facebookBerkshire Taconic Community Foundation Sponsored Local Nonprofits at Week-Long Program at Harvard Business School
Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation is pleased to offer executive directors of nonprofit organizations in the Berkshire Taconic region the opportunity to attend a six-day training program at Harvard Business School. Under Berkshire Taconic’s sponsorship, two selected directors attended “Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management,” a program designed to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit directors to lead their organizations effectively. The program will take place July 14-20, 2013.
Berkshire Taconic began developing the sponsorship in 2008 after Jennifer Dowley, president, attended the program herself. “It was an invaluable experience to learn from the best, both faculty and fellow attendees,” said Dowley. “I immediately began to explore how this remarkable experience could be made available to my colleagues in the region. In these challenging times, it is important for us all to remain attuned to the best thinking there is on management strategies.”
The selected participants attended the program along with over 100 other nonprofit leaders from around the world, using a case–study method of learning. The program encompasses several themes, such as formulating strategy in complex environments, achieving internal alignment with strategic vision and leading change. The program is part of the Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative, which helps leaders in all sectors apply management skills to create social value. The School provides a full scholarship, valued at $5,000.
Berkshire Taconic sponsored two area nonprofit CEOs (Bryan Ayars, Community Health Programs and Jenny Hansell, North East Community Center), who attended this week-long program in mid-July 2011.
To be eligible, an applicant must be a chief executive officer responsible for direction, mission, focus, policies and major programs. The organization must have a budget of at least $500,000 and a minimum of three employees. The nonprofit may be in any field (e.g., health, education, culture, environment, social services) but must provide services in the area served by Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation: Berkshire County, MA; Columbia County and northeast Dutchess County, NY; and northwest Litchfield County, CT.
Berkshire Taconic’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence reviews applications and nominates candidates who best fit the program’s criteria. Harvard Business School makes the final selection.
Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative aims to inspire, educate and support current and emerging leaders in all sectors to apply management skills to create social value. Through an integrated approach to social enterprise-related teaching, research and activities, the Social Enterprise Initiative engages with leaders in the nonprofit, for–profit and public sectors to generate and disseminate practicable resources, tools and knowledge with the ultimate goal of bettering society.
Past Scholarship Recipients:
2012
Barbara Henry, Special Needs Program, Inc.
Elton Ogden, Berkshire Housing Development Corporation
2011
Bryan Ayars, Community Health Programs
Jenny Hansell, North East Community Center
2010
Martin Ping, Hawthorne Valley Association
Gary Schiro, Hudson Valley Opera House
2009
Anne Nemetz Carlson, Child Care of the Berkshires
Jeffrey Rovitz, Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties
