Issue 45
February 15, 2006

NEWSNOTES is a monthly email newsletter published by NEW. 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 560 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

Stop The Madness-Implement Practical Project Management

By Marianne Clauw*

It’s a toss-up as to which situation is worse: a project spinning out of control, with daily crises and no project management, or a project drowning in the traditional project management paperwork. Let’s try for a happy, and effective, compromise by using streamlined, practical project management methods. Projects requiring management include events, capital campaigns, internal process improvements, service programs for our customers, grant development, membership drives, communication enhancements, or any of the myriad other endeavors we embark upon in our nonprofit world.

There is a whole industry devoted to producing and selling large, tool-intensive project management methodologies. Some contain dozens of templates, which address every imaginable type of project situation. Unfortunately, many of these large methodologies and tools never get implemented. The complexity of initial implementation and updating is too great. We become slaves to the methodologies and eventually shelve them. If this has happened to you, do not despair. You are in good company. If, however, you have reacted by dropping all project management methods, you need to pick up a few, and put them back in your daily toolset. Here are a few we particularly like at NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work):

1. Meeting Notes. Yes, the title is boring, but tight, succinct, bullet-pointed results of meeting decisions, including a list of assigned action items, will improve the effectiveness of your meetings and the probability of completed assignments. Schedule time after the meeting to write the notes, and get them distributed quickly. This will demonstrate respect for the time and contributions of meeting participants
2. Action Log. Create a simple spreadsheet with columns for Task Number, Task, Assigned to, Due Date, Status (open, closed, critical), and Notes. We like a spreadsheet which can be sorted by the various categories. Microsoft Project software can create a “work breakdown structure” for those who like official project management terminology. But that level of sophistication may not be necessary and may in fact be intimidating to members of the team. Start by using a simple action log spreadsheet for a few weeks, then see if you need to step up to a more complex planning and tracking mechanism.
3. Risk Plan. Brainstorm potential risks with your team at the beginning of the project, and revisit the plan periodically. Ask the scary question, “What could make this project fail?” Asking at the beginning, and developing pro-active prevention tasks, is much better than reacting to a problem later. Again, a simple spreadsheet format will suffice. Headings might be Risk Number, Risk, Impact (high, medium, low), Probability (high, medium, low), and Mitigating Actions. The ranking of impact and probability helps us focus our limited resources on high impact risks which are highly probable.
4. Scope Definition. OK, this title is a little jargon-y, but hang in there. We don’t have a template because this is highly specialized depending on the type of project. The goal is to visually depict the end product of the project, and get buy-in early from your project constituencies. Allow time to do this and insist on the participation of key stakeholders—don’t just jump in and start building the product. Two key pieces of advice: first, look for previously produced examples of something similar, rather than re-inventing the wheel. (Please honor copyrights and intellectual property rights, though!) Second, use visual depictions rather than long narratives. These may include samples, excerpts, pictures, drawings, or computer-generated models which allow the reviewer to fully understand what will be delivered at the end of the project.

Start with these tools, and see where they take you. They may be all you need, or you might eventually use more sophisticated methods. Think of this like a physical fitness regimen—get off the couch, and start walking. That may be all you need to do, or perhaps you’ll eventually jog a bit, or even run a marathon. The key is to get off the project management couch.

*Marianne Clauw is Director of Board Programs at NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work). Until recently, she was the principal of Project Partners which she founded to provide project management education and mentoring.

Resources:

For more on this topic and to see these tools in action, register for Marianne’s workshop Practical Project Management, Thursday March 23, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at NEW. Register online.

FEATURED ITEMS

Spring has Sprung! NEW Workshop Series

NEW’s Spring 2006 Managing for Nonprofit Excellence workshop series is here! Choose from over 40 learning opportunities taught by experienced professionals to help you strengthen your nonprofit. Encourage staff, volunteers and board members to attend sessions that will sharpen existing skills or develop new ones. See the entire schedule at NEW’s website. Register online to save $5 per workshop. Please contact NEW (734-998-0160) to request a print copy of the catalog

Spring Series Highlight! Governance as Leadership

NEW has invited BoardSource’s senior governance consultant, Michael Daigneault, to teach Governance as Leadership. Learn about the three types of governance and how they will make you and your board members the leaders you were meant to be. This special training is sponsored by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Michigan Nonprofit Association, and NEW. It will be held on Monday, May 22 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Morris Lawrence Building, Washtenaw Community College.

