2004 Resources of the Week
December 19, 2004 -
January 1, 2005
According to Tom White, Editor and Publisher of the
recently launched Social Enterprise Reporter Newsletter, the goal for the
Reporter is "to provide a professional gathering place for nonprofit managers
and directors who want to share innovative business ideas for developing
earned-income ventures. More nonprofits are looking to diversify revenues
without selling out--the Reporter will help them to improve both their financial
returns and social impacts." Features and articles in the premiere issue
include:
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The lead cover story, by Fast Company
contributing writer Cheryl Dahle, takes a new look at how Juma Ventures' Ben
& Jerry's PartnerShops and Rubicon Bakery have improved their double-bottom
line with innovative solutions to training and staffing challenges.
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Profiles of social entrepreneurs, including
Wendy Baumann, President of the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative
Corporation, and Boku Kodama, Executive Director of the Oakland, CA-based
UrbanVOICE vocational training program. |
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Marketing principles from Jerr Boschee,
Executive Director of The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs. |
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A social enterprise diary by consultant Warren
Tranquada, detailing revenue diversification strategies at the Grantmakers
for Effective Organizations. |
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Social enterprise book reviews, news briefs
and event listings. |
The entire content of the first issue is available for free. Future issues
will contain premium content available only to paid subscribers. Charter
subscription rates are -- institutions (multi-user license): $55; individuals:
$47; student/low-income: $23. Go to:
sereporter.com.
December 12 - 18, 2004
This resource, located on the website of the University of
Maine Cooperative Extension, is a clearly written basic introduction to
organizing a group and exploring the transition to nonprofit and or tax- exempt
status. Topics include weighing the advantages of incorporation and tax exempt
status, choosing the right structural form, a glossary of key terms, and links
to other resources for writing bylaws and other organizational documents and
developing an ongoing board of directors.
Go to:
www.umext.maine.edu
December 5 - 11, 2004
An engaged and effective board of directors is key to a
nonprofit organization's success. This comprehensive resource list compiled by
the Foundation Center is organized according to the multiple roles board
directors play in their organizations—as leaders, planners, stewards,
fundraisers, and partners. It includes citations to selected works from the
Foundation Center's bibliographic database, Literature of the Nonprofit Sector
Online. For a complete list of citations on board-related topics, you can search
LNPS using “board members” or “nonprofit organizations”, “administration” and
other suggested subject headings: fundraising—administration, nonprofit
organizations—collaboration, nonprofit organizations—finance, and strategic
planning. Go to:
fdncenter.org
November 21 - December 4, 2004
More than a million nonprofit boards can be found across
the United States. Many do not reach their potential because of poor leadership.
Often warning signs indicate that a board is not functioning properly. This
article, as appeared in Association Management Magazine, includes keys ways to
reinvigorate your board and get back on track. Go to:
www.tccgrp.com
November 14 - 20, 2004
The 2004 Alliance Annual Conference focused on "Empowering
the Nonprofit Sector." The event drew more than 500 leading nonprofit
professionals, including technical assistance providers, grantmakers,
researchers and managers, to focus on ways to improve quality in nonprofit
management for greater impact and power.
The conference featured more than 40 sessions, sixteen
different full and half-day workshops for in-depth learning, and 120 top-rate
presenters who shared their insights on topics ranging from nonprofit advocacy
and collaboration to scenario planning and fundraising. Rated by participants
as one of the most useful and engaging conferences in the nonprofit sector, this
event brought participants multiple returns in networking, learning and growth.
To download a copy of the conference report, go to:
www.allianceonline.org
November 7 - 13, 2004
BoardSource free electronic books are a compilation
of publications that BoardSource has found popular through the years, and
has chosen to offer as an electronic resource to the nonprofit sector.
BoardSource offers these selected free e-books for the public and for
BoardSource members only. Titles available to the public include: All Hands
on Board,
Starting a Nonprofit Organization, History of Nonprofit
Boards. Other titles are available to BoardSource members. Go to:
www.boardsource.org
October 31 - November 6, 2004
CharityUniversity is a project of CharityChannel, a
volunteer-driven community of tens of thousands of nonprofit/NGO-sector
professionals established in 1992.
CharityUniversity held its first class September 3, 2004
and is rapidly increasing its class offerings. It provides nonprofit/NGO
professionals the opportunity to measurably increase their professional
competency without having to incur the expenses of travel, hotel, and meals --
not to mention the cost to the organization or institution of time away from
their post. Classes are priced to enable nonprofit organizations with limited
budgets to invest in the capacity of their leaders and workforce.
