2011 Graduates of Nonprofit Leadership Program

Columbia, SC (August 12, 2009) –  In partnership with Columbia College SC,  The Sisters of Charity  has just completed its second year of a Nonprofit Leadership Training program designed for nonprofit leaders who are recognized as having great potential and are ready to take their nonprofit leadership to the next level. The yearlong graduate program provides participants with the opportunity to enhance knowledge, skills and frameworks to lead their organizations in an ever-changing and diverse society.  Seven students graduated with a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership Training from Columbia College’s graduate program in Organizational Change Management.  This is a college certificate program and, upon completion, participants earn nine graduate credit hours. Columbia College is accredited by the  http://www.sacs.org/ .

Charles Weathers, Founder of The Weathers Group, helped design the case study and curriculum and also provided instruction on Ethics, Teambuilding, and Strategic Leadership.  “I love teaching emerging leaders about strategies to improve their performance.” states Weathers.  “They are doing such critical work in our communities through their organizations and need support from more quality programs such as this to develop professionally.”

To learn more about the program and how to apply, visit the Foundation’s Web site.

About the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, established in 1996, is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System. The Foundation is committed to addressing the needs of the poor and underserved in all 46 South Carolina counties.

About Columbia College
Columbia College is a private liberal arts women’s college related to the United Methodist Church with a legacy of developing women leaders with the courage, commitment, confidence and competence to build a better world.  Enrollment is 1500 students from 23 states and 20 countries. Columbia College is also home to the Leadership Institute and the Alliance for Women.

About The Weathers Group

The Weathers Group is an innovative consulting firm that specializes in developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and building communities. By providing clients with educational seminars, customized training tools, and technical assistance, The Weathers Group helps organizations and individuals enhance their performance.

Here are a few suggestions to consider now AND later:

1. Don’t Fake It.   Many staff and board members prefer to stick their heads in the sand instead of have honest discussions about finance and program sustainability.  Now more than ever, organizations need to enlist the support of their boards and funders and engage in the ‘courageous conversations’ necessary to make responsible decisions.

2. Say WHAT?!   Having a communication plan is helpful in sharing your mission in GOOD times.  So providing your board and advocates with talking points about how wonderful you are and the impact you’re making in your community is even more important to help spread your message when donors are really forced to pick and choose.

3. Play Nice With Others.  A recent study by Bridgespan found that twenty-two percent of the more successful nonprofits working through the recession were likely to collaborate with other organizations.  Identify genuine allies and seek the win-win-win scenarios that can strengthen your combined efforts.

4. Plan Your Work.  The Strategic Plan is your framework to success. Period. Point Blank.  Without this roadmap, you’re likely to end up who knows where… and usually not some place positive.  As challenging as it is to consider focusing energy on such a cerebral process when things are tight, some of the best survival strategies emerge when groups just take a few minutes to ASSESS their realities and THINK through their actions.

5. Forget about the Money.  Although that’s probably what you THINK you need most to keep your doors open, focusing solely on money is usually what gets most of the folks we work with in trouble to begin with…and you know what they say about doing more of the same and expecting a different outcome (I’m just sayin’).

Remember, the manner in which your nonprofit chooses to  respond to economic changes today will have consequences that resonate far beyond the bottom line for your organization tomorrow.  Let’s learn to embrace best practices and become high-performing organizations year-round.

Be well - Anita

The Weathers Group to lead the discussion at the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina office.  You are now in a leadership position on your board or you are responsible for board development. You want to help your board advance to the next level. How should you prepare yourself for the task? What should be your role as the board president? How can you get the team moving in the same direction? If you want to answers these questions this workshop is for you!

Applicants may select to participate in Columbia, S.C., at the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina’s office or join through video conferencing from Florence, S.C., at the Pee Dee Area Health Education Center, or from Greenwood, S.C., at the United Center of Community Care.

To apply for this workshop, please complete the online application. Applications are due April 4.

Details of other workshops at the Sisters of Charity Foundation found at - www.sistersofcharitysc.com

“Nearly five years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the work of rebuilding and developing the Gulf Coast region is still underway. The economic and environmental impact of the recent British Petroleum (BP) oil spill on this area placed additional demands on an already economically challenged region of our country,” said Gulf Coast Funders for Equity Coordinator Samantha Bickham. “That’s why the Gulf Coast Funders for Equity was formed. As part of our holistic approach to philanthropy, we focus on engaging low and moderate-income communities in projects that promote economic development and self-sufficiency.”