BoardConnect

BoardConnect is a program of NEW that offers nonprofit board training and matching services to help build the leadership skills of nonprofit and community members. Visit BoardConnect’s revamped website to find a training opportunity for yourself or your organization. Use the new drop down features to narrow your search.

Emerging Leaders VII

The Michigan Nonprofit Leadership Institute, a program of the Michigan Nonprofit Association is now accepting applications for its Emerging Leaders program. Applications are due February 24. Emerging Leaders is a six-month professional development program for program level staff with fewer than five years experience in the nonprofit sector. A combined learning approach of ten full-day seminars, targeted readings and homework assignments, and pairing with a professional mentor offers participants an insight into trends, issues, and career opportunities. Class VII runs from April - September 2006. Tuition is $500 for the six-month program and includes all materials. A detailed description and schedule is included in the application.

Not-for-Profit Career Expo

Tuesday, March 14, 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Michigan Union, Ann Arbor

Showcase your organization and employment opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Michigan. The Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning is sponsoring a Not-for-Profit Career Expo to enhance students’ awareness of career options dedicated to issues they are passionate about.

To register your nonprofit for the Expo, visit the Ginsberg Center website. There is a $35 registration fee. Contact the Career Center (734-764-7460) with questions.

Public Policy Forum

Monday, February 27, 10 a.m. – noon
The Lansing Center

“Michigan’s High Wire Balancing Act: State Budget Challenges Continue” is the title of this year’s policy forum, focusing on ’06-‘07 Executive Budget recommendations and state revenue trends. Presenters will focus on implications for this and future budgets and the impact of the structural deficit on the provision of critical services across Michigan. Find more information and a registration form on the Michigan League for Human Services website.

Reduced-Price Membership to SNPO

Throughout the month of February the Society for Nonprofit Organizations (SNPO) is offering over 50% off Individual Membership. For $29 a year, you'll receive:

• A bi-monthly management support magazine (Nonprofit World)
• Monthly e-mail with current grant opportunities (Funding Alert)
• Free job listings
• Searchable archive of articles
• Discounted educational programs

To learn more, please visit SNPO's membership application page.

Indiana University Fund Raising School

The Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) is pleased to sponsor the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy Fund Raising School in Michigan. The IU School teaches the current issues, the art and the strategy of fund raising and philanthropy. You take back knowledge and skills to confidently build your organization's resources in a very competitive environment.

NEW is one of several local hosts for two upcoming classes. Seminars are at Fairlane Center, University of Michigan - Dearborn. Registration includes continental breakfast, lunch and training materials. (DO NOT register for the Michigan seminars on the IUFRS web site.) For more information, contact Mike Corbin (888-242-7075, ext. 2412). Visit MNA’s website to register online. Full course descriptions and information regarding the certificate program can be found on the Fund Rasing School's web page.

Developing Leadership for Major Gifts, April 18, 19, 20
$780 MNA members, $830 not-yet-members.
Course description.
Registration.

Preparing for Successful Grant Proposals, May 31 and June 1
$580 MNA members, $630 not-yet-members
Course description.
Registration.

Precourse readings for these classes can benefit all of us.

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Certificate But Were Afraid to Ask

Have you been wanting to earn a Certificate in Nonprofit Management but haven’t known where to start? Find answers to your questions! Katie Burnham Laverty, executive director of the Society for Nonprofit Organizations, wants to familiarize you with the Learning Institute’s online Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management.

Katie will introduce you to the eight courses and their instructors, explain the course content and CEU credits from Michigan State University, and answer your questions. You can join an in-person session at the NEW Center on March 24 or speak to Katie one-on-one with an introduction via the Web. Contact Dallas Moore (734-998-0160 x228) if you are interested.

Resources for Employers Seeking Employees

Local media sources are an excellent way to get the word out about positions you are looking to fill. The Borders Group Nonprofit Resource Library at the NEW Center has the Finder Binder media directory. You will also want to post openings online. Look in ResourceConnect under the Human Resources for many websites catering to job matching in the nonprofit sector, whether in Michigan or nationwide. Notices of open jobs may be emailed or faxed to Ann Gladwin (fax 734-998-0163) for posting to a binder in the Resource Library.

Reminders

• March 13. Leadership Conference for Women. “Thriving in Our Lives and Work.” East Lansing
• Deadline: March 15 Pfizer Community Grants application.
• Take advantage of reduced-price membership in BoardSource. The offer of $49 for a year is good until March 31.
• May 2 and 3: Michigan Nonprofit SuperConference, Sheraton Detroit Novi.
  

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.