Summit Speakers

We're thrilled to announce our breakout session speakers for the #NonprofitSTRONG Summit. Joining our fabulous keynote, Shaw University President Dr. Tashni-Ann Dubroy, will be some of the best and brightest our sector has to offer! Sessions will teach you how to disrupt inequity in the nonprofit workplace, integrate your communications and development plans, negotiate your salary, and more. View the full list and buy your ticket here.

Upcoming Events

Emerging Leaders: Using Social Media to Change the Narrative

Everyone uses social media but few know how to harness it to produce the outcomes they want in their career. Join us to hear from nonprofit change makers about how they are leveraging social media to shift perspectives and conversations in the sector. Learn tools and strategies to implement in your workplace.

1789 Venture Lab
173E E Franklin St
Chapel Hill 27514
Feb. 15 6:30pm - 8pm

RSVP Here

No Stress Networking

Take the awkward, uneasiness out of networking, and come ready to meet, mingle, and exchange ideas with your fellow nonprofiteers for our first young professionals social of 2017! No Stress Networking is a great way to expand your circle of contacts in a fun and enjoyable way. We hope to see you there!

106 Main
106 E Main St.
Durham 27701
Feb. 28 5:30pm - 7:30pm

RSVP Here

Program Recap

Setting Boundaries: Establishing Strong Work/Life Balance in 2017

We were thrilled to see such a great turnout at our January professional development program. Thanks to everyone who came out for a deep dive into time management and work/life balance. Check out our Facebook Live video of and photos from the program. The topic of work/life balance was the first focus area of our newly introduced competency model, a programming strategy which will inform the types of events we offer to ensure we are giving you the tools and skills you need to succeed as a nonprofit professional. Every month we will focus on a different skill set. Join us for this month's professional development program for a focus on using social media to change the narrative. As a part of our model, we'll be talking about social media and technical communication skills all month. Follow us on social media for more!

Chair's Note

YNPN Triangle NC started in humble beginnings. In fact, our chapter’s origins are traced back to a Craig’s List ad in 2009. A group of energized and frustrated young nonprofit professionals gathered at a local watering hole to brainstorm how they could create a system of support and learning. One of these founding members had been involved with the Twin Cities chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. After many phone calls and emails, the Triangle chapter kicked off its inaugural year with a handful of networking socials in Raleigh.

Check out YNPN Triangle NC Chair Katie Todd's latest blog.

Comments + Feedback

The YNPN Triangle NC Board of Directors is committed to providing programming and resources that most align with your needs in order to further your personal and professional development. Your insights and perspectives are integral to carrying out that commitment. Please share your feedback here in order to help us best serve you!

February can feel like a month of transition. We’re loaded up on fresh starts and new habits from January after we envisioned the possibilities for the year. The temptation of spring looms ahead in March, conjuring thoughts of warm weather and vacations. Those 28 (or 29 in the special Leap Years) days in between often pass in a blink.

But, for YNPN Triangle NC, February is a time for us to push pause and celebrate. On February 12, 2015, we received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service, declaring us an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the eye of federal tax law. Woo!

Alright, it may not sound that special given that there are more than 950,000 registered public charities in our country according to the Urban Institute. Still, we like to believe that YNPN Triangle NC truly is one in a million. And so are the people who come to our organization to learn, network, and connect with others trying to make our social sector more powerful and diverse.

YNPN Triangle NC started in humble beginnings. In fact, our chapter’s origins are traced back to a Craig’s List ad in 2009. A group of energized and frustrated young nonprofit professionals gathered at a local watering hole to brainstorm how they could create a system of support and learning. One of these founding members had been involved with the Twin Cities chapter of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network. After many phone calls and emails, the Triangle chapter kicked off its inaugural year with a handful of network socials in Raleigh.

Each year, the leaders who served on the Board of Directors expanded the vision of what YNPN Triangle NC could be and, more importantly, how it could shift the narrative around our nonprofit sector. This required the board members to revisit the drawing table again and again, bringing in more diverse perspectives, and embarking on formalizing the organization. For us, this meant becoming an official 501(c)(3).

