NCA VLO: Breaking Down the NCA Budget: A Guide to Nonprofit Association Financial Literacy

Time (EDT): 2-3 p.m. EDT 

Date: Friday, August 29, 2025 

Format: Virtual (Zoom) 

Description: Join us for this 60-minute interactive workshop designed to enhance your understanding of nonprofit association finances and empower you as an informed NCA member. You’ll learn how to read and interpret NCA’s financial documents, understand how your membership investment supports the organization’s mission, and explore opportunities to get involved in financial governance. Through live polls and real-time document review, this session will share information on nonprofit financial management and equip you to ask informed questions about NCA’s fiscal decisions.  

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Learning Outcomes: 

• Understand how association revenues and expenses directly support NCA’s mission and member services. 
• Recognize the signs of strong financial management and accountability in nonprofit organizations. 
• Read and interpret key financial documents (budgets, financial statements, and annual reports) with confidence. 
• Ask informed questions about financial decisions and participate meaningfully in budget discussions. 
• Access and evaluate NCA’s financial transparency efforts as an engaged and informed member. 

Speakers: 

Justin Danowski, NCA Executive Director

• Justin has been at NCA since 2012. As Executive Director, Justin is responsible for the overall management and leadership of the National Office staff. He works closely with the Executive Committee to further NCA’s mission of advancing Communication scholarship, teaching, and practice to foster a better world. Justin is passionate about member engagement, improving structures, practices, and policies within the Association, and cultivating a thriving, transparent, and diverse organization. Justin holds an M.A. in Communication with a focus on Media Theory from Eastern Illinois University and a B.A. from the University of Illinois. 

Kenneth Lachlan, NCA Finance Committee Director

• Kenneth A. Lachlan is Professor and Department Head in the Department of Communication at the University of Connecticut. He holds research affiliations with UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention and Policy, and the Sustainable Global Cities Initiative. He served as the Editor in Chief of Communication Studies from 2016 to 2018. His research interests include the functions and effects of social media during crises and disasters, community-level risk mitigation interventions, and the role of cognitive processing styles in responding to emergency messages. This research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, NOAA, and Japan Science and Technology Agency. 

Michael Lechuga, NCA Finance Committee Director

• Michael Lechuga is Associate Professor and Cochair of Culture and Communication at the University of New Mexico. His scholarship includes a number of books and numerous publications in NCA’s premier journals. He serves on the editorial boards of several NCA journals including the Quarterly Journal of Speech and Communication & Critical/Cultural Studies. A lifetime NCA member, Michael has received multiple awards including the New Investigator Award from the Critical Cultural Studies Division. His commitment to academic service extends to community engagement, where he leads initiatives connecting academic research with Indigenous land sovereignty and environmental justice projects. 

Joseph Ritchie, NCA Chief Financial Officer

• Joseph Ritchie has over 12 years of public accounting experience. He is the lead on multiple client engagements, assisting in month-end closes, financial consolidation, financial analysis and reporting, and preparation of annual budgets. Joe is the main point person during client audits and maintains clients’ internal control policies, as well oversees his engagement teams and client staff in daily operating functions. Joe also acts in the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Finance Role for multiple clients. Joe has managed and overseen the implementation of the Intacct Accounting System and other applications implementations, such as BILL with a variety of clients. Joe received his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Maryland and graduated from Marist College with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting. He obtained the Not-for-Profit Certificate in Core Concepts from the American Institute of CPAs. 

Candice Thomas-Maddox, NCA Finance Committee Chair

• Candice Thomas-Maddox is a Professor of Communication Studies at Ohio University Lancaster where she teaches courses in interpersonal, family, and organizational communication. She is the co-author of four textbooks: Interpersonal Communication: Building Rewarding Relationships; Quantitative Research Methods for Communication: A Hands-on Approach; Communicating in Your Personal, Professional, and Public Lives; and Family Communication: Relationship Foundations. Candice received the ECA Ecroyd Teaching Award and the ECA Teaching Fellows designation in recognition of her contributions in the classroom, as well as the 2002 Ohio Outstanding Scholar Award presented by OCA. She is the former President and Executive Director for both the Eastern Communication Association and the Ohio Communication Association, as well as former Chair for NCA’s Instructional Development Division, NCA Short Course Director, and member of the NCA Nominating Committee. Currently, Candice serves as faculty advisor for student organizations on her campus including Phi Theta Kappa Honorary, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity, and the SPARK Leadership Team. 

Moderator (Event Coordinator or Other Council Member): Candice Thomas-Maddox, NCA Finance Committee Chair