“We selected The Weathers Group for this project because of their success with other grassroots organizations based in the South,” said Gladys Washington, program director for the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. “When we began our search, The Weathers Group was referred to us by several organizations that realized tangible results from partnering with them. With their extensive knowledge and expertise, they understand our goals and how to build capacity so that participants can improve their performance and fulfill the missions of their organizations more effectively.”

“Collaborating with Gulf Coast Funders for Equity gives us a chance to make a difference in a region that has been faced with economic, social, and political challenges unlike anywhere else in the United States,” said Charles Weathers, president of the Weathers Group. “We appreciate the trust that has been placed in us, and we embrace this opportunity to be a part of a solution that will have a positive impact on so many lives.”

About The Weathers Group
Founded in 2001, The Weathers Group (TWG) is an innovative consulting firm that specializes in developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and building communities. By providing clients with educational seminars, customized tools, and technical assistance, The Weathers Group helps organizations and individuals enhance their performance. For more information, visit www.weathersgroup.com.

About Gulf Coast Funders for Equity
Gulf Coast Funders for Equity (GCFE) began, following the tragic impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, with a handful of grantmakers supportive of promoting a bottom-up approach to equitable development in the Gulf. From the start, we have believed in the need to support the civic engagement of low and moderate-income communities while simultaneously structuring a vehicle of organized philanthropy, which promotes this ideal. GCFE also understood the need to promote a long-term perspective on recovery, along with advocacy for significant resources, if equity were to finally take root in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Over the last two years GCFE has grown from a dozen disparate grantmakers to a network of over 150 private & public foundations, donors, and donor circles willing to loosely coordinate their support for grassroots social change strategies and to act as a collective voice encouraging colleagues to take the long view toward recovery efforts in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. Visit www.scfjj.org for more information.

Charles joined senior Capital Hill staff, IRS officials and leading practioners for the “Issues in Nonprofit Governance” symposium recently held at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC.  Talk about Thought-Leaders…

1. Lack of Input
   Far too often the only people involved in the strategic planning session are the board members.Think about it for a second – you don’t serve the board, the board doesn’t have oversight of daily activities, the board is not the primary source of funding, and the board does not represent your core of volunteers on the front line.If this is the case, why is the board the only input sought?Engage a variety of stakeholders in your planning efforts.The Strategic Plan is not the time for the board to relish in their authority and sneak away for an exclusive weekend of “Us planning for Them.” Without the proper input the plan is useless.

1. Lack of Ownership
   This is a direct result of number 1.If stakeholders don’t have input, then they don’t have ownership, and if they don’t have ownership you know how they’ll treat the plan.Think about – when was the last time you washed a rental car?That’s right, you didn’t. Why?Because you didn’t own it.You can’t expect people to care for, adhere to, and put all their dedication and effort into something they don’t own.Ownership is not only required on the front-end of the plan it’s required on the tail-end.In other words, if your goals and objectives are not directly tied to a person who will assume responsibility they will not get done.Don’t assign them to a committee or the board – committees and boards are famous for diffusing responsibility.They must be assigned to a person.

1. Unrealistic Expectations
   Planning should not focus on what you want to do: it must focus on what you can do.Assess your capacity and resources early-on in the planning process so you can determine what it is you can do.By the way, if you involve staff and volunteers they can shed some light on what can really be done.

1. It’s a Moment as Opposed to a Movement.
   Strategic planning is not an event.It should not be viewed as a magical moment in time that concludes after a 2-3 day retreat.The drafting of the plan is just the beginning.Real strategic planning is movement through time.The plan becomes a management tool.Program plans and action plans are aligned with the strategic plan. Organizational decisions are made based on the plan.If what we’re doing does not line up with our plan then we either stop doing what we’re doing or modify the plan. Remember a plan is a living document and modification is not only acceptable – it’s expected.

