BoardStar becomes own entity, launches statewide initiative

BoardStar, formerly a program offered by the Milwaukee-based Nonprofit Management Fund, has announced that it will break off and become its own 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Patricia Wyzbinski will serve as the organization’s director during the transition.
“The Nonprofit Management Fund seeks to identify and develop programs that will fill gaps in service to the nonprofit community,” Wyzbinski said. “BoardStar filled a gap and increased management resources for nonprofits, and will continue to do that now, as its own separate entity.”
According to Wyzbinski, the Nonprofit Management Fund has a history of developing programs to serve the nonprofit community and then transitioning them to function as separate entities.
“This is just what we do,” she said. “We’re grant makers, not long term program managers. Normally, we try to find an organization that has similar interests who can successfully take over the program, but BoardStar served a unique enough niche that it needed to be an independent organization.”
BoardStar is a nonprofit organization focused on serving nonprofit boards, Wyzbinski said.
The goal of the organization is to strengthen the boards of all nonprofits in the greater Milwaukee area.
“Since our inception in 2005, BoardStar has trained thousands of board directors,” Wyzbinski said. “We have created an educational curriculum designed to strengthen individual members of a nonprofit board so the organization itself can become stronger.”
BoardStar also matches community members interested in being on a nonprofit board, with organizations who could use their skills and talent.
BoardStar currently has seven people on its board of directors, and hopes to hire an executive director for the organization sometime next year.
As part of the transition, Wyzbinski also hopes to launch a statewide initiative to serve nonprofit organizations.
“Right now we are the only organization in the state who has nonprofit boards as a part of its mission,” Wyzbinski said. “And a board of directors is the only thing that all nonprofit organizations in Wisconsin have to have. It’s a need that must be served and should be served statewide.”
Wyzbinski is in negotiations with entities to begin providing regional two day training sessions for nonprofit board  members, and hopes to role out similar sessions throughout the state.
“We’re the governance experts,” she said. “Right now we’re working on forming relationships and looking for partner organizations throughout the state to help us implement these sessions. We’re excited about offering these opportunities to other organizations across the state and beyond.”