Events
At the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, we are creating a world where creativity is universally valued as a resource with limitless potential for social and economic impact. We are an arts service organization focused on serving Chicago’s cultural workers and enterprises through consulting, programming, and mentorship to ensure community vitality and an equitable creative economy.
One of the ways in which we fulfill our mission is through On BOARD®, the Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s unique board governance and leadership learning program. Throughout six sessions, we prepare individuals ready to engage as active board members of arts, cultural, and creative nonprofit organizations to understand and own their role as board members successfully.
On BOARD®: Demystifying Fundraising for Nonprofit Board Members
One of the many responsibilities of Board Members is to leverage their strengths to engage donors and supporters. But asking for money and advocating for the support of an organization is scary – for new and existing Board Members. In this interactive Learning Lab, you’ll get to know where the money comes from and gain practical know-how on how you will be expected to fundraise and activate your networks.
Participants will learn:
- The board’s role in fundraising
- The primary uses of funding board members can solicit from their networks
- Principles of designing your organization’s strategic fundraising engagement process
- Tactics for creating a compelling case for support that board members can use to solicit support and advocate for your organization
- How to develop a culture of philanthropy that is intentional and inclusive
Content Expert: Braden Cleary, Client Engagement Lead at VEGA Partners
Price: $50 (2-for-1). Register and invite a friend to participate in this event!
Braden Cleary (he / him) is the Client Engagement Lead at VEGA Partners, a social impact consulting firm that works with businesses, government, philanthropies, and nonprofits to develop powerful strategies that deliver sustainable results. Braden works with clients in a variety of different issue areas and sectors, but has background and interest in arts & cultural management, board governance, and philanthropy. Dedicated to making meaningful contributions to the social impact sector, Braden currently serves on the Excellent Emerging Organizations Committee at North Park University’s Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management and is a former member of the Philanthropic Advisory Group at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Questions about this event?
Email Constanza Mendoza, A&BC’s Director of Programs, at cmendoza@artsbiz-chicago.org
At the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, we are creating a world where creativity is universally valued as a resource with limitless potential for social and economic impact. We are an arts service organization focused on serving Chicago’s cultural workers and enterprises through consulting, programming, and mentorship to ensure community vitality and an equitable creative economy.
One of the ways in which we fulfill our mission is through On BOARD®, the Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s unique board governance and leadership training program. Throughout six sessions we prepare individuals who are ready to engage as active board members of arts, cultural, and creative nonprofit organizations to successfully understand and own their role as board members.
On BOARD®: Board Cultivation. Actionable Insights on Board Recruitment, Engagement, and Assessment
A superb board member brings a combination of time, treasure, and talent to an organization. So why do we continue to evaluate and prospect board members strictly on their treasure ‘capacity’? If a board of directors is to reflect the community it serves, the sector must consider more equitable qualifications.
Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC) Executive Director Kristin Larsen will present her innovative, point-based, planning and assessment model to engage boards of directors. Larsen will guide you through using game theory and a points-based evaluation system to reduce anxiety around giving capacities and create an equitable board of directors that is welcoming to groups that have been historically marginalized.
In practice, Larsen has seen this fresh accountability system increase committee participation, mobilize current board members to prospect new members and donors, and ignite a sense of self-governance that reduces stress and time for the Executive Director. You’ll leave this lab with an action plan to define the entire scope of what your board of directors can bring to the organization and design your own point-based assessment model that’s not all about the give/get.
We encouraged Executive Directors, Artistic Directors (directly interfacing with board of directors), Board Presidents, and Chairs of Board Governance committees to participate in this session.
