The Nonprofit Institute at the College of Southern Maryland held its official launch breakfast at the La Plata Campus on July 9. To help nonprofit organizations improve their effectiveness, CSM created the institute to serve as a clearinghouse for information on resources and as a provider of expert services to the nonprofit community.

The institute had been in existence for two years, and with funding from the Charles County Commissioners this year a Charles County coordinator has been hired to expand its capacity to serve the public. St. Mary’s County Commissioners have provided funding to hire a St. Mary’s County coordinator as well.  

“The work of nonprofit organizations—across the nation, in Maryland and here in Charles County—directly influences the effective functioning of society, the economy and politics,” reported Vivian Mills, the Charles County coordinator for the institute as she shared statistics from the Center for Civil Society Studies on the impact of nonprofits on the economy. “The nonprofit sector not only enhances quality of life but also contributes importantly to the area’s economic health,” said Mills, adding that in Charles County alone, nonprofits provide jobs for more than 2,000 people.

“In the nonprofit world, if you don’t have the heart, if you don’t have the passion, then you’ll never move [your organization] forward,” Charles County Board of County Commissioners President Candice Quinn Kelly told more than 60 nonprofit presidents, board chairs and executives during the keynote on the launch for the institute. “You have to have that belief, that conviction, that what you are doing is so very important.” Kelly was joined by Charles County Commissioner Vice President Reuben B. Collins II, Commissioner Debra M. Davis Esq. and Maryland State Delegate Peter Murphy.

In his remarks to those attending, CSM President Dr. Brad Gottfried reiterated the need to provide resources and expertise to the nonprofit community.            “I don’t have to tell you how difficult it is to raise funds now in this environment. It’s tougher than it’s ever been and the needs are greater than they’ve ever been and that’s why we are here today,” he said.

“The Nonprofit Institute is very much needed because a lot of times [nonprofit executives and leaders] are exhausted,” said Valerie Rogers an attendee and the founder of Hesed Ministries International which provides benevolent services and spiritual education to the poor. Rogers encouraged the institute to provide workshops on building a board of trustees for newly established nonprofits and forming a cadre of board candidates interested in serving a nonprofit in their areas of interest.

Mills emphasized the institute’s commitment to addressing the needs of nonprofit boards