Welcome to the new and improved Principles & Practices!
Developed for nonprofits, by nonprofits, our guide is now fully interactive. Find links to trainings, templates, and more within!
Copy Updated: September 2023
Principles & Practices for Nonprofit Excellence in Colorado is generously supported by:
If Lloyd Lewis had stayed the course that he thought his career was going to take – that of a C-level financial analyst for the likes of Smith Barney and IBM – he would have quite a different story to tell. But when his son Kennedy was born with Down syndrome, everything changed. From that moment on, Lloyd has devoted his life to radically changing and elevating the conversation around the INCLUSION of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since 2005, Lloyd has become an uncompromising advocate for people with IDD.
Lloyd is president and CEO of arc Thrift Stores, one of Colorado’s largest nonprofit organizations. By focusing on employment, healthcare, and housing, Lloyd has turned arc into one of the state’s largest employers of people with IDD and has issued a challenge to business leaders everywhere to change how we approach and truly embody inclusion in this country.
In this webinar, Lloyd will share his story, outline what other nonprofit organizations need to know about creating a truly inclusive culture, and provide helpful tips on how to take DEI to the next level.
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Lloyd Lewis, CEO of Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado
Lloyd Lewis is the CEO of the Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado, one of Colorado’s largest social enterprises. Arc Thrift is also one of Colorado’s largest nonprofits, employers of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), recyclers, and relief organizations. Under Lewis’ tenure, Arc Thrift has funded over $250 million to nonprofit causes and charities since 2005.
Since taking on the leadership role at Arc Thrift Stores, Lewis has become a passionate and uncompromising advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With 80% of people in the U.S. with disabilities being unemployed, a champion was indeed called for. Focusing on healthcare, housing, voting rights, and employment, Lewis is most definitely that champion and is on a crusade to promote a new way to think about inclusion and diversity.
When and where he can, Lewis takes a stand and has issued a challenge to all CEOs and business leaders to follow his lead and change how we approach and truly embody inclusion in this country.
Lewis was a nominee for CEO of the Year by ColoradoBiz magazine in 2020 and named one of Denver’s Most Admired CEOs in 2021 by the Denver Business Journal. He is also the recipient of a Civil Rights Award and received the World Citizenship Award in 2022 from the International Civitans, an honor that has included such noted past winners as England’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Eunice Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics.
Lewis’s career in disabilities and employment has also been recognized in the Congressional Record by U.S. House of Representatives Jason Crow and Diana DeGette.
Lewis has an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Before coming to Arc Thrift Stores, Lewis was a municipal investment banker with Smith Barney, a senior financial analyst with IBM, a director of finance for a publicly traded medical equipment company, and a CFO for a high-tech start-up company that was ultimately sold to Micron. Lewis is a board member of the Colorado Business Roundtable and chairs its community committee.
Lewis lives in Englewood Colorado with his wife Claire who is a substitute teacher. He has four grown and two younger children, including a 19-year-old son with Down syndrome.
Lewis is a nationally recognized expert in IDD employment and speaks nationally to corporations about the positive contributions of employees with IDD. He will be speaking at the opening plenary session at the Arc of United States convention in November 2022.
Arc Thrift has a long and established partnership with BOK. BOK helped Arc Thrift navigate the Great Recession with an $8 million bond issue, and then the pandemic with a $14 million LOC followed by a $9 million PPP loan – and led the successful PPP loan forgiveness application. BOK continues to manage Arc Thrift’s operating cash balances.
In the current landscape, nonprofit organizations are working diligently to diversify their board of directors. The focus tends to be on “where to go to find diverse candidates” or “how do we recruit diverse candidates.” Rarely, will the volunteer nonprofit leaders ask “why”? The intent of this workshop is to examine your “why,” which can lead to a meaningful board recruitment process and a culture of belonging to ensure everyone has a rewarding board experience.
Carolyn Love
Carolyn Love, PhD is the founder of Kebaya Coaching & Consulting. The Company focuses on enhancing the leadership talent in organizations, creating equitable and inclusive workplaces, and facilitating meaningful and sustainable change. Carolyn served as the executive director and CEO of three nonprofit organizations in the Denver area. She is an Affiliate Faculty member at Regis University, teaching Governance and Organizational Leadership, Leading from Within and Social Justice and Civil Society. As a consultant, trainer, and leadership coach, she facilitates workshops and training on leadership, equity, diversity, inclusion and creating a culture of belonging.
Internationally, she presented workshops at La Universidad Anãhuac in Mexico City, Mexico and University of Stellenbosch Business School in Bellville, South Africa on non governmental leadership and change. Additionally, Carolyn spent time in Cuba studying their health care system.
Carolyn is a graduate of the Coach Training Institute (CTI) and serves as a leadership coach for the Community Resource Center and Colorado Health Foundation. As a public speaker, Carolyn focuses on discussing the question “what does it really take to create and sustain an inclusive multicultural, multi-racial democracy?”