Classes are supported with a password-protected classroom
web site where registrants may download class materials prepared by their
instructor, and engage in threaded discussions with the instructor and fellow
registrants. The live class, typically 90 minutes in duration, is conducted
strictly by a simple toll-free telephone call from anywhere in the world via
CharityChannel's toll-free worldwide teleconferencing system. Go to:
two.charitychannel.com
October 24 - 30, 2004
This free online assessment tool, developed by the
Nonprofit Risk Management Center in cooperation with TransitionGuides,
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and the Public Entity Risk Institute,
introduces six Pillars of Accountability: Ethical Fundraising, Strategic Risk
Management, Cultural Competence, Fiscal Integrity, Dynamic Programming and
Leadership Sustainability. These Pillars provide a foundation for preserving and
protecting the integrity of your organization.
The assessment is free and will take about 20 minutes to
complete. You will be asked a series of questions about your nonprofit's
operations. Then you will be given the opportunity to create an action list to
strengthen the pillars supporting the success of your nonprofit. This program
does more than explain the topic of accountability; it presents an easy way to
get started with practical goals and action steps. Go to:
nonprofitrisk.org/pillars
October 17 - 23, 2004
Board Development, from United Way of Canada, focuses on
board training, accountability and governance. This site is designed to be a one
stop site to improve accountability and governance with checklists, forms,
documents, tools, resources, and training on many topics. It also contains links
to help with the training of staff and board members. Go to:
www.boarddevelopment.org
October 10 - 16, 2004
“All Hands on Board” is a basic guide for board of directors of all-volunteer
organizations (AVO. Examples of AVOs include such organizations as youth and
adult sports leagues, neighborhood associations, hobby groups and self-help
groups. This publication explains the two types of responsibilities that AVO
boards have and provides a checklist that helps assess the performance of the
board. To download the guide for free as a .pdf file, go to:
www4.compasspoint.org
October 3 - 9, 2004
The Upstate Alliance has created a chart summarizing
information about 20 assessment tools that are widely available to nonprofits.
Various factors determine which tool might be most helpful for a specific
nonprofit, including the organization's age, size, services, available
resources, reasons for undertaking assessment, and more. This website can help
identify tools most likely to suit your needs. Information on each assessment
tool includes an overview, availability, cost, complexity, estimated completion
time, use within the organization, when is it useful (organization size and
lifecycle) and a link to the assessment tool. Go to:
www.upstatealliancenp.org
September 26 - October 2, 2004
A service of Independent Sector, the Center aims to provide
the resources nonprofit and corporate executives need to help them build
effective partnerships that enhance both mission and business goals—and serve to
build the public trust for the nonprofit sector as a whole. Go to:
www.independentsector.org
September 19 - 25, 2004
Complete presentation packages, prepared by the Faculty and participants of the
Master in Not-for-Profit Leadership Program at Seattle University, are provided
at this site in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Each package comes complete with a
script, originals for hand-outs and ready-to-use transparencies.The
presentation text is based on the curriculum of the Not-for-Profit Leadership
Program at Seattle University. The subjects were chosen by the faculty in
consultation with alumni and current students. The topics focus on strengthening
key factors for success in nonprofit organizations. There is no charge.
Cooperation with the evaluation process is expected. Go to:
www.seattleu.edu
September 12 - 18, 2004
CommunityWealth.org is a centralized, online resource and dialogue about
community wealth. Topics such as nonprofit/for-profit partnerships,
cause-related marketing, social entrepreneurship, venture philanthropy and
nonprofit business ventures are explored.
Go to:
www.communitywealth.org
September
5 - 11, 2004
This easy-to-use, web-based Tool gives a partnership an
exciting new way to assess how well its collaborative process is working and to
identify specific areas for its partners to focus on to make the process work
better. The Tool is provided at no charge by the Center for the Advancement of
Collaborative Strategies in Health at The New York Academy of Medicine with
funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
The Tool utilizes state-of-the-art on-line questionnaire
technology to collect partnership members' perspectives about several aspects of
the partnership's collaborative process. This information is analyzed by the
system, which then generates a report that describes the strengths and
weaknesses of the partnership. The Tool can be used to track partnership
progress over time. The partnerships that have used the Partnership
Self-Assessment Tool since its launch in 2002 have found it very useful. Go to:
www.partnershiptool.net
August
29 - September 4, 2004
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, an affinity group of the Council on
Foundations, defines an effective nonprofit as one that has "the ability to
fulfill its mission through a blend of sound management, strong governance, and
a persistent rededication to achieving results." Establishing a nonprofit
organization requires a full understanding of the key characteristics that will
be important to future funders. They include a vital mission, clear lines of
accountability, adequate facilities, reliable and diverse revenue streams, and
high-quality programs and services.
