A Bestseller Becomes Even More Pertinent First published in 2005, this collection of CompassPoint online newsletter articles became instantly popular with busy board members of nonprofits. Now updated with new essays that are short enough to read over a cup of coffee, readers will find essential insights on board responsibilities, executive directors, fundraising, finance, and more. New topics include: eleven ways to get a new executive director off to a good start, a board member’s guide to nonprofit insurance, how to take a public stand, working boards versus governing boards, the right way to resign from the board, the best way to raise money, meaningful board-staff acts of appreciation, and what boards need to know about copyrights.

Bring focus and direction to your work Too often, if you ask four people in a nonprofit what their organization's mission is, you'll get four different answers. Organizations without clearly defined and agreed-to mission and vision statements frequently find themselves adrift at sea, in real financial trouble, and unable to make an ongoing, positive impact on the community. But an effective mission and vision statement can help an organization unify services and create a consistent approach to new program development. Crafting Effective Mission and Vision Statements will help your organization develop (or revise) mission and vision statements that bring focus and direction to your work. With orderly, easy-to-follow steps, this engaging guide helps you: Build ownership for the mission and vision statements among board and staff Create a common understanding of your organization's goals Understand how mission and vision statements differ and how to use both for greatest benefit Develop a mission statement that captures exactly what your organization does Create a vision statement based on stakeholders' ideas and the organization's history, capacity for growth, and fundraising potential Use this guide to create mission and vision statements that help your organization stay focused and keep it moving toward a positive future.

At last! A comprehensive guide to the art, craft, and business of consulting with nonprofits and community groups . . . Nonprofit consulting requires specialized skills and knowledge of how the sector works. This guide gives you the resources and tools to help you provide quality assistance throughout your career: experienced consultants will find it an invaluable reference; new consultants will get oriented to the sector and find step-by-step guidance through the entire process; technical specialists will gain insights into the larger processes that shape nonprofit organizations; for-profit consultants and business sector volunteers will discover how to shift their expertise to match the unique culture of nonprofit and community work; students in public administration, organization development, and nonprofit management will find it a useful guide for fieldwork, service projects, or future career search. With this illustrated guide you get: an overview of the nonprofit sector and unique elements of consulting with nonprofits; the six-stage process of consulting with concrete steps and challenges in each stage; the art of consulting, including roles, dynamics, and ethics; lessons from the field—stories from thirty skilled consultants offering sage advice on common challenges from setting up contracts to cross-cultural consulting to choosing a consulting role that matches the client's needs; when team consulting makes sense; key differences between internal and external consulting; how to run your business; marketing your services; setting fees, estimating costs, and billing; managing your career growth; working with funders; nine worksheets, sample proposals, professional standards, annotated bibliography; and much more!

Let's face it, the collaboration process can be a pain in the neck. The Nimble Collaboration: Fine-Tuning Your Collaboration for Lasting Success, shows collaborations how to become leaner, more responsive, more flexible, and ultimately, more productive. In their bestselling book, Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey, Michael Winer and Karen Ray describe how to form a successful collaboration. In The Nimble Collaboration, Ray guides existing partnerships into the next stage: becoming more effective. Part I presents the ""three Rs"" of nimble collaboration: results that are clearly defined, relationships that are deft, and a structure that is resilient. Readers will learn how to determine, describe, and evaluate the specific results everyone wants to achieve—and keep them at the heart of each step they take. The book shows readers how to build trust, reinforce roles, and avoid turf issues and hidden agendas. Part II walks through real-life applications in two typical collaborations: service integration collaborations, and complex problem-solving collaborations. Detailed case studies demonstrate nimbleness in action and give collaborations concrete problem-solving ideas. Throughout the book are samples, examples, and how-tos based on the author's many years of experience consulting with real people in real collaborations across the United States. A special section explains how to write the various documents that bind partners together on paper, including a memo of agreement and a formal governance agreement. Collaborations that involve government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, community-building groups, nonprofits, law enforcement, education, health, housing, arts, social services, business, foundation—you name it—will find hands-on help for making their collaboration satisfying and productive.

Making sure that your nonprofit is going to be around long-term requires financial leadership. This means creating a financial vision for your organization and planning how you’ll get there. Financial Leadership for Nonprofit Executives gives you the framework, specific language, and processes to lead with confidence. With it, you’ll learn how to protect and grow the assets of your organization and accomplish as much mission as possible with those resources. The good news is you don’t have to be a trained accountant, earn an MBA, or have run a for-profit business in another lifetime. You already have many of the skills it takes to be a financial leader. This useful guide makes the process understandable and doable. You’ll find clear, logical steps to learn how to get accurate financial data—in a format you can understand; use financial data to evaluate your organization’s health; plan around a set of meaningful financial goals; and communicate progress on these goals to your staff, board, and external stakeholders. You’ll also find five foundational financial leadership principles; three overarching questions every financial leader needs to be able to answer (and where to find those answers); two fundamental budgeting principles; and five steps to building a strong annual budget. At the end of each chapter is an evaluation tool. You can rate how your organization is doing relative to the component of financial leadership covered in each chapter. Each attribute is scored as being red, yellow, or green. “Red” items are below standard and require immediate attention; “yellow” items are widely practiced though not generally ideal; and “green” items are considered best practice. Over time, as you and your partners on the board and staff move the organization toward “green” in each of these areas, you will create an environment in which financial leadership can flourish.

Raise more money for your cause! Based on expert advice and insights from a variety of respected industry experts, Nonprofit Fundraising 101 is an essential text for nonprofit professionals, volunteers, activists, and social entrepreneurs who want to leverage best practices to promote their cause. Built upon the success of the best-selling Nonprofit Management 101, this easy to digest book provides practical, comprehensive guidance for nonprofit fundraising around the globe. With tips and tools, expert advice, and real-world insights from almost fifty industry leaders, this robust resource addresses the entire spectrum of fundraising for nonprofits, including: Planning, hiring, and tracking progress Individual donors, major gifts, events, and direct mail Board and volunteer engagement Foundation and government grants Corporate partnerships Online and email fundraising Social media and mobile crowdfunding Earned income and social enterprise Written by and for front line practitioners and geared towards a global audience of emerging and established leaders, this field guide offers step-by-step formulas for success. Nonprofit Fundraising 101 features a foreword by fundraising guru and Soul of Money author Lynne Twist, insights from notable non-profit professionals such as CNN's Van Jones, and an afterword by Kiva.org Co-Founder & President Premal Shah. This book also provides indispensible ideas and diverse case studies ranging from grassroots efforts to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and advice for organizations of all sizes and focus. Chapters are brief and easily digestible, featuring extensive resources for additional learning, concrete best practices, and pitfalls to avoid. Enjoy this must-read manual to learn tried and true ways to raise more money for your cause, nonprofit, or charity.

This practical work has clinical guidelines, and advice on controlling symptoms, as well as showing doctors and carers how to provide physical and psychological comfort. It helps the clinician to develop a scientific approach to managing symptoms.