Nicole Collier, NACC Executive Director
Nicole Collier, MPSA
Executive Director, NACC
Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Bush School of Government and Public Service
Texas A&M University
Greetings,
I’m writing this update from the plane on my way back from NACC’s Annual Member Meeting in Indianapolis. I hope those of you who were able to join us and attend ARNOVA’s annual conference had a great time! As we enter the final stretch of the fall semester in College Station, I can’t help but reflect on how much has changed since our last member meeting. It has been a very busy year—both at work and emotionally—and I know many of you are feeling the same.
I will not pretend to have the words to fully capture everything happening in Texas, across the country, and around the world, nor do I have all the answers or a message that can erase the stress so many of you are dealing with. What I can say is that NACC continues to show me how deeply our network is committed to being a positive force for good in our sector.
At this year’s member meeting, we heard from both new and longtime colleagues. We shared our successes and our struggles, and we learned new things about each other that will shape how we move forward together.
We also recently convened four new committees to help guide NACC’s priorities for the coming year and beyond. Each committee shared guiding prompts and gathered feedback, and while I cannot capture everything here, I want to highlight two key themes:
- Meaningful collaborations. Members mentioned the importance of creating, sustaining, and strengthening key partnerships in intentional and strategic ways, and focusing on those who are also invested in the important work NACC upholds. While we have had more informal collaborations in the past, now seems like a time to formalize these relationships and ensure we are dedicating our efforts where they can make the most impact.
- Articulating our value. We discussed how to better define our value to the sector and clarify who the primary users and beneficiaries of our work are. While a simple enough-sounding idea, we serve many populations directly and indirectly. The Value-Added committee in the future may work on creating a ‘Theory of Change’ to articulate some of these values.
These are only two of the important insights from the meeting. I would love to have more of you involved in these conversations going forward. If you are interested in joining a committee or contributing your perspective, please reach out.
Our annual member meeting also marks the end and beginning of NACC’s board terms. We said thank you to two outgoing board members, Alex Skailes at City, University of London, and Will Brown from Texas A&M University. We also welcomed Roseanne Mirabella at Kean University and Michelle Wooddell at Grand Valley State University. This also marks the beginning of Peter Weber’s term as board president and Angela Logan’s transition to immediate past president. I want to take a moment to thank them all for their service and dedication to the sector!
I hope you all have meaningful time to spend with all those you hold dear and especially find time to take care of yourselves as we head towards the winter holidays. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with ideas, questions, or to chat with us!
Wishing you all the best!
Nicole