Thursday, October 25, 2007

Next Steps after the Disaster

On Wednesday morning as the neighborhoods around me were able to return home, I started to feel more safe. I also found out that Dr. Ken Druck, the founder of my organization--The Jenna Druck Foundation was already helping families who had lost their home in the fire (even though his home was threatened too). I have an amazing awe and admiration and for him because of his ability to look beyond his individual crisis and help the community.

As the day went on and more and more areas were allowed back home, I started to function and look beyond the needs of my family and onto helping the community. I feel honored to share with you what Dr. Ken Druck, Founder of the Jenna Druck wrote about how to cope with this disaster. I am taking this to heart and I hope you will too:

Tips for Helping Yourself and Your Kids Cope with The Fires


Tuesday, October 23, 2007

What matters the most in an emergency.

Reporting from San Diego.

I'm in waiting mode. I'd like to think I'm out of the fire danger area being at the north eastern corner of Mira Mesa, however I can't ignore the fact that areas directly north and east of me have been evacuated. Everyone in San Diego is effected in some way by these fires because they are widespread around the county. Schools are closed, the freeways are practically deserted, and most residents who haven't had to evacuate are staying inside due to smoky air.

I've packed my car and I am ready to evacuate if need be. However, I've come to the realization the last thing on my mind right now is my nonprofit and what would happen if the fire reached my nonprofit's office. Thankful my office isn't located near any of the fires, however this natural disaster has been any eye opening experience for me.

I've come to realize that I need to actually practice what I preach and do the actual disaster preparedness steps at my nonprofit . So if both my nonprofit and my family are both effected by this disaster, I won't have to worry or even think about my nonprofit's important files or insurance policy information, and I can focus on what matters the most to me--my family.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Toolkits for Your Nonprofit

Here are some nonprofit management toolkits I created. They include all practical resources and tips I utilize while managing my nonprofit.

Enjoy.

  • Starting a Nonprofit Toolkit: Are you are really passionate about an issue and thinking about starting your own nonprofit--but don’t know where to begin? This toolkit provides a simple overview as well as practical resources for starting your own nonprofit organization.

  • Setting up a Nonprofit Office Toolkit: Are your ready to move away from your cramped space or your founder’s dining room and find a new office for your nonprofit? This toolkit provides resources and steps to guide you during your nonprofit’s office move.

  • Nonprofit Operations Toolkit: This toolkit provides practical steps and resources for established nonprofit organizations to run more effectively. The toolkit is broken into eight key operational areas which are critical to running the day-to-day operations of any nonprofit organization.
I usually sell these on my website, however I don't have enough time to promote them. Please feel free to purchase one if you are feeling generous. All proceeds go to fund my education :).

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Why you should get involved with the Nonprofit Congress

I had a fabulous phone call with the Nonprofit Congress last week. I was asked to serve on the planning committee for the 2008 national meeting of the Nonprofit Congress.

The Nonprofit Congress is the most amazing convener of nonprofit managers to discuss sector wide topics and issues. They are listening to us, we have a say!

Our individual nonprofits are very important, however I would encourage us to look beyond our individual organizational needs and find ways that we can work together as sector.

I attended a Philanthropy conference a couple of weeks ago and the key note speaker spoke about the general public's perception of the nonprofit sector and unfortunately the news isn't good. Polls show the general public thinks negatively about the nonprofit sector. In addition, each year nonprofits are gaining more and more media attention and with this media comes increased public attention of the nonprofit sector as well as increased responsibility on our (the nonprofit managers) shoulders. However, we as a sector are still struggling to find our identity around the leadership crisis/deficit and capacity building issues.

It we able to carve out a little time to participate in important discussions about how we want the future of the nonprofit sector to look like, then we are more likely to see changes occur for the better! I hope!!

The nonprofit congress had a huge convening in 2006 and all the nonprofit leaders (like you and I) came up with the following three priorities to focus on.

1. Public Perception of the Nonprofit Sector
"A priority of the nonprofit sector is to increase public understanding and support so that nonprofits can continue to do their best work."

2. Nonprofit Leadership
"A priority of the nonprofit sector is to ensure that the sector has the resources it needs to serve communities and is effectively and efficiently managed, with an emphasis on effective and strong mission-driven leadership. "

3.
Capacity Building
"A
priority of the nonprofit sector is to ensure that the sector has the resources it needs to serve communities and is effectively and efficiently managed."

Descriptions taken from the nonprofit congress website.

As a fellow nonprofit manager, I encourage you to get involved. I know it sounds corny but our voices do matter. We have the opportunity to be a convener on the local level and also participate and represent our nonprofit communities on the national level. Furthermore, the nonprofit congress is convening working groups for each topic/priority. Furthermore, we have an opportunity to educate presidential candidates about the nonprofit sector and make smart decisions that will help our sector as a whole.

I know if we work together we can change this sector for the better.


Time Management and Some Nonprofit Studies

I was just notified by my fellow Doctoral student that my blog is pathetic. :) Yep, I've become the blogger that I never wanted to be. I am too darn busy.

I am trying to balance school, work, family and still manage to have a social life. Things I am learning about time management.

1. Create a schedule and stick to it.
2. It is ok to say no.
3. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate.
4. Make time for me time.

In addition, since I love nonprofit resources and research I will share about two studies that I learned about this week thanks to all the listservs I subscribe to. These studies I learned about from Philathropy News Digest (PND).

Foundation Leaders Inconsistent in Their Use of Strategy, Study Finds
PND states, "A disconnect exists between what foundation CEOs and program officers believe about the importance of strategy in making decisions and their actual use of it in their daily work, a new study from the Center for Effective Philanthropy finds."

&

Nonprofits Contribute Significantly to Gross Domestic Product, Study Finds
PND states, "The civil society sector contributes as much to the gross domestic product in a wide range of countries as the construction and finance industries, and twice as much as the utilities industry, a new report from Johns Hopkins University finds."