The CFNRV’s new Nonprofit Accelerator kicked off on January 23rd and 24th with a two-day workshop at the Floyd Event Center led by Chris Bennett and Sarah Milston of The Spark Mill. Staff and board members from seven nonprofit agencies worked with mentors drawn from business and higher education communities to review their core missions, articulate their value, identify challenges, and develop a 30-60-90 day plan to address some of those challenges. Over the next few months, the nonprofits and the mentors will work hand in hand to complete their plans, culminating in a celebration in early May of their accomplishments.
The Roanoke Times published an article about the Nonprofit Accelerator on February 2, 2019 featuring the Montgomery Museum and Lewis Miller Regional Art Center, one of the participating agencies. A complete list of the participating organizations and their mentors is below.
- Blue Mountain School mentored by Tracy Kwock of the Virginia Department of Education
- Christiansburg Institute, Inc. mentored by Jill Williams, founder of Wild Angle Strategies
- The Lyric Council mentored by Dr. Kathy Krendl, retired president of Otterbein University
- Montgomery Museum and Lewis Miller Regional Art Center mentored by Greg Reiter, CFO/COO of Torc Robotics
- Pulaski Arts and Cultural Collaborative mentored by Lisa Garcia of the I-Corps program at Virginia Tech and a business consultant
- Springhouse Community School mentored by Henry Bass, President of Automation Creations, Inc.
- Wonder Universe: A Children’s Museum (formerly the Children’s Museum of Blacksburg) mentored by Shelley Fortier, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of the New River Valley.
For more information on the Nonprofit Accelerator program or the CFNRV’s other professional development opportunities for community organizations, contact the Community Foundation at cfnrv@cfnrv.org or call 540.381.8999.