This tutorial, located on The Foundation Center’s Learning Lab describes 12
tasks you will need to accomplish as part of the process of establishing a
nonprofit organization:
Go to:
fdncenter.org
August 22
- 28, 2004
What If? The Art of Scenario Thinking for Nonprofits (July 2004), published
by the Global Business Network aims to better prepare nonprofit leaders for the
future by familiarizing them with scenario thinking. Scenario thinking is a tool
for motivating people to challenge the status quo, or get better at doing so, by
asking "What if?" Asking "What if?" in a disciplined way allows you to rehearse
the possibilities of tomorrow, and then to take action today empowered by those
provocations and insights. What if we are about to experience a revolutionary
change that will bring new challenges for nonprofits? Or enter a risk-averse
world of few gains, yet few losses? What if we experience a renaissance of
social innovation? And, importantly, what if the future brings new and
unforeseen opportunities or challenges for your organization? Will you be ready
to act?
The material presented in this publication derives from the institutional
knowledge of Global Business Network and from GBN's multi-year partnership with
the David and Lucille Packard Foundation's Organizational Effectiveness and
Philanthropy Program, launched in early 2001 with the goal of raising awareness
of scenario thinking among nonprofits. This guide is available for download at
no charge. Go to:
www.gbn.com
August
15 - 21, 2004
National Arts Strategies (NAS) investigated financial management at leading arts
organizations to understand how their practices could be used across the arts
sector. With funding from The James Irvine Foundation, NAS developed a framework
and publication that you can use to assess your nonprofit’s approach. The key
findings and recommendations are applicable to all nonprofits. The report is now
available online. To download a .pdf file, go to:
www.artstrategies.org
August
8 - 14, 2004
The Vancouver Ethnocultural Advisory Committee of the Ministry
of Children and Families has created a set of definitions and tools intended to
assist community-based agencies of all sizes in becoming more culturally
competent. Though the resource has been designed for Vancouver area agencies,
other organizations concerned about cultural competency of program staff will
find it useful. The tool includes definitions and principles of cultural
competence, approaches to developing program policies and procedures, and many
other resources that may be relevant to a wide range of nonprofit
organizations. To access the tool online, visit:
www.mcf.gov.bc.ca
August
1 - 7, 2004
The MacMillan Matrix is a valuable tool that was
specifically designed to help nonprofits assess their programs, especially in
light of scarce resources. The matrix helps organizations think about some very
pragmatic questions:
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How well does our program portfolio fit with
our mission and vision? |
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Are we the best organization to provide this
service? |
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What is the competitive strength of each of
our programs? |
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Are we engaged in any services which, if
eliminated, would cause consumers irreplaceable loss? |
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Are we spreading ourselves too thin, without
the capacity to sustain ourselves? |
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Should we work cooperatively with another
organization to provide services? |
Go to:
www.allianceonline.org
July
25 - 31, 2004
The site provides help sheets, articles, and links to other resources on board
development and governance issues including recruitment, training, evaluation,
and governance models. The article Governance Models: What's Right for Your
Board describes the Advisory Board Model, Patron Model, Co-operative Model,
Management Team Model, and Policy Board Model. Go to:
garberconsulting.com
July
18 - 24, 2004
The Foundation Center offers an introduction to basic
online fundraising resources for nonprofits. Go to:
fdncenter.org
July
11 - 17, 2004
Terrie Temkin, a consultant to nonprofit organizations, has written a series
of excellent articles highlighting the role of the board as strategic thinkers.
