MEWS: Navigating Your New Nonprofit

You have your 501(c)(3) — now what? The first 18 months of a new nonprofit are foundation-building years, not program-scaling years, yet most founders are pushed to chase funding and launch programming before the organization can hold the weight. This session pushes back on that sequencing problem and walks new nonprofit leaders through the foundational pillars that separate organizations that thrive from those that stall: governance that actually governs, the operational infrastructure funders quietly look for, program design with measurement built in from day one, funding architecture rather than fundraising tactics, and the founder’s evolving role in building an organization that doesn’t depend on them for every decision. Attendees will leave with a clearer sense of where to invest their early energy — and what to stop worrying about until later.

Speaker:  Lauren F. Nance, CMP

Lauren is the Owner and Chief Consultant of Nance Communications, Meetings & Events (NCM&E), a New Jersey-based firm she has led for over a decade, providing event management and nonprofit consulting services to clients including the Schumann Fund for New Jersey, the New Jersey Association for Justice, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and the National Society of Black Engineers. She brings more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit operations, governance, and capacity-building, advising founders and established organizations alike on board development, bylaws and policy, program infrastructure, and sustainability strategy. Lauren also serves as Operations and Engagement Manager at the Schumann Fund for New Jersey and as a Commissioner on the City of Paterson Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. A longtime civic leader, she holds leadership roles with the League of Women Voters at both the state and local level and is an active member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Through The Nonprofit Leadership Vault, her training and education brand, Lauren equips new and emerging nonprofit leaders with the operational playbooks she has spent three decades refining in the field.