Additional free downloadable resources are in Resources, Community Voice and on the VNR Home page. These sections also include publications available at the price quoted.
Resource Directory for Nonprofit Capacity Building in Los Angeles The eighth edition of this Directory
(May 2011) offers a starting place to identify
individuals and organizations providing
capacity-building services and resources to nonprofit
organizations in Los Angeles County. It provides
information on Consultants, Foundations, Grantseeker Information Centers, Human Resource Provider Organizations, Information Centers, Management Support Organizations, Nonprofit Management Higher
Education Programs, Nonprofit Resource Centers in
Surrounding Counties, Technology Resources and Volunteer
Centers. Contact and brief descriptive information
is provided. A free copy may be downloaded from Resource Directory (263KB PDF).
Achieving Diversity Step by Step: A Step by Step to Diversity and Inclusion is a guide to achieving diversity and inclusion in a nonprofit organization, written by Tyra Sidberry and Pat Dixon. It provides a seven-phase approach to achieving diversity and inclusiveness in the non-profit workplace. Practical advice is offered for creating a more diverse workplace, better work environment and a more productive organization better able to face the challenges presented in the 21st century. To access this guide go to:
Achieving Diversity Step by Step
Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage is an article written by Martin Reeves and Mike Deimler. Sustainable competitive advantage no longer comes from traditional positioning or resources. Instead, it stems from the four organizational capabilities that foster rapid adaptation: the ability to read and act on signals of change; the ability to experiment rapidly and frequently-not only with products and services but also with business models, processes, and strategies; the ability to manage complex and interconnected systems of multiple stakeholders; and The ability to motivate employees and partners. The article can be read at: Adaptability: The New Competitive Advantage
Adapting To Change: 22 Structural Strategies for Nonprofits is an online article by Sandy Jacobson and Stephanie Jacobs that examines structural strategies for nonprofits that are dealing with organizational change. When major external change happens, it's important to revisit and, if necessary, revise the nonprofit's mission and approach in order to serve the community in the best way possible. Included is a "real time" resource chart with information and examples of the three main types of structural strategies. To access: Adapting to Change: 22 Structural Strategies for Nonprofits
Adventures in Email Fundraising is an article by Andrea Berry. Nonprofit organizations of all sizes increasingly use email to create contact points with constituents, and many have moved to online newsletters and e-blasts about events and new happenings as ways of keeping in touch. Email fundraising seems to be the logical extension of such communication, but many nonprofits are finding that last step difficult - even if they already have the tools in place. The article describes the efforts of two nonprofits as they implement their email fundraising programs. To access the article, go to: Adventures in Email Fundraising
Approaching an Audit by Kay Snowden, Fiscal Sponsorship Program Director, Third Sector New England, offers advice to nonprofit accountants and financial office staff on preparing for an audit. To access this article, go to: Approaching an Audit
Authentic Leadership: the Missing Ingredient in Diversity is a report by Mai Moua, PhD of Leadership Paradigms. Dr. Moua has presented research and conducted workshops on leadership and organizational effectiveness, cultural competency and diversity, and strategic planning, to internationally diverse audiences of leadership scholars and academics, executives and directors, practitioners and students from the Middle East, Europe and Canada. To access the PDF of this report, go to: Authentic Leadership
Automatic Revocation of Nonprofits' Tax-Exempt Status: What Nonprofits, Grantmakers, and Donors Need to Know is a GuideStar report by Linda M. Lampkin of the Economic Research Institute. On May 17, 2010, the IRS began revoking tax-exempt status from nonprofits that failed to file three consecutive annual returns. This report provides information on which organizations are at risk, what steps affected organizations should take, and the impact this action will have on the nonprofit sector. To download a free copy of this report go to:
Automatic Revocation of Nonprofits' Tax-Exempt Status
Automatic Revocation of Nonprofits' Tax-Exempt Status
Beyond Financial Oversight: Expanding the Board's Role in the Pursuit of Sustainability is an article written by CompassPoint's CEO Jeanne Bell that was published in the current issue of the Nonprofit Quarterly. In it she presents the numerous benefits of moving an agency's board of directors from a strictly oversight orientation to a sustainability orientation. To read the article, go to:
Beyond Financial Oversight: Expanding the Board's Role in the Pursuit of Sustainability
Beyond Financial Oversight: Expanding the Board's Role in the Pursuit of Sustainability
Big Impact in Small Spaces is a free eBook from Network for Good that provides nonprofits with information on how to effectively communicate organizational messages in email and social media platforms. The book offers tips for writing better email subject lines, headlines, tweets, and Facebook updates. For more information and to download a free copy of the book go to: Big Impact in Small Spaces
The Board Chair-Executive Director Relationship: Dynamics that Create Value for Nonprofit Organizations, by Mary Hiland, shows how nurturing the relationship and establishing and sustaining trust between board chairs and executive directors is strategic work essential to organizational effectiveness. The importance of connection, caring and meaning should not be lost in an over-emphasis on more business-like practices and claims of harried busyness. The potential to leverage the board chair-executive director relationship and increase nonprofit organizations' stock of meaningful, productive relationships is great. To access the article go to:
The Board Chair-Executive Director Relationship: Dynamics that Create Value for Nonprofit Organizations
The Board Chair-Executive Director Relationship: Dynamics that Create Value for Nonprofit Organizations
Board Essentials: What Should All Board Members Know? Is a question and answer presentation that covers this topic. Included in the questions are: what should someone know before joining the board, how to keep board members informed, what are the individual responsibilities of board members and how to safeguard against conflict of interest? To access this presentation, go to: Board Essentials: What Should All Board Members Know?
Bridging Medicine and Management: A Profile of Community Clinic and Health Center Medical Directors in California is a study on California's community clinic leadership, completed by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and commissioned by the California Primary Care Association, which used a similar research design as the previous study of CEO's to explore issues among Medical Directors. Among Medical Directors, the central issue is preventing turnover and developing the managerial skills of doctors who are bridging medicine and management. To access this study, go to:
http://www.compasspoint.org/bridging-medicine-and-management-profile-community-clinic-and-health-center-medical-directors-califo
http://www.compasspoint.org/bridging-medicine-and-management-profile-community-clinic-and-health-center-medical-directors-califo
Budget and Finance Tips are offered by Third Sector New England in a selection of articles including Financial Analysis in Turbulent Times, Navigating the New IRS Form 990, Spending Out Grant Budgets, and Keeping Your Nonprofit Strong In A Down Economy.
Building Advocacy from Within is a report that outlines strategies to boost the scope, scale, relevance and effectiveness of nonprofit advocacy. It is based on a roundtable co-sponsored by California Association of Nonprofits, organized by the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies, and held at The California Endowment. Nonprofit advocates from California and other western states shared their experiences and ideas for improved policy engagement, and examined two key points: (1) "nonprofits must look inward to revitalize their advocacy efforts", and (2) "coalitions, funders and policymakers must modify their stance toward advocacy and lobbying." To access this report go to: Building Advocacy from Within
Building Bridges: How One Nonprofit Links Korean Americans With Health Care While numerous agencies exist for Spanish Speaking immigrants, and the Spanish language abounds throughout California, help isn't as readily accessible for people speaking Asian languages. This article describes how one woman, driven by a vision, established a nonprofit organization, Korean Community Services (KCS), to help Korean immigrants of all ages find health care. To access the PDF, go to: Building Bridges
Building Knowledge on the Fundraising Approaches of Nonprofits Based in Communities of Color CompassPoint and the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training conducted a study of nonprofits based in communities of color in Los Angeles to learn about their approaches to income generation, their staffing strategies, successes and challenges. This report on people of color-led nonprofits underscores the importance of ongoing training that is multicultural and builds multicultural fundraising leadership within communities of color. To download the report, go to:
Opportunities for Nonprofits within Los Angeles Communities of Color
Opportunities for Nonprofits within Los Angeles Communities of Color
Building and Sustaining Strong, Engaged Programs by Hildy Gottlieb of Help4Nonprofits, discusses how nonprofits need to focus on building their infrastructure as well as their financing, and can be accessed at:
Building and Sustaining Strong, Engaged Programs
Building and Sustaining Strong, Engaged Programs
Building Your Social Media Fan Base is an article by Laura S. Quinn. The fact is, there isn't much reason to tweet if there is no audience-a fundamental truth of all social media channels. In this article, Quinn explains how to make the most of Facebook, Twitter and other social network media sites to build an audience for a nonprofit. To access the article, go to: Building Your Social Media Fan Base
Business Planning for Nonprofits: What It Is and Why It Matters is an in-depth article by Kelly Campbell and Betsy Haley of the Bridgespan Group. They explain every step of the business-planning process and give examples of some nonprofits' successful plans, and failures by those nonprofits who neglected to make a written business plan. To access this article go to:
Business Planning for Nonprofits: What It Is and Why It Matters
Business Planning for Nonprofits: What It Is and Why It Matters
Business Planning for Nonprofits: Why, When, and How It Compares to Strategic Planning is an article written by Brigette Rouson for the newsletter of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, Enhance. In today's nonprofit sector, with a growing emphasis on an entrepreneurial mindset and investment thinking, business planning is an important topic nonprofit organization leaders to consider, and to compare with strategic planning efforts. To access this article, go to: Business Planning for Nonprofits: Why, When, and How it Compares to Strategic Planning
Capacity Building for Nonprofits: A Hartford Example is a paper that discusses the need for nonprofit capacity building - stressing accountability, leadership and adaptability, as illustrated in a particular community. To access and download, go to: Capacity Building for Nonprofits: A Hartford Example
The Challenge of Organizational Learning A recent Bridgespan study found three common barriers to knowledge sharing across nonprofits and their networks, as well as ways and means to overcome them. To download a copy of an article about these study findings, go to: The Challenge of Organizational Learning
A Charity's Guide to Vehicle Donations covers anything an organization might want/need to know if it decides to start a vehicle donation program to add to its fundraising efforts. To access the guide, go to: A Charity's Guide to Vehicle Donations
