Nonprofit leaders in Rockdale County can gain valuable capacity-building resources by participating in a half-day summit in May that will focus on board development. Specifically, the summit presenter will cover nine important steps in finding, recruiting, and engaging nonprofit board members to increase board effectiveness in achieving an agency’s goals.

The event will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 16, at the J.P. Carr Services Center, 981 Taylor Street in Conyers. A complimentary continental breakfast will be provided by Starbucks starting at 7:30 a.m.

The presenter will be Glenda Y. Hicks, CPA, a trainer and consultant with extensive experience working with nonprofit organizations. Ms. Hicks has a private practice in Marietta that exclusively serves nonprofit organizations with financial management, financial leadership, board governance training, consulting, executive coaching, and assessment services. She is a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer, having joined a select group of trainers after completing a rigorous application and certification process. BoardSource is a national nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that has supported and promoted excellence in nonprofit board service for nearly 25 years.

The Rockdale Nonprofit Resource Summit is being coordinated and sponsored by a collaborative consisting of the following: Rockdale County Clerk of Courts, Rockdale Coalition for Children and Families, Non-Profit Consortium, and Health TRUST Rockdale, the grant-making division of the Hospital Authority of Rockdale County. Event contributors include Starbucks Coffee, Non-Profit Leadership Institute, United Way in Rockdale, and Glenda Y. Hicks, CPA

“The purpose of the summit is to share information with local nonprofits that will help strengthen their capacity, which in turn strengthens our community” said Rockdale County Clerk of Courts Ruth Wilson. “We want to provide them with resources and tools that will better position them to sustain their organizations so that they can continue to enhance the lives of Rockdale residents.”

Michael Hutcheson, executive director of the Rockdale Coalition for Children and Families, said the training is especially designed to help Board chairs and Board members build a successful team to chart the path for the nonprofit they serve. Hutcheson encourages each participating organization to have at least two board members, including the board chair, in attendance along with the executive director.

“The reality is that board development is a board responsibility, not the responsibility of staff,” added Ms. Hicks. ”The board is responsible for finding its members and assessing its performance, yet too many boards have become comfortable with abdicating their responsibility to the executive director. This training is really for board members first and executive directors second, with both ideally being in attendance because of the board/staff partnership that must exist in their working relationship.”

As an incentive for board members to attend the May 16 session, they will be entered into a drawing to win free consulting services for their organization from Ms. Hicks, from Cheryl M. Board of the Non-Profit Leadership Institute, and from Whaley Hammonds Tomasello, P.C., certified public accountants, among other prizes.

The cost of the summit is $20 per nonprofit agency for up to three participants. Register online at www.rockdalecoalition.org. The deadline to register is May 13, 2015. Organizations in need of scholarships to attend the summit should contact Michael Hutcheson at 770.761.9244.