Issue 38
July 7, 2005

NEWSNOTES is a monthly email newsletter published by Nonprofit Enterprise at Work. It includes items of interest to the nonprofit community in Washtenaw County and the surrounding areas, as well as resources available at NEW. NEWSNOTES is proud to celebrate its fourth year of publication, with delivery to over 500 subscribers every month! We welcome your feedback and suggestions!

NEW would like to recognize the generous support of its Community Partners:

IN THIS ISSUE

LEAD STORY

Success of NEW's Board Connect Program Drives Expansion

Everyone wants a more effective nonprofit board – the problem is figuring out the next steps to make it happen! Here at Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW), we believe finding the right people to serve on your board is crucial – people with professional skills and expertise who have the time and motivation to make a significant contribution to the mission of your organization. To help build your board, we offer our BoardConnect^® program.

BoardConnect provides training to both individual “candidates” interested in finding a board seat and nonprofits seeking new members and then facilitates the matching process. In the past year, we have worked with more than 40 different nonprofits, primarily from Washtenaw County, and facilitated over 60 matches of our trained candidates.

BoardConnect requires training in one of the following modules for candidates and nonprofits, respectively. Visit BoardConnect for training dates and locations:

For Candidates – Serving on a Nonprofit Board
This module addresses the roles and responsibilities of a board member, including board operations, strategic planning, resource development, oversight and ambassadorship. Candidates learn about BoardConnect’s matching services and boardnetUSA, a national online database that connects candidates and nonprofits. After training, individuals receive assistance in finding a board seat for no additional cost.

For Nonprofits – Building Your Board
This module covers important aspects of recruiting new members for a nonprofit’s board of directors, including recruitment planning, identifying and cultivating candidates, and electing new members. Nonprofits also learn about how BoardConnect can help during the recruitment process, including how to use boardnetUSA, to facilitate matches.

After the training (at $55 per person), nonprofit participants can elect to formally join the BoardConnect program in one of three different levels, ranging from an annual fee of $100 to $300. The details are spelled out in this pdf document.

Board Connect Expansion
NEW is pleased to announce the expansion of BoardConnect into Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties! BoardConnect^® SE, a collaboration between NEW and the Detroit Regional Chamber, promises to grow our pool of board candidates significantly. This is an ideal time for nonprofits across southeast Michigan to join BoardConnect and gain access to hundreds of skilled and motivated board candidates!

NEW continues to focus on providing the services you need to help your nonprofit succeed – in this case, building your board with highly productive professionals from your community. We are very excited to expand our BoardConnect services and the pool of candidates available to you, and urge you to take advantage of this popular program. Visit the BoardConnect website for more details, including training dates and locations.

For more information, contact Andrew Steck, Leadership Program Associate, (734-998-0160 x211).

FEATURED ITEMS

Gearing up for Fall Workshops

We are excited about the upcoming Managing for Nonprofit Excellence workshop series starting in September. Volunteer, professional faculty will share their expertise in over 30 sessions, offering your staff, board members and volunteers opportunities to enhance their skills in a wide variety of subjects. See below for information on changes to the scholarship process. The catalog is at the printer as NEWSNOTES goes to “press” – look for it in your mailbox soon. Within the next week, the catalog will also be on the Web with online registration capabilities. Save $5 per workshop by registering online. Are you on our mailing list? Do you know other individuals or groups who would like to receive a print copy of our fall catalog of workshops? Please contact NEW (734-998-0160 x200).

One new offering this fall term is a two-part telecourse with Terry Axelrod entitled "Building Sustainable Funding for Your Nonprofit." Terry is the founder of “Raising More Money”; her fundraising model has a large number of enthusiastic supporters. She will teach remotely from Seattle, while a local moderator at the NEW Center assists with handouts, on-site exercises and a conference phone. Make a note in your calendar for two Wednesdays, October 19 and October 26 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Ms. Axelrod will also be here in person to teach a new workshop called "Reigniting the Passion for Your Mission." This two-hour session will be held at Washtenaw United Way, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Monday, November 14.

Attention! Workshop Scholarship Process has Changed!

Coming this summer: Improvements to NEW’s workshop scholarship process will make life easier for your organization!

• One application per year: A single application will cover the upcoming academic year of workshops (Fall 2005 and Spring 2006).
• Flexible funds: Awards to organizations will consist of “workshop dollars” that can be redeemed at any time to send the appropriate person for training.
• Convenient registration: A simple online form for scholarship holders will allow them to redeem workshop dollars when registering.

Look for a new online application and instructions coming soon to NEW’s website. The scholarship application deadline is Friday, August 19, 2005.

Please be aware that there will be no separate scholarship application process for spring term workshops.

Questions? Contact Dallas Moore, Director of Education, (734-998-0160 x210).

Office Space Available at NEW Center

Is your nonprofit living out of portable filing boxes? Operating from a board member’s basement? Improve your organization’s efficiency by renting office space at the NEW Center. Besides below-market rate rent, your 501(c)(3) will benefit from shared office equipment, conference rooms and a full kitchen.

