OnTarget Consulting, Inc.

08/12/2026

AI tools are reshaping how nonprofits work. But with that opportunity for innovation, greater efficiency and expanded capacity comes real risk – adoption without governance, data exposure, brand damage.

Join us on Wednesday, August 19th at 3:00 pm at Aggie Square for the first of a two-part convening designed to offer nonprofit leaders and board members a practical, grounded space to approach AI as a governance and strategic leadership opportunity.

Explore the risks and ethics of AI and discover how to protect what matters with Carmen Marsh, President & CEO of United Cybersecurity Alliance.

Learn how three nonprofit leaders created their organizations' AI policies and why they felt it was imperative to do so:

• Ashlie Bryant, MPA, CEO of 3Strands Global Foundation

• Doni C. Allen, MBA, Director of Operations at Sacramento Region Community Foundation

• Lauretta Casimir-Mahoney, CEO of Sacramento Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.

Presented by OnTarget Consulting, Inc., Connect Labs by Wexford and Five Star Bank - California, the summit is free and will be followed by happy hour and networking.

Space is limited. Clear here to register or learn more –https://luma.com/aggie-nwv5

07/21/2026

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already in widespread use in most nonprofit organizations – taking board meeting minutes, generating marketing content, crafting grant proposals, drafting donor thank you notes. Your staff are experimenting with AI tools with varying degrees of success and may have already uploaded sensitive or confidential information onto public platforms without considering the risks or consequences.

​AI promises transformation, productivity improvements, increased efficiency which leads people to view it solely as a technology issue. But AI is also a governance issue, one that requires thoughtful consideration about how AI aligns with your mission, what you want to accomplish when using it, how you’ll secure your data, how you’ll protect your organization’s brand. Without a thoughtful AI policy in place, your nonprofit is one accidental act away from a donor trust problem.

​This convening is the first in a two-part series designed to offer nonprofit leaders a practical and grounded space to approach AI as a strategic leadership opportunity rather than a trend to follow without purpose or to resist out of fear.

Presented by OnTarget Consulting, Inc., Five Star Bank & Connect Labs by Wexford at Aggie Square, the summit is free and will be followed by happy hour.

Space is limited. Click here to register or learn more – https://lnkd.in/dB6bwtfC

12/08/2025

"Christmas is not a celebration for everyone. For some Christmas is a time that magnifies their losses, whether that’s through a bereavement, or otherwise. Remember your colleagues might not want to 'celebrate' with the rest of the team or organisation. Try and make celebrations as optional as possible, with no stigma for those who don't wish to attend."

~ Lucy Carpenter

These reflections I hope will bring some comfort to those facing their first Christmas missing a loved one and to those working with and managing people who are grieving this holiday season …

03/21/2025

"Caretaking Through Grief: A Practical Guide for Providers & Families" examines how and where grief and loss enter the foster care system and the myriad of ways they affect both providers and families.

The course explores how caretakers (e.g., foster parents, bio parents, social workers, case workers, group home managers, etc.) experience grief during foster care placement and removal.

We review the different types of loss and the impact they have on grief.

We examine the way grief affects every single aspect of our lives and what happens when grief is prolonged and doesn't go away on its own.

We provide tools that help providers and parents process their emotions when a child is removed from a placement and share strategies for taking care of yourself in the aftermath.

Click on the link below to take the course. It's free and open to everyone. Just set up a free account at the Catalyst Center on the California Alliance of Child and Family Services website. CEU certificate available upon completion.

https://catalystcenter.learnupon.com/content.../4294303/0

02/28/2025

The Center for Creative Leadership is seeking people to respond to their survey for a study on workplace experiences.

The Center is interested in learning how organizations and managers respond to bereavement and the types of organizational policies and practices that are available for employees.

Anyone can take the survey, even if you have not experienced a bereavement.

You are welcome to share the link with coworkers or other colleagues and friends that might be interested in participating.

