Brace yourself, readers! For a change, I will utilize this column for its original purpose – to promote the Center for a Vital Community’s work in our community. Crazy, eh? No personal blog post today, folks. Instead, I’m here to explain why the CVC has been called the Chamber of Commerce for Nonprofits. When you consider our Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce, this is high praise.  Because our community is so philanthropic (a fancy word for extremely generous), that generosity has encouraged the creation of nonprofits providing essential services to our community. Sheridan is known statewide for its wide variety and number of outstanding nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit support is one of our three focuses (with leadership training and community initiatives). Beginning with nonprofit roundtables nearly two decades ago, we have continued to bring training opportunities, networking events, board training, strategic planning, and one-on-one consulting to our ever-expanding nonprofit sector.

January 2024 will kick off our third iteration of Spring Training, a five-month course for new nonprofit directors and key staff.  First held in 2018 and then again in 2020 (when we had to go virtual for the last few months), over 60 local nonprofit folks have learned the building blocks of a successful nonprofit. In addition to the one day a month featuring a regional expert in a specific subject, there is pre-reading and homework after the day, focusing on retention and application. And it’s a CVC event, so of course, we’re feeding the participants. That’s always a guarantee.  CVC = Food.  The course will cover Mission, Vision, and Storytelling, Human Resources, Financial Tools and Tricks, Funding Diversification and Expansion, and Communications and Marketing.

All this information gathering will build to The Pitch, held in late May, with funders. The Pitch is the nonprofit’s opportunity to identify its greatest need after learning the fundamentals of a healthy nonprofit and explain that need to the panel of funders. They can receive up to $3,000 to address that need if their pitch is compelling. One year, after the Communications and Marketing class, a nonprofit realized they needed a better website.  Another needed skilled board training to get members more involved and aware of expectations and responsibilities.

In addition to all the knowledge gained, a huge bonus of Spring Training is the cohort of nonprofit professionals sharing challenges, victories, workarounds, and advice. So many nonprofit organizations have a tiny staff, and there’s no one to turn to if you need guidance or support. Being part of a bigger group is fun and an instant access to resources.

Dates, times, and location are all available on sheridancvc.org, and we’re excited to convene a new group of leaders eager to meet each other and learn what makes a nonprofit successful.

I do hope this transition to my actual work wasn’t too jarring, dear readers.  Fear not; we will return to our regularly scheduled Amy Updates soon.