Rochester Nonprofit Consortium

Peer Learning Cohort: Communications for Impact
2026-11-12 08:00 - 10:00, 2026-10-08 08:00 - 10:00, 2026-09-10 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Chicago) | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Strategic Communications for Nonprofit Organizations
Share your organization’s story and grow your impact.
Join a cohort of peers in interactive workshops designed to deepen your understanding of nonprofit communications strategy and execution so you can drive greater impact for your organization.
Across five sessions facilitated by Megan Malugani of Malugani Communications alongside guest experts, you’ll explore real-world communications challenges and best practices, share insights with fellow participants, and engage in practical exercises to strengthen your skills.
This cohort is open to a wide range of nonprofit professionals whose work partially or fully includes communications, marketing, branding, or stakeholder engagement. Topics may include: storytelling for impact, tailoring content to different audiences, navigating politics while staying authentic and retaining support, cost- and time-saving solutions, media relations, and more.
The cohort will be limited to 15 people. Registration is required: https://form.jotform.com/260765360950157
Dates: September 2026 – January 2027

November Executive Director Convo
2026-11-11 08:00 - 09:00 | Parlor Doughnuts, 1001 6th St NW, Rochester, 55901, United States
Join your Executive Director colleagues for networking, support, and shared resources in a casual, no agenda atmosphere. Discussions are often enjoyed with beverages and a light breakfast.

Ready to Lead Fall 2026
2026-11-04 16:30 - 19:30, 2026-10-21 16:30 - 19:30, 2026-10-07 16:30 - 19:30, 2026-09-23 16:30 - 19:30 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Ready to Lead seeks to support and engage historically under-represented people who wish to serve on nonprofit/government boards, committees, task forces, commissions, and other work groups. We seek to increase both the diversity of skilled people ready to serve and the inclusiveness of organizations who deliver services in the community.
There are two cohorts of Ready to Lead each year, in the fall and in the spring, with the Fall 2026 beginning on September 23rd. There is limited space in each cohort. Please apply for the upcoming Fall 2026 cohort at https://form.jotform.com/241775303652052.

October Executive Director Convo
2026-10-14 15:30 - 16:30 | Forager Brewery, 1005 6th St NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Join your Executive Director colleagues for networking, support, and shared resources in a casual, no agenda atmosphere. Discussions are often enjoyed with beverages and light appetizers.

Southern Minnesota Nonprofit Conference
2026-10-06 09:00 - 15:00 | Rochester International Event Center, 7333 Airport View Drive SW, Rochester, MN, 55902, United States
Mark your calendar for CLA’s Southern Minnesota Nonprofit Conference. Join us for a day designed to connect and inform nonprofit leaders and professionals.
Fee:
$40 for non-Consortium members
Free for Consortium members (contact mkelley@rochesterarea.org for discount code)
Click here to register.

From Overextended to Intentional: Creating Sustainable Ways of Working & Living
2026-09-29 12:00 - 13:30 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Nonprofit professionals are deeply committed to serving their communities, often balancing competing priorities, limited resources, and a strong sense of purpose. Over time, these demands can lead to overextension, making it challenging to sustain the energy, focus, and wellbeing needed to thrive both personally and professionally.
Join us for this 90-minute interactive session designed to help participants pause, reflect, and reimagine what sustainable ways of working can look like in today’s nonprofit environment. Through practical tools, guided reflection, and meaningful table discussions, we will explore the factors contributing to overwhelm, examine our relationship with work and service, and identify strategies for creating greater clarity, boundaries, and alignment.
Participants will leave with actionable practices and a personalized plan to support their wellbeing, strengthen their impact, and continue contributing to the communities they serve, without sacrificing themselves in the process. By the end of this session, you will be able to:
1. Recognize common patterns of overextension experienced by helping professionals,
2. Assess your current energy levels and identify key sources of depletion and renewal,
3. Apply practical wellbeing strategies that support sustainable ways of working,
4. Reflect on how belonging, support, and workplace culture influence individual and team wellbeing,
5. And commit to one meaningful action that supports your personal and professional sustainability.

