The application deadline for the 2012 LINC series has passed, but there may still be a few openings due to participant's schedules.  If you are interested in taking part this year, please contact Joy Hamilton at 612-752-6614 or joy@hcba.org. 


Get on board with a program that's making a positive difference in the community and transforming the lives of participating professionals.   

Lawyers and other professionals are often called on to participate on nonprofit boards and serve in voluntary leadership positions.  Leaders Impacting the Nonprofit Community (LINC) is a seven-session training program created by the Hennepin County Bar Association to serve the need of the nonprofit community for trained leaders to effectively serve in these board positions. 

Your personal and professional skills will be enhanced in new ways that will increase your opportunity to function in your profession and as a contributing member of the community. The skills you acquire will be transferable to positions of leadership at nonprofit boards and in other venues such as law firms, corporations, and government agencies.  The LINC faculty consists of over 30 business and nonprofit organization leaders, government officials, association leaders, representatives from the media, and other professionals.

LINC participants will receive extensive training in the following areas:

-- Teamwork and effective leadership
-- Team and individual visioning
-- Problem solving and understanding diverse leadership styles
-- The nature of organizations and the laws that apply to them
-- The role of the board
-- The role of the executive director
-- Fundraising for nonprofits
-- The role of public relations
-- Accounting and finance for non-accountants
-- Crisis management
-- Dealing effectively with the media
-- Ethics and nonprofits
-- Stress and public service
-- Social issues—today and tomorrow
-- The culture of poverty
-- Minnesota’s changing demographics and their implications
-- The role of government
-- Nuts and bolts of leading and managing meetings 
-- Parliamentary procedure
-- And more.

For each year's series, the LINC class consists of approximately twenty-five individuals who meet for seven sessions from January to June. The training will develop each individual’s ability to function successfully in his or her professional roles, and as a contributing member of the community.  View Application in PDF form. 

If you have questions on LINC, please contact 
HCBA Membership Director Joy Hamilton at 612-752-6614 or joy@hcba.org

Walter Mondale Public and Community Service Award
- Given Annually by the LINC Program -

Award recipients are selected by the steering committee for the LINC program and presented at the graduation ceremony for the LINC participants.  Named after its first recipient, the award celebrates those who have dedicated their working lives to public service and to meeting the needs of the larger community, consistent with the goals and mission of the LINC program.  Past recipients have included: 

 2012: Eric Nesheim, Executive Director, Minnesota Literacy Council
 2010: Hon. H. Peter Albrecht (retired), Hennepin County District Court
 2009: The Honorable Pamela G. Alexander, President, Council on Crime and Justice
 2008: Joe Selvaggio, Executive Director, Microgrants 
 2007: Jon Pratt, Executive Director, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 
 2006: Arvonne Fraser, Former U.S. Ambassador, U.N. Commission on the Status of Women 
 2005: Walter Mondale, Former Vice President of the United States