1. The Plan is Calendar-Driven
   When planning is viewed as an annual ritual it is doomed for failure.We recently receiveda phone call from an organization seeking strategic planning assistance.Through the course of our interview with the potential client I asked to see a copy of the last strategic plan.After receiving it I asked how many of the goals/objectives had been achieved.Suffice it to say – not many.When I asked if the unmet goals and objectives were still relevant they replied absolutely and we still need to do it. So why are you developing another plan when you haven’t finished the last plan? We call this finishing your plate (thanks for the wisdom, grandma). Planning should not be done just because it’s that time of the year.It needs to be purposeful and necessary.

1. We’ve Been Successful
   Believe it or not success can breed contempt for planning. We’re getting grants, our clients appear satisfied, donors are writing checks, and staff still show up.We must be doing it right.This is great.And all is well as long as all is well – but the minute things begin to fall to the wayside and problems/challenges arise and the false façade of success crashes in on you no one will know what to do.This makes me raise a question – who says you’ve been successful?Don’t be fooled by success or the variety of facsimiles thereof.The truth be told, many organizations that fall into this category haven’t really been successful, they’ve been lucky because no one has questioned their viability.  They have enough money, enough clout, and enough branding to cover a multitude of irregularities – including their lack of planning execution. They live by the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” philosophy and at the end of the day they’re really not making what we call a proportional difference.The proportional difference is determined by the real impact and outcomes you have on the community based upon three criteria:Financial Capital, Human Capital, and Programmatic Capital. In other words the greater your financial, human, and programmatic capital the greater the positive impact you should have on the community.

Conference speakers will include:

• Jerry Grimes, Executive Director – Friends of Juvenile Justice
• Dr. Robin Melton,  Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, Clemson University
• Keynote:  Charles Weathers –  President of The Weathers Group
• Zelda Q. Waymer, Executive Director – The South Carolina Afterschool Alliance
• Michael Smith, Restorative Justice Coordinator – Department of Juvenile Justice Office of Community Justice
• Timothy Ervolina, President – South Carolina United Way Association
• Eunika Simons, Reconnecting Communities Coalition – Richland School District One
• Youth Panel  –  “The Insiders,” a group of currently incarcerated youth and “The Messengers,” a group of formerly incarcerated youth from the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Event Information: http://pitch.pe/72303
Registration information:
Online: http://bit.ly/bcoZft
Phone: The Weathers Group – (803) 400-1991
Email: info@weathersgroup.com
General information: http://bit.ly/a6wDu8

Charles C. Weathers, Sr., president of The Weathers Group, will present the keynote address which will cover:  the value of cross-sector partnerships and alliances to address the needs of local communities; the importance of community engagement and ownership in creating and sustaining change; and overcoming barriers to communication, cooperation, and collaboration. “This conference is geared toward building trust and establishing relationships among participants to generate a synergy that sparks long-term community partnerships,” said Weathers. “Additionally, by bringing together delegates from throughout the community, we will  provide a vision for developing a network of mentoring sites to support youth in need,” states Jerry Grimes, executive director of Friends of Juvenile Justice.


About The Weathers Group
Founded in 2001, The Weathers Group (TWG) is an innovative consulting firm that specializes in developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and building communities. By providing clients with educational seminars, keynote presentations, customized tools, and technical assistance, The Weathers Group helps organizations and individuals enhance their performance. For more information, visit www.weathersgroup.com.

About Friends of Juvenile Justice
Friends of Juvenile Justice (FJJ) is a private non-profit group comprised of citizens working with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and others in the public and private sectors to stem the rising tide of gangs, teen crime, drugs and street violence impacting our children today. FJJ is fostering a movement to not only help the kids “behind the fence” at DJJ, but also to prevent teen crime in cities, towns and rural areas across our state. We are helping communities reclaim South Carolina’s children by turning young lives around. We accomplish this by focusing on prevention and intervention, rehabilitation and reintegration.  Visit www.scfjj.org for more information.

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• The needs of South Carolina’s youth;
• Explain how mentoring can help, heal, and change lives;
• Define what attendees can do to help.

• There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations (NPOs) nationwide?
• Those 1.5 million organizations employ 11 million full-time staff members, and tens of millions of volunteers?
• NPOs contribute 10 percent of the U.S. gross national product (GNP)? 

1. The current and future state of the independent sector;
2. Economic trends; and
3. Local and national success stories, including an exciting example of a collaborative partnership between government agencies, private sector businesses, and nonprofit organizations led by First Lady Michelle Obama.