Across the Quad Cities, nonprofit organizations are searching for skilled, engaged board members while many community professionals are looking for meaningful ways to contribute their expertise.
To help make those connections, the Quad Cities Community Foundation has announced the launch of Quad Cities Board Connections, a networking series supported by corporate sponsors and designed to connect nonprofit organizations with professionals interested in serving on nonprofit boards, committees, and advisory groups. The first session is sponsored by John Deere.
Bridging that gap is critical to helping the area’s nonprofit sector in building stronger organizations, developing future civic leaders, and ensuring it has the leadership needed to address the region’s most pressing challenges, the community foundation said in a news release Wednesday, July 22.
The inaugural Quad Cities Board Connections event will be from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 15, at the John Deere Worldwide Headquarters’ display floor at John Deere Place in Moline. The event will unite about 200 nonprofit executives, board leaders, and corporate professionals for structured networking and meaningful conversations designed to build lasting relationships and strengthen nonprofit governance throughout the region.
“This is about investing in the future leadership of the Quad Cities,” said Daisy Ramírez, director of the foundation’s Hunt & Diane Harris Center for Nonprofit Excellence. “Great nonprofit organizations need engaged, talented board members, and many professionals want to use their skills in ways that make a meaningful difference. Networking events like this create a space for those relationships to begin and, ultimately, help build a stronger nonprofit sector for our entire community.”
John Deere first sponsor
The event series will supplement the Harris Center’s Strong Board Governance Series, a hybrid training program through the foundation for current and aspiring board members and nonprofit executives.
“Series participants identified a need for connection between individuals interested in board service with organizations that are seeking qualified professionals to serve on their boards,” Ms. Ramírez said in the release. “Board Connections is a result of that feedback.”
John Deere, one the region’s largest employers, is the presenting sponsor for the launch event. “John Deere believes in contributing to a strong community,” Taryn Edgin, president of the John Deere Foundation and director of community relations at John Deere, said in the release. “We’re proud to partner with the Community Foundation to create new pathways for our employees and other community professionals to share their expertise, develop as leaders, and make a lasting impact across the Quad Cities.”
Quad Cities Board Connections will be a recurring series with different corporate partners. Its aim is to create an ongoing pipeline of skilled, engaged board members for nonprofits throughout the region.
“Corporate partners play an important role in strengthening our communities,” Ms. Ramírez said. “By sponsoring Quad Cities Board Connections, companies invest in the professional development of their employees, and in the long-term success of the nonprofit organizations that improve quality of life throughout the Quad Cities.”
Corporate professionals interested in board or committee service, as well as nonprofit executives and board leaders seeking prospective volunteers, are encouraged to attend. To register, visit QCCommunityFoundation.org/BoardConnections.
Future sponsors will benefit through priority registration for Strong Board Governance Series sessions. Organizations interested in sponsoring future Board Connections events should contact Daisy Ramírez at (563) 326-2840 or [email protected] to learn more about partnership opportunities.