Clients at the Center: Realizing the Potential of Multi-Service Organizations is a report written by Bob Searle, Alex Neuhoff and Andrew Belton. Multi-service organizations (MSOs) -nonprofits that provide services across multiple categories such as substance abuse, housing, and education - are uniquely positioned to provide holistic help to clients. While nonprofits that provide a single service (from mentoring to job training) often draw more media attention, perhaps because they are easier to profile, MSOs have tremendous potential to help people struggling with complex problems transform their lives. Delivering on this potential should be an MSO's comparative advantage. To access the study, go to: Clients at the Center: Realizing the Potential of Multi-Service Organizations
Coaching and Philanthropy Project: Action Guides for Grantmakers, Nonprofits, and Coaches is a project of CompassPoint, created to assess and advance coaching as a strategy for building effective nonprofit organizations. It reviewed the nonprofit sector's support for and use of coaching, as well as the coaching field's knowledge of and work within the nonprofit sector. Its publications were created as a resource for and about coaching in the nonprofit sector. Each contains relevant information for a particular audience - funders, nonprofits, and coaches. To download a PDF of the Action Guide for Nonprofits, go to:
Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Nonprofits
Coaching and Philanthropy: An Action Guide for Nonprofits
Coaching Strengthens Nonprofit Leaders and Their Organizations by Carolyn J. Curran is an article addressing key questions about coaching such as: why is there a discrepancy between interest in, and practice of, coaching; what is the difference between coaching and consulting; when is a nonprofit leader ready for coaching; what happens in a coaching session; how can coaching top executives impact a whole organization; and how to pay for coaching. To access the article go to:
Coaching Strengthens Nonprofit Leaders and Their Organizations
Coaching Strengthens Nonprofit Leaders and Their Organizations
Communicating Your Organization's Culture to Job Candidates offers nonprofits suggestions for how to help potential new staff understand and fit into an organization's culture as well as do the job. The article can help a nonprofit determine its organizational particular culture, communicate that information to potential employees, develop a job announcement/posting, interview candidates and extend an offer. To access the article:
Communicating Your Organization's Culture to Job Candidates
Communicating Your Organization's Culture to Job Candidates
Communication Resources for Grantees and Other Nonprofit Organizations is a list of communications resources for nonprofit organizations that was compiled by The California Wellness Foundation. It contains resources that help nonprofit leaders examine the role of communications, and recommends an array of tactics that can help further the missions of nonprofit organizations. It also features resources on such topics as developing a strategic plan, advancing policy and advocacy issues, working with the media, creating advertisements and framing issues. To access this publication go to: Communication Resources for Grantees and Other Nonprofit Organizations
Considerations for Starting a Mentoring Program is an online article that gives in-depth advice on how to start a mentoring program. There are links to other articles as well that describe the benefits of mentoring to youth, the challenges learned, best practices and Interagency Federal Support for Mentoring. To access this article, go to: Considerations for Starting a Mentoring Program
Consultant or Employee? It is not uncommon for organizations to enter into consulting contracts with individuals who should legally be hired as employees. It is sometimes difficult to know how to define which is which. To access an article on this topic by Lyn Freundlich, Third Sector New England's Director of Administration and Human Resources, go to:
Know the Laws When Hiring Consultants vs_Employees HR Advice for Your Nonprofit
Know the Laws When Hiring Consultants vs_Employees HR Advice for Your Nonprofit
Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector highlights five key factors that will shape the social sector of the future. Based on extensive review of existing research and in-depth interviews with thought leaders and nonprofit leaders and activists, it explores the trends (Demographic Shifts; Technological Advances; Networks Enabling Work to be Organized in New Ways; Rising Interest in Civic Engagement and Volunteerism; and Blurring of Sector Boundaries) and looks at the ways nonprofits can successfully navigate the changes. The monograph is by La Piana Consulting. To access the report, go to:
http://www.irvine.org/images/stories/pdf/eval/convergencereport.pdf
http://www.irvine.org/images/stories/pdf/eval/convergencereport.pdf
The Cornerstones of Successful Fundraising: Marketing and Communications is an article by Ed Lewis, MPA, CFRE, in which he explains why it is extremely important for nonprofit organizations to understand the principles of marketing and communications and how they can dramatically improve their fundraising efforts. He discusses some key elements of both and how these factors should ultimately result in a written marketing plan for the organization. To access the article go to:
The Cornerstones of Successful Fundraising: Marketing & Communications
The Cornerstones of Successful Fundraising: Marketing & Communications
Creative Disruption: Nonprofit Sabbaticals Improve Organizational Capacity is a study report by Third Sector New England's Deborah Linnell and CompassPoint's Tim Wolfred, exposing the myth that an executive sabbatical will be a chaotic disruption. Their study finds instead that the creative disruption of a well-planned sabbatical can be productive for the entire leadership of an organization. To access the study, go to: http://www.compasspoint.org/creativedisruption
Creative Fundraising for Ensemble Theatres This handout from VNR's January 2009 workshop, done in collaboration with the Network of Ensemble Theatres, offers a wealth of resources on fundraising strategies theatres and other arts nonprofits can use. A free copy may be downloaded from Creative Fundraising (26KB PDF).
Creating Pathways Out of Poverty is a quarterly newsletter produced by United Way of Los Angeles that provides statistics about the homeless and the poor in Los Angeles, as well as success stories, events and information about many of the programs being offered by the agency. To read the current newsletter, go to:
http://www.unitedwayla.org/getinformed/news/Pages/cpop_celebration.aspx
http://www.unitedwayla.org/getinformed/news/Pages/cpop_celebration.aspx
Crossing Borders, Sharing Journeys Lead Writer: Sarah Gleason. Publisher: Fieldstone Alliance. This report outlines seven broad factors found to contribute to effective capacity building with immigrant and refugee lead organizations (IRLOs). Case studies illustrate practices used when working with IRLOs and highlights principles that other capacity builders can apply when working with similar groups. A print copy can be ordered from Fieldstone (cost: $15.00 plus shipping), or a free copy may be downloaded from Crossing Borders, Sharing Journeys (1.5MB PDF).
Cultural Competency: Concepts and Definitions is a paper compiled by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management People of Color Affinity Group in 2003. It compares three definitions relevant to capacity building in the nonprofit sector, including the definition generated by the Alliance People of Color Affinity Group. To access this PDF go to:
http://www.allianceonline.org/assets/library/13_cciconceptsanddefinitions.pdf
http://www.allianceonline.org/assets/library/13_cciconceptsanddefinitions.pdf
Daring to Lead 2011: A National Study of Nonprofit Executive Leadership is the latest report of an ongoing research project. Since the last report in 2006, powerful new forces have influenced the work and careers of nonprofit leaders in the US, including the recession. One of the 2011 study's most important findings is that 2/3 of nonprofit executives plan to leave their jobs within five years, despite some slowing of their plans because of the hard economic times. This new report, produced by CompassPoint and the Meyer Foundation with the participation of more than 3,000 nonprofit leaders, tells the story of how executive directors are managing and surviving in the current environment. To access the report go to:
Daring to Lead 2011
.
Deeper Capacity Building for Greater Impact: Designing a Long-term Initiative to Strengthen a Set of Nonprofit Organizations Author: Paul Connolly, 2007. This paper, funded by a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, explains how to design a long-term capacity-building initiative. It is written primarily for funders, including foundations or corporate community involvement departments. The article may be downloaded from Deeper Capacity Building for Greater Impact (2MB PDF).
Delivering on the Promise of Nonprofits is an article by Jeffrey L. Bradach, Thomas J. Tierney and Nan Stone of The Bridgespan Group for the Harvard Business Review. In it they explore four important questions every nonprofit should use to evaluate their performance: Which results will we hold ourselves accountable for? How will we achieve them? What will the results really cost, and how can we fund them? How do we build the organization we need to deliver those results? To read a brief summary in which they explain how one nonprofit used this method to create a successful plan to meet their objectives, and for the link to buy the complete article, go to:
http://www.bridgespan.org/LearningCenter/ResourceDetail.aspx?id=2938.
http://www.bridgespan.org/LearningCenter/ResourceDetail.aspx?id=2938.
Developing Leadership on Boards of Directors by Barbara S. Miller and Jean Bergman is an article from the Journal of Nonprofit Management, published by the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, New York. It summarizes the results of a study of fifteen exemplary nonprofits, and provides insights into how boards can create a culture of leadership and transform themselves into an active, engaged, and knowledgeable team. These changes can help a nonprofit organization anticipate and respond to the myriad challenges in the sector today. To access the article:
Developing Leadership on Boards of Directors (619KB PDF).
Developing Leadership on Boards of Directors (619KB PDF).
Doing More With More: Putting Shared Leadership Into Practice is an article written by Michael Allison, MBA, Susan Misra, MPA, and Elissa Perry. They state that no organization can afford to ignore the breadth of its leadership potential on staff and among its volunteers-ignoring these resources is wasteful and makes the group vulnerable to all kinds of shifts. But what are the best ways to approach optimizing the energy and creativity in and around an organization? To read the article, go to:
Doing More with More
Doing More with More
The Donor-Grantee Trap: Executive Summary explores how ineffective collaboration undermines philanthropic results for society, and what can be done about it. It is a brief, overview guide for nonprofit leaders, their boards, and their donors. To access this summary, go to: The Donor-Grantee Trap: Executive Summary
Effective Economic Decision-Making by Nonprofit Organizations is the first book produced by National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise. It presents practical guidelines to help nonprofit managers advance their mission while balancing the interests of trustees, funders, government, and staff. The authors explore core operating decisions and provide solutions that work for nonprofits of any size. Chapters cover pricing of services, staff compensation, outsourcing, fundraising costs, investment policy, commercial ventures, institutional collaboration and internet trading. For more information and to order the book go to:
Effective Economic Decision-Making by Nonprofit Organizations.
Effective Economic Decision-Making by Nonprofit Organizations.
Effective Fundraising for Human Service Organizations is an article by Bonnie Ozinski, Director of Development for the Glaucoma Foundation. In it she points out the differences between raising funds for human service organizations as compared with fundraising for other types of organizations. To read the article, go to: Effective Fund Raising For Human Service Organizations.
8 Recession-Proof Tips for Communications HersheyCause, a communications consulting firm whose founder Chris Hershey is a long-time advisor to VNR, has put together this one-page overview of advice for nonprofits about communications strategies in response to the recession. To download a copy, click
Recession-Proof Tips (15 KB PDF).
Recession-Proof Tips (15 KB PDF).
