Program Information
The Resident Leader Training Progam is a series of six classes. They are held once a month and are 90 minutes long. The meetings are held at the West Branch and East Branch of the Brockton Public Library, depending on the month.
There is no cost to the participant. UPDATE: Our 2019 classes will begin on February 7th, 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm, at the EAST Branch of the Brockton Public Library. Learning subjects include: Meeting One: Leadership, group dynamics, and benefits of a neighborhood association Meeting Two: Operating Principles, Steering Committee, Governance, and Bank Accounts Meeting Three: Forming a core group, setting an effective agenda, holding your first meeting; how to keep people coming back Meeting Four: Funding opportunities through this RLP Program Meeting Five: Events and liability; RLP Code of Conduct; Conflict of Interest Meeting Six: Communication with the city and with each other: Permits, Issues, Partnerships, Co-Support, celebrating and sharing success |
Here is just a sample of some of the discussions we have during our leadership training:
The Medicine WheelThe Medicine Wheel is a way of looking at individual differences which comes to us from Native American culture. This particular presentation of Medicine Wheel in our Resident Leader Training Program is based on traditions of the Lakota Indian people, interpreted so as to assist us in understanding how diversity impacts on team work.
The Medicine Wheel calls on elements of the natural world which describe four different styles of interacting with each other and our own work. The major compass directions differentiate styles, and each has an animal, a color, and a season associated with it. The Lakota believe that each of us is “born into” one or another of these directions. As each season has a different feel, and each animal a different personality, the four directions become descriptive of the varied ways in which human beings experience the world and operate in it. Understanding these differences helps the working relationships we have with others. We begin to see why we experience confusion, discomfort or frustration when confronted with persons whose ways of seeing the world and operating in it are different from our own. Lakota tradition calls us to see the Medicine Wheel – the wheel of life – as complete only when all four directions are included. If we value all skills and styles as important contributions to a group’s work, we can experience diversity as a strength rather than as an impediment. The Four Directions/Styles: NORTH – BUFFALO – WHITE – WINTER EAST – EAGLE – YELLOW – SPRING SOUTH – DEER – GREEN – SUMMER WEST – BEAR – BROWN – AUTUMN As part of our Resident Leader Training, we work towards understanding individual differences and group strengths. To learn more about The Four Directions and Styles, come and be a part of Team Brockton RLP. With thanks to NRN – National Resource Network – and its leaders, who trained our first cohort in Brockton. To learn more about NRN, visit their website at www.nationalresourcenetwork.org |
Is a 501c3 right for us?The process of becoming a nonprofit takes a lot of time – not only in the original application, but also in the yearly filings that are required by the IRS and by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The chief benefit of having 501(c)(3) status – being recognized as a nonprofit under the federal tax code – is that most donations to the organization can be used as a tax deduction by the donor. So this is one way to encourage charitable giving. The second benefit is that many grants require that the applicant be recognized as a 501(c)(3) before a request for funding or a donation is considered.
An association can apply for a tax ID – a Federal EIN – solely for the purpose of opening a bank account. It is NOT tax exempt status – it simply ‘registers’ your association with the IRS. With that tax identification number, and with documents that support the purpose and organization and officers of your association, a bank account can be opened in the name of the association so that any donations made can be deposited and tracked. We discuss the pros and cons of becoming an official non-profit entity – the costs, the duties and responsibilities, what is required on the federal level AND on the state level, and the ongoing record keeping and tax filings that are required. We also walk through the process understanding what information and documents are needed before applying for a Tax ID solely for the purpose of opening a bank account, and then we earn how to apply online for the tax ID on the IRS website. We learn about creating Operating Principles as documentation of the purpose and organization of our association. Banks require certain documentation before a bank account can be opened, and we become comfortable with that process and the duties and responsibilities of the signors on a bank account. Checks and balances to make sure that funds are spent according to the wishes of the members, and that the appropriate audit trail is created, is part of this learning session as well. We discuss a Code of Conduct and Ethics for the officers of the association, and how to manage any challenges that might arise in connection with the budgeting and spending process. |
What is Leadership?Leadership is the ability to adapt the setting so everyone feels empowered to contribute creatively to solving the problems.
Leadership is an ability, meaning a leader has a capacity to do something through talent and skill. Talent is natural ability and skill is proficiency gained through training and experience. Talent certainly helps, but it isn’t required. I know many people whose natural leadership ability was close to zero but through training, experience, and most of all, persistence, became great leaders. Leadership is adaptive, meaning that the leader makes adjustments. A leader who fails to adjust to the territory will lose their way. Only fools willingly follow someone who is lost. Leadership acts on people’s feelings, meaning a leader finds ways to link to people’s instinct or intuition. Leaders help everyone feel empowered, which in many organizations with bad histories is a leap of faith. If a leader can also provide concrete evidence that helps the empowerment, wonderful. But evidence usually comes after the leadership actions produce the desired results. Leadership creates contribution, which means every member gives something. Sometimes that may be sharing an idea. And sometimes that may be holding an ideas in reserve and allowing someone else to arrive at the same idea and share it. Leadership fosters creativity, meaning imaginative use of limited resources. A leader that enables people to use their imagination is a step closer to solving problems faster, better and cheaper. Leadership is often attributed to a single individual. It’s easier to communicate success stories that way. People like simple stories that contain cause and effect even when they are wrong. The more complex story reinforces that everyone on a team can be a leader. The most successful teams create chain reactions of leadership. Adaptation triggers long chains of further adaptations that ultimately solve seemingly impossible problems. ...................by Steven M. Smith, SolutionsIQ |