Nonprofit Essentials

Session Description:
In today’s competitive labor market, cultivating a strong and sustainable talent pipeline is essential for nonprofit success. This session, led by professionals from local and state workforce agencies, explores how service learning can be leveraged to address both immediate organizational needs and long-term workforce development goals. Participants will learn how to partner with educational institutions, workforce development boards, and community programs to create meaningful service learning opportunities that not only enhance organizational capacity but also introduce potential future employees to the nonprofit sector. This session will offer real-world examples, practical tools, and insights from workforce professionals who understand how service learning can drive recruitment, retention, and mission alignment.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Define service learning and distinguish it from other volunteer and internship models.
2. Identify key benefits of service learning for nonprofits, students, and community stakeholders.
3. Understand how service learning can be integrated into a broader workforce development strategy.
4. Explore partnership opportunities with educational institutions and workforce agencies.
5. Develop strategies to turn service learners into future staff or long-term volunteers.

Cost: $25

Facilitator:

Ashley Williams is the Vice President of Talent Development with the Greater Muncie Chamber of Commerce in Muncie, Indiana. She completed her undergraduate degree from Ball State University and earned a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration on non-profit leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Prior to joining the Chamber team, Ashley served on the senior leadership team at the Youth Opportunity Center, providing oversight of residential treatment programs. She most recently worked at Eastern Indiana Works, a regional workforce development board, strengthening her understanding of the current and future needs of the local workforce. Ashley has found her current role with the Chamber allows her to blend her passion for empowering young people with her love of aiding in the development of our future workforce.  With more than 20 years of leadership experience, Ashley is a skilled collaborator who takes pride in her ability to build strong partnerships that drive meaningful connections throughout the community.

Outside of work, Ashley values spending time with her family and volunteering for her church ministry. She is an advisory board member for TeenWorks and serves on the Board of Directors for Hillcroft Services.

Cassandra Gillenwater is the Director of Grants at Serve Indiana. In this role she oversees and manages the grant application, review, and funding process for AmeriCorps State and National Funding.

Prior to joining Serve Indiana, Cassandra worked and served in a variety of roles supporting community and youth development programs while working for Youth for Understanding USA and serving two terms as an AmeriCorps member with Public Allies Indianapolis.

Cassandra earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University.

Managing a nonprofit’s mission means managing its money — but nonprofit accounting isn’t just business accounting with different vocabulary. It requires a unique understanding of fund restrictions, program allocations, compliance, and how to tell your financial story to donors, boards, and funders alike.

This 90-minute session will demystify the fundamentals of nonprofit accounting, helping you better understand the structure of nonprofit financial statements, how to track restricted vs. unrestricted funds, and what financial metrics really matter. Whether you’re new to financial oversight or seeking a better grasp of the numbers you report each month, this session will equip you with tools and insights to manage your mission with greater confidence and clarity.

Led by Dr. Ben Angelo, Assistant Professor of Accounting at Ball State University, this interactive session will blend clear explanation, hands-on examples, and practical tools designed for executive directors, board members, and emerging nonprofit leaders alike.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

1. Interpret key nonprofit financial statements (Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Activities, etc.) and understand what they reveal about organizational health.
2. Differentiate between restricted and unrestricted funds, and understand the importance of fund accounting in day-to-day operations and reporting.
3. Apply core budgeting and tracking practices that align with nonprofit compliance, grant requirements, and board expectations.
4. Identify the key financial indicators (e.g., liquidity, revenue mix, overhead ratio) that matter most to funders and boards.
5. Ask better financial questions — as a leader, board member, or partner — to strengthen fiscal transparency and strategy.

Cost: $25

Facilitator:

Ben Angelo, assistant professor of accounting, earned his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Purdue University. Ben has a unique and diverse professional background. Ben has worked as an auditor specializing in non-profits, he has worked in the treasury department at Purdue University, he has worked as a managerial accountant in the Office of the Provost at Purdue University, and he has performed tax and consulting work in his own practice.

Ben teaches government and non-profit accounting. Ben has previously taught managerial accounting at Purdue University, where he repeatedly won the “Distinguished Teaching” award. Ben incorporates his professional experience into the classroom to provide relevant and practical examples to students.

Ben’s research interests include academic and educational research. Ben is interested in how companies use voluntary disclosures to shape the market’s perception of firm performance. Ben is also interested in writing academic cases that engage students and provide the analytical skills they will need in order to be successful.