Why that route? We know that there are many community-run groups working to create a more just, equitable world that are not 501(c)(3) organizations. Some operate under other nonprofit categories, such as 501(c)(4) advocacy organizations or 501(c)(6) membership organizations. But, many aren’t registered in any way, shape, or form. And that’s okay. Often, these are the true grassroots, people- powered entities who may need emerging leaders to join the team and ensure the sustainability of their critical missions.

That is one reason why we elected to move forward in becoming an official 501(c)(3). Our board is run by leaders in their 20s and 30s. As you may well have experienced, a lot happens in our lives during those two decades, both personally and professionals. The board members in 2014 wanted to provide a structure that would outlive their tenure and expand opportunities in funding for future directors to leverage.

We also believe that we have a responsibility to dismantle some of the elements required in the cumbersome process associated with registering as a nonprofit. The sheer amount of paperwork and financial investments close the door to many of the community-run organizations who may be in operation for dozens of years but because of their lack of “officialness” may be overlooked for grants and other financial investments.

As we celebrate our two year anniversary on February 12, we also remind ourselves that inequities within our sector exist even in the most seemingly mundane levels: joining the ranks as a 501(c)(3) organization. If you have ideas for how emerging leaders can help to speak out and change how this system operates, our ears are wide open.

Happy New Year! We hope you’ve successfully dug out from this weekend’s wintry weather and are starting 2017 off right. We’ve got a busy year ahead of us, and we're counting on you to join us for revitalized programming, networking, professional development, and so much more. Let's get started.

This past Saturday morning, I took a few steps outside, snapped a few photos, and declared myself over the wintry weather. I grew up in the Southwest where wearing shorts in December and January was the norm, not the exception. Even after ten years living in a place where snow likes to make a curtain call at least once a year, I’m still not on board with sleet.

I joined the YNPN Triangle Board of Directors in December 2015. I joined for a lot of the reasons people join boards. See a pretty great list here or here.

Selfishly​,​ volunteer opportunities are a space to build on your strengths, when you may or may not have the opportunity to do so in your current work environment. Professional development isn't always done in a training, a grad program, or at a conference. I grow by doing and ​my first nine months as a board director have been ​full of incredible experience​s​.

Unselfishly, the most significant reason which influenced my decision to join YNPN Triangle is the very cliched - I wanted to connect and significantly give back to the nonprofit community.

This year, I was fortunate to be able to attend the 2016 national YNPN conference in Portland, Oregon. While we are working hard to create new, exciting, inclusive, and thoughtful programming and spaces for our Triangle members, it is sometimes hard to remember that there are hundreds of YNPN leaders doing the exact same things (and similar, but different things too) all over the country, from Las Vegas to Boston, Des Moines to Charleston. My first national conference was the best way to see this in action and to connect and learn from the brightest young nonprofit professionals committed to improving the sector.

YNPN Triangle NC has recently launched a specific programming component around the discussion and exploration of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the nonprofit sector, and this focus is shared by YNPN National. I’ve been involved with the team focused on ensuring that EDI is encompassed in our work as a chapter and have recently committed myself to seeking out a myriad of resources to further inform the work. I was impressed that the conference provided multiple opportunities and different platforms to engage in dialogue about EDI and where we’ve been and where we need to go moving forward. This included a full day “deep dive” session that pushed us to practice confronting racial microaggressions in the workplace and several other breakout sessions focused on cementing our commitment to diversity in our boards, our events, and our greater network.

As the Triangle chapter and many other chapters engage in moving our work forward through an EDI lens, it was a neat experience to come together with other chapter leaders and share our success and struggles. For me, the best part of the national conference was the collective brainstorming that occurred around EDI and everything else, hopefully paving the way for improved outcomes for the entire network.

After two and a half days of learning and sharing, the national YNPN conference really reinforced to me that as the young nonprofit leaders, we truly have endless opportunities to make sure our voices are heard and our mark is made. Often, we face numerous challenges and barriers to progress in achieving our goals, but I was reminded of how robust and strong the community of YNPN leaders is throughout our state, region, and nation. As a result, I know I’ve come away from our weekend in Portland with a renewed energy for the future of the sector.

Elizabeth Byrum is YNPN Triangle NC's Outreach Chair. Read more about her here.