charitySTRONG’s mission is to assist charitable organizations in achieving the highest standards of board leadership, governance and oversight. We do this by providing nonprofit board training and educational resources and through an online recruitment program that helps organizations seeking new board members find talented board candidates from outside their networks. Currently we are only working with nonprofits in New York State. charitySTRONG is a program of Governance Matters, Inc., an affiliate of the New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc. We are sponsored by various charitable initiatives, including the United Way of Greater Rochester.

charitySTRONG offers two distinctive online programs. Access to both is available free of charge:

Directors U
Directors U has informational resources for current and prospective nonprofit board of directors members and chief executives. It includes our signature online course, Good Practices for Good Boards, providing essential information on nonprofit board service in New York State. Good Practices is required for all individuals who want to use charitySTRONG to join a board. Organizations registering with charitySTRONG are asked that their current board members complete this course as well.

charitySTRONG is one result of the work of the Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization, commissioned in 2011 by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. This group was tasked with identifying ways to strengthen governance and create efficiencies in the nonprofit sector. Recognizing that strong board leadership is fundamental to organizational well being, the Committee recommended the creation of new programming dedicated to improving board of director recruitment and training throughout the state. 

Board service enables individuals to give back to their communities, develop leadership skills and expand their networks. Nonprofit organizations benefit from diverse and engaged boards of directors who understand and fulfill board roles and responsibilities.

Ultimately, we believe that better boards of directors will result in higher functioning organizations that can better fulfill their missions.