Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Executive Transition – When Is It Time to Leave?

In an entry this past Spring, I posed the question of some nonprofit leaders delaying retirement due to the economic crisis. In my mind, being the Executive Director of a smaller nonprofit is one of the toughest jobs there is. Whether you are 30 years old or 70 years old, these questions might provide some good reflection on your work. This one page list can help you identify both personal and organizational preparation to make your eventual departure a more positive experience for everyone. >>Read more.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Seeking Nonprofits to Partner with Public Allies in Indianapolis

Public Allies' mission is to advance new leadership
to strengthen communities, non-profits and civic participation

The Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center (INRC) will receive a $373,453 AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to partially fund a total of 30 AmeriCorps ‘Public Allies’ members who will support Indianapolis not-for-profits.

Currently, there are Public Allies efforts in 15 communities across the country. Members serve nonprofit organizations working in a variety of fields: 30% youth development, 26% education, 20% community and/or economic development, 4% housing, 4% environmental projects, and 11% other human needs.

Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program, has a comprehensive program model that blends community service, nonprofit capacity building, civic engagement and leadership development with best practice evaluation processes. As a program of INRC, Public Allies will tap into a premier pipeline for developing diverse young nonprofit and community leaders in Indianapolis to connect across cultures, facilitate collaborative action, and recognize the assets of communities. Public Allies Indianapolis apprenticeship placements will begin in October 2009 and applications to become a Public Allies Indianapolis Partner Organization are currently being accepted. A financial investment is required of Partner nonprofits.

The deadline for Partner Organization Applications is Friday, July 31, 2009. To learn more about Public Allies Indianapolis, go to www.inrc.org or contact Marc McAleavey at INRC at 317-920-0330, ext. 104 or by email at Apply-IN@publicallies.org.

20 Emergency Funding Ideas

We know we can always count on the professionals at Fieldstone Alliance in Minneapolis for great resources. Toward that end, consultants Tom Triplett and Alexis Cress developed the following list of 20 emergency funding ideas. These are revenue sources that can be accessed quickly—usually within 30 days. Not all of these sources are available to all nonprofits, and some of them carry great risk. Nonetheless, we hope you find the list useful and thought-provoking. They urge you to combine ideas for a comprehensive response. Funding sources like to know that they're not the only avenue you're pursuing.

For example, you may want to put together a quick-hit fundraising initiative with a re-pricing of your services.

The strategies are broken into five categories:

1) Cash Flow Management
2) Contributed Income
3) Earned Income
4) Debt Financing
5) Existing Assets

Read the entire article.