Learning objectives
- Attendees will understand how to translate their board’s Roles & Responsibilities into supporting the organization’s annual operating and work plans
- Attendees will understand how to use this tool to ease board recruitment practices
- Attendees will gain skills in motivating current board members to contribute to prospecting and communicating within their own networks
- Attendees will understand how to utilize this tool to increase committee participation and motivate self-governance, reducing their stress and time in board management
- Attendees will understand how to use this tool to increase board attendance at special events and fundraisers; also motivate board members to bring new guests to special events and fundraisers
- Attendees will gain knowledge of how this tool can create board equity (socioeconomic, gender, race, access, etc.)
- Attendees will expand the tenure of their board members using this tool as it presents a visible and tangible representation of a board member’s contributions
Content Experts: Kristin Larsen, Executive Director at the Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC), and Simi Gambhir, Board Member at A&BC.
Price: $50 (2-for-1).
Session format: 90 minutes of content
On BOARD®: Nonprofit Organizational Structures – Looking at Transformative Governance Models
This session is part 1 of 6 in the full On BOARD® curriculum. You can attend this single session or register for the full program here.
Who owns a nonprofit? This question is a bit more complicated than it seems! In this session, we will answer this question and learn about conventional board governance models while critically asking ourselves what it takes to imagine alternative models.
This introductory session will cover it all: from structures of arts and cultural organizations and expectations of board contributions of time, talent, and treasure to imagining new nonprofit governance models rooted in care, social justice, and systemic change.
Topics:
- Structures of arts and cultural organizations and their boards
- Phases of development of nonprofit organizations, from the founding board to the working board and the governing board
- Analysis of the board’s role in planning, governance, staffing & structure, income generation, audience development & marketing, financial management, and facilities management
- Expectations of board contributions of time, talent, and treasure
- Using committees and non-governing boards to amplify the work of your organization
Content Expert:
Bryan Perry is Vice President and General Counsel for Northern Illinois University (NIU). He focuses his practice in the areas of governance, labor and employment, NCAA athletics, and complex litigation.
He serves as a member of the President’s senior leadership team and as chief legal advisor and counsel to NIU’s executive officers and Board of Trustees. In the role of General Counsel, he coordinates all legal services for the university and manages the team of lawyers and administrative professionals who serve in the Office of General Counsel, Employee and Labor Relations, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office.
Bryan chairs the 6,000-member Employment & Labor Law Network of the Association of Corporate Counsel and in 2021 was selected by the National Black Lawyers Top 100, an elite network of legal experts, for inclusion into its list of Top 100 Lawyers.
Bryan currently chairs the monthly conference of Illinois public university general counsels and has served on many NACUA committees through his years of membership.
In his spare time, Bryan is chair of the Board of Directors for the Southside Community Art Center and also serves on the boards of Just The Beginning and Ready @ 5.
Bryan received his BS from Morgan State University and JD from the University of Maryland, where he was a member of the national Jessup international law moot court team.
Price: $50
On BOARD® is the Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s unique board governance and leadership program that prepares individuals who are ready to engage as active board members of arts, cultural, and creative nonprofit organizations.
On BOARD: Legal and Fiduciary Responsibilities + Ethical Considerations for Board Members
What are the spoken and unspoken responsibilities of board members? How can board members enact agency to respond to today’s major issues in the nonprofit sector?
Serving as a board member can be one of the most challenging and rewarding volunteer assignments. While appointment or election to a board is an honor, board members have significant legal and fiduciary responsibilities that require time, skill, and resources.
In this session, we will cover board members’ general roles and responsibilities and key fiduciary duties, liability and protection for board members, and corruption and cybercrimes.
Topics include:
- General roles and responsibilities of nonprofit board members
- The Business Judgment Rule
- Key fiduciary duties of nonprofit board members
- Duty of Care, Duty of Loyalty, Duty of Obedience
- Liability and protection for board members, the importance of Directors & Officers insurance
- Corruption and Cybercrimes – Bribery, Fraud, Extortion Considerations
Presenter: Shermin Kruse, Law Professor at Northwestern Pritzker and Negotiation Consultant
Price: $50
On BOARD: Understanding Nonprofit Finances and Financial Transparency
Financial management is not only about bookkeeping. Board members should be aware of ethical considerations regarding money management and financial decision-making. We will talk about financial oversights and transparency in nonprofits, from policy creation and compliance, and safeguarding of assets, to audits, managing cash flow, tax compliance, and filing with the IRS and other government entities.