In 2021, Carolyn launched a nonprofit organization focused on bringing the voices of Black women working in the areas of racial and gender justice into the public domain. The nonprofit, Black Women Solutionaries, hosts webinars to educate, share knowledge and uplift the work of Black women who are solutions oriented.
Carolyn serves on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado and the national board of ACLU. Carolyn also serves on the Colorado Supreme Court Advisory Committee. Carolyn earned a PhD in Leadership & Change from Antioch University and a Masters in Nonprofit Management from Regis University.
Does your organization work cross-culturally? Have you ever been frustrated by miscommunications with team members who come from different backgrounds? We will go over five basic concepts of leading a team in a way that leverages cultural diversity. Learn practical exercises that you can use in your organization to increase cultural awareness and reduce frustration. We will end with a discussion on how your organization can become an incubator for high-performing multicultural teams.
Andrew Hoskins has led and taught multicultural teams for the past two decades. He spent the first 17 years of his career leading nonprofit teams in multiple countries across Africa. He moved to Colorado Springs two years ago and is currently the Vice President of International Programs for The Exodus Road, a nonprofit fighting to disrupt global human trafficking.
Andrew is soon completing a DBA at Trevecca Nazarene University. He holds an MA in International Development from the University of South Carolina. He is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and a Proci Certified Change Management Practitioner.
Having an accessible website is a moral obligation and often a legal one, too. Website content managers have a responsibility to make their message available to the widest possible audience, avoid legal issues, reach marketing goals, and most importantly, do the right thing. Aten Design Group’s accessibility expert, Michaela Blackham will provide a step by step guide for content editors to create more accessible content for their website.
Michaela Blackham, QA & Accessibility Specialist
Originally from Boston, Michaela came to Denver after several years of experience as both a designer and developer. Michaela always had an interest in making the world a better place and giving back to the community through volunteering, as well as following her passion for physical and digital ADA compliance. Now she uses her background in the industry and her personal life to bring awareness and solutions to digital ADA compliance as Aten Design Group’s Accessibility and QA Specialist. Michaela writes and speaks about accessibility and inclusive digital experiences, has completed a number of accessibility trainings, and is currently working on her IAAP – Web Accessibility Specialist certification.
The American Psychological Association reports that the vast majority of American adults are experiencing emotions associated with prolonged stress, with 87% feeling like there has been a constant stream of crises over the past two years (Mar 2022). In addition to the personal pain we are holding, we have been navigating the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic, experiencing inflation, and wrestling with racial injustice. Trauma can have negative impacts on our mental and physical health, particularly if gone unacknowledged.
Research shows us that alongside difficult experiences, positive outcomes such as personal growth, gratitude, and a stronger sense of self often emerge. Once we give ourselves time to effectively feel and process challenging emotions, research-based strategies can help us orient ourselves towards meaningful shifts. In this session, we will engage in telling redemptive stories to reclaim our personal narratives, and make sense of what we have been through. Uncovering opportunities for learning and growth will help us connect with the meaning and purpose that sustain our personal and professional fulfillment
Mary Cipollone – Big Onion Partnerships
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The American Psychological Association reports that the vast majority of American adults are experiencing emotions associated with prolonged stress, with 87% feeling like there has been a constant stream of crises over the past two years (Mar 2022). In addition to the personal pain we are holding, we have been navigating the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic, experiencing inflation, and wrestling with racial injustice. Trauma can have negative impacts on our mental and physical health, particularly if gone unacknowledged.
Research shows us that alongside difficult experiences, positive outcomes such as personal growth, gratitude, and a stronger sense of self often emerge. Once we give ourselves time to effectively feel and process challenging emotions, research-based strategies can help us orient ourselves towards meaningful shifts. In this session, we will engage in telling redemptive stories to reclaim our personal narratives, and make sense of what we have been through. Uncovering opportunities for learning and growth will help us connect with the meaning and purpose that sustain our personal and professional fulfillment.
Rebecca Toll, MNM
Rebecca has demonstrated success applying a diverse set of practices that include collaborative governance, systems change, collective impact, authentic community engagement, building community leadership capacity, as well as understanding and deploying social innovation practices. Rebecca utilizes human-centered design thinking, emergent strategy, root cause analysis, and deliberative dialogue techniques in her work. These practices facilitate effective decision-making and trust building while increasing awareness and reducing barriers that ensure access to build will and ignite action. Specific projects include the co-creation of the Anti-Racist Change Lab (ARCL) developed in partnership with Colorado State University’s School of Social Work. The ARCL a participatory experience for individuals to dismantle bias, increase awareness, and move toward collective action as it relates to racialized oppression within their communities. These practices are also applied to her work with numerous schools and districts across Colorado in an effort to cultivate transformational change for school climate and student voice.
Make your organization more inclusive and diverse by following effective hiring practices.