February 2005
(If our newsletter does not appear below, or if it appears as gobbledy-gook, please click here to get the newsletter from the Help 4 NonProfits Website. And please let us know, and we will change your newsletter settings to “text only.”)
Welcome to the Help 4 NonProfits E-newsletter!
It’s already shaping up to be an incredible year here at Help 4 NonProfits & Tribes. And the more things are popping for us, the more we have to share!
1) New Workshop! Comprehensive Organizational Capacity Planning
2) Public Workshop Dates: Rockland County, NY in April
3) New Article: A special Help 4 NonProfits & Tribes feature, “Why I Do What I Do” by Sheelin Prinzinger
4) New Books: Great new stuff at our bookstore
5) Speaker Workbook: Get it as an e-book before it becomes a hard-copy-only workbook!
6) About Us: Our values and core philosophies
7) Sharing this Newsletter
8) Sneak Preview: “But I Don’t Know Any Rich People: 77 Ways Your Board Members Can Happily Support and Sustain Your Organization”
Please read and enjoy, and pass these items along. We know it will help you improve the quality of life in your community. And isn’t that really why we all do the work we do?
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New Workshop!
Comprehensive Organizational Capacity Planning - The Community-Driven Model
(DP: Link to the Capacity Model page)
How often does your board assess your organization’s capacity in each functional area, to ensure the mission can be accomplished to the degree the community needs it to be accomplished?
How often do they consider risk and liability issues in each functional area?
How often do they consider obstacles as just that - things to get around, to get where you want to be?
And do your board members know they are accountable for all that?
The purpose of Capacity Planning is to ensure your organization does have the capacity to do its job, in all areas, not just “most” or “some.” Without that overall plan, it is easy for the organization to get caught in a cycle that rationalizes why they can’t get something done, rather than quickly determining how they can.
Only when you can stop worrying about short term capacity will your organization be free to focus on creating a visionary quality of life for the future of your community. To learn more CLICK (DP this will go to the Capacity Model page)
Capacity Planning Workshop AND Sustainability Workshop
Come to Rockland County, N.Y.
(DP: Link to the Rockland page that will direct them from there)
Hey there, New Yorkers! Mark your calendars for Tuesday and Wednesday, April 5th and 6th. The Help 4 NonProfits team is coming to Rockland County, N.Y. for 2 back-to-back days of Community-Driven workshops.
Community-Driven Capacity Planning workshop, Tuesday, April 5th
CLICK (DP - This will go to Capacity Workshop promo page)
Community-Driven Sustainability workshop, Wednesday, April 6th
CLICK (DP - This will go to Sustainability Workshop promo page)
Please come join us for 2 intensive work days as we introduce you to our Community-Driven model for building sustainable capacity for your organization, all aimed at creating massive improvement to your community’s quality of life.
Bring the Help 4 NonProfits Institute Workshops to Your Community
If you are interested in bringing these workshops to your community, CLICK here (DP: Go to Bring us to your community sign-up page)
New Article:
“Why I Do What I Do” by Sheelin Prinzinger
This is a first for the Help 4 NonProfits & Tribes library - an article written by someone from outside our immediate “Help 4" family. However, once you read this moving essay by Sheelin Prinzinger, you will know why we feel blessed to include her story in our library.
If you are facing burn-out or frustration; if the thought of one more legislative session wreaking havoc on your programs is more than you can bear - read Sheelin’s piece. It has sent us back to work energized repeatedly since she first posted her lament to Charity Channel’s “Charity Talk” discussion group the week before Christmas. We know it will do the same for you.
Many thanks to Sheelin for sharing her story, and for granting us permission to include it at our site.
New Books:
Andy Robinson Strikes Twice!
In the fundraising world, Andy Robinson is known as a straight-shooter with all sorts of practical wisdom, especially for those in small and grassroots organizations. His latest 2 books do not disappoint.
Grassroots Grants: An Activist’s Guide to Grantseeking (Second Edition)
DP: Link to this book
It’s hard to know where to start and stop recommending this book. Andy’s revised edition of his wildly popular guide contains 4 actual proposals, critiqued line by line. And the appendices - there’s a comparative analysis of 8 computer-based grant research services, assembled by Jean Lewis, grants librarian extraordinaire; a whole section on the legalities of nonprofit advocacy, written by John Pomeranz of the Alliance for Justice; a section on strategy for collaborative fundraising; and one on raising money from faith-based sources...
