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And the Winners are....Congratulations to Phoenix Family Housing and the Women’s Employment Network!

The first part of a three part series focused on Support Kansas City's 2011 Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Awards, including upcoming profiles of the winning organizations.

Every day nonprofits throughout Kansas City provide essential services much needed in our community. They do it without any fanfare or glamour. They have staff and volunteers committed to their mission and to excellence. Support Kansas City is proud to recognize two such organizations this year as we award the Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership awards to Phoenix Family Housing (phoenixfamily.org) and the Women’s Employment Network (kcwen.org). SKC is proud to take this opportunity to beat the drum on their behalf!

An independent panel of judges gathers each year to review the applications and their supporting documents. Each year the decision gets a little tougher. It’s exciting to see the commitment to governance and leadership development in all the organizations represented. At a time when the papers have spotlighted large nonprofits who have struggled with governance and oversight, let’s not lose sight of the fact that important nonprofit practices are alive and well for most of our community!

Striving for excellence in nonprofit leadership is not rocket science, it takes a commitment to good governance and a willingness to implement change. There are many resources available to support change:

Resources:

* Boardsource; www.boardsource.org
* The Independent Sector, Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice; www.independentsector.org

Training:

* Nonprofit Connect, Network, Learn, Grow; www.npconnect.org
* Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership; www.mwcnpl.org

Just to name a few . . .

If you serve on a board and would like to raise the governance bar, get going, it’s not hard. Start with a conversation with your Executive Director or President/CEO. I have a feeling they have been wanting to have this conversation.


SKC would love to see your nonprofit recognized in 2012!


Debra Box
Executive Director

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