Issue 5
August 15, 2002

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. Feel free to share NEWSNOTES with friends and colleagues -- encourage them to sign up for their own subscription.

NEW would like to recognize the generous support of its partners:

IN THIS ISSUE

LEAD STORY

Leadership: Essential for Nonprofit Excellence

"The nonprofit sector is being challenged as never before to prove its stewardship, effectiveness, and efficiency." Paul Light, Pathways to Nonprofit Excellence, 2002

Light's report, based on a Brookings Institution survey of 250 nonprofit leaders, concludes that nonprofits can achieve high performance through investments in structures, systems, training, and leadership. Those surveyed agreed that there is no one best way to achieve high performance, but that without strong leadership, the structure of any organization can not sustain itself.

High-performance organizations tend to have leaders who

• Focus on mission
• Build relationships
• Motivate people
• Manage
• Communicate

A high-performing organization is likely to be one with "a participatory, democratic leadership that draws upon strengths inside and outside the organization." (Light, p.69)

There is ongoing debate on how to define leadership - part art, part science - but most agree that leadership skills can be acquired. Browse below for support available for nonprofit leaders:

• Managing for Nonprofit Excellence Workshop Series

  Workshops offered by Nonprofit Enterprise at Work provide training in all aspects of nonprofit management issues. You must act quickly for a chance at a workshop scholarship. The deadline for applications is August 21.

  Some workshop highlights:

• Program Evaluation, Sept. 26
• Managing the Small Nonprofit, Oct. 1
• Taming the Wild Budget, Oct. 2
• Coaching for Growth, Oct. 3
• Basics of Management, Oct. 4
• The Board President, Oct. 10
• Managing with Zing! Oct. 17
• Strategic Self-Assessment, Oct. 29
• How to be a High-Performing Board, Nov. 5
• Management Excellence, Nov. 8
• The Leader's New Work, Nov. 15
• Leadership Resolutions, Dec. 4

See all the workshop offerings online. Call 734-998-0160 for a paper copy of the catalog.

• Leadership2Go Executive Director Series

  Thomas Wolf in Managing a Nonprofit Organization in the Twenty-First Century notices a trend that nonprofit leaders are ill prepared for taking on an executive role. The unfortunate consequence is burnout, which eventually results in the loss of outstanding leaders to other fields or positions. The issue of executive burnout will be addressed at NEW's first Leadership2Go session of the season. Burning Out or Burning Bright? is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13, 8:30- 10:30 at the Ann Arbor Art Center, 117 West Liberty St., Ann Arbor. The $10 fee includes continental breakfast and the opportunity to hear a panel of veteran directors.

• Board Programs at NEW

  NEW's Board Programs provide an opportunity to learn about the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit board members through onsite board training and Board Builders, a program that helps nonprofits find trained, motivated and diverse candidates for board positions. Contact Liz S. Peintner (734-998-0160) for more information on either program.

• Resources available at the Nonprofit Reference Library
  • Board Leadership
  • Nonprofit Management
  • Visit the library, Room 103, at the NEW Center
    
    
• Web sites
  • Nonprofit Support Organizations
  • Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management
  • Carter McNamara's Free Management Library:
    • Overview of Leadership in Organizations
    • Leadership Development
    • Introduction to Management
    • Management Development
      
      
• Emerging Leaders

  The Michigan Nonprofit Association launched its Emerging Leaders program in the Spring of 2002. Professionals with less than five years of experience in the nonprofit sector focus on building their leadership skills and capacity for nonprofit management. They meet once a month for six months for professional development seminars and work with professional mentors. A second "term" is planned for Spring of 2003. Interested individuals should email Robin Lynn Schultheiss to get on the mailing list for an application packet to be distributed in the fall.

• Salary Survey

  The 2002 Michigan Nonprofit Compensation & Benefit Survey will be available soon. It provides salary information for 40 nonprofit positions, and gives information needed to keep your organization's compensation at a competitive level. Call Jan Harper (888-242-7075) at the Michigan Nonprofit Association to preorder a copy for $35. A free workshop presenting the survey findings will be held at the NEW Center on November 6.
  

FEATURED ITEMS

Capacity Summit2

Mission & Management: Hand-in-Hand, Tuesday, August 27, 8 am - 11:30 am
Guild Hall, McKenny Union Eastern Michigan University.