Amrita Prakaashana, MEd, DipAdEd
Amrita (um-rit-ta) Prakaashana (she/her) is the Founder, Coach, and Consultant at Artria Consulting, LLC and the Clarity and Connection Circle™ (a free online community). She partners with high-achieving individuals in healthcare, nonprofit, and caregiving professions to navigate career and life transitions with clarity, confidence, sustainable well-being, and joy, while caring for others.
In addition to her coaching practice, Amrita serves as the Director of Well-Being and Belonging – Nursing within a large non-profit healthcare organization. She brings more than 15 years of experience in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), well-being, leadership development, adult learning, and organizational culture. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside healthcare professionals, non-profit leaders, and community-serving organizations to create environments where people feel valued, connected, and empowered to thrive.
Amrita holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Development and Adult Education. Based in Rochester, Minnesota, she is also an artist and community education instructor. Working with a variety of metals and mixed materials, her creative practice reflects her belief that reflection, connection, creativity, and self-expression are essential to individual identity, growth, belonging, and thriving communities.

September Executive Director Convo
2026-09-09 08:00 - 09:00 | Parlor Doughnuts, 1001 6th St NW, Rochester, 55901, United States

Ready, Fire, Aim? Succession Planning for Nonprofit Leaders
2026-08-18 12:00 - 13:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Most nonprofit leaders know succession planning matters. Many haven’t done it yet.
Join us for an interactive 60-minute lunch session on one of the most important — and often most deferred — topics in nonprofit leadership. Jeff Leschensky of Working Strategies™ will guide participants through a practical framework for understanding the three types of succession planning, an honest look at why organizations keep putting it off, and two tools they can bring back to their organizations immediately.
What you will learn:
1. The three types of succession planning and where your organization should start
2. Why succession planning keeps getting deferred — and how to break through
3. Two practical tools you can put to work right away
Who should attend: Executive Directors, board members, and senior staff from Rochester Nonprofit Consortium member organizations. Space is limited, RSVP required.
Jeff Leschensky, MA is a consultant and nonprofit founder with over 35 years of experience spanning executive leadership, fund development, and higher education. He has worked across the nonprofit sector as a practitioner, consultant, and educator — giving him a distinctly broad perspective on how organizations thrive and stall. As Strategic Partner with Working Strategies™, Jeff combines hands-on operational experience with academic rigor. He holds a Master’s degree in Philanthropy and Development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He later joined their faculty, spending 12 years teaching and overseeing research design and final approval for over 100 thesis projects.

August Executive Director Convo
2026-08-12 15:30 - 16:30 | Forager Brewery, 1005 6th St NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

July Executive Director Convo
2026-07-08 08:00 - 09:00 | Parlor Doughnuts, 1001 6th St NW, Rochester, 55901, United States

Collaboration That Works: Turning Partnerships into Real Impact
2026-06-24 12:00 - 14:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Most nonprofit leaders know collaboration is important, but actually making it work can be challenging. In this engaging two-hour session with Julie Ruzek, Executive Director of Cradle 2 Career and expert at nonprofit and cross-sector collaboration, we’ll explore what makes partnerships succeed… and what tends to get in the way! Together, we’ll look at a few simple ideas about how collaboration works and then practice tools you can use right away to build stronger relationships, align around shared goals, and move from good intentions to real progress. Expect a mix of practical ideas, conversation, and hands-on activities designed to make collaboration feel a little easier and a lot more effective!

Bush Fellowship Information Session
2026-06-23 16:30 - 18:30 | United Way of Southeast Minnesota, 903 West Center St, Suite 100, Rochester, MN, 55902, United States
Are you a leader with a track record of impact ready to take the next step in your development? Do you have a plan but need additional time and resources to put your plan to action?
Join us on June 23 for an information session about the Bush Fellowship Program, a self-designed leadership program that supports individuals in furthering their skills and capacity to lead effectively. Adora Land and Malcolm Chapman from the Bush Foundation will present an overview of the fellowship program, selection criteria, and answer questions from the attendees.
This event is cohosted by the Bush Foundation, United Way of Southeast Minnesota, Rochester Area Foundation, and the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation on June 23rd 4:30pm – 6:30pm at the United Way of Southeast Minnesota services building [903 West Center St, Suite 100, Rochester, MN 55902].
Registration is free, and light refreshments will be provided.

