Psychological Health and Safety | This Week’s Blog | Upcoming Events | Finance Tips From Julie | How can I help?
Hi there – thanks for checking out my latest Good Governance Newsletter!
I know you are here because you are committed to good not-for-profit governance and leadership, and you want to make sure you do everything you can to steer your organisation in the right direction.
So, to support you with that, through my regular Good Governance Newsletters I strive to bring to you valuable NFP governance and leadership information and updates, happenings and events, that will help you do exactly that!
So take a moment and check out what I have to share with you in this week’s newsletter…
Read on for:
- Looking after your people’s Psychological Health and Safety
- My latest Blog – Focus on Board Roles: The role of the Board Treasurer
- Upcoming Events:
6 November – My final quarterly webinar for 2024: 10 tips for better Board orientation
26 November – Then join me online for my final session of my flagship training program – Good Governance for NFPs – for 2024 - Finance Tips from Julie – Challenges Amidst Economic Uncertainty
- Working with me – How my Board Refresh and Refocus Program can help your NFP
I’m so glad you have found me and all the resources I share via my newsletters and emails.
I am sure I will have something to help you in the not-for-profit work you do, whether it be as an Executive, a Board member, or a grass-roots community volunteer.
So dive on in and let me know what resonated with you this time!
Regards
Megan
SPOTLIGHT ON PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Historically, health and safety has largely focused on looking after the physical safety needs of our people.
But, of late, there has been a much greater awareness of the need to consider people’s psychological health and safety needs too.
Whether it be the importance of keeping in good mental health, the psychological repercussions of living through a global pandemic, or recent legislative changes relating to psychological safety, there are many factors driving this key consideration to the forefront of contemporary health and safety discussions.
And with the ever-evolving compliance landscape we face in governing and managing our not-for-profits, it might feel a bit overwhelming trying to be across this area TOO!
So this is where the good people at Benefolk have come to the rescue!
Benefolk has developed an excellent Psychological Health and Safety Checklist and as part of their Community Well resources, and you can download it for free HERE!
I think you will find this comprehensive checklist a great conversation-starter for your Board, or your Health and Safety Committee, to get you all thinking about how and where you can support better psychological health and safety practices within YOUR organisation.
Check it out! And do let me know what you think!
MY LATEST BLOG
This week we round off my short Blog series: Focus on Board Roles.
This final article explores the key functions of the role of the Board Treasurer, and it also reminds us that we ALL have a role to play in ensuring the financial health of our organisation when we sit on a governing body – meaning it’s not all up to the Treasurer!
From providing effective financial reports, to drafting budgets, an effective Treasurer is key to the success of any not-for-profit organisation, so check out the full article HERE – I do hope you find it helpful!
And if you want to read more of my blog articles, or listen to some podcasts I have spoken on, or even watch some of my past webinars, then check out my back catalogue of Blogs & Pods HERE.
Enjoy!
MY LAST WEBINAR FOR 2024 AND
MY FINAL GOVERNANCE TRAINING SESSION FOR THE YEAR
🌟 6 November
My final quarterly webinar for the year will be: 10 tips for better Board orientation.
I see too many NFPs glossing over – or missing out altogether – this critical step in Board member recruitment.
So come along to this FREE webinar to hear my top tips to delivering a cracking Board orientation and induction program, in order to set your organisation’s newcomers (and the rest of your Board!) up for success.
This session will be held online, on Wednesday 6 November, from 12 pm – 1 pm (AEDT/Melbourne time) and tickets are free.
Click HERE for further information and to book yourself in.
I hope you can join me for this last one for 2024!
🌟 26 November
Due to popular demand I have scheduled one more online Good Governance for not-for-profits training session for 2024, to provide an opportunity for your Board newcomers (and also your longer-term Board members who may be looking for this!) to get in for this training before the year is out.
As my flagship governance training program, this session explores the key governance areas of good practice, compliance, planning, and risk.
Join me online from the comfort of your own home, and hear my many years of accumulated governance experience and knowledge distilled down into this three-hour training session.
With just 25 tickets available, there will be time for questions and discussions, and for unpacking the concepts we will explore together.
This online training session will be held on Tuesday 26 November, from 6 pm – 9 pm (AEDT/Melbourne time) and tickets are just $156 per person.