8 Steps for Successful Networking is a guide that was written by trainer and consultant Robbie Samuels. Forming and cultivating relationships is at the heart of any successful fundraising campaign, volunteer drive, committee effort or community building activity. The guide offers practical tips and best practices to engage someone in a conversation, keep it rolling, exchange information and wrap up. To access the guide, go to: 8 Steps for Successful Networking
Endorsing Candidates. Illegal. How to Do It. is an article written by Jan Masaoka which starts with the assumption that "the most effective way to bring about social change is to elect the right people." Yet nonprofit 501c3 organizations are prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates running for office. Some long-time nonprofit practices can successfully address this restriction, but are seldom discussed in public. The article discusses these practices -- and the reasons for them. To read this article, go to: Endorsing Candidates. Illegal. How to Do It.
The Engagement Pyramid: Six Levels of Connecting People and Social Change is an article by Gideon Rosenblatt, Former Groundwire Executive Director. It discusses six levels of engagement people can have with a nonprofit and its social change agenda. To access the article, go to: The Engagement Pyramid.
Enlisting Your Supporters to Fundraise For You is an article by Andrea Berry, which provides a case study of how one small school raised $3,000 from mostly new donors with a minimal investment. To access the article, go to: Enlisting Your Supporters to Fundraise For You.
Evaluating the Executive Director is is an article by Jan Masaoka for Blue Avocado. The article explores not just how the Executive Director should be evaluated, but, more importantly, why! To access the article, go to: Evaluating the Executive Director.
Executive Service Corps of Southern California Fund Development Resources Two resources from a VNR workshop co-sponsored by ESCSC may be downloaded free of charge:
A - ESCSC's workshop handout, Surviving the Crunch: Fund Development in Perilous Times (1202KB PDF)
B - A brief self-assessment instrument to guide nonprofit fundraising, Fund Development Assessment Survey (3715KB PDF)
A - ESCSC's workshop handout, Surviving the Crunch: Fund Development in Perilous Times (1202KB PDF)
B - A brief self-assessment instrument to guide nonprofit fundraising, Fund Development Assessment Survey (3715KB PDF)
Facebook for Volunteers is an article by Chris Bernard of Idealware. It's easy to get the impression that everyone is on Facebook these days, and maintaining a presence on the site is increasingly expected of organizations interested in engaging constituents. It seems like a logical assumption that Facebook should also be a good way to attract volunteers - but is that true? To access the article, go to: Facebook for Volunteers.
The Facebook Philanthropos: How much giving do online contests and networks really generate? Author: Georgia Levenson Keohane. Nonprofits increasingly are using “social networking” approaches to reach potential donors, and some have sponsored online contests to draw in donations. This article from Slate Magazine discusses how these approaches are created and how well they work. The article may be read online at: The Facebook Philanthropos.
Facebook Privacy For Nonprofit Organizations is an article by Chris Bernard which addresses privacy issues on Facebook. What does that mean for an organization? The issues for an organization are different than those facing an individual-but still absolutely something that should be thought about. To access the article, go to: Facebook Privacy for Nonprofit Organizations.
Fair, Consistent Staff Lay-Offs was the topic of a recent workshop at Third Sector New England. Realizing the personal and organizational disruption that layoffs can wreak, TSNE brought more than a dozen human resource directors, executive directors and consultants together in February 2009 to look at ways to help both nonprofit employees and organizations cope with layoffs. Lyn Freundlich, TSNE's director of human resources and administration, facilitated the discussion. To access a report on findings of this workshop go to: Layoffs Consistent with Mission.
Feasibility Study: Valley Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Between January and July, 2008, a small-scale feasibility study was conducted to better understand the needs and interests of under-30 staff working for nonprofit organizations in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. Results will be used to help shape the Valley Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, a project currently being developed by VNR. To download a copy, click on Feasibility Report (88 KB PDF).
A Few Good Case Management Tools was written by Laura Quinn and Jay Leslie for Idealware. If thoughts of detailed client histories and reports to funders are daunting, it may be time to consider the many good case management tools that will help track demographics, interactions, scheduling, billing information, and more. In this article, the authors summarize what tools case management experts recommend. To access the article, go to: A Few Good Case Management Tools
A Few Good RSVP Tools: Online Registration Options for Free Events is an article by Laura S. Quinn and Kyle Henri Andrei. It can be difficult to justify paying a lot of money for online registration software, but trying to get by with email or online invitation tools like Evite can be frustrating. There are options. The authors talked to seven nonprofit technology experts about affordable options for collecting RSVPs for free events. To read the article, go to: A Few Good RSVP Tools
A Few Good Tools for eAdvocacy Advocacy organizations often encourage their grassroots supporters to influence politicians and corporations using different methods, from promoting a cause or opposing legislation to challenging ad campaigns or policies. A large display of public opinion can have a powerful message, and advocacy groups often help to focus and channel this support to make the most impact. It used to be done by mail, but this article shows how an organization can use internet-based communication tools to accomplish the same result. To read the article, go to: A Few Good Tools for eAdvocacy
Finding Leaders for America's Nonprofits is a report by the Bridgespan Group that documents how, even at a time when layoffs have put a lot of private sector talent back on the market, good nonprofit leaders are hard to find. The report is based on interviews with 433 executive directors of nonprofits across the country. It reveals a coming leadership crisis for nonprofits and documents the gap of 73,000 unfilled senior leadership vacancies in 2008. To read the full report go to:
Report: Finding Leaders for America's Nonprofits
Report: Finding Leaders for America's Nonprofits
Finding Your Funding Model: A Practical Approach to Nonprofit Sustainability is a guide written by Peter Kim, Gail Perreault, and William Foster of the Bridgespan Group. Building on years of primary research and consulting experience with dozens of nonprofits, the approach presented can help organizations identify and develop funding models that can best position them to achieve programmatic aspirations. The guide provides practical guidance, and identifies decisions and tradeoffs that will confront nonprofit leaders. To access the publication, go to: Finding Your Funding Model: A Practical Approach to Nonprofit Sustainability
First Step In Resolving Conflict: "Go to the Balcony" is a column by Bob Greene for Third Sector New England online. In today's economy, when everyone is "doing more with less," increased stress can result in increased conflicts between team members in a nonprofit. The article discusses a key step that can be taken to resolve the conflict with the least amount of disruption to the team. To read the column go to: First Step In Resolving Conflict: "Go to the Balcony"
Fortifying L.A.'s Nonprofit Organizations: Capacity Building Needs and Services in Los Angeles County is the report of a study commissioned by the Weingart Foundation and conducted by TCC Group. To facilitate discussion about how to respond to the report's findings and recommendations, the Foundation, in partnership with the UCLA Center for Civil Society, will host a convening this Spring for the nonprofit community. Hard copies of the report are available by email request to capacityreport@weingartfnd.org. The full report and its executive summary are also available for download at the Foundation's website, www.weingartfnd.org.
Fostering Effective Relationships among Nonprofit Boards and Executive Directors by Jodie Butler Markey and Dwight V. Denison is a study of nonprofits that identifies key factors contributing to a good board chair-executive director relationship. Those factors include the length of time that the executive director has worked for an organization and the number of hours per week that the executive director communicates with board members. To access the article go to:
Fostering Effective Relationships among Nonprofit Boards and Executive Directors
Fostering Effective Relationships among Nonprofit Boards and Executive Directors
Fostering Sustainable Collaborative Relationships is an article by John Vogelsang, Associate Director of the Support Center for Nonprofit Management which was published in the Journal of Nonprofit Management. It presents the experiences nonprofits have with collaboration efforts. To access this article, go to:
Fostering Sustainable Collaborative Relationships
Fostering Sustainable Collaborative Relationships
Four Actions Nonprofit Leaders Can Take to Transform Organizational Culture discusses what can nonprofit leaders can do when it becomes clear that a shift in culture is needed to realize organizational goals or increase impact. It starts with acknowledging that simply articulating new beliefs and values alone won't change behaviors of staff. In fact, the experiences of executive directors and other senior leaders who have successfully shifted their cultures reveal a counter-intuitive lesson: it takes concrete actions to shift an intangible force like organizational culture. To access the article, go to: Four Actions Nonprofit Leaders Can Take to Transform Organizational Culture
14 Steps to Developing a Top-Notch Volunteer Program is a guide to building a successful volunteer program by Mary Quirk, Volunteer Resources Leadership Project Manager for the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration. It presents 14 action steps that can help build or improve its volunteer program, such as gathering ideas and developing a case statement, getting a buy-in from the entire organization, creating an initial program design and developing the resources for a volunteer program. To access: 14 Steps to Developing a Top-Notch Volunteer Program
Frequently Asked Questions About Volunteer Management is a handy guide, excerpted from the Southern California Center for Nonprofit Management's Nonprofit Answer Book that provides concise answers to the most often asked questions, like, How Can We Create Staff Support for a Volunteer Management Program? and many others. To access the excerpt, go to:
Frequently Asked Questions about Volunteer Management
Frequently Asked Questions about Volunteer Management
Fundamentals for North Hollywood Based Nonprofit Arts Organizations - Board Governance This handout from VNR's January 2009 workshop, done in collaboration with the Los Angeles Stage Alliance and the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, focuses on how to develop and operate an effective nonprofit Board of Directors, including the Board's responsibility for fundraising during tough times. A free copy may be downloaded from Fundamentals - Board Governance (20KB PDF).
Fundraising articles have been gathered together by Third Sector New England, including Turning Crisis Into an Opportunity,
Integrating Online and Offline Fundraising, and Tips For Cultivating Donors.
Fundraising Guides for Animal Welfare Nonprofits Presented by ASPCA and PETCO Foundation at an October 2009 VNR workshop, these three publications provide guidance for animal welfare nonprofits in applying for grants from these two funders and others. To download a free copy click on: ASPCA - Tips for Grantseekers (66KB PDF), PETCO Foundation - Applying for Support and ASPCA - Creative Fundraising Strategies for Animal Welfare Agencies.
Get Ready; Get Set: What You Need to Know Before Starting a Nonprofit
is a complete guide to starting a nonprofit organization. The publication comes from the California Management Assistance Partnership and is available in PDF form by going to: Get Ready; Get Set
Getting People Out of Poverty: Programs, Policies and Collaborations That Work This brief paper summarizes recommendations for reducing poverty in Los Angeles - concentrating on what leaders from nonprofits, government, foundations and corporations can do together, along with community advocates and coalitions. This Critical Issues Paper is being used to inform the new Los Angeles Poverty Action Collaborative on advocacy and other strategies that are being developed, and also to shape the agenda for the 2011 MENDing Poverty Conference. A free copy may be downloaded from
Getting People Out of Poverty (183KB PDF).
