Board Leadership Academy

On May 11, we completed the fourth year of the Board Leadership Academy (BLA), a training program for board and staff (in the Alexandria, MN area) developed and sponsored by Bob Bunger, Principal with HBH Consultants; LaTresse Snead, Community Relations Team Lead with Tastefully Simple; Nancy Straw, Executive Director at West Central Initiative and Holly Witt, Nonprofit Resource Specialist with Bremer Bank.

The BLA is designed to provide customized training that enhances the ability of nonprofit board and staff leaders to work together to strengthen organization performance through training, a resource coach, and completion of goals.

Because of the difficult financial times nonprofits have been experiencing, BLA sponsors invited the Nonprofits Assistance Fund to partner for the 2010-2011 program year and focus on the financial health of nonprofits. The following themes became the focus of this past year’s BLA.

• Evaluating the financial health of your organization
• Understanding your organization’s financial information
• Organizational change
• Leadership Engagement

Plans are underway for BLA 2011-2012 with a possible addition of something special for BLA Alum in the spring of 2012.

Contact Holly at 320-589-0552 or hswitt@bremer.com for more information.

Organizations represented in the photo above include: Fergus Falls Chamber of Commerce, Lakeland Hospice Foundation, Love Inc., Regional Fitness Center, Smokey Timbers Foundation, Someplace Safe, United Way of Otter Tail County, Wes MN RC&C, West Central MN Communities Action and Wings Family Supportive Services.

Holly Witt, NRS, Alexandria