Help 4 NonProfits
& Tribes
Community-Driventm
Institute
e-Newsletter
Building Community-Driven Organizations
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 November
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.”)
Hello!
We’re not sure what it is about
autumn, but every year, things go crazy work-wise in the fall. This year, that
is coupled with our own internal developments - writing new articles,
developing new classes, publishing new books...
Rather than pack this newsletter so
full you can’t read it all, we have made the decision to split some of our
news into smaller chunks. So look for another couple of newsletters in between
our normal run, till the end of the year. Hopefully by January we will be back
to normal - although at the rate things are happening around here, we may just
have even MORE stuff for you by then!
Here’s what you will find in this
newsletter:
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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? |
Board Diversity: A Bigger Issue Than You
Think
Is your board concerned about Board Diversity? Are you
having trouble finding Board Members from different backgrounds? From different
age groups? Different religions?
If Board
Diversity is an issue for your board, our latest article will help guide you.
But be
prepared. As with many things here at our Community-Driven Institute, the issue
of Board Diversity goes deeper than you might think...
 CLICK
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Monitoring: The Heart of Board Accountability and
Effectiveness
CLICK
Your
board is accountable for everything that goes on at your organization.
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How can the board keep track of it all?
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How can you be sure things are not falling through the
cracks?
The
answer: Monitoring
It seems
even the best boards do not monitor well. As we searched to find tools to help
with monitoring, we learned there are not many tools to do the
job.
So we recorded a class to give your
board practical tools to make monitoring a seamless part of their work.
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Monitoring at the Board Table (and the critical role of the Board
Secretary)
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Monitoring / Evaluating the Executive Director
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Monitoring and Board Committees
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Monitoring the Performance of Individual Board Members
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Monitoring without Micromanaging
This 90 minute recorded class will give your board a
crate-full of tools to immediately become more proactive - more consciously
accountable.
For a more effective, more actively
accountable board,
CLICK to
learn more - and to listen to a sample from the class!
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A Personal
Story with Lessons for Founders Everywhere
Many of our
readers know that we are not only the force behind Help 4 NonProfits &
Tribes, but that we also founded 2 nonprofit organizations addressing the needs
of vulnerable populations of all ages - the Diaper Banks in both Tucson and
Phoenix, Arizona.
Since our last newsletter, we have wept the tears of a
parting parent, attending our last Diaper Bank board meeting, as we retired
from the board of directors of the Southern Arizona Community Diaper Bank in
Tucson. (We retired from the Phoenix board a year or so ago).
For those who have watched our journey since that 1st
Diaper Drive back in 1994, we wanted to share how that story ends (or at least
changes - does anything ever end when you are a parent?).
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And many of you have been interested in what we have
learned about Founders Syndrome, having built and then left not one, but 2
amazing organizations. If that is you, read on:
We have often said that starting the Diaper Banks made
us far more knowledgeable and far more humble as consultants. We have known the
fear of trying to meet payroll and trying to do a million things at once. But
we also know what it's like to let go, and know intimately the things that
stand in the way of that.
So first, we wanted to share with you the article our
local paper wrote about our departure. One interesting point is that this
article appeared NOT in the Lifestyle section, but in the Business section. The
opening line of that story reads:
"Business owners often say the
sure sign of success is leaving the firm in the hands of others and moving on.
By that measure, the Southern Arizona Community Diaper Bank is a barn
burner...." For the full article
CLICK
We have also updated both the article about Founders
Syndrome and the resource page for that article. The article is called
“Founder’s Syndrome? Who Me?”
CLICK
The resource page for the article is
here.
CLICK
The Diaper Banks will always be our
children, and we will always enjoy pitching in to help however we can. But
knowing our “kids” are fully grown and able to stand on their own
feet - well that is a legacy we are really proud of. |
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| Special for Tucson
Subscribers
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November
18th Workshop re: Workplace Diversity
Those subscribers lucky enough to live in Tucson,
Arizona are in for a treat. Diane Katz, renowned Human Resource specialist, has
started doing workshops on some incredible topics. And because of our focus on
Board Diversity this month, we thought we would let folks know about her
upcoming workshop on Staff Diversity.
If your organization has a
diverse workforce; if your managers need to relate to a diverse group of
constituents - Diane’s full-day workshop is called, “Boxes with
Doors: Understanding and Appreciating Differences.” The workshop is on
Friday, November 18th, from 8:30 - 4:30 (lunch and snacks provided)
at the gorgeous Hacienda del Sol resort. In addition to sharing Dianes energy
and knowledge, all participants also get a 60 page
manual!
For more info, please
contact Diane directly at The Working Circle,
520-544-0687 |
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| How Do You Use Our Stuff?
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Looking for Stories (And Offering a
Reward!)
In our July newsletter, we asked you to share stories
of how you have used our stuff, so we can add your stories when we start
re-tooling our website next year. After reading some of those stories, we are
hooked! So we wanted to invite you again to tell us “How do you use our
stuff?”
Have you used our Life List Generator? Do you
have a story you can share? Perhaps a before and after? Did our Magic
Matrix help guide your organization to more effective fundraising?
Or how about our Board Recruitment Workbook, or
our Speaker Workbook? What about our articles and tips? Our workshops,
both live and recorded - how have you used what weve provided? How have those
tools worked for you? What happened? Tell us a story!
As we rework our website next year, focusing entirely
on our Community-Driven approach, we would love to add your stories. And if we
wind up using your story, we will send you a gift certificate, good towards
purchasing our “stuff”!
So tell us - how do you use what you have received from
Help 4 NonProfits & Tribes?
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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 one of our
favorite comments this month:
I just found your website
today - THANK YOU! The resources are terrific - I know I'll be coming back
again and again!
L. Tanz, Imperial, Missouri,
USA
And
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!
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Great Stuff On the Way!
As we said, things are rockin’ and rollin’
here, and we are looking forward to getting great stuff out to you in the next
weeks!
Later this month, Julie Condy, a subscriber from the
children’s theater group Stage-to-Stage in New Orleans, will give us an
inside glimpse into the New Orleans her family has loved for generations, and
what is happening there now. We are excited to share Julie’s stories with
you, as the New Orleans she remembers will never be the
same.
Our FriendRaising book will finally be available; we
will have more classes to announce; and we are cooking up some extra holiday
goodies, as folks around the world prepare for the touch of madness that comes
with the end of the year. Our newsletter will add one or two additional
editions in the months remaining in 2005, so stick
around!
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| 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. |
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