Getting Social Media Right: A Short Guide for Nonprofit Organizations was written was written by Richard Steele, Sivan McLetchie and Christopher Lindquist for the Bridgespan Group. To engage in social media with confidence, it is important to know what the goals are for doing so and how those goals fit with the organization's overall mission. This article lays out a rubric called the "Seven C's" of social media: Cause, Communication, Community, Collaboration, Costs, Capital, and Competition. By challenging themselves with questions around the Seven C's, leaders and management can begin to organize their thinking about social media, and plan or revise their approach so that the efforts create real value for the organization. To access the article, go to:
Getting Social Media Right: A Short Guide for Nonprofit Organizations
Getting Social Media Right: A Short Guide for Nonprofit Organizations
Getting Started with Email Fundraising was written by Andrea Berry, a fundraising consultant, for Idealware and made available on Third Sector New England's website. Email can be an effective way to communicate with donors, and to raise money without substantially raising overhead. While it isn't likely to replace direct mail fundraising in a communications mix, emails allow a nonprofit to inexpensively provide reasons and reminders to give, right when the donors can be most effective. Some donors are more likely to read and act on an email. To access this article, go to:
Getting Started with Email Fundraising
Getting Started with Email Fundraising
Going Green: Tips from the NonProfit Center is an article written by Jackie Cefola, which offers advice on how nonprofits can "go green" in their buildings and operations. To access the article, go to: Tips from the NonProfit Center
Good Practices for Nonprofit Board Governance The California State Board of Equalization's 2008 conference for Valley Nonprofits included this session on board governance. The session's handout presents a variety of tips and information resources on how to set up and run a good nonprofit board of directors. A free copy may be downloaded from
Good Practices for Nonprofit Board Governance (19KB PDF).
The Governance/Support Model for Nonprofit Boards is an article by Jan Masaoka for Blue Avocado. Confusion about board responsibilities is often about what the board does (as a body) versus what individual board members should do. The model for governance and support presented in this article is used by many nonprofit boards. To access the article, go to: Tips from the NonProfit Center
Growing Network Impact: How Nonprofit Networks Are Raising the Bar on Results is a report written by Mandy Taft-Pearman and Alan Tuck of the Bridgespan Group. It focuses primarily on two kinds of networks - federated and associated networks. Both are collections of independent 501(c)(3)s, whose affiliates focus on similar activities and services. But whereas federated networks (such as Big Brothers Big Sisters or the Boys and Girls Clubs of America) offer mostly standardized program models, associated networks (such as the Land Trust Alliance or Public Education Network) allow for a more varied set of program models. While this article focuses on nine large networks, the information it provides can be of help to many small nonprofits, and especially to those that collaborate. To read an excerpt from the report, and to download the complete document, go to: Growing Network Impact: How Nonprofit Networks are Raising the Bar on Results
Hanging Together: Capacity Building and Collaboration in Tough Times Recent research was presented at this presentation to the Glendale Healthier Community Coalition about how to keep collaborations alive and well, including sustainability and evaluation approaches. The session handout also includes a brief presentation of strategies for raising funds in tough times. Each section includes resources for further learning. A free copy may be downloaded from
Hanging Together: Capacity Building and Collaboration in Tough Times (16KB PDF).
Hanging Together: Capacity Building and Collaboration in Tough Times (16KB PDF).
The Helper's Helper: Where Nonprofits Turn is an article that was published in the New York Times about 20 students in a class that was offered by the Support Center for Nonprofit Management. The students were employees from various nonprofit organizations and the subject of the class was "how to recruit celebrities to donate their time to help with fundraising." To read the article, go to: The Helper's Helper: Where Nonprofits Turn
How Charities Can Weather the Bad Economy is a transcript made from a Chronicle of Philanthropy interview with Dan Cardinali, president of Communities in Schools; Rick Dunham, a fund-raising consultant with Dunham and Company in Addison, Tex., and Clara Miller, president and CEO of the Nonprofit Finance Fund in New York. Among other topics they cover these questions: What can your organization do to state its case to donors and supporters during anxious times? How have groups weathered previous uncertainty? And how can you stretch your resources to meet your mission when money gets tight? To access the transcript, go to:
http://philanthropy.com/live/2008/09/financial_storm/
http://philanthropy.com/live/2008/09/financial_storm/
How Social Media Transformed A Nonprofit Medical Professional Society is an article written by Jennifer Young. This media-studies graduate student helped the American Society of Nephrology (a national group of physicians specializing in kidney disease) more fully embrace social media. Her experiences in planning, implementing, and tracking the Society's rollout of its social media operation can be helpful to any nonprofit looking to deepen connections with members, donors, volunteers and the public. To access, go to: How Social Media Transformed a Nonprofit Medical Professional Society
How To Give a Good Media Interview is an article written by Hannah Brazee Gregory. In it she explains how media coverage can be an opportunity for a nonprofit - or a public relations nightmare, depending on how it is handled. She offers guidelines to make a media interview a successful opportunity. To access the article, go to: How To Give a Good Media Interview
How to Increase Office Productivity Using Free Software is an eight-part series that covers everything nonprofits need to know about moving from costly desktop office software to Google's free online office tools suite, which can be a good cost-saver in the current hard economic times. This series offers tutorials for getting started with Google - using and configuring Google Mail (Gmail); Google Calendar; and Google Docs, including the spreadsheet and presentation functions - as well as a host of other free applications that increase productivity. To read these articles, go to www.grantstation.com
How To Raise A Lot More Money Now, 50 Great Ideas from 11 Top Experts is a recent e-book from Network For Good. Excerpts from the book are included in Third Sector New England's most recent newsletter. To access those excerpts and for a link to the entire book, go to: How to Raise a Lot More Money Now
How To Write a Nonprofit Annual Report: The Ebook is published by Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com. It is a clear, practical, and easy-to-follow guide to produce an annual report for a nonprofit organization. For more information, a list of content and to order, go to: How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report: The E-Book
How Your Company Can Make the Most of LinkedIn: Company Profiles is the second installment of a series of articles on how nonprofits can use this social media tool to help build capacity and/or promote their mission. This article offers advice on how to build a "company" profile for a nonprofit. To read the article, go to: How Your Nonprofit Can Make the Most of LinkedIn: Company Profiles
Human Resources Issues to Consider is a compilation by Third Sector New England of articles dealing with the various topics that can greatly affect the productiveness and survival of nonprofits. Titles include: Fair, Consistent Staff Layoffs, Tips for Working Effectively With Temps, Be a Better, Adaptive Supervisor, and The Future of Nonprofits: Developing Generation Y Staff.
Hunt for Thank You Opportunities is an article written by Sasha Dichter for her blog, which deals with aspects of nonprofit operations. She explains how effective a Thank You can be in assuring future donations. To access, go to: Hunt for thank you opportunities - Sasha Dichter's Blog
Improving Nonprofit Decision Making in an Economic Crisis is an article written by Kate Barr. When the finance committee chair of Youth Horizons Inc. announced that in just weeks the organization wouldn't have enough cash to meet payroll and didn't know when the cash situation would improve, members of the board of directors were speechless. After two years of deficits, the cash reserve had been spent and the finance committee had run out of options. Soon board members jumped in with questions: What happened to all the grant applications that had been submitted? Wasn't there a fundraising event planned? How could this have happened, and what should the board do now? To access this article go to: Improving Nonprofit Decision Making amid Economic Crisis
Investing in Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances is a paper written by Bruce Boyd and Reginald Jones, and released through Arabella Philanthropic Investment Advisors. It explores the benefits of strategic collaboration by nonprofits as another means of surviving today's economic crisis. Nonprofit mergers and alliances are a sensitive subject for some. Donors are cautious of the changes and some nonprofit organizations view it as a last-ditch means of survival. However, such concerns shouldn't prevent an organization from investigating the potential benefits of these practices. To access this Brief go to: http://arabellaadvisors.com/images/IB_files/Mergers.pdf.
IRS Advice to 990-N Filers The recent filing of 990-N forms in April, 2010 revealed so much confusion about which nonprofits needed to file and the revocation process in general, that the IRS put together a Q&A article which can be accessed at Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership. To access the article, go to: Filing Deadline Reveals Confusion
Is Grantmaking Getting Smarter? presents findings of a survey by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations of executives and staff members of both nonprofits and foundations. Foundations in the study with staff and board members with nonprofit experience were significantly more likely than those without any experience to engage in grantee-friendly practices. To access the full report or a summary of it, go to: www.geofunders.org/getting-smarter.aspx
Is "Open Source" Right for Your Organization? Lots of people seem to be talking about "open source" software these days, but for non-techies, it's not always easy to find out more about this option. The term "open source" itself means that the actual source code written by programmers can be viewed, modified or downloaded by anyone, and the software is typically developed, marketed and distributed by a loosely organized community of individuals rather than a vendor. To access the article, go to: Is "Open Source" Right for Your Organization?
Latino MFG—Involving Spanish-Speaking Families in Mental Health Services (forthcoming) A manual has been developed for implementing the Multifamily Group (MFG) program, culturally adapted and in Spanish, to involve families in services for an adolescent mentally ill family member. It will be available in mid-2011, after revisions based on pilot testing in public mental health agencies in the San Fernando Valley. A project overview may be downloaded from Latino MFG Project Overview (13KB PDF), and two reports - Pilot Implementation Evaluation Report (85KB PDF) and Pilot Implementation Evaluation Report II (34KB PDF) also are now available.
Latino Initiative Resource Guide provides information about leadership development programs, professional associations, and volunteer opportunities targeted to the San Fernando Valley's Latino nonprofit workforce. The Guide is a product of VNR's Latino Initiative, which since 2009 has been putting on learning events to bring together staff of Latino-led and Latino-focused nonprofits in the Valley. For more information, contact VNR's Diana Medina Wiley, coordinator of the Initiative, at dianahiri@aol.com or 818/990-0176. To download a free copy of this publication click on Latino Guide.