Claim Your Power: Strong Values, Stronger Boundaries
2026-06-16 11:00 - 13:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Join Midlife Career Whisperer™ Dawn LaRae for an engaging, impactful session focused on centering values, setting boundaries, and combatting burnout in a mission-driven workplace. By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the systemic and cultural forces unique to nonprofit leadership that can erode personal values alignment and make boundary-setting feel impossible or disloyal to the mission.
2. Distinguish between values-led and fear-based decision-making — and recognize which engine has been driving their most costly professional choices.
3. Articulate their top 2-3 personal core values through a guided discovery process that separates authentic values from organizational expectations and inherited “shoulds.”
4. Connect personal sustainability to organizational effectiveness — understanding that protecting your own well-being is not a retreat from leadership, but a fundamental responsibility of it.
5. Apply a values-based framework to real boundary challenges you are currently facing, including practical language for navigating board relationships, funder dynamics, staff demands, and scope creep.
6. Commit to one specific, values-rooted action you will take in the week following the session to begin reclaiming your power as a leader.
Dawn LaRae is the Midlife Career Whisperer™ — a soul-centered career coach helping midlife women step boldly into their careers as the fullest, most alive version of themselves.
After navigating her own multi-stage career transitions — from CPA to healthcare leader to coach — Dawn brings both lived experience and over 25 years of leadership expertise to the conversation. She understands the uncertainty, identity shifts, and courage it takes to reclaim yourself in midlife.
As Founder and CEO of Dawn LaRae Coaching, LLC, she blends the Energy Leadership Index and certified coaching methodology with deep mindset work to help professionals move past limiting beliefs and move forward with clarity, purpose, and intention.
Dawn is a Certified Professional Coach, Master Practitioner of the Energy Leadership Index assessment, certified in EQi (Emotional Intelligence) and holds a Masters in Organizational Leadership.
She is passionate about supporting others in finding their life purpose, living as their authentic selves, and geeks out on neuroscience and mindset mastery. She loves to read, travel, walk in nature, and snuggle with her dogs.

June Executive Director Convo
2026-06-10 15:30 - 16:30 | Forager Brewery, 1005 6th St NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

Clay Calm: Pottery for Wellness with Terri Allred
2026-05-29 15:00 - 17:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

May Executive Director Convo
2026-05-13 08:00 - 09:00 | Parlor Doughnuts, 1001 6th St NW, Rochester, 55901, United States

April Executive Director Convo
2026-04-08 15:30 - 16:30 | Forager Brewery, 1005 6th St NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

Ready to Lead - Spring Session 4
2026-03-31 16:30 - 19:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

Your Story Matters: Nonprofit Communications 101
2026-03-19 13:00 - 14:30 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States
Your Story Matters: Nonprofit Communications 101 is a practical, encouraging session designed to help mission-driven organizations communicate with clarity and confidence. In this presentation and Q&A, communications strategist Megan Malugani walks nonprofit leaders through the fundamentals of building credibility, creating simple and sustainable content, and using accessible DIY tools to increase impact — without overwhelming already-stretched teams. Attendees will learn how to turn everyday moments into meaningful stories, repurpose content strategically, and build consistency that strengthens donor trust and community engagement. Whether you’re a one-person shop or part of a team, this session will equip you with a clear roadmap to tell your story in an inspiring and powerful way. Malugani Communications linkedin/in/meganmalugani

Ready to Lead - Spring Session 3
2026-03-17 16:30 - 19:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

March Executive Director Convo
2026-03-11 08:00 - 09:00 | Parlor Doughnuts, 1001 6th St NW, Rochester, 55901, United States

Ready to Lead - Spring Session 2
2026-03-03 16:30 - 19:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

Ready to Lead - Spring Session 1
2026-02-17 16:30 - 19:00 | Rochester Area Foundation, 12 Elton Hills Dr NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

February Executive Director Convo
2026-02-11 15:30 - 16:30 | Forager Brewery, 1005 6th St NW, Rochester, MN, 55901, United States

January Executive Director Convo
2026-01-14 08:00 - 09:00 | Parlor Doughnuts, 1001 6th St NW, Rochester, 55901, United States
