2020 has been a year of seismic structural and cultural change. Health and human rights crises have forced us to face a challenging and uncertain future, and the nonprofit community and those who lead it are rising to meet these new and daunting demands.

Rob Stiles, Vice President, Business Development and Director, Endowments and Foundations, hosted this year’s Haverford Educational Series for Nonprofits event virtually on December 1, 2020 to discuss these issues and answer questions submitted by our clients and friends.

Moderated by Laura Solomon, Esq., the panel featured nonprofit leaders from the Philadelphia region including Sulaiman W. Rahman, President/CEO of DiverseForce, LLC, Frances M. Sheehan, President of The Foundation for Delaware County, and Nadya K. Shmavonian, Director of the Nonprofit Repositioning Fund and Partner at SeaChange Capital Partners.

Given the challenges of 2020, what are we asking of our nonprofit leaders and what do healthy boards look like now?

What are you seeing in terms of increased expectations of your board?

How have demographic shifts impacted the relationship between the staff and board?

Is there an uptick in M&A transactions and program closures? What is your forecast for 2021?

Calls for social justice this year created a sense of urgency around diversity, equity, and inclusion. What does that mean for boards that don’t necessarily reflect the communities they serve?

Why and how do nonprofit leaders need to be relentless?

What is your advice and vision for healthy nonprofits in the future?

What does impactful philanthropy look like now and in the future?

What trends are occurring with nonprofit mission-aligned investment portfolios?

How do you balance the urgency of immediate short-term goals with more strategic long-term goals?

How can nonprofit leaders encourage more productive conversations around merging, collaborating, or affiliating with other nonprofits to drive greater impact?

How can nonprofits continue to grow their board member pipeline virtually?