Lessons from the Field: Improving the Grantee Experience at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation This report describes how the Packard Foundation, one of America’s
largest philanthropies, developed and implemented
“Grantee Experience Standards,” a set of criteria for
high-quality interactions and clear communications
between grantmaker and grantee. A free copy may be downloaded from
Lessons from the Field (1.4MB PDF).
Lessons from the Field (1.4MB PDF).
Low Profile-High Impact is an article written by Jan Masaoka, discussing several topics that can have a high impact on a nonprofit's efficiency and effectiveness - nonprofit activity related to elections, how to prevent mis-classification of employees, and ways to improve board agendas. To read this article, go to: Low Profile-High Impact.
The M Word: A Board Member's Guide to Mergers: How, Why & Why Not to Merge Nonprofit Organizations by Alfredo Vergara-Lobo, Jan Masaoka & Sabrina L. Smith of CompassPoint is a booklet designed as a practical guide to help nonprofit board members, executives and funders think through a merger. It gives a quick trip through a merger's terrain, and provides a rough guide to expectations, processes and obstacles often encountered in a merger experience. To access the booklet go to: http://www.compasspoint.org/mword.
Maintaining Employee Morale During Tough Economic Times is an article written by Lyn Freundlich, Director of Administration and Human Resources at Third Sector New England. Maintaining employee morale in the nonprofit sector has never meant providing high-priced perks and exorbitant bonuses. But providing thanks for a job well done and recognition for the commitment and enthusiasm that nonprofit professionals bring to their work is critical, and doesn't need to drain resources. The article provides tips for simple things management can do to keep morale up. To access the article, go to:
www.tsne.org
Managing the End of a Funding Relationship Foundations rarely fund a project or organization forever. Even though the end of a funding relationship is normal, it's still often stressful for both grantmakers and grantees. Just like a divorce, the experience can be bitter, or both parties can remain friends and sometimes even reconnect at a future date. Tom Triplett's article covers the following topics: The Good Goodbye; Three Recommendations for an Effective Funding Exit; Broaden Replacement Funding Options and Where to Learn More. To access the article, go to: Managing the End of a Funding Relationship.
Managing Executive Transitions: A Guide for Nonprofits is a book written by the staff of CompassPoint and published by the organization. It guides nonprofits through a change in leadership, and can help boards and executive directors handle leadership turnovers in a way that prevents problems and sets the organization on a path for long-term success. To read more about it and/or buy the book go to:
http://www.compasspoint.org/.
http://www.compasspoint.org/.
Managing In Tough Times Survey is a report by The Bridgespan Group. The negative effects of the economy on nonprofit organizations have deepened considerably in the last year, according to responses from more than 100 nonprofit leaders participating in a Bridgespan study initiated in November 2008 and updated in November 2009. But while the hardship of prolonged financial pressure cannot be overstated, many organizations appear to be making the difficult decisions that may gain them stronger footing as market conditions improve in the future. To access this report, go to:
Managing in Touch Times Survey Update
Managing in Touch Times Survey Update
Managing Risk Within Nonprofit Organizations is a white paper that presents ways to reduce the risk in various nonprofit management responsibilities. To access the PDF go to: Managing Risk Within Nonprofit Organizations
Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Online Communications is an article written by Laura S. Quinn and made available on the Idealware web site. It talks through four types of measures-- Views, Followers, Engagement, and Conversion-- that help track communications efforts to see if they're effective. To access the article, go to: www.idealware.org/measuring-online-communications
Measurement as Learning Increasingly, funders want to know exactly how their money is being used, and as nonprofits undertake rigorous evaluations to prove their programs work and attract funding for growth. But one of the most important uses of measurement is too often overlooked, and that is measurement for the purpose of learning and improving performance, or performance measurement. The Bridgespan Group has put together a guide on this topic. To download a copy go to:
Measurement as Learning
Measurement as Learning
MENDing Poverty Conference Newspaper Articles. Feature coverage of the June 18, 2008 MENDing Poverty conference was provided in articles by Susan Abram in the Daily News and by Paula Doyle in The Tidings. Susan Abram also wrote an article about the June 4, 2009 MENDing Poverty conference in the Daily News.
MENDing Poverty Conference Outcomes Reports summarize activities of the June 18, 2008, (18KB PDF) June 4, 2009 (16KB PDF) and June 16, 2010 (16KB PDF) conferences, held at MEND and co-hosted by VNR. The 2008 report includes a link to a handout about Millennials and the nonprofit sector from one of the keynote speakers.
Michael Eric Dyson: Re-Thinking Diversity The Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, a project of Third Sector New England, kicked-off its "Conversations with …" lecture series exploring issues of diversity and inclusion, with an address by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown University professor author of 17 books. To access a video of Dr. Dyson's presentation and/or read an article with his comments, go to:
Michael Eric Dyson on Diversity and Nonprofits.
Michael Eric Dyson on Diversity and Nonprofits.
Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org is an article by Brett Bonfield and Laura S. Quinn for Idealware. For a while, nonprofit organizations' choice of office suites was limited to Microsoft Office or... Microsoft Office. But over time, a viable open source option, OpenOffice.org, has become increasingly popular, making it an affordable option for organizations seeking a productivity suite. In this article, Microsoft Office 2010 is compared to OpenOffice.org 3.2. To access the article, go to:
Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org.
Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org.
Millennial Strategy Program This PowerPoint provides an overview of facts and figures about the emerging Milliennial generation, which have many implications for the nonprofit sector. It was part of a workshop at the June 2008 MENDing Poverty conference, led by Jack MacKenzie, Executive Vice President of Frank N. Magid Associates and head of its Sherman Oaks-based office. A free copy may be downloaded from Millennial Strategy Program (2.7 MB PDF).
Mobilizing Change: 10 Nonprofit Policy Proposals to Strengthen U.S. Communities is the Aspen Institute's compilation of proposals from leading thinkers in the nonprofit sector who are working to address social problems and improve the lives of those in need through improved nonprofit/government policies. The report summarizes each proposal and explains how it would work, who would be affected, and what actions are required to make it happen. To access the report go to:
Mobilizing Change: 10 Nonprofit Policy Proposals to Strengthen U.S. Communities.
Mobilizing Change: 10 Nonprofit Policy Proposals to Strengthen U.S. Communities.
Motivating Without Money: 91 Inexpensive Ways to Keep Employees Happy is a new publication by PBP Executive Reports, useful for both businesses and nonprofits, which offers employee motivations that have little or no cost to the employer. It includes: the top 10 things that employees say make them happy, gives tips on how successful managers boost morale, tells about the biggest motivation killers and how to avoid them, and many more tips and suggestions. For more information and to order: www.pbpexecutivereports.com/er.asp?o=G38&L=MWOM4D&id=750452251
Moving Beyond Founder's Syndrome to Nonprofit Success is a book by Thomas A. McLaughlin and Addie Nelson Backlund, published by Boardsource. All successful nonprofits begin with visionary leaders who provide the enthusiasm, determination, and support needed to transform inspiration into dynamic organizations. But as nonprofits grow and mature, they often need to take a more strategic approach. The transition can be difficult. Some founders struggle to adjust as the organization matures, and many boards find their loyalty to the founder in conflict with the best choices for the organization. This can lead to tension between the founder, the board, and senior staff. The book offers advice on how an organization can successfully develop an effective board and staff while leveraging the founder's strengths and accomplishments and showing respect to the vision of the organization. It features examples, case studies, and tips for founders, board members, and staff. To read more and/or purchase a copy of the book, go to:
Boardsource: Moving Beyond Founder's Syndrome to Nonprofit Success
Boardsource: Moving Beyond Founder's Syndrome to Nonprofit Success
Multicultural Organizational Development in Nonprofit Organizations is a paper by Laurin Mayeno and Steve Lew for CompassPoint, in which they describe the "building blocks" of multicultural organizational development that can help leaders and capacity builders to begin the process in their organization and sustain it by integrating multicultural values, practices, and plans into annual operations. To access the document, go to: Multicultural Organizational Development in Nonprofit Organizations
New Guide: Living into Your Strategic Plan The Bridgespan Group has assembled a six-step guide, incorporating lessons learned from a study of nonprofits, to create a roadmap to implementing a strategic plan. To download a free copy, go to:
Living Into Your Strategic Plan: A Guide to Implementation That Gets Results
Living Into Your Strategic Plan: A Guide to Implementation That Gets Results
A New Seat At The Table: When is it Time to Add to Your Senior Management Team? is an article by the Bridgespan Group. As organizations grow, so do the demands on their senior staff. But because adding a new position to the senior management team can be a considerable expense and can significantly change how the organization works, most organizations don't undertake this change quickly. So, how does a nonprofit organization know when it's time to add a new position to the team, what specific skill sets to seek, and how to justify the expense? To access the article, go to: A New Seat At The Table
New Ways to Strengthen Nonprofits This workshop at the California Association of Nonprofits 2008 Annual Conference focused on cost-effective and creative approaches to capacity building that can help keep nonprofits strong, especially when resources are as limited as they are now. It featured four innovative capacity-building programs, including one sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation, each described briefly in this resource document. A free copy may be downloaded from
New Ways to Strengthen Nonprofits (169KB PDF).
New Ways to Strengthen Nonprofits (169KB PDF).
Next Generation Organizations: 9 Key Traits What exactly does next generation leadership entail, how are their organizations structured, what practices are in place, what do their boards look like, and how are operations adapted? In this paper, written by Marla Cornelius and Tim Wolfred of CompassPoint have identified a set of 9 characteristics that demonstrate how next generation leaders are transforming organizations to operate in a fundamentally different way to raise the bar on mission impact. To access the report, go to: Next Generation Organizations: 9 Key Traits
Nonprofit Brochure Basics is a guide to writing and designing successful brochures for nonprofits. Offered by Kivi Lereux at Nonprofit Marketing Guide, the publication offers helpful tips and advice. To access it, go to: Nonprofit Brochure Basics.
Nonprofit Finance Fund's Annual Nonprofit Survey reports that 85 percent of the more than 1,900 nonprofit leaders surveyed expect demand for their organizations' services to increase in 2011, while only 46 percent expect to be able to meet that demand fully. Last year, 77 percent of survey respondents experienced an increase in demand for their services, while only 51 percent said they were fully able to meet that demand. To obtain a copy of the report, from a study funded by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, go to Nonprofit Finance Fund.
