DESCRIPTION:
Booo - It's the 1st word that usually comes to mind when someone starts talking about compliance. But whether "booo" means you're bored or you just got a jump scare, compliance matters because it isn't just the law; it’s how your organization earns and maintains trust and confidence. Get in a compliance bind, and it’s likely to affect staff morale, impact fundraising, and injure your reputation for the long term. However, compliance can be mastered with basic awareness and regular attention. In this session, we will hit on the IRS's hot topics, provide the tools to issue-spot and avoid compliance headaches and unveil easy steps to get and stay compliant to ensure organizational success.

WHO SHOULD JOIN:
Anyone responsible for executing or overseeing nonprofit compliance, as well as those who are just interested in it. This includes new or experienced staff leadership, finance and administration, and board members.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Melanie Schell is a seasoned non-profit attorney with extensive experience as an executive-level manager, in-house counsel, communications strategist, and planned gift specialist. She works with organizations of all sizes and in all stages, blending her knowledge of law and best practices with nonprofit sensibilities to develop mission-based solutions for clients.

As Managing Principal and General Counsel for the Bannack Group, Melanie manages Bannack’s operations and counsels nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, major fundraising initiatives, sound operational policies and procedures, public relations and communications, deferred giving and creative philanthropy, board/staff roles and relations, and key organizational transitions.

Prior to her consulting work, Melanie served as the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for the Montana State University Alumni Foundation. In that role, she served as a key member of the organization’s senior leadership team and was responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day management of communications, planned/deferred giving, events, human resources, business relations, alumni relations, annual fund, real estate and property management, and legal affairs. She had primary responsibility for more than one-half of the organization’s personnel and annual operating budget.

As a former frontline fundraiser, Melanie has secured over $50 million in current and deferred gifts individually and through strategic collaborations. She served as the chief operations manager and communications strategist for multiple fundraising initiatives, including a successful 120-day $10 million campaign during the height of the 2008 national financial crisis.

Melanie previously practiced in the areas of estate planning and small business formation. She also spent four years in federal criminal defense. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah College of Law. She received her BA with honors in Speech Communications from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.

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If there is anything One Valley Community Foundation can do to make this session more accessible for you, please contact Jill Ellwood at jill@onevalley.org or 406-587-6262 x 20.