All that while comprehensively guiding organizations through the grant-seeking process, from research through to establishing relationships with funders, through writing and reporting and follow-up. Oh this book is a gem! On top of all that, Andy has made all the exercises and worksheets in the book available on line for free! If grant-seeking is part of your life, you won’t keep this book on a shelf - you will use it till the spine disintegrates from wear.
DP: Link to this book
Big Gifts for Small Groups: A Board Member’s 1-Hour Guide to Securing Gifts of $500 to $5,000
DP: Link to this book
In this tiny book (under 100 pages), Andy has found a way to make a complex subject understandable and immediately usable. Aimed at small nonprofits for whom gifts of $500 to $5,000 are major gifts, this short guide acknowledges you may never have done anything like this before. It will show how to create a prospect list from folks you already know; how to create a gift chart; how to determine where to meet with the prospect. And most importantly, it will show you how to ask for the gift in a way anyone can comfortably do - really! Andy Robinson clearly understands the needs and fears of small organizations, and this book speaks directly and effectively to them. We can be sure you will want one of these books for every member of your board.
DP: Link to this book
Building Support Through Public Speaking: Tips, Tools and Secrets Any Nonprofit Leader Can Master
DP - URL for the Speaker Book Promo Page Right here!!!
In the next month or so, we will be sending to the printer our workbook on generating support through public speaking. That means it will only be available as an e-book for a month or so more, at which time we will be selling it as hard-copy-only. If you’ve been considering purchasing this book as an e-book, the time to do so is now!
We are still overwhelmed by the response to the book. And we are beginning to think that Charity Channel founder and CEO Steve Nill was correct in his review: this may just be the first book to show how to use public speaking to generate support for your organization’s work.
Here’s just one of the many comments we’ve received:
This workbook is pure gold and worth way more than twice what you’ll pay for it. I've probably used it a hundred times this week alone, as my agency has been facing some ‘interesting’ times. I am just grateful I had this book before things got tense for us, as it has helped me craft our message, and then helped me rally all the support we needed. Kathie Driskell Felts, Executive Director, Blooming Prairie Center, Minnesota
Public speaking is one of the most effective (and virtually free) marketing tools for gaining community support. If you’re not already using this tool, or you want to take your organization’s speaking program to the next level, CLICK here to learn more!
DP - URL for the Speaker Book Promo Page Right here, too!!!
About Us: Help 4 NonProfits & Tribes’s Core Philosophies
With so much of our focus centering around helping organizations focus on their core values, we thought it was about time we clearly articulated our own core values! We therefore encourage you to click to read about those values and philosophies, as they are truly the force that drives our work.
DP - http://www.help4nonprofits.com/AboutUsValues.htm
Share this Newsletter With a Friend!
Every month, hundreds of new subscribers sign up for our e-newsletter, most of whom learn about our site from a friend or colleague. Here’s just one comment we received:
I stumbled upon your site while looking for fundraising organizations. I am an MBA and founded a non-profit youth and family services organization in 1995. I am very impressed with the information and its organization on this site. I am going to use several of the ideas from various articles that I have read. Thanks so much for the information, I only wish that I had found this site earlier. Bob McLeod
Because board members so rarely receive information on how to do their job better, please be sure to pass this newsletter along to your board. Or better yet, sign them all up to receive a copy of their own!
Sneak Preview:
Hildy is putting the final touches on the manuscript of her next workbook, aimed at all those board members who hate the fundraising part of the job. It’s called But I Don’t Know Any Rich People: 77 Ways Your Board Members Can Happily Support and Sustain Your Organization. The initial response from those who’ve seen sneak peeks has been exciting, and we hope to have it available for sale by May 1st. We’ll keep you posted!
Thank you, as always, for the work you do to make your communities better places to live. We wish for you all the possibilities life holds.
Hildy and Dimitri
Help 4 NonProfits & Tribes
Community-Driven Institute
http://www.Help4NonProfits.com
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