Nonprofit Finance Fund 2010 State of the Nonprofit Sector Report America's nonprofits expect 2010 to be as difficult if not more difficult, financially speaking, as 2009. The report presents results from a new survey by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (for more details, or to obtain a copy, go to www.nonprofitfinancefund.org). For example, only 18 percent of the more than 1,300 nonprofit leaders surveyed expect their organizations to end 2010 in the black; in 2009, 35 percent of organizations ended the year with an operating surplus.
The Nonprofit Organizational Dashboard: Library of Sample Performance Indicators from CompassPoint As organizations strive to allocate and monitor resources in order to increase effectiveness and impact, many are turning to the use of dashboards and performance metrics as an inexpensive and simple way to facilitate meaningful decision making and track progress towards organizational goals. Often the most challenging aspect of developing a dashboard is choosing a set of performance indicators relevant for an organization. CompassPoint is collecting sample indicators and has compiled them into this library. While this list is not comprehensive, nor is each indicator right for all organizations, it can provide useful examples of what other organizations are using. To access this sample, go to:
The Nonprofit Organizational Dashboard
The Nonprofit Organizational Dashboard
Nonprofits Added Jobs Faster Than Businesses Last Decade, Study Finds is an article by Noelle Barton. According to a study by the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University, nonprofits added jobs at a rate of 2% from 2000 to 2010 while jobs in the for-profit sector were cut by a rate of .6% each year during that same time period. To read the article and to access the study, go to: Nonprofits Added Jobs Faster Than Businesses Last Decade, Study Finds
The Nonprofits' Dilemma: The 'Public-Private' Squeeze is an article written by Calvin Thomas, available through the The Support Center For Nonprofit Management, New York. The author reports on a recently held Meet the New Jersey Grantmakers' forum where this dilemma was explored in depth and was attended by more than 100 nonprofit leaders. To read the article go to: The Nonprofits' Dilemma
The Nonprofit Sector In Brief: Public Charities, Giving and Volunteering, 2010 is a new brief by Kennard Wing, Katie L. Roeger and Thomas H. Pollak. It highlights trends in the number and finances of 501(c)(3) public charities as well as key findings on private charitable contributions and volunteering, two vital resources to the nonprofit sector. The brief includes the most recent data available. To access the brief, go to: www.urban.org/publications/412209.html
Nonprofit Social Networking Report This study report, prepared by the Nonprofit Technology Network, Common Knowledge, and ThePort, gives the results of a survey completed in early 2009 that examined nonprofits' use of social networks. Nearly 1,000 professionals from small, large, and medium size nonprofits participated in the survey. They were asked about their use of commercial social networks, such as Facebook or MySpace, and use of constructed social networks through their websites. Major findings include: (1) use of social networks by nonprofits is popular but community sizes and presence remains small, (2) there is little fundraising and advertising revenue being generated so far from these communities, and (3) a small group of nonprofits have built their own social networks on their websites and membership on them remains small. The study report is available for free download at:
http://nonprofitsocialnetworksurvey.com/
http://nonprofitsocialnetworksurvey.com/
A Nonprofit Space Odyssey is a booklet written by Sabrina L. Smith, Jan Masaoka, Jeanne Peters, Joel Ginsberg, Patricia Gardener and Ken Kurtzig. It is written for nonprofit leaders, individual donors, foundations and corporate leaders, and anyone concerned with nonprofit space needs. It can assist with the pre-development phase of a capital project, as well as thinking through the planning and financing options. To access go to: A Nonprofit Space Odyssey
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle is an article that appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review and outlines the "vicious cycle" of under-investment in nonprofit infrastructure, which leads to reduced program effectiveness and, ultimately, the waste of precious resources. The cycle begins with funders' unrealistic expectations about how much it costs to run a nonprofit, continues with nonprofits' desperate attempts to conform to those expectations by under-spending on necessary overhead and under-reporting of expenditures, which then reinforces the unrealistic expectations of funders. And the cycle begins again. To access the article go to:
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle
On The Money: A Review of Key Financial Challenges Facing Nonprofits Today - And How Grantmakers Can Help is a review by Nancy Hurd, focused on the nonprofit sector's struggles to meet escalating service demands while at the same time addressing the underlying causes of social problems from poverty to crime and violence. Many foundation and nonprofit leaders continue to argue for grantmaking strategies that are responsive to the needs of grantees. The goal is not just to enable nonprofits to meet today's priorities but also to provide the kinds of support that will let them build strong organizations for tomorrow. To access the Executive Summary of this review or the entire review, go to: GEO Publications
Opportunities for Nonprofits Within Los Angeles Communities of Color is a report published in July 2009 by CompassPoint and the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training, that is the result of a joint study of nonprofits based in communities of color in Los Angeles (including the San Fernando Valley) to learn about their approaches to income generation, their staffing strategies, successes and challenges. To access the report, go to: www.compasspoint.org/assets/862_faccreportonlanonprofits.pdf.
Panel of Female Leaders in Nonprofit Sector Offer Insightful Tips For Success On January 21, 2009, Third Sector New England and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network cosponsored a panel of prominent female nonprofit leaders who shared their life experiences and offered tips about how to change the current reality that while women fill nearly 70% of nonprofit staff positions, a majority of senior management positions are held by men. For a summary of the panel, go to:
Events - Women and Nonprofit Leadership.
Events - Women and Nonprofit Leadership.
Philanthropy's 10 Favorite Buzzwords of the Decade Show How Nonprofits Are Changing is an article by Lucy Bernholz and is available on the web site of Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership. The 10 phrases show the long, steady rise in market-based solutions for social problem solving, technology's infiltration of all things fundraising, and a shift in attention from local to global. To access the article, go to:
Philanthropy's 10 Favorite Buzzwords of the Decade Show How Nonprofits Are Changing.
Philanthropy's 10 Favorite Buzzwords of the Decade Show How Nonprofits Are Changing.
Phones On A Shoestring Budget Despite the increase in popularity of email, social media and other online networking tools, organizations still depend on the telephone for a good portion of their communications. But telephone service has gone through some dramatic changes, and the options for purchasing a new voice communications system are more numerous than ever before-and more confusing. Laura Quinn of Idealware has written an article explaining telephone systems in today's technologically advanced world. To read the article, go to: Phones On A Shoestring Budget.
Planning for the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leadership This workshop, co-sponsored by the Valley Care Community Consortium, highlighted challenges of leadership transition faced by Valley health and human service nonprofits. One workshop handout provides information about executive director and board transition management, and about characteristics of young nonprofit staff. A free copy may be downloaded from Planning for the Next Generation Handout 1 (21KB PDF). A second handout is in the form of a PowerPoint, with detailed information on transition challenges and strategies, including a description of "executive transition management," to obtain a free copy by e-mail, contact VNR and request Planning for the Next Generation Handout 2.
The Power of Nonprofits charts the history of nonprofits in America and the impact they've had on the accomplishments, laws, and conditions and more of this country. To access, go to:
The Power of Nonprofits
The Power of Nonprofits
Preparing Your Nonprofit to Recruit Volunteers: Assessing Volunteer Needs and Developing Position Descriptions are Necessary, Not A Luxury by Lori Tsuruda, President of the Directors of Volunteer Administration and Founder & Executive Director of People Making a Difference is an article describing how to go about recruiting volunteers to help a nonprofit organization. To access the article, go to:
Preparing Your Nonprofit to Recruit Volunteers
Preparing Your Nonprofit to Recruit Volunteers
Preventing Embezzlement in Your Nonprofit Organization is an article by William Devaney, a partner at Venable LLP in New York, and Jeffrey Tennenbaum, a partner at Venable LLP in Washington D.C. They advise that because many nonprofit organizations tend to be more trusting of their employees and have less stringent financial controls than their for-profit counterparts, they fall prey to embezzlement and other forms of employee fraud at an alarming rate. The article presents examples of instances of such and advice on how to avoid this weakness. To access the article, go to: http://www.supportcenteronline.org/Journal/SCNM_JOURNAL_2010_5.pdf.
A Public Policy Primer: How To Get Off the Sidelines and Into the Game is intended to demystify policymaking and provide the average person with the guidelines, insights, and a "know-how recipe" to be able to help shape local, state and national policy decisions. Written by David C. Hollister, former mayor of Lansing, MI, the book uses his personal experience to illustrate key elements of effective (or ineffective) policymaking. Published by the Institute for Educational Leadership and the Michigan Education Policy Fellowship Program, a PDF is available for free downloading from: www.iel.org/pubs/publicpolicy.pdf
Questions to Ask Prospective Board Members is an article that suggests that an informal coffee or lunch might be an easy way to meet with a potential candidate for a new nonprofit board member. Planning ahead for such a meeting is the best way to ensure that it will be productive, from deciding what the goals of the meeting are, to framing questions to ask in advance. To read the article, go to: Questions to Ask Prospective Board Members
Quick Tips for Getting Your Job Search Together is a guide created by Kristin Saulnier, based on the information shared at a workshop of the Boston Chapter of Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, that includes Power Search Strategies, Basic Search Strategies and Takeaways. To access the article, go to: Quick Tips for Getting Your Job Search Together
RAPID Decision-Making: What It Is, Why We Like It, and How to Get the Most Out of It. Decision making is often challenging for nonprofit leadership teams. In the worst cases, a poor decision-making process can create a climate of mistrust and even undermine the organization's mission. The good news is that there are a variety of tools available to help clarify and improve organizational decision making. This article profiles one such tool: RAPID, which helps nonprofit leaders and managers identify all of the activities that must occur in order for a decision to be made well. Using this tool, nonprofits can map out how decisions are currently being made, and also how they should be made. To read the complete article, go to: RAPID Decision-Making
Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out is a national study produced in partnership by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Meyer Foundation and Idealist.org that compiled information from numerous reports (and did original research), revealing that the nonprofit sector is facing large-scale executive turnover and has turned its attention to strengthening its leadership pipeline by focusing on the recruitment, retention and development of next generation of leaders. Findings suggest that there are indicators of strength within the leadership pipeline, with projections of future needs as far as 2016. Despite these promising indicators, it was also found that next generation leaders face significant barriers to pursuing executive positions. To access the study, go to:
www.compasspoint.org/assets/521_readytolead2008.pdf
www.compasspoint.org/assets/521_readytolead2008.pdf
Recession Pressures on Nonprofit Jobs is a report from the John's Hopkins University Listening Post Project. The report surveyed 526 nonprofits and found that nearly 40 percent of them lack adequate staff to deliver their programs and services, due to workforce reductions these changes varied significantly depending on the type of nonprofit organization and service provided. For more information and to download a PDF of the report go to:
Recession Pressures on Nonprofit Jobs
Recession Pressures on Nonprofit Jobs
Resource Guide for Writing Successful Proposals: A First Course for Young Nonprofit Leaders describes a number of resources that can help nonprofit staff or boards learn how to write effective proposals for public or private funders. This brief document was created for a September 3, 2008 VNR "lunch and learn" workshop. A free copy may be downloaded from Resource Guide (70KB PDF).