Most importantly, when pay equity and transparency are a must in the sector, we will discuss significant issues around nonprofit finances and transparency.
Content Expert: Kate Lorenz
Price: $50
On BOARD® Lab: Envisioning the Future Through Strategic Planning for Nonprofits
On BOARD® is the Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s unique board governance and leadership training program that prepares individuals who are ready to engage as active board members of arts, cultural, and creative nonprofit organizations. Individuals who successfully complete the full program demonstrate an understanding and commitment to upholding high standards of nonprofit board governance.
Strategic planning can be scary. How to plan in a sector where burnout and putting out fires are the norm? However, learning how to scale strategy and planning to your goals, resources, and priorities can be exciting and an excellent opportunity to build team alignment toward a shared purpose.
We will cover general governance and the role of the board of directors in strategic planning, the advantages of creating and using a strategic plan, how to approach the strategic planning process, and methodologies used for pre-planning and organizational assessments.
Topics include:
- General governance and the role of Board of Directors in strategic planning
- Advantages of creating and using a strategic plan
- How to approach the strategic planning process
- Methodologies used for pre-planning and organizational assessments
Price: $ 50
Content Expert: Brandi Head, CEO Head-On Strategies, LLC
About the context expert
Brandi Head (she/her) possesses more than 20 years of business experience and finance acumen, which she employs while coaching small business and nonprofit clients. She has a passion for helping promising entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders achieve their strategic goals and build solid, thriving organizations. That passion prompted her to start Head-On Strategies, LLC which provides consulting, advisory, and implementation services to small businesses and nonprofit organizations, meeting them wherever they are in their business life cycles. Whether her clients are start-ups or at key inflection points, Brandi is positioned to help businesses develop data-driven strategies and solutions that work.
Additionally, she believes that her technical expertise is only one piece of the advisory puzzle; experience, perspective, and meaningful connection withpeople, organizations, and community complete that puzzle. While working in Commercial Banking (inclusive of Commercial Real Estate), Credit Risk, and Operations Management at blue-chip financial services firms, she has helped business clients and local governments secure financing for their various needs.
As a member of several corporate leadership and project teams, she has spearheaded several key initiatives and has been asked to lead outside of her primary roles, including in Financial Policy, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), and Employee Engagement. Her contributions have benefited her previous clients and employers in terms of growth, cost reduction, and branding.
Brandi has also been a member of various project teams that helped nonprofits with finance strategy, marketing plans, and feasibility studies/strategic alignment. Brandi has an MBA from Purdue University, as well as company-sponsored executive education from Kellogg School of Management. She has served on several boards and committees and currently sits on the board of directors for Red Clay Dance Company where she has been responsible for operationalizing its Finance Committee, including charter creation and policy development, and helping to set long-range financial strategy.
At the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, we are creating a world where creativity is universally valued as a resource with limitless potential for social and economic impact. We are an arts service organization focused on serving Chicago’s cultural workers and enterprises through consulting, programming, and mentorship to ensure community vitality and an equitable creative economy.
One of the ways in which we fulfill our mission is through On BOARD®, the Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s unique board governance and leadership learning program. Throughout six sessions, we prepare individuals ready to engage as active board members of arts, cultural, and creative nonprofit organizations to understand and own their role as board members successfully.
On BOARD®: Demystifying Fundraising & Designing Inclusive Fundraising Practices
One of the many responsibilities of Board Members is to leverage their strengths to engage donors and supporters. But asking for money and advocating for the support of an organization is scary – for new and existing Board Members. In this interactive Learning Lab, you’ll get to know where the money comes from and gain practical know-how on how you will be expected to fundraise and activate your networks.
