February 2026 Newsletter
Dear Colleagues in the Work of Caring,
Welcome to a month where love is amplified through celebration, connection, and service. We are deeply grateful for your enthusiastic response to our new Board Bootcamp and Scenario Planning seminar, now our top two professional development and real-time offerings. Your engagement confirms what we know to be true: when times are uncertain, our nonprofit community rises with agility, insight, and resolve.
To keep this momentum going, we’re excited to introduce NPI Spark, a new way for you to shape what comes next. Share your ideas for professional development, tools, resources, and support systems that would make the greatest impact for your organization. Think of this as your wish list. Your ideas will guide our planning and fuel future offerings.
Submit your ideas to NPI Spark
Meanwhile, our planning committee is hard at work crafting this year’s conference. This year’s agenda reflects the realities nonprofits are facing, blending inspiration, practical tools, and meaningful opportunities to connect and collaborate. This conference is different because your year has been different. Join us, spread the word, and leave inspired, energized, and equipped with new ways to win.
16th Annual NPI Conference
“Always a Way”: Strong Hope. Determined Action. Strategic Solutions
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
You do not want to miss this year.
Registration closes Feb. 27!
LEARN MORE
We cannot close without sharing the love that February brings. This one is for you:
The Wind Beneath the Wings of Our Community
In every corner of Southern Maryland,
your kindness is at work —
lifting spirits, strengthening families,
and creating pathways where hope can grow.
You show up in moments seen and unseen,
offering compassion, courage, and care.
Through each meal served, lesson taught,
hand extended, and door opened,
you remind us what community truly means.
You are the steady presence in uncertain times,
the light when days feel heavy,
the force that keeps possibility in motion.
Because of you, Southern Maryland rises.
Dreams take flight.
And together, we move forward — stronger, kinder, and united.
You are the heart of our community,
the wind beneath our wings.
And in this season of reflection and love,
we thank you.
Here’s to a month filled with purpose, connection, and impact. We cannot wait to continue this work — together.
With gratitude,
Stephanie
Stephanie D. Rolle
Director, Nonprofit Institute at CSM
Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant
We have more space for vendors this year. If you want your organization spotlighted in one of two vendor halls, now is the time to complete the vendor registration.
You can be a nonprofit or a for-profit that services nonprofits and register. You will be provided with a rectangular table with two chairs and additional accommodations.
The deadline is Monday, Feb. 9.
Tuesday, March 10Register Now
Registration closes Feb. 27.
This year’s agenda reflects the realities nonprofits are facing, blending inspiration, practical tools, and meaningful opportunities to connect and collaborate. This conference is different because your year has been different. Join us, spread the word, and you will leave inspired, energized, and equipped with new strategies for success. We hope you will join us as we make the 2026 conference a memorable and impactful event.
While we make no formal recommendations, we are excited to highlight wellness resources designed specifically for nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit teams often experience stress differently, particularly given the demands of serving members of our communities. As a result, approaches to stress management and self-care may look different in the nonprofit sector.
Take a look at the creative ways nonprofit wellness is being explored at Nonprofit Wellness.
Did you know there are more than 1 million residents in the state of Maryland who are considered Gen Z and Millennials? A significant percentage live in Southern Maryland and represent an underutilized resource for volunteers and new donors. Are nonprofits missing opportunities to engage these audiences?
No worries. One of our newest classes, Beyond the Bake Sale: Energizing Gen Z and Millennials for Meaningful Service, takes place March 25.
Be sure to:
Register for Beyond the Bake Sale
and
Our nonprofits are sustained, in large part, because of volunteers. Please consider sharing your time with a Southern Maryland Nonprofit.
We want to hear from you! Share topics you’d like to discuss during affinity group meetings by emailing to nonprofit@csmd.edu. Your suggestions help shape meaningful conversations.
Join any Zoom meeting:
csmd.zoom.us/j/4018197023
Meeting ID: 401 819 7023
Password: nonprofits
Wednesday, Feb. 25
12 p.m.
Ivy & Pearls of Southern Maryland Community Charities, Inc.
3825 Leonardtown Rd., Suite 4,
Waldorf, MD 20604
Wednesday, May 27
12 p.m.
St. Mary's Parish 407444
Trinity Church Road,
St. Mary's City, MD 20686
We're Back - Thursday, Feb. 26
10 – 11 a.m.
Meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of every month (with the exception of holidays).
All affinity specialty groups come together for an opening chat or presentation. Afterward, participants break out into their respective areas of interest — fundraising, marketing, and volunteer coordination — to share ideas with each other.
This month, we are pleased to highlight a Southern Maryland nonprofit organization, Pure Play Every Day. Join us for an insightful interview that explores the organization’s mission and the meaningful work it is doing in our community.
my.CSMD