realities concerning ref-

ugees (or newcomers, as they are more commonly ad-

dressed) in the Lansing area. She illustrated the beauty that newcomers bring to our society and

the hope she has for people who find their way to our wonderful state. Ms. Timms ended with a

short segment titled “What I Would Tell My Younger Self” where she laid out specific instructions

that would have helped her to avoid certain mistakes when first embarking on her nonprofit jour-

ney. Some of those instructions included 1) Recognizing that you are just one chapter in a person’s

journey 2) If there is no money there is no program, and 3) The importance of recognizing that your

staff are on the front lines, which means hiring a qualified and competent staff (and taking good

care of those quality people) is crucial to the reputation and success of your program. The other

presenters were: Chris Sadler (pictured above), and Board members John Fike and Diane Hockett.

Thank you to all the panelists and presenters who made the Summit an invaluable experience!

Nonprofit Knowledge and Career Summit

Meet our New Board Member

The NLA has been fortunate to continuously attract dedicated, talented and passionate new Board

Members! Professor Kimberly Kopka is our newest Board member. She received her BA

and MSA in Accounting from EMU, and currently is a part-time lecturer for the Department of Ac-

counting and Finance and the Management Department in the College of Business (Go Ea-

gles!). She is an active volunteer in the nonprofit sector, and her interests include animal assisted

therapy as well as horse and dog rescues.

Lunch panel discussion (right)

concerning how to build a suc-

cessful nonprofit career. Pan-

elists included moderator Di-

ane Hockett, NLA Grad Stu-

dent Michelle Kuhar, NLA al-

ums Laura Thomas and Ben

Holland, and Atlantic Impact

co-founder Anise Hayes.

Chris Sadler, branch manager for the Jackson

Public Library, wrapped up the Summit with

a presentation on how to present yourself in,

and fully utilize, Social Media.

Special Thanks

Debra Johnson, Media Relations, EMU, for helping us get the word out around campus about

NLA events and activities ~ Diane Hockett, and John Fike, NLA Board Members, for all your

work in getting the new Professional Certification program off the ground ~ EMU Community

and the EMU Foundation, for all the collaboration and support for our students and program ~

Susan Badger Booth, Arts Management Program Director, EMU, for promoting NLA events and

giving us cookies ~ Dr. Kathleen Stacy, Interim Chair of the Communications, Media and Thea-

tre Arts Department, EMU, for use of the copy machine in King Hall ~ Kim Anderson, Director of

English as a Second Language Department, EMU, for use of the copy machine ~ George Thomp-

son, Enterprise Support Tech II, EMU, for answering a million questions and setting up our com-

puters/printer ~ Crystal Jackson, ECA Administrative Support, EMU, for handling all of the

room reservations in our building for meetings, etc., allowing us to make copies, and being an over-

all amazing person ~ Dave and Kim, Plant Services, EMU, for keeping our new location in King

Hall looking great ~ Kathy Robertson, Senior Business Systems Analyst, EMU, for ensuring our

staff was signed up for crucial training courses in a timely manner ~ James Turner, Web Develop-

er, EMU, for answering all of our many questions and assisting with the website ~ Leigh Greden,

VP for Government and Community Relations, EMU, for offering assistance to the NLA E-board on

funding possibilities ~ Olivia Mbala-Nkanga and Amy Ryan, NLA students, for volunteering

many hours assisting in the reorganization of the NLA office. ~ Lori Kitchen, NEW Center, for

helping to disseminate the RFP for the Student Funders Group ~ Dennis Patrick, Academic Advi-

sor, EMU, for promoting NLA regularly to his students ~ Dr. Heather Neff, Director of McNair

Program, for her unyielding support ~ Dean Tom Venner, College of Arts and Sciences, EMU, for

guidance and support throughout the year!

