
Nonprofit Board Fundamentals
About the program
The goal of this program is to provide an overview of the nonprofit sector and its structure as well as support, knowledge, and skill-building around the fundamentals of board participation. Pre-homework will be assigned prior to each session. Each participant will be provided with a complimentary copy of the BoardSource Book Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards.
Program
The goal of this program is to provide an overview of the nonprofit sector and its structure as well as support, knowledge, and skill-building around the fundamentals of board participation. Pre-homework will be assigned prior to each session. Each participant will be provided with a complimentary copy of the BoardSource Book Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards. Program will be on-site at the Santa Fe Community Foundation at 501 Halona St., Santa Fe, NM. Participants are expected to attend and participate fully in all sessions.
Application opens: Wednesday, Sept 16, 2025
Applications due: Friday, Sept 5, 2025
Notifications of acceptance: Friday, Sept 12, 2025
Payment due: Friday, Sept 26, 2025
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Cost
There will be a sliding scale fee, based on the organizational budget size if you are selected for the cohort. The fee is:
Free if your organizational budget is under $100k/year
$50 if your organizational budget is $101k-$250k/year
$75 if your organizational budget is $251k-$500k/year
$100 if your organizational budget is over $500k/year
No fee if you are a current grantee of SFCF or Anchorum. We encourage participation from more than 1 person from your board and can offer reduced fees.
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If you prefer a hard copy/Word application, please contact us. Note: We will consider up to two board members from a single organization so please don't hesitate to invite more than one of your members to apply.
Please contact ycruz@santafecf.org if you have any questions.
Meet the people leading the conversation
Nelsy Domínguez, MSW
Nelsy Domínguez, MSW
Nelsy Domínguez, MSW leads c3 Perspectives Consulting, LLC. As consultant to philanthropy and nonprofits she applies her many years of organizational ,grantmaking, leadership, programmatic, and equity-focused experience to expand the potential of the sector’s impact. Nelsy was the Program Director at Con Alma Health Foundation, a statewide health-conversion foundation and was integral to the New Mexico Community Foundation becoming a leading transformative statewide funder, executing place-based equity-driven capacity-building initiatives, and partnering with national and local foundations and grant recipients.
Areas of expertise and experience:
· Grants & Program Development
· Proposal Reviewer, Writer, Editor & Evaluator
· Collaborative Strategic Planning
· Equity Focused Solutions
· Creative Thought Partner
· Moderator and Facilitator
· NGO Board &Staff Teambuilder, Motivational Coach, and Recruitment
· Event Planning
· Administrative & Organizational Restructure
· Alignment of Mission, Values and Action
· Formulation ,Creation & Refinement of Policies, Procedure Manuals, Processes & Timelines
· Budget Development, Management & Financial Oversight
· Interpersonal Supervision
· Fund & Donor Development
· Assessment & Support of Organizational Cultural Sensitivities
Alberto Granados
Director of Finance, The Nature Conservancy
Alberto Granados
A graduate of the University of Phoenix and the University of Texas, El Paso, Alberto has lived for over twenty years in Santa Fe. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, he worked for twelve years managing the business operations of an Oscar-nominated entertainer and entrepreneur and ten years at two non-profits with a social justice mission. He is active in immigrant rights activities and fluent in Spanish. Passionate about health and physical fitness (you can find Alberto at the gym very early, every morning), or on a bicycle-having cycled across Portugal, the Adriatic coast, and the foothills of the Apennines of Italy and from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C.
Roger Gullickson
Roger Gullickson
Roger Gullickson worked in the business world for over 40 years including owning an experiential marketing company before coming to Santa Fe. Both before and after moving he served on numerous nonprofit boards and is currently on the board of The Mountain Center. He is passionately interested in making a difference in the lives of youth both in his work with the center and with his Alma Mater as well as having taught entrepreneurship here in Santa Fe. He has been a SCORE Volunteer for eight years.
Marcia Swain
Marcia Swain
Marcia Swain retired from her practice as a lawyer and mediator in2010, having spent her career in Colorado. Throughout her career, she served on boards of directors of numerous community-based nonprofit organizations with diverse missions. She joined SCORE Santa Fe & Northern New Mexico in 2012, where she mentored both small businesses and nonprofits and served the chapter in a leadership capacity. Believing passionately in the power and potential of nonprofit organizations to deliver programs that benefit all people and the planet we share, she withdrew from active SCORE mentoring in 2020 to found her own business, Social Profit Advisors, whose mission is to provide information, inspiration, and support to nonprofit organizations and their leaders through education, mentoring, and consulting.