Participants will learn:
- The board’s role in fundraising
- The primary uses of funding board members can solicit from their networks
- Principles of designing your organization’s strategic fundraising engagement process
- Tactics for creating a compelling case for support that board members can use to solicit support and advocate for your organization
- How to develop a culture of philanthropy that is intentional and inclusive
Content Expert: TBD
Price: $50
Questions about this event?
Email Constanza Mendoza, A&BC’s Director of Programs, at cmendoza@artsbiz-chicago.org
At the Arts & Business Council of Chicago, we are creating a world where creativity is universally valued as a resource with limitless potential for social and economic impact. We are an arts service organization focused on serving Chicago’s cultural workers and enterprises through consulting, programming, and mentorship to ensure community vitality and an equitable creative economy.
One of the ways in which we fulfill our mission is through On BOARD®, the Arts & Business Council of Chicago’s unique board governance and leadership training program. Throughout six sessions we prepare individuals who are ready to engage as active board members of arts, cultural, and creative nonprofit organizations to successfully understand and own their role as board members.
On BOARD®: Board Cultivation. Actionable Insights on Board Recruitment, Engagement, and Assessment
A superb board member brings a combination of time, treasure, and talent to an organization. So why do we continue to evaluate and prospect board members strictly on their treasure ‘capacity’? If a board of directors is to reflect the community it serves, the sector must consider more equitable qualifications.
Arts & Business Council of Chicago (A&BC) Executive Director Kristin Larsen will present her innovative, point-based, planning and assessment model to engage boards of directors. Larsen will guide you through using game theory and a points-based evaluation system to reduce anxiety around giving capacities and create an equitable board of directors that is welcoming to groups that have been historically marginalized.
In practice, Larsen has seen this fresh accountability system increase committee participation, mobilize current board members to prospect new members and donors and ignite a sense of self-governance that reduces stress and time for the Executive Director. You’ll leave this lab with an action plan to define the entire scope of what your board of directors can bring to the organization and design your own point-based assessment model that’s not all about the give/get.
We encouraged Executive Directors, Artistic Directors (directly interfacing with board of directors), Board Presidents, and Chairs of Board Governance committees to participate in this session.
Learning objectives
- Attendees will understand how to translate their board’s Roles & Responsibilities into supporting the organization’s annual operating and work plans
- Attendees will understand how to use this tool to ease board recruitment practices
- Attendees will gain skills in motivating current board members to contribute to prospecting and communicating within their own networks
- Attendees will understand how to utilize this tool to increase committee participation and motivate self-governance, reducing their stress and time in board management
- Attendees will understand how to use this tool to increase board attendance at special events and fundraisers; also motivate board members to bring new guests to special events and fundraisers
- Attendees will gain knowledge of how this tool can create board equity (socioeconomic, gender, race, access, etc.)
- Attendees will expand the tenure of their board members using this tool as it presents a visible and tangible representation of a board member’s contributions
Content Expert: Kristin Larsen, Executive Director at the Arts & Business Council of Chicago.
Kristin rejoined the Arts & Business Council of Chicago in 2017 after serving as Director of Programs in the early aughts. Prior to returning to A&BC, Kristin was Executive Director of Stage 773 (2013-2017), a performance venue in Lakeview, Executive Director of Remy Bumppo Theater Company (2002-2012), and a business representative with Actors’ Equity Association (1995-2000) after many years of being an Equity Stage Manager.
Kristin has her BFA in production management from The Theatre School at DePaul University and her MA in facilitating organizational effectiveness in the arts from DePaul University’s School for New Learning. Kristin serves on the Americans for the Arts Private Sector Council, The Entertainment Fund’s Central Region Advisory Council, and volunteers with DePaul’s Alumni Sharing Knowledge program and the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee.
Price: $50
Session Duration: 90 minutes