All posts in Organizational Development

Here is a listing of some of the technical assistance providers available in the Bay Area. The majority of these providers are familiar and comfortable with working in communities of color. Please note that we’re providing this list as a service, and please choose providers carefully in order to guarantee the best match for your organization and needs.

Areas of Assistance

• Comprehensive Technical Assistance
• Fiscal Sponsorship
• Fund Development
• Public Relations & Communications
• Strategic Planning & Strategy Development

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Originally developed by Kim Klein, one of the nation’s best known and loved fundraising trainers, Show Me the Money: Nonprofits Talking Taxes workshops are now being offered to nonprofits throughout the state through CompassPoint and the Building Movement Project , with generous support from several foundations. This collaboration is now bringing you two FREE opportunities to talk about the common good with internationally-known fundraising consultant Kim Klein! All are welcome, whether or not you have participated in Nonprofits Talking Taxes before.

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Here’s an interesting article sent by our friends at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (who just celebrated their 35th anniversary with a bouyant reception at the Kapor Center). In the NCRP’s latest quarterly journal, Jan Masaoka, a Bay Area doyenne of nonprofit organizational management, offers suggestions for addressing the foundation/nonprofit power differential head-on. Save the occasional snarky wise crack, this is a necessary critique of a troublesome dynamic that lingers in the nonprofit/philanthropic sector.

While we at the Kapor Foundation we do recognize that our relationships with nonprofit grantseekers is “driven by institutional interests and fundamentally about money,” we nevertheless do try to speak sincerely about partnerships – to the degree they’re possible given the presence of financial resources as a “spoiler” of sorts.

And contrary to Masaoka’s last bullet-pointed piece of advice to nonprofits, some of us hate fawning and can smell it coming. Really. Just say no.

Read on.

What Works! is the Mitchell Kapor Foundation’s annual convening that highlights successful approaches used by our grant partner organizations and provides a forum for practitioners to network and strategize.

This year’s convening focuses on the College Bound Brotherhood.  What Works! participants will learn from selected youth-serving practitioners and local educators about effective college-readiness strategies for young black men.  Presentations will be conducted by leaders from current College Bound Brotherhood grant recipients.

CONVENING OUTLINE
(a final agenda will be posted by October 10)

8:00am – Check-in & Continental Breakfast
9:00am – Opening Plenary, Welcome and Purpose, Introductions
9:30am – College Bound Brotherhood Overview
10:00am – Benefits of Corporate Sponsorship
11:00am – Recruiting and Retaining African American Males
12:00pm – Lunch (provided)
1:00pm – Parental Involvement
2:00pm – Striking a Balance between Academic Programs and Sports
3:00pm – Fundraising and Establishing a Network
4:00pm – Closing

There is a small registration fee of $20, paid online or at the door (cash only).

The David Brower Center is easily accessible from the Downtown Berkeley BART.  Parking is available at the Oxford Garage just below the David Brower Center. Enter on 2161 Kittredge St. between Shattuck and Oxford.

Click here to register!

Kapor Foundation Key Partner organizations are eligible to receive up to 30-35 hours of communication help with particular types of projects from our internal communications team.  Details about the types of support they provide and a link to the online application can be found HERE on our website.  You can also see examples of some of the KEI Creative team’s work HERE on their site.

We accept technical assistance requests twice a year with the last deadline for this year on August 15, 2011.  We will only be able to work on a handful of projects, and the deadline is fast approaching.  So, if you have been considering using this service, please give the Director of Assistance & Advising a call as soon as possible so that you can get your request in before the deadline.  This is a competitive process, and projects will be selected based on the timeline of your project and the availability of our Creative team.

Image source: RenWeb blog site

In a bit of cross-purposing (and at the risk of shamefaced self-referencing), check out the opening column for the summer edition of Northern California Grantmakers’ newsletter, the theme of which is Coming Into Your Own. For each newsletter, the wonderful folks at NCG ask a member to write a welcome message, and I had the honor this past month.

On a related note, I feel that the Kapor Foundation is coming into its own in understanding how we want to contribute to larger movements for social justice and equality. Stay tuned for more on that tip later this month (hopefully…).

Check out these two free webinars — part of the NonprofitWebinars.com Wednesday Webinar series for nonprofit staff and board development.

Webinar 1: If You Evaluate It, They Will Fund: Program Evaluation Essentials

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PT

Description:
Program evaluation is a component of program design and implementation that is often considered after the program is in place and serving a population. Designing a program with measurable goals in mind creates stronger programming, gives grant proposals a competitive edge, and provides an agency with useful feedback to help achieve its mission. Most importantly, program evaluation allows for program tweaking to deliver the best service possible to the client.

Webinar 2: Where’s the Return on Engagement? Measuring Social Media ROE

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM PT

Description:
The days of not being able to measure the return on investment of social media are over. We have the tools, strategies and dashboards to measure social media ROI; the key is integrating ROI into your social media strategy. In this workshop, we’ll explore ways to identify your ROI, measure it, and use that information to improve your programs and social media implementation.

To register for these webinars or to see the full schedule of upcoming webinars, please click here.

image source: glutenfreeville.com

Rockwood’s FELLOWSHIP FOR CALIFORNIA LEADERS OF COLOR is a multi-session leadership program for nonprofit leaders of color committed to:

1. Creating and sustaining compelling visions for their organizations
2. Inspiring and aligning others to work effectively towards common goals
3. Dealing more effectively with leadership and organizational challenges
4. Engaging with a powerful learning community of leaders of color throughout the state.

Over the course of nine months, the Fellowship is designed to teach powerful visioning, listening, speaking, presentation, coaching, team-building and feedback skills to emerging and established leaders of color working in California’s social change organizations.

FELLOWSHIP PARTICIPANT CRITERIA

Rockwood’s optimal criteria for enrollment in the Fellowship include a cohort of leaders who:

1. Are positioned in the state of California to help demonstrate new and better ways to lead and work together
2. Demonstrate personal/professional readiness to learn new leadership skills – including coaching, feedback, communication, and personal sustainability.
3. Manage and lead small to mid sized organizations (under $2 million budget)
4. Interest in and ability to partner with organizations outside their region in California
5. Are based in the following counties:  Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Tulare

COSTS

With the support of the Community Leadership Project, Rockwood will cover the majority of fees and room and board costs. Each participant is asked to contribute $500 for their participation in the program.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

The nomination phase for the 2011-2012 Fellowship for California Leaders of Color is now open. If you would like to nominate a leader, please email Vanessa Camarena-Arredondo at vanessaATrockwoodleadershipDOTorg. In your email, please include the name, organization, email address and a brief description of why you are nominating this person. The deadline for nomination submissions is May 5th at 5pm PST.

For more information, click HERE.
Image source: Rockwood website