Patti Ward, CFRE
Patti Ward, CFRE
Patti Ward, CFRE (Certified Fund-Raising Executive), is a Nonprofit Consultant with over twenty-five years of experience working with all sizes of nonprofit organizations in various sectors – both urban and rural areas; including faith-based, education, arts, health-related, and social services. She is a knowledgeable trainer and co-created and co-taught the Toolbox for Fundraisers class for ten years through the Nonprofit Service Center, Amarillo Area Foundation program in Amarillo, Texas. She continues to provide training workshops at the Amarillo Area Foundation-Nonprofit Service Center, United Way’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence in Albuquerque and the Santa Fe Community Foundation, and specialized seminars for nonprofit organizations. She was awarded the 2010 Outstanding Fundraising Professional through the Association Fundraising Professionals (AFP) – Texas Plains Chapter. She is a current member of the Association of Philanthropic Counsel and Association of Fundraising Professionals (New Mexico Chapter and Texas Plains Chapter-Amarillo, Texas). Mrs. Ward holds an MBA and an undergraduate degree in Sociology.
Meet the people leading the conversation
Meet the people leading the conversation
Nelsy Domínguez, MSW
Nelsy Domínguez, MSW
Nelsy Domínguez, MSW leads c3 Perspectives Consulting, LLC. As consultant to philanthropy and nonprofits she applies her many years of organizational ,grantmaking, leadership, programmatic, and equity-focused experience to expand the potential of the sector’s impact. Nelsy was the Program Director at Con Alma Health Foundation, a statewide health-conversion foundation and was integral to the New Mexico Community Foundation becoming a leading transformative statewide funder, executing place-based equity-driven capacity-building initiatives, and partnering with national and local foundations and grant recipients.
Areas of expertise and experience:
· Grants & Program Development
· Proposal Reviewer, Writer, Editor & Evaluator
· Collaborative Strategic Planning
· Equity Focused Solutions
· Creative Thought Partner
· Moderator and Facilitator
· NGO Board &Staff Teambuilder, Motivational Coach, and Recruitment
· Event Planning
· Administrative & Organizational Restructure
· Alignment of Mission, Values and Action
· Formulation ,Creation & Refinement of Policies, Procedure Manuals, Processes & Timelines
· Budget Development, Management & Financial Oversight
· Interpersonal Supervision
· Fund & Donor Development
· Assessment & Support of Organizational Cultural Sensitivities
Alberto Granados
Director of Finance, The Nature Conservancy
Alberto Granados
A graduate of the University of Phoenix and the University of Texas, El Paso, Alberto has lived for over twenty years in Santa Fe. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, he worked for twelve years managing the business operations of an Oscar-nominated entertainer and entrepreneur and ten years at two non-profits with a social justice mission. He is active in immigrant rights activities and fluent in Spanish. Passionate about health and physical fitness (you can find Alberto at the gym very early, every morning), or on a bicycle-having cycled across Portugal, the Adriatic coast, and the foothills of the Apennines of Italy and from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C.
Roger Gullickson
Roger Gullickson
Roger Gullickson worked in the business world for over 40 years including owning an experiential marketing company before coming to Santa Fe. Both before and after moving he served on numerous nonprofit boards and is currently on the board of The Mountain Center. He is passionately interested in making a difference in the lives of youth both in his work with the center and with his Alma Mater as well as having taught entrepreneurship here in Santa Fe. He has been a SCORE Volunteer for eight years.
Marcia Swain
Marcia Swain
Marcia Swain retired from her practice as a lawyer and mediator in2010, having spent her career in Colorado. Throughout her career, she served on boards of directors of numerous community-based nonprofit organizations with diverse missions. She joined SCORE Santa Fe & Northern New Mexico in 2012, where she mentored both small businesses and nonprofits and served the chapter in a leadership capacity. Believing passionately in the power and potential of nonprofit organizations to deliver programs that benefit all people and the planet we share, she withdrew from active SCORE mentoring in 2020 to found her own business, Social Profit Advisors, whose mission is to provide information, inspiration, and support to nonprofit organizations and their leaders through education, mentoring, and consulting.
Patti Ward, CFRE
Patti Ward, CFRE
Patti Ward, CFRE (Certified Fund-Raising Executive), is a Nonprofit Consultant with over twenty-five years of experience working with all sizes of nonprofit organizations in various sectors – both urban and rural areas; including faith-based, education, arts, health-related, and social services. She is a knowledgeable trainer and co-created and co-taught the Toolbox for Fundraisers class for ten years through the Nonprofit Service Center, Amarillo Area Foundation program in Amarillo, Texas. She continues to provide training workshops at the Amarillo Area Foundation-Nonprofit Service Center, United Way’s Center for Nonprofit Excellence in Albuquerque and the Santa Fe Community Foundation, and specialized seminars for nonprofit organizations. She was awarded the 2010 Outstanding Fundraising Professional through the Association Fundraising Professionals (AFP) – Texas Plains Chapter. She is a current member of the Association of Philanthropic Counsel and Association of Fundraising Professionals (New Mexico Chapter and Texas Plains Chapter-Amarillo, Texas). Mrs. Ward holds an MBA and an undergraduate degree in Sociology.