Contact Lia Stevens (734-998-0160 x203) for more details.

Information Services at NEW

Take a break from your daily routine – treat yourself to a visit to the Borders Group Nonprofit Resource Library at the NEW Center. Use this quiet spot to get in tune with new ideas from the nonprofit sector’s foremost authors. Brush up on your leadership skills. Start your search for a new job. Browse the shelves and the vertical files to find inspiration to start that new project.
See the listing of books recently added to the library collection. Find titles listed under the wide variety of topics in “print resources” at ResourceConnect, most of which are available to borrow for three weeks.

Looking for grant money? Short on time? Let NEW”s Information Services Department use FC Search to find potential funders for you. For an affordable fee you will receive a list, plus full record, of grantmaking institutions that meet your criteria. Contact Ann Gladwin (734-998-0160 x218).

Nonprofit Panel Releases Recommendations

Strengthening Transparency, Governance, Accountability of Charitable Organizations, the final report of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector is available to download. The report, presented to Finance Committee chair Sen. Charles Grassley on June 22, is the result of an extraordinary collaborative effort by government, the nonprofit sector and the general public to strengthen the stewardship of the sector. The Panel, including Sam Singh, President of the Michigan Nonprofit Association, consolidated input from public sessions around the country into 120 recommended actions to be taken by Congress, the Internal Revenue Service, and charitable organizations to improve transparency and governance.

The report is a hefty 116 pages (740kb), but the five-page executive summary lays out the suggested changes that would maintain the balance between adequate oversight and organizational independence. The panel’s report emphasizes that to serve their missions effectively, members of the nonprofit sector must demonstrate that they are ethical, responsible stewards of Americans’ generosity. The focus on ethical conduct already has produced substantial changes, as organizations have examined and revised their existing policies and standards. [The report is available to borrow from the Borders Group Nonprofit Resource Library.]

The Panel is encouraging charitable organizations to sign on to the report as a way to demonstrate to the public their commitment to the highest standards of ethical operation. Use the online form to add your organization to the list of endorsers.

Tech Security Day July 29

Do you handle confidential data such as client and donor information? Do you communicate externally with others through the Internet or email? Do you feel that your staff could use more knowledge to help protect your data and computer systems? If you can answer “yes” to any combination of these questions, then you will want to participate in Tech Security Day, Friday, July 29, hosted by NPower Michigan and Focus Hope.

This special day of service is designed to provide nonprofits in the metro Detroit area with the know-how to protect their systems from security breaches. NPower volunteers will also install Zone Alarm -- firewall software that will protect computers from hackers and other threats.

Get more information and register online at the NPower website. Contact Wendy Ernzen (313-237-8153) if you have questions.

Nonprofit Day September 21

The Michigan nonprofit sector is headed toward significant changes influenced by the economy and enhanced scrutiny by government, media and the public. Save the date for the annual Nonprofit Day in Lansing on September 21 to gain insight into the implications for the sector’s future. Deborah S. Hechinger president and CEO of BoardSource, will present this year’s keynote address. Registration will be available on the MNA site soon.

Michigan Nonprofit Compensation and Benefit Survey

All nonprofit executive directors with staff are encourage to plan now to participate in the 2006 Survey that compiles data on salaries, wages and benefits across the nonprofit sector in Michigan. Only those returning a questionnaire or responding with data online will receive a free electronic report. Look for further information to be mailed this summer. To learn more, visit the website of the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.

MNA sponsors Indiana University Fundraising School

The well respected Fundraising School is offering three different classes this fall on the University of Michigan campus in Dearborn. Fees include continental breakfast, lunch and all training materials. Classes run from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. daily.

Planned Giving: Getting the Proper Start, September 27 - 29, 2005
Preparing Successful Grant Proposals, October 18 and 19, 2005
Building the Annual Fund, November 9 and 10, 2005

Find course descriptions on the Michigan Nonprofit Association website.

Women's Expo This Fall

The Ann Arbor News is sponsoring “HEAD to TOE,” a Women’s Expo coming this October 21 and 22 to the EMU Convocation Center. This expo is an exciting opportunity for any business or organization that offers products and services to women to reach the group with the largest purchasing power in the Washtenaw County area – women!

This powerful 2-day event will offer a variety of experiences:

• Pre-holiday shopping from many area retailers
• Service information from health and financial experts
• Mini-workshops and demonstrations

Benefits to your organization:

• Inclusion in Women’s Expo insert in the paper of Sunday, October 16
• Offer of an ad in the section that will reach more than 160,000 readers
• Extensive pre-event promotions
• Discounted rates and sponsorships for nonprofit organizations

Contact Norma Chase (734-994-6710) to find out how to get involved.

REGULAR FEATURES

Nonprofit Bulletin Board

Visit NEW's Nonprofit Bulletin Board to post and view notices about free resources, fundraising opportunities, and other items relevant to the southeast Michigan nonprofit community.

Events Calendar

Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau calendar of events. E-mail Nick Miller to request a password to submit an event.