It’s time for the second Board Bootcamp, presented by YLNI and the Paul Clarke Nonprofit Resource Center! Got skills you’re not using at work? Passionate about a community cause? Certain that life holds more than the daily grind of making ends meet? Ready to be the change you wish to see in the world? Always wondered what serving on a board actually means? Then you’re ready for Board Bootcamp!

Expert facilitator Mike Stone from Impact Strategies, Inc. will guide you through the ins and outs of board service, your basic responsibilities as a board member, and how to find an organization that matches your passion. Three 90-minute sessions will get you on the path to building a community that reflects your interests, whether through board service or committee work.

Session I, Thursday, April 12: The Nonprofit Sector and Nonprofit Boards
Session II, Thursday, April 26: Board Roles and Structures
Session III, Thursday May 10: Finding Your Place

All sessions are held from 11:30am-1:00pm at the Allen County Public Library (downtown location).

Once you complete Bootcamp, we’ll give you opportunities to connect to area nonprofits with mutual interests. You’ll also be supported by Rolfsen Stewardship Award nominees.

Give us your time and appetite for learning. We’ll provide lunch and training materials to support your hunger. Thanks to the generous support of our funder, there is no cost to attend, but participants are expected to attend all three sessions. Seating is limited and advance registration is required. Our first session filled up in three hours, so don’t delay! Register here to attend. 

Questions? Contact getonboard@ylni.org

Board Bootcamp is a program of YLNI and the PCNRC’s Get on Board initiative. Get on Board! is made possible by a grant from Foellinger Foundation.

We need your help describing just one or two of your favorite spots or living communities in Fort Wayne! We have had lots of new people to the area who say they wish Fort Wayne had a central location to find information about where they should live, work, and play.

YLNI has been asked to help populate a website concentrated on highlighting Fort Wayne and Allen County.  A primary reason for this site is to help HR professionals at local corporations with recruiting new talent, but it will also act as a useful tool for locals.  For brevity, here is an example of a similar site in Grand Rapids http://www.experiencegr.com 

If you have a favorite restaurant, park, neighborhood, churches, etc. that you think would be good to highlight, we would appreciate your help.  This is intended to be useful, so any hole-in-the-wall places will be just as accepted as the well-known places.  

Here is what YLNI 2020 Committee needs from you :

• Contact 2020@ylni.org  to let them know you are interested in submitting 
• The committee will direct you on how to best  submit & also prevent overlap
• Submissions are due February 24 for the soft launch in March, so we need to know you are interested very soon
• Contact 2020@ylni.org with any questions
• Get others engaged in the project, by having them fill out a form for their neighborhood, church, or whatever else they wish to highlight!

A Better Fort is a volunteer organization founded in 2011 by several friends who took a hands-on approach to community involvement. Their most recent project entitled #HipHop4theCity aims to showcase local talent, encourage other young adults to connect and get involved with their community, and create a sense of pride for their hometown in an effort to retain young talent.

The Hip Hop 4 the City effort gathered over 20 young adults and businesses together to produce Fort Wayne’s largest community driven and collaborative hip-hop based music project.

The video will premier at Columbia Street West, 135 W. Columbia St., on Friday, February 24, at 10 p.m. (A second, all ages, community release party will take place at the University of Saint Francis Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 3, at 6 p.m.)