Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Summer 2017 - 21

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time orientation to their organization. Moreover, nearly 40 percent
of nonprofit respondents reported providing no board training,
with only one in five reporting a provided orientation for new
board members. Several leaders in the Vital Signs report identified
Leadership Berks, an anchor program of Alvernia University's
O'Pake Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Public Service, as a goto resource for board development and recruitment.
As Greater Reading and Berks County's premiere resource for
developing, educating, supporting, and connecting community
leaders for life, Leadership Berks has made a substantive impact
on developing the very kind of highly-skilled board and nonprofit
volunteers needed by area organizations by developing over 850
community leaders since 1985.
In response to fielding regular inquiries from area organizations
seeking assistance in board training and development, and through
efforts in identifying the specific ways in which the program's alumni
are interested in ongoing engagement post-completion, Leadership
Berks conducted alumni surveys in support of its strategic plan in
2016. Besides their own leadership development, the alumni surveys
and focus groups that followed, Leadership Berks alumni identified
nonprofit leadership and training and development of the boards
on which they serve among the top three priority areas of interest.

vital services to the community, may lose the confidence of donors
on whose charitable support they rely, and may be at significant risk
in long-term viability and sustainability.
In response to nonprofit requests for assistance, the engagement
interests of Leadership Berks alumni, the O'Pake Institute's focus
on both academic and non-academic leadership development, and
the findings from the Berks Vital Signs report, Leadership Berks is
leading the way to expand its current offerings to launch a Nonprofit
Leadership and Board Institute. In cooperation with the Greater
Reading Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Wyomissing
Foundation, the Berks County Community Foundation and
the United Way of Berks County, the Nonprofit Institute would
provide leadership development and board training to help ensure
the strength and health of area nonprofit organizations on which
the residents of our community depend heavily for vital services.
With a projected launch date of early 2018, offerings will focus
on practical application learning exercises, and would be targeted
to board members, executive directors, and senior staff leaders of
Reading and Berks county's nonprofit and community organizations.
For more information about Leadership Berks and the Nonprofit
Institute, contact Toni Eckert, Director, at 610-790-1930 or toni.
eckert@alvernia.edu.

As an anchor program, Leadership Berks is now positioned
to assist the O'Pake Institute in meeting its mission to foster and
promote ethical leadership and public service which recently
launched the University's Leadership Department. The Department
will draw all of the University's graduate education in leadership
programs together with a common core curriculum through the
core values of leadership education at Alvernia: to form ethical
leaders that demonstrate integrity and character; strong leaders who
are competent and credible; effective leaders who are inspiring and
empower others; and authentic leaders who convey a shared vision.
The need for highly skilled leaders, the hefty reliance on
volunteers, the current economic conditions facing nonprofit
organizations, and the gap in adequate training and development for
boards, volunteers and nonprofit leaders is clear, with Reading and
Berks County's nonprofit organizations facing significant risks. Left
unaddressed, nonprofits in our community may be unable to deliver

Ron Rothenberger
ron@risquote.com
610-406-5827

Sean Wyandt
sean@risquote.com
610-406-5827

Iris Dalia Pantoja
iris@risquote.com
610-406-5827
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Greater Reading Chamber Commerce Quarterly Summer 2017
