Maximizing Your Board's Potential
As part of its commitment to supporting the health of the Kansas nonprofit sector, Sunflower Foundation recently collaborated with Kansas Health Foundation to provide a free, virtual training series for nonprofit staff and board members to help them gain the knowledge, skills and resources they need to strengthen their capacity and impact.
High-quality boards are critical to the overall success of any nonprofit organization. However, identifying the right board volunteers and training them on how to effectively fulfill their roles and help their organization accomplish its mission can be a challenge.
Sunflower Foundation and Kansas Health Foundation developed and supported the training series, Maximize Your Board Potential, which invited staff and board members from Kansas nonprofits of all sizes to join subject matter experts and peer networks for four virtual workshops. Each workshop was followed by a community of practice session, where participants were able to reflect on the workshops and engage in discussions with peers. Across the eight sessions, which started Feb. 21 and ran through April 11, there were a total of 625 registrants.
This web page is dedicated to sharing the resources provided at each workshop, as well as recordings of the workshops themselves. Whether you’re revisiting it as a participant or experiencing it for the very first time, this is your opportunity to take advantage of this amazing training series!
Subject matter experts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Center for Nonprofit Leadership, Connection Coach KC, and Support KC, as well as other nonprofit leaders, presented on the following topics:
- Strategy in Governance: Let’s talk about Boards! This session focused on board recruitment and the importance of assembling the right leaders around the table.
- Assess, Reflect, Improve: Becoming the Board Your Organization Needs. This workshop delved into the need for boards to use assessments to set goals for their organizations and measure their progress.
- Building Power: Reflecting on Your Board and Organization Identify. The third workshop in the series focused on creating a board culture that allows for a wide variety of perspectives so that the board and organization has the resilience needed to navigate a changing environment.
- The Rubber and the Road: Lessons Learned From the Field. This final workshop featured experienced nonprofit board members and nonprofit executive directors in an engaging panel discussion about the lessons one learns when leading impactful organizations.
“As I engaged with the questions and content, the networking and collaborative discussions truly began to flourish,” said Nadia Arbelo, executive director of Central Topeka Grocery Oasis and series participant. “The first session set a strong foundation, and I found sessions two through four to be especially impactful regarding practical resources and applicable strategies.”
For Arbelo, session 2 was the “most transformative.”
“The tools shared during this session greatly enhanced my role and provided a transparent, strategic framework for me as CEO/executive director and our board,” Arbelo said. “Since the beginning of the series, we’ve made significant progress – electing new officers, forming key committees, and increasing engagement across the board. These changes have already contributed to fundraising, community outreach, and governance structure improvements.”
The series also offered the opportunity to take advantage of one-on-one technical assistance with professional coaches from the Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute. To request a one-hour, free coaching session for your organization, complete and submit a request form that will allow the institute to match you with the right coach.
This training event was made possible in part through the engagement of the Patterson Family Foundation and its support for nonprofit capacity building across rural Kansas.
“We are grateful for the contributions of our partners in this work – the Patterson Family Foundation, Kansas Health Foundation, Elevate Kansas, University of Missouri-Kansas City Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, Support KC and the Wichita State University Community Engagement Institute,” said Carlie Houchen, Sunflower Foundation’s director of Health Systems.
Session 1: Let's Talk About Boards - Feb. 21, 2025
Presented by Thomas Vansaghi, Ph.D, University of Missouri-Kansas City Center for Nonprofit Leadership
Dr. Vansaghi shares how boards can go above and beyond their legal duties of governance, what it takes for boards to get to that next level, and tools to support board recruitment and maintaining high levels of strategic engagement.
Dr. Thomas Vansaghi is the senior fellow at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Center for Nonprofit Leadership. He is an associate professor, director of nonprofit leadership and director of strategic planning at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo. He has served in a variety of senior-level positions in public service, higher education and the nonprofit sector.
Dr. Vansaghi earned his Bachelor of Science from Northwest Missouri State, his Master of Public Administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and his Ph.D from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Resources from Dr. Vansaghi
Watch Session 1
Session 2: Assess, Reflect, Improve: Becoming the Board Your Organizaiton Needs - March 7, 2025
Julie Klima shares board assessment best practices and how to use assessments to spark important conversations about your board’s culture.
Julie Klima, managing director of the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has more than two decades of cross-sector experience leading teams through growth and change. She has held a variety of roles in nonprofit and private sector organizations.
Klima earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from The University of Oklahoma and a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management from The George Washington University.
Session 3: Building Power: Reflecting on Your Board and Organization Identity - March 21, 2025
Nicole Jacobs-Silvey, co-founder of Connection Coach KC, and Blake Petersen, community impact manager at Support KC, talk about tools that are needed to assess the identity of your nonprofit board and what a diverse leadership team brings to a organization.
Nicole Jacobs-Silvey is a coach, consultant, speaker, writer and connector. She founded Connection Coach KC, which focuses on executive coaching and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consulting. Jacobs-Silvey has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rockhurst University and her Not-for-Profit Fundraising Certificate from the UMKC Bloch School of Management.
Blake Petersen joined Support KC in 2018 as an intern and has grown into her current role as community impact manager. She works closely with prospective nonprofit clients, helping them explore how Support KC’s services can support their goals and strengthen their impact. Petersen is pursuing a Master of Public Administration with a focus on Nonprofit Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and hopes to continue building her skills and knowledge in the field.
Resources from Julie Klima
Watch Session 3
Session 4: The Rubber and the Road - April 4, 2025
The fourth and final session of the Maximize Your Board Potential virtual nonprofit board training series featured seasoned nonprofit executive directors and nonprofit board members participating in a pair of panel discussions.
Executive director panelists included:
- Sarah Meitner, executive director, Heartland Community Foundation, Ellis, Trego and Rooks counties
- Shelly Westfall, executive director, LegacyWorks ICT, Wichita
- Max Kaniger, founder & CEO of Kanbe Market, Kansas City
Nonprofit board panelists included:
- Rob Bauer, attorney, Bauer Pike Law of Great Bend
- Andrea Bauer, public information director, USD 428 Great Bend
- Kelli Hansen, grassroots strategy developer, Office of Rural Prosperity, Plainville
- Ashley Comeau, attorney, Jeter Law Firm, Plainville
