This is part one of our four-part Board of Directors blog series. Stay tuned for more posts coming soon!
A strong and cohesive nonprofit Board of Directors is essential to organizational success. Nonprofit boards are responsible for holding the organization accountable to the public through financial oversight, appointing an Executive Director, and maintaining control of strategic decisions. Given the important role of the board, it is crucial to have the right people, with the right skills and expertise at the table at the right time. At Charities Review Council, we have 11 board members committed to helping us meet our strategic plan goals. Each board member brings their own unique skills, experience, and expertise.
Join us this year as we embark on a four-part blog series, sharing highlights and takeaways from each of our board members.
To kick-start the series, we asked newly elected board members, Sukanya Momsen and Megan Genest Tarnow, to share their thoughts on the Council and excitement for the future, but first, a little bit about them…
Sukanya Momsen
Sukanya Momsen is an attorney at Nilan Johnson Lewis, specializing in corporate and employment law. Prior to starting at the firm, she was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman on the Minnesota Court of Appeals and graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in the Order of the Coif and magna cum laude. Sukanya is passionate about law, but outside of work she enjoys reading, traveling, and finding a variety of ways to practice her Japanese.
Megan Tarnow
Megan Tarnow is founder and Principal of The Mobius Group, a QuickBooks-centric consulting practice focused on nonprofits since 2000. She is a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP) and an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, with a BA in Theatre from Gustavus Adolphus College. She is crazy passionate about helping nonprofits capture and use their financial data, and is currently focused on the changes coming from the Cloud, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
What excites you about serving on Charities Review Council’s Board of Directors?
Sukanya: I love having a front-row seat to the inner workings of a successful nonprofit, while also learning about the nonprofit sector as a whole.
Megan: I’m excited about the Council’s work and programs, specifically the Accountability Wizard®, which provides nonprofits the ability to strengthen their infrastructure. Nonprofits don’t fail for lack of innovative programming. They fail because they haven’t taken the time to build a solid foundation, and the tools Charities Review Council provides can help them do just that.
What unique talent, skill, experience and/or expertise do you bring to Charities Review Council’s Board of Directors?
Sukanya: As a lawyer, I bring not only my experience and expertise practicing corporate and employment law, but also my experience in settings that promote diversity.
Megan: I am an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Certified Nonprofit Accounting, Professional. I bring a strong background in accounting practices and nonprofit sector knowledge.
What’s one thing you wish people knew about Charities Review Council?
Sukanya: I wish people knew how helpful the Council could be to them. To nonprofits, the Council is a partner, helping build strong organizational policies and practices for long-term success. For donors, the Council is a trusted resource, helping you make informed investments in causes you care about.
Megan: Our small (but mighty) team is really punching above their weight class in terms of the impact we have in the community, educating both donors and nonprofits and helping them work better together to build strong, vibrant and just communities.
Why is the Accountability Wizard® nonprofit review process important for nonprofits, and our sector as a whole?
Sukanya: The Accountability Wizard® helps nonprofits grow and thrive, knowing that they have a firm foundation in place to deliver on their mission. Our community is better when we have strong nonprofits doing great work!
Megan: I love that the Accountability Standards® are created in partnership with donors and nonprofits, incorporating legal requirements and industry best practices. The Accountability Wizard®, which uses the Accountability Standards® as a framework, creates stronger organizations all around. There’s no doubt that stronger nonprofits make a positive impact on our communities.
Join us in welcoming Megan and Sukanya to Charities Review Council’s Board of Directors. Send them a note of welcome to info@smartgivers.org.
Stay tuned for our next installment of the Board of Directors blog series, where we’ll be highlighting long-time board members Courtney Poja and Robert Pickering.
