Established in 2007, Valley Nonprofit Resources offers both information and services to strengthen the more than 4,000 nonprofit organizations in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. Welcome to VNR's website! Click on the buttons to your left and at the top to access many resources that can help you increase the effectiveness of your nonprofit.
 Annual MENDing Poverty Conference 2011 |
Featured Workshops (for more click on Learning Community) 2/16 - Strategic Planning for Burbank Nonprofits 2/23 - Getting Started with Nonprofit Program Evaluation 3/12 - Strategies for Recruiting and Using Volunteers Featured Publications (for more click on Library) 2011 Resource Directory for Nonprofit Capacity Building in Los Angeles County |
In the News
Transitions at VNR As VNR enters its sixth year, we have a new Project Coordinator, but she's not new to VNR! Julaine Konselman, who has worked on VNR almost from its inception, has stepped up after Victoria Cepeida-Mojarro left us in mid-January to take a position at United Farm Workers. We wish her well as she returns to the labor union field. Terri Ruddiman, who's also worked occasionally on VNR, is stepping in as Project Assistant. All VNR staff are here to serve nonprofits throughout the San Fernando Valley, just as we have the previous five years.
Strategic Planning for Burbank Nonprofits - Rescheduled! The Burbank Executive Directors Coalition presents VNR Executive Director Thomas E. Backer, PhD, discussing basic concepts and strategies of strategic planning as part of the Coalition's regular lunch meeting. The meeting is for executive directors of all nonprofits based in Burbank, and will be held from 12-2 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at the Boys and Girls Club of Burbank, 2244 N. Buena Vista Street (free street parking is available). There is no charge (it is a brown-bag lunch event) and no RSVP is required. Participants also will learn more about the Coalition, and about a future convening of nonprofits in Burbank, which is being planned by VNR and several Burbank organizations. For more information, contact VNR project coordinator Julaine Konselman, 818/990-0176 or e-mail julainehiri@aol.com.
Getting Started with Nonprofit Program Evaluation This Lunch 'n' Learn Workshop provides an introduction to program evaluation for nonprofit executive directors and staff who are either new to doing evaluation of their programs, or who want to increase significantly their organization's evaluation capacity. It will include (1) an overview of basic assumptions about evaluation and its purposes, (2) how to set evaluation goals, (3) how to develop an evaluation plan, and (4) evaluation data sources and measures. A set of resource materials will be provided to each participant. The workshop will be conducted by Eric Wat, Director of the Research & Evaluation Unit at Special Services for Groups, and introduced by VNR Executive Director Dr. Thomas E. Backer - both recognized experts in program evaluation. The workshop will be held in Pacoima from 11 am to 3 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012. Cost is $20, including lunch and all resource materials. For information and to register, contact VNR project coordinator Julaine Konselman, 818/990-0176 or e-mail julainehiri@aol.com.
Strategies for Recruiting and Using Volunteers has been confirmed for Monday March 12, 2012, from 10 am - 12 n in Northridge. VNR is co-hosting this event with Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitchell Englander - it will be the second in Mr. Englander's Nonprofit Summit series. Details for the event are still being confirmed, but speakers from Volunteer Los Angeles and California State University Northridge already are set. More information will be available shortly; contact VNR project coordinator Julaine Konselman, 818/990-0176 or e-mail julainehiri@aol.com.
Burbank Nonprofit Day a Success The January 24th gathering of 70 nonprofit and community leaders at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center provided many opportunities for networking and information-sharing. A summary of the gathering and its outcomes is under Burbank Initiative.
IdeaEncore Corner
Looking to find and share with colleagues?
IdeaEncore provides an easy way your organization to share what it knows, learn from others, and earn unrestricted income. VNR and IdeaEncore are now partnering to share information each month about products available on Idea Encore. To learn more about IdeaEncore's large collection of valuable documents (many available for free, some for a fee), go to www.ideaencore.com
This month's featured products are:
Generative Governance: An Exploration
Shared by University of San Diego (Free)
More Money Next Year, Part 1
Shared by Karen Eber Davis Consulting (Free)
VNR's Partners
Valley Nonprofit Resources is operated collaboratively by the nonprofit Human Interaction Research Institute (which has conducted research and provided technical assistance to the nonprofit sector since 1961), California State University, Northridge, and MEND (the largest poverty services agency in the Valley).
Photo of the San Fernando Valley courtesy of Randy Witt Productions