RHR International Leadership Briefs RHR International, one of the oldest and largest psychological consulting firms in the world, has recently released three short essays aimed at CEOs as they devise leadership and management strategies to deal with the recession. Though they were written for business leaders, their content is just as relevant for nonprofit leaders. To download a copy of these three pieces, click on:
Downsizing: Looking Beyond the Crisis (57 KB PDF)
Leadership in Times of Uncertainty (180 KB PDF)
CEO Leadership in Turbulent Times (40 KB PDF)
Downsizing: Looking Beyond the Crisis (57 KB PDF)
Leadership in Times of Uncertainty (180 KB PDF)
CEO Leadership in Turbulent Times (40 KB PDF)
Role of the Executive Committee, by Hildy Gottlieb of Help4Nonprofits, points out how new technology has rendered the most critical role of the Executive Committee obsolete, and suggests ways the EC still can be relevant to nonprofit governance. This article can be accessed at:
Role of the Executive Committee.
Role of the Executive Committee.
San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center Economic Report This annual report focuses on the economy and demographics of the San Fernando Valley. Information on the Center, as well as a downloadable copy of the report, can be found at www.csun.edu/sfverc.
Scaling Impact originally written by Jeffrey Bradach for the Stanford Social Innovation Review is now available through the Bridgespan website. It poses the question: Is it possible to take nonprofits to scale using replication? And answers it by showing how pioneers have identified some tools and strategies that expand the impact of organizations well beyond what their size would seem capable of generating. To access the article, go to: Scaling Impact.
Scaling What Works is an article by Nancy Roob and Jeffrey L. Bradach of The Bridgespan Group. Despite the major downturn in the economy, the money potentially available in the federal budget and stimulus package may create a unique moment for making real progress on seemingly intractable social problems. To access the article go to: http://www.bridgespan.org/scaling-what-works-for-nonprofits.aspx.
Securing the Safety Net: A Profile of Community Clinic and Health Center Leadership in California, is a study by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, commissioned by the regional and statewide clinic consortia, which examines the demographics, career paths, and job challenges of clinic CEOs. Among CEOs the data suggest a need for attention to succession planning as many founders and long-time CEOs approach retirement. To access the study go to:
http://www.compasspoint.org/securing-safety-net-profile-community-clinic-and-health-center-leadership-california.
http://www.compasspoint.org/securing-safety-net-profile-community-clinic-and-health-center-leadership-california.
Seven Pivotal Points When Nonprofits Must Make Fundamental Changes is an article by Rebecca Post that looks at scaling back operations through the turning points lens. First e turning points are described in question form: Do we need to get organized? Do we need infrastructure? Do we need to let go? There also is a discussion about the importance of focus and setting priorities when navigating through tough economic times. To access:
7 Pivotal Points When Nonprofits Must Make Fundamental Changes.
7 Pivotal Points When Nonprofits Must Make Fundamental Changes.
Seven Steps to Authentic Leadership is a handout from a 2009 VNR workshop led by Marta Segura, The Inspired Planet. It focused on preparing Latino nonprofit professionals for leadership positions in the nonprofit sector. To download a copy, click Seven Steps to Authentic Leadership (79KB PDF).
Seven Steps to Communicating Strategically by Kristen Saulnier, Communications Assistant at Third Sector New England, provides tips she learned at the Be the Media V conference she attended recently. She says, "Too often, crafting a robust communications strategy is a low priority for a nonprofit already struggling with limited time and funds. It can appear less important than raising funds or giving direct services to constituents. But communications is the foundation of achieving your mission. Community engagement, sharing information about your services, fundraising, community organizing and mobilizing constituents for advocacy all rely on communicating." To access this article, go to: Seven Steps to Communicating Strategically.
Seven Ways to Train Staff Online was written by Laura Quinn for Idealware. Staff training and development can pay dividends for any organization, but because of the cost and logistics involved, they're often overlooked or ignored. Traveling to offsite trainings and conferences is expensive, and the nature of today's geographically-diverse staffs can make onsite training a challenge. Technology can overcome many of these difficulties in many cases, without significant expense. A number of viable methods for professional development online make it likely an organization can find one that works. To access the article, go to: Seven Ways to Train Staff Online.
Should Staff Contact with the Board Be Restricted? is an article by Jan Masaoka for Blue Avocado. For nonprofit organizations with paid staff, a frequently thorny issue is that of direct contact between staff and board members, staff independent of the executive director. The article explains in detail how this issue can be addressed by a nonprofit and its executive director. To access the article, go to: Blue Avocado.
Six Steps to Rebranding a Nonprofit is an article from Third Sector New England, describing why and how the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation rebranded itself as Public Health Management Corporation and passing along tips about rebranding based on their experiences. To access the article, go to:
Benefit Financially and Otherwise from Rebranding a Nonprofit.
Benefit Financially and Otherwise from Rebranding a Nonprofit.
Small but Tough: Nonprofits in Rural America is a study by Alex Neuhoff and Andrew Dunckelman of Bridgespan. Poverty is more common in rural areas of the United States than it is in urban areas. Yet the nonprofit sector, a key force in the fight against poverty, is three times smaller in the rural US on a per capita basis than it is in urban areas. The study highlights the differences between urban and rural nonprofits, discusses barriers that rural nonprofits must overcome in serving their communities, and offers some lessons gleaned from the experiences of nonprofit organizations that have found ways to operate effectively in rural America. To access a summary or the full study, go to: Small but Tough: Nonprofits in Rural America.
Small Nonprofit Organizations: A Profile of Form 990-N Filers is a brief written by Katie L. Roeger. In an effort to keep better track of nonprofit organizations, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 mandated that the more than 714,000 nonprofits with gross receipts less than $25,000 needed to file the new Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard. This new form provides the first data to ever be collected on the smallest nonprofit organizations. This brief provides an overview of the new 990-N filing requirement, profiles the organizations filing the 990-N, compares 990-N filers to larger filers, and provides a look at small nonprofits reporting terminations on Form 990-N. To access this brief, go to: www.urban.org/publications/412197.html.
So Many Leadership Programs, So Little Change: Why Many Leadership Development Efforts Fall Short is an article by Mary Genis. Its premise is that too many seminars billed as executive leadership are really basic skill building endeavors that do not develop leadership potential. The article suggests ways to shift the focus to leadership capacity building and utilize the best practices of adult education. To access the article go to: So Many Leadership Programs,So Little Change: Why Many Leadership Development Efforts Fall Short.
Social Media for Nonprofits Resource Guide This VNR publication provides tips for nonprofits as they make more systematic use of social media for community outreach, professional collaboration and other purposes. It also identifies a number of social media websites, and provides resources for further exploration. To download a free copy click VNR Social Media Guide (88KB PDF).
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Spending Out Grant Budgets is an article by Kay Snowden, offering advice on balancing grant dollars as a nonprofit's fiscal year ends. To access the article, go to: Spending Out Grant Budgets.
State of the Nonprofit Sector in the San Fernando Valley - 2008 VNR's first annual report on the state of the profit sector in the Valley was based in part on data gathered about Valley nonprofits as part of the UCLA Center for Civil Society's study Local Patterns & Dynamics: The State of the Nonprofit Sector in Los Angeles. The report also includes an overview of capacity-building activities in the Valley, and recommendations for future actions. To download a free copy, click
2008 State of San Fernando Valley Nonprofit Sector (170KB PDF).
2008 State of San Fernando Valley Nonprofit Sector (170KB PDF).
State of Nonprofit Sector in the San Fernando Valley - 2009 VNR's second annual report on the state of the profit sector in the Valley was based in part on data gathered about Valley nonprofits as part of the UCLA Center for Civil Society's study Resilience and Vulnerability: The State of the Nonprofit Sector in Los Angeles 2009. The report also includes an overview of capacity-building activities in the Valley, and recommendations for future actions. To download a free copy, click
2009 State of San Fernando Valley Nonprofit Sector (28KB PDF).
2009 State of San Fernando Valley Nonprofit Sector (28KB PDF).
State of the Nonprofit Sector in the San Fernando Valley - 2010 This is the third annual report on the sector by Valley Nonprofit Resources, created in collaboration with UCLA's Center for Civil Society, and based on its annual research study of the sector in Los Angeles County. It includes a summary of the latest UCLA research, along with reflections on what these findings mean for the Valley. To download a free copy, click 2010 State of San Fernando Valley Nonprofit Sector (36KB PDF).
Staying Alive Resource Guide is a VNR publication which has detailed information and guidance on how nonprofits can best address the challenges of the recession. To download a free copy, click on Staying Alive Resource Guide (61 KB PDF).
Strategic Planning Overview
This brief VNR publication provides definitions, tips for preparation and resources for nonprofits that are developing a strategic plan. It is also a reference document for VNR's technical assistance consultation to Valley nonprofits on strategic planning. To download a free copy, click on Strategic Planning Overview (21KB PDF).
Strategic Leadership and Public Value Creation for Nonprofit Organizations is an article by Mark Weinberg, Professor of Political Science at Ohio University, in the Journal for Nonprofit Management. Just as for-profit organizations must prove the value of their mission in the form of what their product does for their customers, so also a nonprofit must show its value, usually summarized in the organization's mission statement. To access the PDF go to: Strategic Leadership and Public Value Creation for Nonprofit Organizations
Strengthen Your Communication Skills was written by Julie Stofer and presents sound advice based on a recent study by Frank C. Dickerson, PhD, who found that the written materials of most nonprofit organizations focus more on transferring information than creating interpersonal involvement. For access to the article, go to:
How to Tap into the Heart and Soul of Your Organization When You Write
How to Tap into the Heart and Soul of Your Organization When You Write
Study on Boards of Midsize Nonprofits
The Urban Institute has released the report of a study about the needs and challenges of boards of midsize nonprofit organizations. For an excerpt from that report: www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411659.
