2016 Annual Meeting of Members & Panel Discussion: The Changing Landscape
NPCC held its Annual Meeting of Members at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 in the JPMorgan Chase offices at 4 MetroTech, in Downtown Brooklyn with 231 members, vendor representatives and honored guests attending.
OPENING STATEMENT
Patricia David, Head of Diversity at JPMorgan Chase, opened the Annual Meeting by welcoming everyone to “Boogey-Down Brooklyn". Her candor kept the atmosphere light as she highlighted her purpose for being at the table and reason for focusing on diversity and inclusion.
According to Pat, JPMorgan Chase’s strategy on diversity and inclusion looks at whether there is opportunity provided to be involved, not just be present; whether people can bring their true self to work; and whether they as a company are acquiring diversity and harnessing the diverse life experiences of their employees to benefit the firm. The company is committed to addressing complex social issues and supporting the community, in particular through capacity building for nonprofit organizations.
Pat acknowledged NPCC’s important role as an advocate for the nonprofit sector here in New York, and expressed her pride in being able to provide space to NPCC for this event.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
Ian Benjamin, in his second address as NPCC’s Board Chairman, opened with many thanks to Pat and JPMorgan Chase for providing the space, and to everyone who was in attendance for this year’s meeting. Speaking to representatives of the present nonprofit organizations, he explained that we at NPCC take our role and responsibility – to provide them with advice and support so they can fulfill their missions – very seriously, and expressed that he was very proud to be there.
Ian then reported on NPCC’s accomplishments. For the year ending September 30, 2015, NPCC:
- had 1,421 members across Long Island, Westchester, and the five boroughs
- provided 15 cost saving affinity programs
- saved members more than $3 million
- provided technical assistance through 55 workshops, trainings, helplines, and special programs
- helped members make close to 3,600 organizational improvements through programs and services
- advocated through our Government Relations Council to provide nonprofits with a fair and equitable regulatory environment
Ian also reported on the finances for NPCC’s fiscal year 2015 (October 1, 2014 – September 30, 2015). NPCC:
- received an unqualified opinion on its financial statement from their independent auditor Condon, O’Meara, McGinty, & Donnelly, LLP
- experienced a decrease in unrestricted net assets of $203,687
- operated with program expenses representing 76% of our total expenditures
- maintained a strong balance sheet with our investment portfolio at approximately $923,000
- sustained a reserve to cover more than 7 months of operating expenses
Overall, NPCC continues to be financially sound, and full financial statements are available at http://bit.ly/21UnVho.
In his closing remarks, Ian highlighted the major transition that NPCC has gone through, with former President Michael Clark leaving the organization in September 2015, and Sharon Stapel joining as the new and current President and Executive Director in October 2015. He acknowledged Sharon’s dedication to ensuring that NPCC not only continues the work it does, but also strives to build on its work, meet the needs of nonprofit organizations, and serve as the voice of New York’s nonprofit sector.
BOARD ELECTIONS
Merble Reagon, Board Secretary, reported on behalf of the Governance and Nominating Committee, and explained that the following nominees for the NPCC board were presented to and unanimously approved by the full NPCC board at its meeting in February 2016. The slate included ten current board members re-nominated to the NPCC board for another three-year term: Ian Benjamin, Partner, RSM US; Gregory Cohen, Senior Associate, Cause Effective; Patricia Kozu, Chief Operating Officer, The Century Foundation; Antoinette La Belle, Managing Director, Growth Philanthropy Network; Charlene Laniewski, Partner, KPMG; Karen Pearl, President & CEO, God's Love We Deliver; Merble Reagon, Executive Director, Women’s Center for Education & Career Advancement; Barbara Schatz, Clinical Professor of Law, Columbia Law School; Michael Seltzer, Distinguished Lecturer, Baruch College/CUNY School of Public Affairs; BJ Sung, Public Affairs Manager, Con Edison.
This year’s nomination process resulted in the board proposing one new nominee: Tuhina De O’Conner, Director of Development at the Partnership for Palliative Care, has been in the non-profit sector for nearly two decades and has experience in healthcare, public health, social justice, and human rights. Most recently, she was the Director of Donor Services at the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. Prior to that, she worked in development at Robin Hood Foundation, a large public charity in New York City whose mission is to fight poverty in the five boroughs. From 1999-2007, Tuhina was the Executive Director of a non-profit organization, the New York Asian Women’s Center, a direct service provider of domestic violence services and shelter for Asian women and children. She received the Governor’s Award to End Domestic Violence in 2002 and the Robin Hood Hero Award in 2003 for her work at the Center. Tuhina actively participates in many philanthropic endeavors and currently sits on the boards of the Lupus Research Institute, the Mental Health Association of New York City and the Asian Women’s Giving Circle of New York. Previously, Tuhina was on the boards of the New York Women’s Foundation, The Human Services Council of New York City, and the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Tuhina has a Master of Science and a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan. As a certified wine educator, she offers free wine-tastings for charitable fundraising events.
A motion was forwarded, seconded, and a hand vote was conducted amongst members in good standing to elect the individuals to the NPCC board.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
In her inaugural Annual Meeting address as NPCC’s President, Sharon Stapel themed her remarks around the exciting changes that NPCC has experienced in the last six months.
She began with a presentation and acknowledgement of the incumbent and new staff members, highlighted the new website that launched in mid-March and celebrated the conversion made to an entirely electronic newsletter.
Looking to the future, Sharon announced the launch of our Member Needs Assessment, and next month’s anticipated launch of the 2016 New York Community Trust Nonprofit Excellence Awards which will feature some significant improvements.
She closed her address by sharing our delight to be here in Brooklyn because of the importance we place on supporting nonprofits in all boroughs of New York City.
PANEL DISCUSSION:
The Changing Landscape: How Diversity and Inclusion Engender Nonprofit Excellence
Ana Oliveira, President of The New York Women’s Foundation, moderated a conversation with panelists:
1. Janessa Cox – Head of Diversity and Inclusion, AB
2. Tanya Odom – Global Diversity and Inclusion and Education Consultant
3. Clarence Patton – Founder, Developer and Director, Pipeline Project
After presenting a short video on the “Hearing Hands” campaign by Samsung – which showed their efforts to break down barriers for those with hearing disabilities – Ana jumped right into the conversation about diversity and inclusion. She began with acknowledging the need for us to be intentional about breaking down barriers and relating to our communities, and how critical it is for us to ask questions and have conversations about diversity and inclusion. The panel focused heavily on understanding the value of both diversity and inclusion through each of the panel members’ experiences. Ana posed the following core questions:
1. Why are each of you participating in this panel and this discussion?
2. What is your particular approach engaging about diversity and inclusion?
3. Does the motivation behind pursuing diversity and inclusion – the motivation being either responding to a crisis or looking at it as an opportunity – impact the effectiveness of the change you’re seeking to bring about?
The discussion realized the following key takeaways:
- Diversity is a noun while inclusion is a verb; it’s the difference between having an invitation to the party and being asked to dance
- Conversations about diversity and inclusion seek to create a world without barriers
- One major success in the private sector is that people are fighting to be engaged in these conversations and clients are asking what companies are doing to be more diverse and inclusive
- One of the biggest challenges in this work is that we cannot “give” people change. Our jobs then become about influence.
- The effort to create a diverse and inclusive workspace must be proactive (seeing it as an opportunity) rather than reactive (responding to a crisis like a lawsuit)
- Diversity and inclusion value proposition – for both corporate and nonprofit entities, there are tangible business and/or mission gains from being diverse and inclusive
- Diversity and inclusion in the workplace requires policies and procedures that go well beyond an equal employment opportunity statement