Washtenaw-Lenawee Chapter American Red Cross, Mentor2Youth, Women in Philan-

thropy, FLY Children’s Art Center, and all our nonprofit partners

for continually providing our students with amazing internship and volunteering opportunities

We could not do what we do without YOU! Thank you!

The NLA’s Students Funders Group’s mission is to

strengthen the local community while training the

future nonprofit workforce. Each Winter semester

students put on their philanthropic hats to provide

mini grants to the community.

The 2014 Student Funders Group, with funding

from the Student Government and the NLA pro-

gram, after an analysis of community needs, decid-

ed to offer one $5000 grant to a local nonprofit for

capacity building. After reviewing several pro-

posals, the students decided to offer the award to

the Haiti Nursing Foundation in Ann Arbor.

Marsha Naidoo, Assistant Director of the Haiti

Nursing Foundation, shared her appreciation for the award, “We are ecstatic! Thank you so very

much for your time and consideration of our efforts….We are very excited about the possibilities

this grant opens up for us.” Students also shared what it meant for them to be part of the group:

Student Funders Group

Members of the 2014 Student Funders Group brain-

storm ideas about what kind of grant to offer local

nonprofit organizations.

I learned a lot in my couple of hours spent with the group, and I found each moment to be

very rewarding. It is rare that an 18 year old student gets free reign to allocate a grant of this

size, and I really appreciate that opportunity. I learned to collaborate more efficiently with

my peers and to argue my points so as not to burn bridges, which is a useful skill used in eve-

ry group project or team atmosphere. This grant showed me how the process of creating a

grant from scratch works, and the logistics of such an undertaking. Overall, it was reward-

ing and educational to give back to these organizations that solemnly think of themselves and

frequently help where our society needs the most help. (MM)

The project is an excellent way to learn more about grant writing from a practical sense. We

were not merely reading grants and picking common themes or following an outline and

turning a draft in for class credit. Our endeavor compelled us to apply our theoretical

knowledge of grant components and the practical knowledge of our community needs to

make a difference in the community within which many of us would like to work post-

graduation. Personally, I am much more confident in this area after this endeavor and it has

made me excited about my career in the nonprofit sector. I would suggest this experience to

anyone regardless of sector as an opportunity to strengthen communication skills, network

with others, and make a difference in the community. (CR)

Kody Vitale, NLA Student Association President

(pictured left with Dr. Claudia Petrescu) presented a

thesis project on his work with the Student Funders

Group at the 2014 Undergraduate Symposium. In his

presentation, Kody concentrated on the data collec-

tion process and the metrics used by the group to se-

lect grant winners. More information about the Stu-

dent Funders Group can be found on page 7 of the

newsletter.

NLA students were among good company at

the Gold Medallion Award Luncheon, spon-

sored by the Division of Academic and Stu-

dent Affairs at EMU. Joining the group at

the table (pictured right) were Regent Beth

Fitzsimmons, Dean Tom Venner, and Presi-

dent Sue Martin. Quote of the day goes to

President Martin who, when complimented

on her purse, remarked, “Thanks. You can

never have too much green.” Spoken like a

true Eagle!

The NLA Student of the Semester is Olivia Mbala-Nkanga! Olivia (pictured

on page 2) is a Senior Public Administration student with a minor in Nonprofit Administration.

Olivia has a passion to work in the field of international human rights with a focus on children’s

and women’s rights in developing nations. Olivia was chosen as Student of the Semester for her

initiative and leadership with the Personal Product Drive for SOS Community Services, and her

continued active participation in the NLA Student Association. Congratulations, Olivia!

NLA Contact Information

332/A King Hall

Office Phone: (734) 487-1612

Website: www.emich.edu/nonprofit

E-mail: nonprofit@emich.edu

Facebook: Twitter:

facebook.com/emu.nla twitter.com/emunla

Have a great Summer! See you in September!

EMU NLA Staff

Dr. Claudia Petrescu

Campus Director

Colleen Cartwright

Graduate Assistant