Spotlight: The Board Member’s Guide to Good Governance

Virtual – Live/Online

Fee: $135 for MCN members / $175 for nonmembers

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Whether you are thinking about board service, are currently serving, or are a seasoned board member looking for a refresher this Spotlight is for you. It will offer practical, varied, and rich content that mixes tools and principles that are immediately implementable with strategies and resources geared toward your continual long-term growth as an effective and engaged board member.

Spotlights are day-long virtual trainings, offering four to five 60-minute sessions, each exploring a different aspect of a specific topic. Each session will be led by experienced nonprofit leaders and subject-matter experts. Spotlights are designed to offer practical information that can be applied immediately along with larger-picture questions and possibilities to consider for the long-term.

We know it’s difficult to carve out large chunks of time in your day to attend trainings, so we’ve spread the sessions out over a full day, with breaks in between. You will have access to the session recordings for three months!

This Spotlight originates from a partnership in northern Minnesota between the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, Head of the Lakes United Way, and Community Action Duluth. It has been offered in person to high praise in the North and we’re happy to be bringing it to a wider audience in this virtual format.

Schedule (All times listed in Central Time)

9 – 10 a.m. // Nonprofit Board 101: Basic Board Member Duties
Kelly LaCore, Northern Minnesota regional representative, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

We start our series with an overview of nonprofits, the nonprofit sector in Minnesota, and a basic overview of the duties and responsibilities that board members have as volunteer external leaders of nonprofit organizations. We will focus primarily on board basics and the fiduciary duties that board members have (we’ll also define that word fiduciary!), and talk about what board members should and should not be doing. Many new board members never get basic training when they begin their board service – this will set some groundwork for board service and will also provide content you may never have gotten even if you’re a nonprofit board veteran.

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. // Board Member Legal and Human Resources Responsibilities
Cameron Kruger, founder, That Nonprofit Guy

Board members have legal and human resources responsibilities. What are those responsibilities and how can a board member protect the organization, and themselves, from legal pitfalls? In this session we will discuss liability, ethics, overseeing an Executive Director, and other topics related to your duty of care and governance.

1 – 2 p.m. // Financial Information Board Members Should Know
Leslie Brunfelt, finance director, City of Proctor, MN

Nonprofit leaders state that financial oversight is one of the most important roles of an effective governance board. However, many board members are either unaware of their fiduciary responsibilities or uncomfortable with financial documents and information. This course will attempt to demystify some of the accounting reports and terminology, explain the board’s role in maintaining internal controls, and give you tools to ask good questions and recognize when something is concerning and needs further investigation.

2:30 – 3:30 p.m. // Nonprofit Board Inclusion Success Strategies
Chris Davila, founder, Davila Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consulting

Being a new or prospective member of a board member can be both exciting and challenging. You may be driven to make a difference, lend your skills to a great organization, support the community or be a voice for the underrepresented. Whatever your reasons, the rewards, and challenges of venturing into a new role parallels other significant transitions in your life. Understanding our behaviors, challenges, and success patterns in other aspects of our life provides a road map to be successful in new and unfamiliar endeavors. This interactive workshop will provide attendees with opportunities to reflect, develop success strategies and provide resources for being successful as a new or prospective board member.

Event Details

This virtual event will take place on the Zoom platform. Your access link will be emailed to you the day before the event after 12 p.m.

This session will be recorded. The recording will be made available to registrants after the live event.

Captioning is provided automatically through Zoom. For information on requesting CART, ASL, or another accommodation, please visit our Registration Policies page.

Small Team Rate: Register three people from the same organization at once and the fourth registration is free! To register online, one person will login to their MCN account and will add colleagues to your group – your fourth colleague will be free! Visit our Events and Registration FAQ page (choose “How do I register multiple people?” from the FAQ options) for instructions on how to complete online group registrations.

To learn more about events, registration, and payment, visit our Event & Registration FAQ page.

Speaker Information

Leslie Brunfelt holds a CPA license and has 30 years of experience as an accountant in a variety of professional roles including at a few nonprofits. Her current role is Finance Director for the City of Proctor, MN. She is also currently involved in the community as a board member for First Witness Child Advocacy Center, treasurer at St. Paul’s Church, and as a sustaining member of the Junior League of Duluth. Leslie lives in Duluth and loves being outdoors on Duluth trails or adventuring the North Shore and the BWCA. She is a self-described foodie and loves to try new recipes and restaurants. 

Chris Davila is an experienced diversity, equity and inclusion professional with a demonstrated history of working in higher education. He identifies as a gay, cis-male, Mexican American and a first generation college graduate. An eighteen-year resident of Duluth, Minnesota, he has served as an Academic Excellence Coordinator at the University of Minnesota Duluth Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the College of St. Scholastica and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Specialist at Life House. Chris earned a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching, General Business Certificate and Human Services Certificate at the University of Minnesota Duluth and is a certified Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

Cameron Kruger is a passionate advocate for the nonprofit sector. He is the founder of That Nonprofit Guy, a consultancy focused on building the capacity of nonprofits.  Cameron is also the recently outgoing Board Chair of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and adjunct professor of Organizational Leadership for Southern New Hampshire University.

Kelly LaCore represents the northern Minnesota office for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, supporting more than 200 nonprofits of all sizes and services across the northern strip of the state. In this regional role, she provides resources, information, connections and training to help organizations better meet their missions. Kelly is passionate about nonprofits and the community-building role they play everywhere. She has served on a few boards in the Duluth area with missions that she is excited about.