Common Ground
for
Common Good

News, Resources & Advocacy
for Nonprofit Management

• Sector News
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• Workshops & Seminars
• Member Benefit Highlight
• Nonprofit Jobs Statewide

Nonprofit Good Practice Guide Resources for nonprofit and foundation professionals, students, and volunteers.

Tools for Organizations A collection from idealist.org of sites for starting, managing, and funding a nonprofit organization

For more info: WNA Career Center

State Director, Best Buddies Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Executive Director, Middleton Outreach Ministry, Middleton

Mental Health Therapist, FamilyMeans, Hudson

Vice President, Program Administration, Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, Green Bay

Our purpose is to increase the effectiveness, visibility, and credibility of Wisconsin's nonprofits through advocacy, resource sharing, and technical support.
We find common ground for common good to offer a collective voice for nonprofits.

Sponsors and Exhibitors: Yes! We welcome your support. Download info HERE. For information on how you can get involved, contact Mary Riordan (or at 608-772-5962).

U.S. Nonprofits: Top 10 Events of the Decade
We love reading end-of-the-year Top 10 lists.  So, we thought it might be fun and hopefully thought-provoking to publish a Top 10 list of the events of the decade affecting the nonprofit sector.  Please add your additions in the comments.

The State We're In: How Bad is it Out There?
The daily news reports of state government budget impasses, deficits, and cuts hit nonprofits right where it hurts: that is, in their ability to deliver on the programs and services relied on by their constituents and communities across the nation.

Finding “The Bottom Line” in Nonprofit Financials
... One of my favorite recent developments in the nonprofit world is the dramatic increase in donor-interest in how 501(c)3 charities spend the money they raise.  Websites like Charity Navigator and Guide Star have brought nonprofit “financials” to the forefront.  And this is a good thing – a great thing.

New Report on Outsourcing Back-Office Services
The Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation funded the Management Assistance Group [Washington, DC] to assess the back-office needs of Meyer grantees and to identify alternative back-office services that could strengthen operations, relieve pressures on executive directors, and lead to greater efficiencies, particularly in this difficult economy.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye - Overhead is Over
There was a breakthrough [in early December] for nonprofits. In a joint announcement, Guidestar and other major charity “watchdogs” made a very strong case that overhead ratios are meaningless. The phrase used in the opening paragraph says the ratio is “useless for evaluating a charity’s impact.” Read the full release The Worst (and Best) Way to Pick a Charity This Year and then copy it to share far and wide. 

Fake nuns to mules, nonprofits multiply
The number of organizations that can offer their donors a tax break in the name of charity has grown more than 60 percent in the United States, to 1.1 million, in just a decade.

Editorial: Public deserves a window on WIAA decisions
Is the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association a private, voluntary, nonprofit association, or is the WIAA an "unelected, unaccountable organization" that needs to play by the open-government rules imposed on all public school districts?

Local Governments Seek to Raise Revenues through Fees on Nonprofits
The National Council of Nonprofits reported that with revenues depleted, an increasing number of local governments have been trying to tap nonprofits for funds.

Pittsburgh won't tax tuition; nonprofits to donate
Pittsburgh [PA] officials shelved an idea for a first-of-its-kind tax on college tuition after two universities and a nonprofit health insurer agreed on Monday to make large contributions to the city.

Ten things (just ten!) that every nonprofit executive needs to know about information technology

[video] A Simple Time Management Idea to Ease Stress
I tend not to like all this time management stuff. Though a lot of it makes sense, I have a hard time staying with it. So, when Marc Pitman told me what he does to help manage his time, I thought, "I can do this."

10 New Year's Resolutions for Your Board

[podcast, 8.5 min, 2009] Charity Accountability. 20 standards addressing governance and oversight, developed by the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau. Hear why the BBB created these standards and why organizations meeting the standards are encouraged to apply for a BBB national charity seal. From the BoardStar free podcast series "On Being Board," inspiring conversations with nonprofit leaders perfect for introducing a topic for discussion at board meetings.

