Community Centric Fundraising (CCF) and Nonprofit Boards: Lessons learned and practical steps to help you achieve more equitable non-profit governance.

Perhaps you've had the conversation with your executive director (ED), your staff.... you've updated your materials, implemented more inclusive policies, and refined your donor programs ....Now it's time to take the next step: you need to talk to your board chair, perhaps even your whole board, in order to implement your CCF strategies, but you freeze. The inherent and often unequal power between fundraisers and board members, makes it seem impossible to move forward. You and your ED are afraid of the implications ...how will they react? Will they be offended by the language used to describe the principle? How should you approach the conversation?

Come hear real stories, and learn practical tips, from a non-profit fundraiser and a board member who have brought CCF to life in their non-profit governance work. Arlen and Nina will share with you the challenges, and the rewards, of building a community-centric board that supports your organization’s mission, values and community. This talk is meant for people who have a basic understanding of CCF and/or are leading with a focus on JEDI. For more information about CCF please view: https://communitycentricfundraising.org/

Event Schedule

12-12:30 pm: Arrival & networking over lunch
12:30-1:45 pm: Program, Q&A
1:45-2:00 pm: Optional continued networking

Nina Gehan, CEO/Co-Founder, MeaningFULL Development & Communications

Nina was born in France and moved to Madison, WI in 2007. She has worked in non-profit development and communications for the past fourteen years. Her work has brought her to a variety of projects where she uses her project management, communication skills, and fundraising experience to help organizations thrive. Nina has a DEUG in History and Ethnology from Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne, a BA in Sociology from the University of Chicago and a MA in Journalism & Mass Communications from UW Madison. She has worked in leadership positions in several area non-profits including the Lussier Community Education Center, Centro Hispano Inc., and at the University of Wisconsin. In addition, she has worked as a consultant and contractor for the past eight years helping nonprofits and small businesses with their fundraising and marketing needs.

Nina has a unique approach to development and communications that combines grassroots strategies with her deep passion for social justice and action. In her role as the first Development and Communications Director for Centro Hispano Inc., Nina applied Community Centric Fundraising (CCF) principles to her work for the organization, helping it grow in equitable and sustainable ways including the design and management of a comprehensive fundraising and communications strategic plan which culminated in the achievement of Campaign CENTRO, a 20 million capital campaign.

In her new role as the CEO of MeaningFULL Development & Communications, a business that she co-founded with her husband Malcolm in 2022, Nina has worked with numerous other organizations and businesses including local nonprofits the Urban League of Greater Madison on the Black Business Hub Capital Campaign, UNIDOS, Wisconsin Humanities, OWN It Building Black Wealth, BBBS, the Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce, and others.

Nina was the recipient of the 2023 Amy’s “Connector” Award from Madison Magazine and currently serves as a board member for Rooted, an organization that connects community through food, land and learning. She was a co-founder and longstanding member of the now-dissolved AFP Diversity (JEDI) Committee and is a former AFP board member. In her free time, Nina enjoys spending time with her husband Malcolm and their five children, cooking, the outdoors, serving as a mentor, and doing freelance graphic design and content writing.

Arlen W. Moss, Co-founder, Tuition Equity and Accessibility Modeling Inc, Board President, Children’s Theatre of Madison

Arlen Moss is the co-founder of Tuition Equity and Accessibility Modeling, Inc (TEAM), a company committed to creating equitable tuition and enrollment models without the barriers of antiquated practices (termed ‘financial aid’), which tend to otherize recipients. Arlen is also the co-founder of I-jedi LLC, a company dedicated to changing the world through their work in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion consulting. I-jedi works with organizations that are committed to becoming just entities. He holds a degree in Management and Project Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Over the course of more than 30 years as a Madisonian, Arlen has held volunteer and professional leadership roles with: the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Long-term Care for adults with disabilities Medicare/Medicaid waiver, Infamous Mothers, Overture Foundation's Equity and Innovation committee, Telephone Pioneers of America, American Cancer Society, Dane County Humane Society - Dog Jog, United Way, Meals on Wheels, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, Wisconsin Independent Living Centers, Wisconsin Council of the Blind - Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Downtown Kiwanis Club, Downtown Madison Inc's Inclusiveness committee, United Cerebral Palsy, Children’s Theater of Madison’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee and the Kajsiab Senior Center.

Arlen is the former president of the Wingra School Board of Trustees, and currently president of the Children's Theater of Madison Board of Directors. Arlen was also a longstanding member, and former Chair of the now-dissolved AFP Diversity (JEDI) Committee and is a former AFP board member. Arlen is also passionate about advocating for self-directed supports to build sustainable networks to serve the disability community and frail elders.