2007 Regional Conferences
Risk Management Essentials for Leaders of the Nonprofit Sector of Texas
May 10, 2007 • Austin, TX • Norris Conference Center
The Center is grateful to the Public Entity Risk Institute for its generous sponsorship of this conference.
The Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations and Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College will proudly present a one-day conference designed to help nonprofit leaders effectively integrate sound finance and risk management principles into day-to-day operations. You'll learn what steps are needed to achieve a greater measure of accountability and harness practical tools to strengthen your mission. The conference offers a time and place for the sharing of ideas, the opportunity to acquire information for informed decision-making and a welcoming environment for champions of effective financial management in the nonprofit sector. The conference is designed for nonprofit CFOs, finance professionals, CEOs, program managers, board members, department heads and professional advisors serving nonprofit organizations. Veteran nonprofit professionals, as well as new managers, will feel at home at this challenging, information-packed educational event.
I attended the regional conference in Denver last week. Thank you for putting together such an informative day! It was just what I needed to help get our agency going in the right direction in looking at these risk issues.
— Tamra Schmitt, Adoption Alliance, Denver, CO
This Training Is for You
- executive directors
- chief operating officers
- chief financial officers and treasurers
- fiscal managers
- professional risk managers
- program managers
- board members
- advisors to nonprofits
Registration Fees (below) include:
- a hearty breakfast and lunch
- a resource guide; and
- a free copy of one of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center's books
Conference Agenda
| 8:00–9:00 am | Registration, Breakfast and Ice-Breaker |
| 9:00–9:15 am | WELCOME Barry Silverberg, President & CEO, Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations (TANO) & Director, Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College |
| 9:15–10:15 am | Are You Under a Rock or Out on a Ledge? Managing Risk in a Changing WorldThe opening plenary session will explore the concepts of risk perception, risk communication and assigning responsibility for risk management in a social services agency. Learn why reputation risk may be the most ignored but most critical topic on your board’s agenda and what your organization can do to harness fear about the future into a plan of action. Speaker: Melanie Lockwood Herman, Executive Director, Nonprofit Risk Management Center and co-author, Taking the High Road: A Guide to Effective and Legal Employment Practices for Nonprofits |
| 10:30–Noon | The Employment Battlefield: Avoid Minefields! aka Effective and Legal Employment Practices: Hot Topics, Emerging Issues and Proven StrategiesThis session will explore employment topics on the radar screen for 2007. What risks lurk in your current employment practices? What changes in law and regulation are most likely to result in errors on the part of even a dedicated nonprofit leader? Learn what your organization can and must do to “take the high road” with its employees while remaining safely within the lanes of legal conduct. Speaker: Melanie Lockwood Herman |
| Noon–12:45 pm | Buffet Lunch Insurance: What You Need to Know but Have Been Afraid (or Unwilling) to AskFew nonprofit leaders relish the opportunity to pour over their insurance contracts. Yet most leaders rely on the protection promised in these documents. The luncheon program will explore and debunk common myths about buying appropriate insurance coverage for a nonprofit, and present a framework for making certain that your nonprofit is an educated consumer of insurance. Let’s face it, you’re going to buy coverage at some point and at some level. Why not commit to being a good steward of financial assets and putting together an insurance program that protects and fortifies your mission. Speaker: Melanie Lockwood Herman |
| 1:00–2:30 pm | Financial Risk Management: 10 Lessons to Live ByThis presentation will begin with a fast-paced overview of key financial risks facing nonprofits. The speaker will discuss commonly overlooked and underestimated exposures as well as risks that are more familiar to veteran nonprofit managers. The session will continue with ten essential lessons (and two bonus lessons!) for nonprofit leaders. The practical advice that will be shared during this session is relevant for nonprofit CFOs, senior staff, CEOs and board members. Participants will learn what is required to avoid or mitigate financial risks that could lead to unfortunate and costly if not catastrophic outcomes for their organizations. Speaker: Melanie Lockwood Herman |
| 2:45–3:30 pm | Volunteers = Risk + RewardWithout volunteers many nonprofits would disappear. Yet it is foolish and naïve to believe that volunteers bring only benefit to an organization. In addition to hours of selfless service, professionalism and commitment, the presence of volunteers heightens an agency’s exposure to risk. But don’t despair! There are countless (well, at least 30) practical and affordable steps your nonprofit can take to manage the risks associated with volunteer service. After a 15 minute Q&A session, this fast-paced session will offer 30 strategies for managing volunteer risks in 30 minutes. Presenter: Melanie Lockwood Herman |
| 3:45–4:45 pm | If Tomorrow Ever Comes: Essential Litigation Survival StrategiesWhile only a small percentage of nonprofits have ever been sued, most nonprofit leaders readily admit apprehension about the prospect of serving as a defendant in a legal claim. While no one wants to be in that difficult and trying position, there are important steps every organization can take to prepare to survive litigation. This session will describe those steps with the goal of preparing attendees for that possible “tomorrow.” Speaker: Melanie Lockwood Herman |
| 4:45–5:00 pm | Presentation of Certificates and Closing |
About the Conference Faculty
Melanie Lockwood Herman serves as Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, a Washington, DC-based resource center serving the nonprofit community in the United States. Melanie has spent her entire career in the nonprofit sector and has authored and co-authored more than 15 books covering a wide spectrum of risk management issues.
Conference Sponsors
Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations
Representing and advocating for the Nonprofit Sector of Texas through programs and services focused on leadership and convening, advocacy and public policy, management and professional development, research and information and referral, products and services, and communications within and about the Sector. For more information, e-mail info@tano.org or visit www.tano.org
ACC Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations
Working effectively to bring people and assets together to achieve the common good, the Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College (ACC CCBNO) serves those engaged in the Nonprofit Sector by leveraging community assets and serving as a community partnership broadening the horizons and possibilities for those engaged in the Nonprofit Sector by Connecting the Nonprofit Sector, Providing Professional & Volunteer Development Learning Opportunities, Making available Resources, Information, & Referral and Offering Coaching, Consultation, Collaboration. For more information, e-mail bsilverb@austincc.edu or visit www.nonprofitaustin.org
Nonprofit Risk Management Center
The Center provides free technical assistance on risk management, liability, and insurance matters; offers interactive risk assessment programs online; publishes easy-to-use written resources; designs and delivers workshops and conferences; and offers competitively priced consulting services. The Center’s library of affordable publications includes more than 20 titles, and its software resources include Nonprofit CARES and Pillars of Accountability. For more information, call (202) 785-3891.
Conference Location
2525 West Anderson Lane
Austin, TX 78757
Phone: 512-451-5011
Fax: 512-451-1444
Email: austin@norriscenters.com
Registration Fees
10% discount if registered by 1/31
- $100 – members of TANO and $90 for second representative from a TANO member agency
- $150 – first representative of other nonprofit organizations with each additional representative $140
- $200 – private sector participants