What Online Donors Want to See on Your Website: How to Improve Your Online Fundraising
Jakob Nielsen, a web page usability expert, has found that bad nonprofit web sites result in fewer online donations. A recent Nielsen study asked participants to choose one of two charities (within the same category) after looking at their websites; and then to donate to the chosen charity, through the charity website, using their own credit cards.

Is Email Old News? Social Networks as the New Communications Channel
When it comes to online communications, social networking is the new kid in town. It’s hip, viral, and has huge communities of people sharing information with each other. And its rise comes as more and more people question email’s effectiveness—are social networks replacing email as a communications channel?

Grant expected to help promote area volunteerism
HandsOn Network and the Corporation for National and Community Service announced a $1 million investment in 17 volunteer connector organizations and statewide organizations that manage volunteers, including state service commissions and associations of volunteer centers. ... The Volunteer Center Association of Wisconsin ... was selected through a competitive grant process and comprehensive review.

Differentiating between Volunteering and Working for Pay
Much of volunteer management today focuses on the similarities of volunteers and employees. As a practical matter, this is appropriate.  But it is also limiting.  It tends to push volunteers into uniformity rather than celebrating their potential to act with far fewer boundaries. Think of what we might accomplish if volunteers had free rein to make the most of what distinguishes them from a paid work force.

See Full Calendar for More

Workshop: Increasing Income, Milwaukee, 1/26, 5:30-7:30p. Increasing and diversifying income ensures more resources to fulfill the mission, in good times and bad. Class participants will gather knowledge and tools to develop a diversified income plan. From BoardStar. For more info/to register.

Webinar: Choosing a Broadcast Email Tool, 2/18, 12-1:30p. In this recording of an online seminar, we walk through what you need to know in order to setup, send, and track emails effectively, and talk about some of the reliable and affordable (even free!) tools most useful for nonprofits. From Idealware. WNA member discount through member link. For more info/to register.

Free Workshop: Intro to Foundation Grants for Non-Profit Organizations, Madison, 2/19, 9-10:45a. An orientation to the free Grants Information Collection housed at the UW-Madison Memorial Library, background on the world of grantmaking, information on how to build a credible nonprofit organization, as well as general grantseeking tips. For more info/to register.

Idealware, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, provides candid product comparisons, recommendations, case studies, and software news that allow nonprofits to make the software decisions that will help them be more effective. (Think "Consumer Reports" for nonprofits.)

Reviews, Articles, and Low-cost Webinars. Idealware provides written reviews, articles, and other resources on their website for free. They also produce quality low-cost webinars - live and recorded for on-demand access. These webinars are based on Idealware's written advice and product comparisons, but offer plenty of extra guidance and insights straight from the authors. You will get the tactical advice you need to make smart software decisions.

Live Webinars: The live 90-minute webinars are capped at 25 participants, so you'll have lots of opportunity to ask questions and get the information you need. All you need is an internet connection and a phone line to participate. Each of these seminars are only $34 per participant for WNA members ($40 for nonmembers). See the current schedule HERE.

On-Demand Recordings: Idealware has a library of 17 (and growing) recorded webinars ready to go, whenever you need them. These recorded seminars are only $17 for WNA members ($20 for nonmembers) and give you the same depth of content you'd expect from Idealware's live webinars. View a full list of recordings.

Member Benefit. WNA members receive a 15% discount on Idealware's live or recorded (on-demand) webinars because of our relationship with the National Council of Nonprofits. Members use our special Members-only registration link to receive the Idealware discount.

Read about other Wisconsin Nonprofits Association Member Benefits here.

Associated Financial Group, Waukesha
Family & Childcare Resources of N.E.W., Green Bay
Fox Valley Literacy Coalition, Appleton
NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, Madison
NewDay Nonprofit Solutions, Eau Claire
Women in Trucking, Plover

See our full Member List here.

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