The Sustainability Formula: How Nonprofit Organizations Can Thrive In The Emerging Economy is an article by the TCC Group that presents an analysis and a series of suggestions for nonprofit boards and executive directors to consider about how to maintain organizational sustainability in the current rapidly-changing economic environment. To access the publication go to:
www.ideaencore.com/search/node/The+Sustainability+Formula.
www.ideaencore.com/search/node/The+Sustainability+Formula.
Teams, the Economy and Stress is an article written by Bob Greene, Senior Consultant for Third Sector New England. It emphasizes that moving forward during this challenging economic time requires everyone to step up and work effectively. This is when everyone most needs to pull together as a team. Yet this is also when individuals and team relationships are under the most stress. To access to this article, go to: www.tsne.org
Ten Myths About Nonprofit Boards by Blue Avocado's Jan Masaoka that explores the current assumptions about nonprofit boards and presents the correct facts to dispel those myths. They include: "Nonprofits have to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley," "The best size for a board is 16," and "The annual approval of the budget is the cornerstone of the board's financial oversight." To access the article, go to: Ten Myths About Nonprofit Boards
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Ten Nonprofit Funding Models Written by William Foster, Peter Kim, and Barbara Christiansen, this article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review identifies ten nonprofit models that are commonly used by the largest nonprofits in the United States. It describes the models so that nonprofit leaders can more clearly the models they believe could suppose support the growth of their organizations. The article is available for download free of charge at www.bridgespan.org/ten-nonprofit-funding-models.aspx.
Theory of Change is a video presentation given by Deborah Linnell, Director of Programs, Third Sector New England. In it, she explains the concept of the theory of change and how it can be helpful to nonprofits. To access this video, go to:
What is Theory of Change?.
What is Theory of Change?.
Tips for Seeking Foundation Support There is both an art and science to learning how to approach foundations for support, how to craft grant proposals that stand out from the pack, and how to maintain long-term relationships with foundation program directors. Charlotte Dion of the Foundation Center offers valuable tips for nonprofits on these subjects. To access this article, go to: Tips for Seeking Foundation Support.
Tips on Facilitation: Tips for Making a Meeting Flow and Having Fun is an article by Nancy Jackson of Gabby Bird Consulting. The article discusses three key skills of a great facilitator: getting the group to feel safe and relax, telling stories, and having fun. To access the article, go to: Reflections on Facilitation: Tips for Making It Flow and Having Fun.
Too Many Nonprofits? Sez Who? is an article by Johnathan Spack, Executive Director of Third Sector New England in which he explores the constant complaint in the philanthropic community that there are "too many nonprofits" and points out the truth of the matter. To access this article go to:
ED_Forum__A_Modest_Proposal_or_Too_Many_Nonprofits.htm.
ED_Forum__A_Modest_Proposal_or_Too_Many_Nonprofits.htm.
Tough Time Strategies: Moving Beyond the Bake Sale is an online article by Sandy Jacobson offering advice on strategies for increasing revenue and cutting/controlling costs, plus the advantages of collaboration where two or more nonprofits work together to do more with less. Collaboration can be powerful, but working together has its challenges. More than any other strategy, collaboration requires innovation and openness to new ways of working. To access:
Tough Times Strategies: Moving Beyond the Bake Sale.
Tough Times Strategies: Moving Beyond the Bake Sale.
Tough Time Strategies: Moving Beyond the Bake Sale is an online article by Sandy Jacobson offering advice on Trends in Donor Management is an article by Jay Leslie that appeared in Nonprofit Times. As user demand increases, vendors are adapting their donor management system offerings to support mobile devices and cloud computing, one of several recent market trends that are adding value and capability to the software. They're also enhancing functionality that's critical for nonprofits, like integrated email and ease of use, in many cases adding substantial functionality without raising prices. To access the article, go to: Tough Times Strategies: Moving Beyond the Bake Sale.
12 Keys to Successful Nonprofit Turnarounds is a brief article of tips written by Don Crocker, CEO and Executive Director of Support Center for Nonprofit Management - New York. To access these tips on how to undertake effective turnarounds, go to:
12 Keys to Successful Nonprofit Turnarounds.
12 Keys to Successful Nonprofit Turnarounds.
25 Metaphors Nonprofits Can Use to Get Their Messages Across - And the Decrepit Dozen to Avoid is a free ebook available online from the Nonprofit Marketing Guide. It offers helpful suggestions for new metaphors to replace those that have become useless due to overuse. To access the book, go to: 25 Metaphors Nonprofits Can Use to Get Their Messages Across.
20 Social Media Resources for Nonprofits is a brief guide written by Kris Putnam-Walkerly President of Putnam Community Investment Consulting Inc. It includes social media "how to" resources guides, blogs, information on foundations using social media, and social media policy resources aggregated from all over the web. A free copy of the article is available for download here
Twittionary: A Guide to Twitter Terms and Shorthand Abbreviations was created by Ross Penkala, a Communications Intern at Third Sector New England as a guide for staff beginning to read and use Twitter. It includes words, phrases and abbreviations that are relevant while tweeting about the nonprofit sector. To access the article, go to: Twittionary: A Guide to Twitter Terms and Shorthand Abbreviations.
Two Models for Nonprofit Funding Allocation: Lessons for Nonprofit Managers is an article by Maureen Berner, Meredith Hatch and Eileen Youens that discusses two models for nonprofit funding allocations and their relationship to government. It interweaves discussions with nonprofit managers and looks closely at ten local governments throughout the United States. To access the article, go to:
Multicultural Organizational Development in Nonprofit Organizations.
Multicultural Organizational Development in Nonprofit Organizations.
Understanding and Improving Email Delivery Some electronic mail will simply never reach its destination - it might go to a bad address, get caught in a spam filter, or routed to a "junk" folder where it's deleted or overlooked. This can be frustrating for nonprofits who work hard to nurture a list of email addresses. However, there are ways to increase delivery rates when sending out mass mailings. This article offers tips and tools to improve the success of email deliveries. To access the article, go to: Understanding and Improving Email Delivery.
Understanding the Philanthropic Landscape
Grantstation offers information about grantseeking, including a series of articles written by Grantstation CEO Cynthia Adams, "Understanding the Philanthropic Landscape." Six articles are available (1) Facts and More Facts; (2) Breaking the Foundation Barrier; (3) Getting Your Share of Government Funding; (4) Government Grant Writing Tips (5) Associations, Organizations, and Clubs: Knowing Who to Approach; and (6) Small Businesses and Corporations: Tapping Corporate Giving During a Recession. Additional articles will be published in the future. To access these articles go to www.grantstation.com.
The Value of LinkedIn for Nonprofits is an article by Kyle Gregory. LinkedIn is comprised of 110 million professional profiles and more than 2.2 million company profiles that can be tapped according to interest, specialty, location and background. Nonprofit professionals are now reporting some of the most valuable assets of this social-media tool and how it has directly helped their organization on many levels. To access this article, go to: The Value of LinkedIn for Nonprofits.
VNR Volunteer Resource Guide is a brief guide to organizations, websites and publications that can help nonprofits and their staffs make better use of volunteers. Developed by Valley Nonprofit Resources as a handout for workshops on volunteer management, a copy may be downloaded from Volunteer Resource Guide.
What Do We Know About Nonprofit Mergers? is a review of nonprofit merger research literature. It identifies 30 factors that can affect a merger's success. The review was compiled by Management Assistance Program in partnership with Wilder Research. To access the PDF of this report, go to: What Do We Know About Nonprofit Mergers?
What Helps Leaders Grow: Highlights from the Fund For Leadership Advancement presents key insights from Irvine Foundation's Fund for Leadership Advancement, an initiative to improve the leadership abilities of executive directors of selected grantee organizations. Based on an evaluation of the first 20 participating organizations, it finds that relatively small investments in leadership support can yield important gains in organizational effectiveness. And it suggests that the fund's approach, which includes executive coaching and consulting on organizational development, is an effective one, although it identifies some areas for improvement. The evaluation was conducted by BTW informing change. To access the report, go to: What Helps Leaders Grow
What Science and Common Sense Say About Collaboration and Sustainability This handout presents science-based principles about collaboration and sustainability, presented in a keynote speech by VNR Executive Director Thomas E. Backer, PhD to the 2007 annual conference of the Valley Community Care Consortium. A set of readings for further exploration of these topics also is provided. A free copy may be downloaded from VCCC Speech (19KB PDF).
Workshop on Capacity Building for Small Family Foundations—Resources Information resources are provided in this workshop handout to help smaller foundations in the Valley get stronger and meet their philanthropic goals. A free copy may be downloaded from Workshop on Capacity Building for Small Family Foundations—Resources (33KB PDF).
Workshop on Board Governance and Development—Resources Information resources are provided in this workshop handout about operating a board efficiently and recruiting new board members. A free copy may be downloaded from
Workshop on Board Governance and Development (14KB PDF).
Workshop on Board Governance and Development (14KB PDF).
Your Nonprofit Marketing Bank is an article that describes a Marketing Bank as a a single location where all of the components needed for marketing, and that is often provided to others, is stored. Building a marketing bank will save a lot of time, because that logo, program description, color palette, etc. is readily available. Staff and volunteers can be sent right to it, saving even more time. The bank can be stored on a shared drive, ideally where others can access it remotely. To read this entire article, go to: Your Nonprofit Marketing Bank
Your Writing: Profound or Just Badly Done? This article by Rick Schwartz discusses Rudolf Flesch's the Flesch Kincaid Readability Test and recommendations for writing your nonprofit's materials "in plain English." To access the article go to:
Your Writing: Profound or Just Badly Done?
Your Writing: Profound or Just Badly Done?
Zeroing in On Impact is an article that covers getting critical resource decisions right-allocating time, talent, and dollars to the activities that have the greatest impact-is what "strategy" is all about. In this article, originally published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, authors Susan Colby, Nan Stone, and Paul Carttar draw on client experience to discuss the challenge of mapping limited resources against seemingly unlimited needs. To access the article, go to:
Workshop on Board Governance and Development.
Workshop on Board Governance and Development.