Thank you in advance!

https://ccl.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a5hdcH5xs2fTHKK

02/25/2025

I'm excited to be talking all things strategy at The Alliance: Defending the Cause of Kids & Families's upcoming PRO Workshop on Tuesday, March 18th and learning from two other outstanding speakers – Eric Bergen, who will be talking about cultivating a strong, effective board and my dear friend Marcie Shelton who will be sharing practical ways to engage and retain your staff.

It's $25 to attend. Coffee and snacks will be provided. You'll have the opportunity to win a free coaching session with me as well as other great prizes donated by Eric and Marcie.

To register – https://www.defendingthecause.org/pro-workshops

01/22/2025

After the death of one of our essential people, we are left vulnerable and defenseless when it comes to what others say to us. The hurtful questions about how our loved one died. The unwelcome advice on how to get over our grief more quickly. Even well-worn platitudes, offered without context or understanding, can wound. But despite our fragile state, we can find ways to deflect these comments, or avoid them altogether, and protect ourselves from the pain they inflict.

Join me on Tuesday, January 28th from at 7:00 pm EST on Zoom for a conversation on how to prepare yourself for the often well-meaning, but no less painful questions and remarks friends, family members and coworkers make after a heartbreaking loss. Learn techniques to navigate situations you can’t avoid, protect yourself from those you can and let go of your hurt feelings in the aftermath.

Sponsored in partnership by COPE (Connecting Our Paths Eternally) and Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum, the workshop is free. Click here to register or for more information –
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grief-online-workshop-when-words-fail-navigating-hurtful-comments-tickets-1128181494219?aff=oddtdtcreator

01/10/2025

After the death of one of our essential people, we are left vulnerable and defenseless when it comes to what others say to us. The hurtful questions about how our loved one died. The unwelcome advice on how to get over our grief more quickly. Even well-worn platitudes, offered without context or understanding, can wound. But despite our fragile state, we can find ways to deflect these comments, or avoid them altogether, and protect ourselves from the pain they inflict.

Join me on Tuesday, January 28th from at 7:00 pm EST on Zoom for a conversation on how to prepare yourself for the often well-meaning, but no less painful questions and remarks friends, family members and coworkers make after a heartbreaking loss. Learn techniques to navigate situations you can’t avoid, protect yourself from those you can and let go of your hurt feelings in the aftermath.

Sponsored in partnership by COPE Foundation and Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum, the workshop is free. Click here to register or for more information -- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grief-online-workshop-when-words-fail-navigating-hurtful-comments-tickets-1128181494219?aff=oddtdtcreator

01/01/2025

"The light is coming back, a little more every day. We are still here. Battered and bruised. Hurting and healing. Vulnerable and brave. Still standing and sticking together. Releasing our grip on old grievances. Holding tight to the ones we've lost and the ones who enable us to survive. Fighting to stay in the arena. Doing our best.

Wishing you grace, beauty, hope, healing and joy in the new year. Here's to staying close, holding hands and keeping each other upright as life rains down all around us."

You can't stop time. You can't capture light. You can only turn your face up and let it rain down. The Memory Keeper's Daughter

12/30/2024

"When I talk to people who are either clients or those I've met through Salt Water, the common thing I hear is that when a death happens, colleagues and managers will be great about sending cards, showing up at the celebration of life or funeral, making meals, contributing to a scholarship fund for surviving children, etc. But when they see their grieving colleague who's lost a child come down the hallway, they make a face or go the other way ..."

Grief needs to be acknowledged and witnessed, especially in the workplace. Dr. Heidi Horsley, Dr. Gloria Horsley and I discuss ways to do that on the Open to Hope Foundation podcast in the early days of loss as well as what support looks like long term to be sure that the person who’s grieving has some agency over the support they receive and how it manifests.

https://www.opentohope.com/margo-fowkes-acknowledging-and-witnessing-grief/