Cultivate International

History/Background

Birthed in 2016, Cultivate International exists to serve community leaders worldwide to build their capacity and resources, in order to assist them to launch and sustain programs that effectively address their community’s fight against poverty and injustices. Cultivate was formed by Elaine Tymchak, a nonprofit and international development professional with 15+ years of experience, who saw the need for community insiders, those who share the same background and experiences as those they serve, to be the ones to spearhead change. These community leaders had expressed a very real and felt need – to have the necessary resources, capacity and networks needed to lead programs that adhered to the sector’s best practices and standards.

This is where Cultivate was formed – an equipping program for community leaders. We develop people into leaders who can turn grassroots efforts into thriving community programs. Through our comprehensive training and coaching program, they obtain the tools and skills they can leverage for success in their charitable efforts. Our program offers training that focuses on the foundational aspects of planning, developing, and sustaining a charitable community endeavor. This training is holistic, culturally adapted, and focuses on building skills and knowledge for long-term success. It introduces the trainee to many foundational topics of nonprofit work such as:

• Community Development Best Practices
• Fundraising
• Financial Management
• Communications
• Program Management
• Leadership Development

Strategic Priorities

1. Create a training program for US-based organizations running programs in the developing world, so they can equip their local staff to have an increased capacity to lead the organization, and take on efforts typically handled by US-based staff, such as fundraising, financial management, donor stewardship, and communications. (this training will be built from our already-created training program for local leaders)
2. Establish sources of revenue from program fees/partnerships, to supplement our donations program.
3. Current local trainees comprise of 15 community leaders in our cohort – our goal is to double this cohort to 30 members by the end of 2020. Additionally, bring on 3-4 organizational partnerships for the new organizational training program.

Annual budget: $66,000 – Earned Income, Individual Contributions, Other

Skills

Cultivate International is seeking board members with skills in the following areas:

• Board Governance
• Financial Management
• Fundraising
• Marketing and Communications

We are working to acquire D&O Liability Insurance. We are especially in need of a treasurer (will not do bookkeeping, but will assist with reviews) and someone with extensive board experience to help us establish a strong, working board. We have had a lot of turnover in these 3 years. We need to establish stronger board expectations, processes, and meetings.

Information

• Number of members currently: 5
• Meeting time and frequency:  4 meetings annually
• Meeting location: Minneapolis

Expectations

• Time Expectation: Up to 5 hours/month
• Financial Contribution Required: Yes, at a level meaningful to the board member.
• Service on Committee Required: No
• Length of Term: 2 Years
• Renewable: Yes
• Does nonprofit carry liability insurance? No

Questions about this board opportunity?

Email: boardconnector@propelnonprofits.org