Chico, California (March 24, 2009) – Local nonprofit leaders have the opportunity to participate in two trainings in April provided by the Nonprofit Leadership Institute, a program of North Valley Community Foundation. On Monday, April 6, the topic will be “Connect the Dollars – Creating a Budget to Guide You”  On Monday, April 27, the topic will be “Stand Up and Lead – Effective Board Involvement”

The instructor for the April 6 session will be Vada Bouffard, founder and owner of Harvest Accounting & Management Systems. She brings over 25 years experience with various industries in the areas of accounting and business management. As former Chief Financial Officer and co-owner of a multi-million dollar company, Vada Bouffard has dedicated her experience and expertise to helping nonprofit clients implement accounting and management best practices by increasing their understanding of how to use financial data as a tool to plan for, and attain, long-term sustainability.

Learn the fundamentals of successful budgeting for your non-profit organization in this two-hour, interactive course that will walk you, step-by-step, through the process of setting up a successful budget.  Participants will take a look at each category in their organization’s budget, learn how to coach themselves through the budget building process, and understand how to use the budget as a tool to help manage the organization’s spending for success. With revenues declining, this class can help nonprofits maximize their financial effectiveness.

The instructor for the April 27 session will be Laura Cootsona, Director of the Nonprofit Leadership Institute. Her consulting career includes work with schools, social service agencies, religious outreach groups, and arts organizations. Her experience in fundraising consulting is complemented by a Masters in Nonprofit Management from the University of San Francisco.

The Board Involvement class will provide participants with the fundamentals of board and staff responsibilities, including legal and fiscal issues, life cycles of boards, fundraising, conducting meetings, and committee responsibilities. The class is designed to benefit both board members and senior staff of nonprofits. This is especially important during the current economic downturn, as board effectiveness becomes more important.

Both trainings are in Chico, at the Training Place on the Chico Campus of Butte Community College, 2320 Forest Avenue. The Budgeting training (April 6) takes place from 10AM-12:00PM and the cost $50 per person. The Board  training on April 27 will be from 8:30AM-12:30PM and costs $60. For further details and registration, contact NVCF at 891-1150 or register online at www.nvcf.org.  Reservations should be made in advance, as registration is limited.