The purpose of Summit2 is to revisit ideas gathered at the Crossing the Boundaries summit held in May 2001, provide an update on progress, prioritize remaining action items and identify new ones for an upcoming Funders Forum. At the first summit, participants reviewed six areas of management capacity building (governance, external relations, financial management, technology, human resources and programs) and identified specific ideas for actions and programs that could raise nonprofit organizational performance.

All are welcome. The summit is free, but you must register. Please RSVP to the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation by Tuesday, August 20, 734-663-0401 or mreeves@aaacf.org.

Sponsored by Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw United Way.

Managing for Nonprofit Excellence Workshops

Fall Workshops: It's time to start making choices among the many workshops offered this fall. Staff, board members, and volunteers can choose from over 50 topics in nonprofit management, taught by experienced professionals. Ten free workshops are available as well. See all the offerings online. Register at least one week in advance through our secure Web site or by phone at 734-998-0160.

Washtenaw County nonprofits are welcome to apply for workshop scholarships, but time is quickly running out. Applications must be received by 5 pm, Wednesday August 21. For more information, visit NEW's web site or call 734-998-0160. Awards are funded by the City of Ann Arbor, the Junior League of Ann Arbor, and Washtenaw County.

NEW Co-Hosting Nationally Recognized Fundraising Course --registration
deadline extended to August 30: Indiana University's Course 101: Principles and Techniques of Fundraising will be held September 9-13 at the Laurel Manor in Livonia. This intensive five-day, A through Z training is IU's definitive program for fundraisers. The class is sponsored by Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, and co-hosted by Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW) and the Accounting Aid Society of Detroit.

The registration fee for members of MNA is $775; cost to non-members is $825. (IU published tuition is $895.) More information and a registration form can be found at the MNA Web site. QUESTIONS? Call MNA at 517-492-2400 or 888-242-7075, or email rlschult@mnaonline.org.

Another session of Course 101 will be offered November 18-22 at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership in Grand Rapids. For more information on that session, contact the Johnson Center at www.gvsu.edu/philanthropy or call (616) 336-7585.

Arts Minigrant Program

Minigrant Application Deadline October 1, 2002: The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA) offers minigrants of up to $4,000 to Michigan nonprofit organizations to conduct locally developed, high-quality arts and cultural projects that increase public access to arts and culture. NEW administers this program for Washtenaw, Livingston and Monroe counties. The upcoming application deadline of **October 1, 2002** is for projects whose START AND END DATES are between February 1, 2003 and September 30, 2003.

NEW will host free grant assistance workshops in Washtenaw, Livingston and Monroe counties to provide an overview of the MCACA minigrant program, the review process, and successful grantwriting approaches. Interested participants need only attend one workshop in the location of their choice.

Register online or call 734-998-0160. You can also download the minigrant application and guidelines from the NEW Web site. Please note that applicants in other counties may visit MCACA's website to locate the regranting agency in their region. For more information contact Daran Smith (734-998-0160).

Leadership2Go: An Executive Director Exclusive!

Leadership2Go's 2002-2003 series will kick off with Burning Bright or Burning Out?, a chance to learn from three of our area's veteran execs about key strategies to tackle burnout. Friday, September 13, 8:30 - 10:30 am at the Ann Arbor Art Center, 117 West Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor. For more information and to register visit the Web or call 734-998-0160. Look for more events next spring, when executive directors will move Inside Out from the personal to the global.

Nonprofit Reference Library

Looking for a new job opportunity? A job posting book is available for your perusal in the library at the NEW Center. You can pick up a list of Web sites with nonprofit offerings as well. See our online bookstore for titles on nonprofit sector careers. These same titles are on the shelves of the library; they may be borrowed for up to three weeks. Contact Ann Gladwin (734-998-0160) with questions.

Technology

NEW has formed a collaborative partnership with Michigan Comnet (a Detroit-based joint effort between United Way Community Services and the University of Michigan School of Social Work) to create an online system to match technology volunteers with technology-related nonprofit projects throughout southeast Michigan. This system will go online in the fall, and its success will depend on the participation of area nonprofits. If your organization has a technology need that could be addressed by a qualified technical volunteer, please contact Neel Hajra (734-998-0160) to add a potential project to the system.

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.

Nonprofit Calendar of Events

Visit the Ring!Michigan Calendar to find and post upcoming nonprofit events. Just select a county below and GO!