Some of them are listed here:
July
4 - 10, 2004
TrainingPoint is an experimental project with the goal of creating an online
resource for the nonprofit sector that is supported and driven by its community
of users. TrainingPoint is a free online service for nonprofit organizations and
trainers that offers users the ability to upload and download freely
distributable technology curriculum. Go to:
www.trainingpoint.org
June 27
- July 3, 2004
This 9-part Nonprofit Organizational Assessment Tool can
help guide a group discussion about an organization's operations. This group
discussion ideally should include board members, staff, volunteers, and service
recipients, but could be used as a self-assessment tool by anyone associated
with a nonprofit organization. The Assessment Tool is based on the content
presented in the eight programs that made up the curriculum of the Learning
Institute for Nonprofit Organizations. Strategic Planning, Resource Development,
Board Development, Marketing, Financial Empowerment, Social Entrepreneurship,
Volunteer Involvement, Strategic Alliances, Outcome Measurement, Learning
Institute faculty contributed to various sections of the Nonprofit
Organizational Assessment Tool. Go to:
www.uwex.edu/li/learner
June
20 - 26, 2004
This article by Michael Stein, appearing in The Grassroots
Fundraising Journal (January/February 2004 • Vol. 23, No. 1) provides an
overview of why and how to use e-mail in your fundraising program. Nonprofit
organizations of all sizes and budgets are exploring how to integrate e-mail
into a comprehensive communications and fundraising strategy. Some are far along
the road of doing so; others are just starting out.
Go to:
www.grassrootsfundraising.org
June
13 - 19, 2004
This article addresses a widespread problem: many board
members lack basic knowledge and understanding of financial reporting. According
to the author Hildy Gottlieb, “On virtually every board of every nonprofit
throughout the world, there are board members who do not understand how to read
a balance sheet, a profit & loss statement, or any of the other financial data
boards typically review and vote on.” The article offers a number of policy and
procedure recommendations to address this problem.
Go to:
www.help4nonprofits.com
June
6 - 12, 2004
Robert’s Rules of Order is a fine way to run a formal meeting or a town hall
vote, but too rigid for a business meeting where the agenda is to build
consensus behind decisions. This is a freely available excerpt from the 1999
book, The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching
Agreement, by Lawrence Susskind, Sarah McKearnan, and Jennifer Thomas-Larmer,
and posted by the Public Disputes Program at Harvard Law School. This chapter,
“Short Guide to Consensus Building,” provides a no-frills, step-by-step approach
to running a creative, productive meeting, down to the level of how to invite
participants who might be assuming a legal liability by attending. Go to:
web.mit.edu/publicdisputes
May
30 - June 5, 2004
Peter Brinckerhoff of Corporate Alternatives Incorporated
has made three tools available to help you in your mission-based improvement
efforts. The first is a business development template. It walks you through most
of the key decisions in the business development process. The second resource is
an organizational self-assessment, taken straight from Peter's Mission-Based
Management Workbook and CD-ROM. The third resource is a two-way evaluation, a
tool that Peter highly recommends in his management training and consultation.
Go to:
www.missionbased.com
May
23 - 29, 2004
The FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) listed on this site were inherited from
Support Centers of America (SCA), following a merger between SCA and Nonprofit
Management Association (NMA), and are now made available to the nonprofit
community by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. Go to:
www.allianceonline.org/FAQ/strategic_planning
May 16 - 22, 2004
Published by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management, PULSE!
is the free bi-monthly email newsletter for nonprofit management and governance
professionals. PULSE! keeps you up to date on the latest events, research,
technology and tools in the nonprofit sector. To view a sample issue and to
subscribe to PULSE!, go to:
www.allianceonline.org
May 9 - 15, 2004
The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (N-TEN) and TechSoup.org have
partnered to create TechFinder. A searchable online directory of over 600
service providers, TechFinder helps nonprofits identify providers for their
specific needs. Searchable categories include: Consulting; Databases; Training;
E-Philanthropy and Community Technology. For more information, visit
www.techsoup.org/techfinder
May 2 - 8, 2004
Capturing the Power of Leadership Change: Using Executive Transition Management
to Strengthen Organizational Capacity, published by the Annie E. Casey
Foundation and the Evelyn & Walter Hass Jr. Fund, is the first of a series of
monographs on Executive Transition Management and related topics. This 17-page
report provides a step-by-step overview of the Executive Transition Management (ETM)
process with case examples of the capacity building benefits of the ETM
approach. It’s available online at http://www.transitionguides.com/resources/docs/cappower.pdf
A hard copy can be requested through TransitionGuides (call Melody
Thomas-Scott at (301) 439-6635 or via email at mthomasscott@transitionguides.com)
or from the Annie E. Casey Foundation (call Kiobie Rice at (410) 223-2935 or
send an email to Krice@aecf.org).