Click HERE for further information and to purchase your tickets.
FINANCE TIPS FROM JULIE
Julie Doyle is my business finances guru, and this week she is generously sharing some of her wisdom around Challenges Amidst Economic Uncertainty.
This week Julie says:
In the final article for this year on fundraising and revenue options for not-for-profits, this newsletter we will look at how economic downturns or periods of uncertainty can impact your charitable giving and grant funding, and we will take what we have already learnt and consider what can be innovated or adapted to help us survive and thrive during these tough times.
Running a NFP during times of economic uncertainty comes with a unique set of challenges, such as donor funding shortages, increased demands on your services, scaling back operational activities, volunteer shortages, and changes to your donors’ priorities.
But the pressure to adapt to new economic realities can be both a challenge and an opportunity for your NFP, as it may propel you to adopt new fundraising models, leverage different technology, or form new partnerships to stay afloat.
As we have discussed before, diversifying your funding sources across areas such as crowdfunding, partnerships and collaborations, and grant funding, as well as innovating your income streams to accept fee-for-service models, can all help to enable you to tap into new ‘earned income’ funding streams.
Ensure you are leveraging your technology to reach new audiences and raise more income is important too. Digital fundraising campaigns, a proper donor management system, and the automation of routine tasks within the organisation can all help in this area.
Try working with your existing volunteer base to reimagine volunteering within your organisation – perhaps start by looking into options for virtual volunteers and skill-based volunteering to help support your organisation to achieve its purpose into the future.
Amplify the storytelling element around the impact of your work to maintain donor and community engagement. Use video, testimonials, and data to showcase how their important contributions make a difference to your ability achieve your Purpose at the coal face.
And be sure to leverage your metrics and data to ensure you plan and prepare for different economic scenarios, as this will help you be more agile in adapting to changes.
Staying informed about these sorts of trends, and adapting fundraising strategies accordingly, can help not-for-profits effectively navigate the ever-evolving landscape of revenue generation in the NFP sector. Additionally, fostering strong relationships with donors, communicating impact effectively, and maintaining financial transparency are essential elements of successful fundraising efforts too.
If you have a NFP finance query you would like Julie to talk about via my Good Governance Newsletter, just email it to me on megan@mjbconsulting.net.au.
BOOK IN A BOARD REFRESH AND REFOCUS SESSION AS PART OF YOUR BOARD’S ORIENTATION AND INDUCTION PROGRAM
Good Board member Orientation and Induction is the obvious next step after voting in your new Board members for the Board year ahead.
And delivering this all-important grounding as a group session – including ALL your Board members – is a great way to both maximise the use of your precious time, as well as creating a fantastic team-building experience for your whole new Board team to experience.
And that’s why I created my Board Refresh & Refocus program.
Not only does it keep your returning Board members up-to-date and informed, but it provides your newcomers with a really good grounding in your organisation’s Vision and Mission, Purpose and Strategy, as well as focusing on key governance roles and responsibilities, and showcasing the overall business of the organisation too.
My Board Refresh & Refocus program steps your Board members – new and returning – through the critical things that support the delivery of your organisational Purpose – and provides a reminder of the Board’s key governance role of overseeing the delivery of that Purpose.
Here’s what one of the organisations I worked with on this said:
Megan provided her half day Refresh & Refocus session for our Board after speaking with each Director to discuss what they would like to get out of the session.
Megan was great to work with – collaborative and very professional in the lead up to the session. She read through our key governance documents so she was familiar with our organisation including our strategy and constitutions.
The Board was very pleased with the session – they found it time well spent and provided very positive feedback about Megan:
We would definitely book Megan again.
Michele Rowse, Chief Executive Officer, Y Whittlesea.
My Board Refresh & Refocus is the ideal program to get everybody invigorated (or reinvigorated, as the case may be!) and on the same page.
So if this is what your Board needs, click HERE for further information, and book a discovery call with me now to talk about how we can work together to deliver this for YOUR Board, as I’d love to help your organisation with this important work too!
If you want to explore more of my other supports for NFPs, check out my Services page on my website HERE.
Or for all the details, go directly to:
I hope I can help your organisation with what you need!
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