Webinar for COF Members: "Streamlining the Work of Your Foundation’s Board through E-governance"

Webinar: "Streamlining the Work of Your Foundation’s Board through E-governance," with Leigh Higgins, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; Scott Owens, San Francisco Foundation; and Dottie Schindlinger, BoardEffect

View the Recording of this Webinar, Originally Presented on October 26, 2011

With over 50% of organizations now using web-based software to manage the work of their boards, “e-governance” is the latest technology trend sweeping the nonprofit sector.  E-governance involves the conscious, strategic use of board portals to increase the efficiency and productivity of governance work.  But helping your community foundation’s board make the transition from traditional approaches – paper, binders, email, etc. – to e-governance is a process.  Join Leigh Higgins of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Scott Owens of The San Francisco Foundation, and Dottie Schindlinger of BoardEffect for an in-depth discussion of the most successful strategies for implementing e-governance.

In this session, you’ll learn how to:

• Determine your e-governance goals and the board’s needs; addressing the concerns of the IT and Legal departments; defining the expected ROI
• Plan for implementation – using your goals/board’s needs as the basis for developing the roll-out and implementation plan; determining which portal features should receive your focus (and which might need to be "turned off")
• Determine the logistics – deciding on iPads vs. laptops, buying equipment for the board vs. having them bring their own, giving equipment as gifts vs. retaining ownership, and using the portal to conduct live meetings
• Train and transition the board to using a portal – ensuring both staff and board members know how, why, and when to use the portal
• Avoid pitfalls, manage challenges, and get the timing just right.

This webinar is designed to help both those in the beginning stages of considering board portals, as well as those who have already started and are seeking strategies for smoother implementation.  As part of this session, we will provide a brief online tour of BoardEffect, the leading e-governance solution for foundation and nonprofit boards of directors.

Watch the recording and download the slides here:

www.boardeffect.com/knowledge/webinars

PRESENTERS:

• Leigh Higgins, The Community Foundation for Greatern New Haven
• Scott Owens, San Francisco Foundation
• Dottie Schindlinger, BoardEffect

About Leigh Higgins:

Leigh has been with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven for over five years.  Four as the Executive Assistant to the President and previously as an associate philanthropic officer in grants and scholarships.

Prior to coming to The Foundation, Leigh's professional experience was primarily in children and youth issues.  She directed a state-wide community-based youth development program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County until 2003 when she moved back to Connecticut.  At the start of her career, she served as a nutritionist with the Peace Corps at rural health clinic in Niger, West Africa.  Leigh holds a M.Ed. degree from Goucher College and is currently a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program at Southern Connecticut State University.  She lives in Madison with her husband Leslie and their two children, Carrick and Caeleigh.  

About Scott Owens:

Scott Owens is Executive Assistant to the CEO of The San Francisco Foundation, the Bay Area’s community foundation, which mobilizes resources and acts as a catalyst for change to build strong communities, foster civic leadership, and promote philanthropy. Scott provides support to CEO Sandra R. Hernández, M.D., as well as coordination for the Board of Trustees and Board Committees. Scott joined The San Francisco Foundation in 2004. Prior to joining the Foundation, he was office manager and assistant to the director of the California program office at the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national intermediary that helps communities create permanent housing with services to prevent and end homelessness. Scott enjoys bicycling in and around the many neighborhoods of San Francisco. He is also a student in the honors program at City College of San Francisco, pursuing a degree in Cultural Anthropology.  

About Dottie Schindlinger:

As the Vice President of E-governance for BoardEffect, Dottie provides leadership and promotes e-governance as an expert in the field. Her role includes developing business relationships, creating training programs and curricula, delivering conference presentations and workshops, researching and writing publications such as the "E-governance Is Good Governance" chapter of Internet Management for Nonprofits: Strategies, Tools & Trade Secrets, published in 2010 by Wiley & Sons publishers.

Dottie brings over 15 years experience in capacity-building for nonprofit organizations as a trainer, consultant, staff member and active volunteer. Dottie holds a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania, and certificates in Nonprofit Management and Leadership and Nonprofit Board Leadership from The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University.