To subscribe to Transition Leader, a free newsletter on nonprofit executive
succession and transition, go to:
www.transitionguides.com
April 25 - May 1, 2004
The Charity Channel offers nine free e-newsletters, over 150 email discussion
groups, information on jobs, consultants, products and services of interest to
nonprofit professionals. Go to
charitychannel.com.
April 18 - 24, 2004
This article, as the title might suggest, is an excellent primer for board and
staff leadership on business planning. The author, Zoe Brooks is with the
Bridgespan Group. The article draws on Bridgespan’s experience with nonprofit
clients to highlight some common steps and concerns with nonprofit business
planning. Contents include: What is a business plan? Are we ready for business
planning? How can I create a business plan? How can we use our business plan?
The publication features a four step process for developing a business plan
including a decision tree for assessing growth opportunities of each programs.
Go to:
www.bridgespangroup.orgFor an impressive example of business planning in
the nonprofit sector see the Harlem Children’s Zone business plan. Go to:
www.bridgespangroup.org/BSGweb
April 11 - 17, 2004
The Independent Sector, a national coalition and
leadership forum made up of leading foundations, nonprofit organizations and
Fortune 500 corporations with community involvement programs, offers information
resources including updates on legislation, a publications bookstore, news of
nonprofits in the media, a number of newsletters with interviews and helpful
information on philanthropy, volunteering, not-for-profit initiative and citizen
action. Some publications are available for purchase. There is also an extensive
list of research reports available free. Go to:
www.independentsector.org
April 4 - 10, 2004
The findings of one of the most comprehensive studies to be
conducted of volunteer management in the United States – including a look at
what charities and congregations say would be helpful with their volunteer
management efforts – were released today at a press conference at the Urban
Institute. Conducted by the Urban Institute and supported by the USA Freedom
Corps, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and The UPS
Foundation, the study gives the first clear picture of volunteer management
capacity among a large sample of community organizations in the United States.
It shows that: most charities do indeed utilize volunteers; charities and
congregations greatly value the contributions those volunteers make to improving
services and cutting costs; volunteer management practices have taken root in
these organizations; and many organizations want to take on more volunteers. Go
to:
www.nationalservice.org
Also see a commentary on the study by Susan Ellis, an
expert in volunteer management at
www.energizeinc.com
March 28 - April 3, 2004
A comprehensive alphabetical index of terms commonly used
by the charitable, voluntary sector. The glossary was developed by The Canadian
Centre for Philanthropy, a national charitable organization dedicated to
advancing the role and interests of the voluntary sector for the benefit of
Canadian communities. Go
to:
www.ccp.ca/glossary
Another glossary of key terms can be found at:
nonprofit.about.com/library/glossary
March
21 - 27, 2004
e-Volunteerism is a quarterly online publication, combining the best of a
printed professional journal with the full potential of Internet technology.
Every item in this journal is interactive, inviting you to contribute comments
and additional material. At the end of the quarter, each issue is archived and
indexed -- and continues to be accessible to subscribers at no additional cost.
You can read the journal online, save it to your computer, or print it out on
paper. Go to:
www.energizeinc.com
March 14
- 20, 2004
Gayle L. Gifford’s article “When Businesspeople Join Nonprofit Boards”
appearing in the March 11 issue of the Nonprofit Boards and Governance Review,
offers excellent advice for new board members from the corporate world. Go to:
charitychannel.com
March 7
- 13, 2004
The Harvard Business School
publishes HBS Working Knowledge, a weekly newsletter available at no charge. The
newsletter offers information from the Harvard Business School to help you run
your organization better, announcements of special programs offered by the
School, the latest in management-related books and Web sites, and an ongoing
provocative dialogue with Professor Jim Heskett. Articles specific to nonprofit
organizations are frequently included. If you would like to receive this e-mail
newsletter each Monday, simply submit your e-mail address here:
workingknowledge.hbs.edu.
Once your subscription
begins, be sure to click on "Social Enterprise" in the left column for past
articles on nonprofit topics.
February 29
- March 6, 2004
This article explains the importance of board involvement in fundraising,
describes various aspects of resource development, and suggests appropriate
division of responsibilities between board and staff. Go to
www.mosaica.org
to download a .pdf file. |
