NICNE's 3rd Annual State of the Sector: Keynote speaker Anita Rumage, DPA on what every organization needs to know around preparedness.

Join us for NICNE's Third Annual State of the Nonprofit Sector event on Friday, September 11. This event will be held live via Zoom from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

In recent weeks and months, we’ve witnessed disruption and loss in ways not seen in our lifetimes. Nonprofits have been dramatically impacted by the pandemic through lost program revenue, cancelled events, increased demand for services, and required facility closings. Together, we can rebuild organizations and systems impacted by the worst economic storm of our lifetime in a way that builds capacity and sustainability. There will be no v-shaped recovery. Nonprofit losses are deep, and the opportunity is great to redesign the orientation of service delivery and system operation.

We seek to help our nonprofits adapt to new realities. Agency preparedness and preparedness for executive transition are key ways that organizations must be prepared to face both expected and unexpected events.

It is a certainty that both expected and unexpected events will happen throughout an organization’s lifecycle; Leadership transition is an expected, predicable process. In contrast, the coronavirus pandemic is an unexpected, unpredictable event. Both can have devastating consequences on organizations’ operations.

Pam Clark Reidenbach , Executive Director of the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence (NICNE), will share data received from the most recent COVID-19 Nonprofit Impact and Recovery Survey on issues of recovery for nonprofits in the Rockford region, and will share information on innovation opportunities for area nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Anita J. Rumage will present a keynote address on her research and dissertation on Organizational Preparedness: Sustainability and Resiliency During Expected and Unexpected Events.

Leadership transition is an inevitable event in the lifecycle of an organization - an expected, predictable process in organizational operations; yet, research shows that nonprofits are not prepared for leadership turnover. Dr. Rumage will share the results of her research on how boards of directors and executive directors view preparedness for leadership transition and explore how organizational preparedness at a deeper level is about sustainability and resiliency: the ability to absorb the shock of expected and unexpected events.

About Dr. Anita J. Rumage : Anita earned a Bachelor's degree in Human Relations, a Master's degree in Education with a focus on Early Childhood, and a Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield in December 2019. Anita holds a Six Sigma Human Resource Green Belt designation and is a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Anita is a graduate of Highland Community College's Leadership Institute and earned NICNE's Nonprofit Leadership Certification. She is a professional administrator with over 27 years of leadership experience.

Anita has a strong desire to strengthen the nonprofit industry, advance nonprofit work and engage new stakeholders. She has a distinguished track record of dedication and commitment and specializes in nonprofit leadership and has demonstrated talent for working with diverse organizations and all levels of management, staffing and volunteerism. Anita is intrigued by public policy and is a staunch advocate for policies that improve the lives of children and their families. Anita has successfully written private, local, state and federal grants. Anita has the ability to think broadly and creatively where funding is concerned.

In addition to day-to-day and operational leadership for the organizations she has served, Anita participates on many local and statewide committees that focus their efforts on the well-being of families. Anita has developed and taught college-level coursework focusing on educational leadership and child development. Anita conducts workshops on leadership transition, human resources management, child development, working with children and families, understanding children and families who have special needs (medical and behavioral), and family systems (domestic violence and mental health).