When I use the word “nonprofit” in my monthly article, many people probably think of a food bank, an arts center, or maybe an education center. Rarely do they think about Oklahoma’s various houses of worship. However, the largest – and most overlooked – part of the charitable sector is faith organizations. According to Giving USA, Americans gave $135.78 billion to religious institutions in 2021, which is more than any other subsector. Oklahoma has a strong, collaborative faith community that works daily to fulfill the needs of the underserved and marginalized. The central part they play in our lives and the monetary commitment many of us make to these organizations, as well as the spiritual, social and economic importance they hold, speak to the opportunity for their staffs to engage with professional and leadership development. The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits (The Center) works to strengthen all nonprofits, including those based on faith, through membership, professional development, advocacy and policy, consulting, financial shared services and recognition. Although there are some differences between the religious nonprofit subsector and the secular nonprofit subsector, all nonprofits abide by an ethical governance structure, report to the IRS as required and adhere to administrative and organizational best practices. To better serve our state’s faith-based subsector, The Center is piloting two courses designed for religious organizations – one educating faith leaders about nonprofit best practice; the other targeting faith-based organizations looking to start a nonprofit for missional outreach. Faith leaders, like all nonprofit leaders, carry the responsibility of acting in their stakeholders’ best interest. This starts with having a solid foundation in the legal and ethical responsibilities of nonprofit governing bodies, staff, donors and volunteers. Faith-based institutions stand as the cornerstone of the nonprofit sector – standing on a firm commitment to not only guide their congregations through good times and bad but also to uplift their community. It is important that they operate with good policies, procedures and practices, so they are able to focus on their missions of leading the faithful.