New Nonprofit Leadership Peer Forum Making Big Strides in 2024

Park City Community Foundation’s CEO and Executive Director Peer Forum is halfway through its inaugural year and is already strengthening the nonprofit leadership in greater Park City.

The Community Foundation has been a champion for local nonprofits for as long as it has been around. It provides grants to many local nonprofits and has offered ongoing education roundtables for any local nonprofit staff or board member for more than ten years. In 2024, the Community Foundation started a new professional development experience for a small group of nonprofit executive directors and CEO’s. This eight-session peer forum is one more way to strengthen the spirit of collaboration among those who are leading these nonprofits forward and supporting the community with their services.

“Park City has an incredibly strong and vibrant nonprofit sector, and the leaders are extraordinary,” Joel Zarrow, CEO of the Community Foundation, said. “So, the idea is: How do we bring together Park City’s nonprofit leaders to learn from and with each other? How do we take advantage of each other’s expertise?”

Joel has been leading the peer forum using his background in education and expertise in nonprofits to create a learning environment that is engaging and interactive. He said they draw on research, articles, and best practices, but also the lived experiences of all the professionals in the room. The peer forum includes a mix of experienced nonprofit leaders with newer nonprofit leaders to create a balance between deep knowledge of the local nonprofit sector and the new leaders’ fresh eyes and perspectives.

Melissa Zimmerman took over the leadership role of Jewish Family Service of Utah in March of this year and is a member of the peer forum. “It’s been helpful as someone who’s new to the ED role and new to Utah – it’s really been crucial for me,” Melissa said. “I have a shared space with peers, not only on issues related to our organizations, but also just helping me feel welcome in the community.”

Executive Director of PC READS Elissa Aten is another member and said she is grateful for the peer forum as someone who is newer to nonprofit leadership. She has a background in the legal field and a history of volunteering.

“It has been incredibly beneficial to hear that other small nonprofits share similar challenges, as well as to have the advice and guidance from larger nonprofits in a structured, professionally-led environment,” Elissa said. “Participating in our monthly meetings has definitely increased my ‘to-do’ list; however, I also leave meetings with specific resources and am inspired to keep moving forward on our organization’s goals.”

Each of the eight peer forum sessions tackles a practical topic that is foundational to running a nonprofit organization, such as performance management, operating goals, and defining mission, vision, and values.

Guest experts are also brought into certain sessions and one of them was Beth Plavan, a board member of the Community Foundation who is an attorney and chairs its Governance Committee. She created a checklist detailing the policies every nonprofit needs to have in place for for the members to refine policies and see where they were excelling. One of the most engaging parts of every session is a structured opportunity for each member to get immediate insight into a current problem they are facing within their organization.

Joel said there is an intangible benefit to the peer forum as well. “We’re really beginning to form a leadership community where we get strength from each other. We get knowledge from each other. We support each other in the leadership role,” he said.

“A lot of our nonprofits are out to solve challenges that haven’t been solved anywhere before. Challenges like early childcare, food access, and land conservation. Nonprofits don’t have the same resources and funding as big companies, so the best way for us to tackle these huge challenges is by pulling together and learn from each other,” explained Joel. “Our missions might be different, but our dedication and determination is the same.”

“The opportunity to share resources and discuss issues among a successful and passionate group of nonprofit leaders with the guidance of Joel Zarrow is amazing,” Elissa said. She hopes the peer forum group will continue to meet afterward to share ideas, and that the program continues into the coming years for others.

Outside of practical knowledge and internal collaboration, there are softer skills adopted through the peer forum. Shellie Barrus, a member who is the Executive Director of Habitat of Humanity of Summit and Wasatch Counties, said the lesson she’s utilized the most from the peer forum is active listening. This form of listening is all about being responsive and receptive, without immediately jumping to advice or solutions, but understanding first. She said this has been helpful with her own team as they work on an expansion project to maintain a calm environment where like-minded solutions can develop.

“I’m extremely grateful and honored to be a part of the group.” Melissa said. “It’s really a group of amazing individuals doing such incredible work for the community and it’s a space that I’m very proud to be a part of.”

This year’s participants are: