February 2012
In this issue:

News You Can Use
Upcoming Trainings
Bulletin Board
Success Story

Like Us

Dear Friend of NEW,
Our coverage of social enterprise continues this month with our lead story, and the answer is "Yes!" Our Get Connected program on January 26 was an inspirational, energizing discussion with two women who have taken the leap and succeeded. Learn more about Lisa Johanon's development of a cafe, a produce market on wheels, a landscaping business and a resale warehouse. These programs of the Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation created much-needed jobs and services for under served neighborhoods. Delphia Simmons started Thrive Detroit Street Newspaper to provide a platform for community news and to give the homeless a lifeline for supporting themselves. Consultant Stephen Nose worked closely with CDCCDC and is ready to help you think about the future.

IT support, board development, information resources, office/meeting space. What can NEW do for you? Call 734-998-0160 or 313-887-7788.

NEW's BoardRoom. Subscribe for just $25 and have access to downloadable templates, checklists, policies, etc. all year! A veritable goldmine!

Board360TM A valuable tool for boards to assess their structure and impact. Fee based on annual budget. Check it out!

Foundation Directory Online. Schedule an appointment to use this value tool to find potential funders. Call 734-998-0160 or 313-887-7788.

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Can Nonprofits Do Good and Make Money? 
by Yodit Mesfin Johnson, Director of Business Development, NEW

Regarding social enterprise, consultant Stephen Nose wrote in his NEW blog post: "Nonprofits aren't in the business of taking risks. Sure, they face risks all the time, but seldom do they choose risk.  Typically, they're in the mode of "business as usual," endeavoring to be ever more efficient and effective in their work and finding funding to support it.  Starting a for-profit venture takes determination, courage, and the commitment to step into the unknown.  It requires being willing to let the market decide if the for-profit enterprise will succeed or fail."

So, assuming that you’ve decided to move in this direction (or perhaps you already have a “selling culture” within your organization),  we’d like to share some of our own experience as an evolving social enterprise here at NEW. Specifically, I wanted to share some of the nitty-gritty of engaging stakeholders and building sales infrastructure as well as tools we’ve used to build capacity in our selling process.

Plan ...
It was a little over a year ago that NEW’s Board of Directors “blessed” the formation of my position, Director of Business Development. It was about six years before that when, as part of our strategic planning process, the enterprise model was solidified. Like so many other nonprofits at the time, we had a funding portfolio that relied almost exclusively on contributed revenue (grants)---with the accompanying trepidation about its sustainability. We often joke that capacity building isn’t “sexy” from a funding perspective. So in order to contnue our service to the nonprofit community, the development of an earned income model was imperative. NEW’s leadership was laser focused on getting us there. The need for capacity building services in the region---in our case board leadership and IT support services---increased our confidence that this was the right direction for us at the right time, especially considering the financial downturn.

If you've seen one nonprofit ...
NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work) owns the NEW Center in Ann Arbor and has earned rent from the 20 nonprofit tenants we house in our “incubator” facility. So technically, we’ve always had some earned revenue. However, the breadth of our capacity building work, at the time, was not fee-based. We were not, for all intents and purposes, a money-making enterprise.

Diana Kern, VP of Programs and Director of the BoardConnect program at NEW, often says, “if you’ve seen one nonprofit board, you’ve seen ONE nonprofit board.” In other words, none of us operate exactly the same. That’s important to note, because as you think about your organization evolving into a more revenue-generating entity, it’s important to scale that to meet your unique organizational culture. Here’s an example: during that early strategic planning I mentioned, our leadership decided it would be important to recruit new hires that had, among other skills, business and entreprenuerial experience. Honestly, that’s likely the only reason someone like me with novice experience in the sector got hired. But we’ll keep that between us. We needed to balance the skills within our team to meet our emerging business model.

Lessons along the way ...   read entire article

News You Can Use

IDEA: Detroit Conference: Detroit the Next Big Thing
Wednesday, March 7, 8am-5pm
Fox Theatre, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit
Cost: $99 for Crains subscribers

Provocative thinking, shared experiences and inspired, workable business ideas are the earmarks of The IDEA Conference, a collaboration of Advertising Age and Crain's Detroit Business. The conference brings together business leaders from around the country as well as local entrepreneurs from Detroit, including those in the nonprofit sector. Learn more and register.

Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Grants

Nonprofits in Washtenaw County are invited to apply for The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation Spring Grants Cycle. Up to $215,000 will be distributed in competitive grants through several programs.  Learn more about the process, priorities and eligibility. The application deadline is Friday, March 9 at 5pm.  Is your organization in need of NEW's capacity building services but lacking the $$ resources to move forward?  An AAACF grant may be the answer.

Be an Internship Host
Michigan Shifting Gears is a three-month career transition program for talented corporate professionals who aspire to make a difference. Small businesses -- perhaps your nonprofit? -- offer many job opportunities for people who are ready to roll up their sleeves and put in the hard work required to successfully grow a business to the next level.  Look into receiving an 80-hour (completed over a six-week period) pro bono internship. An internship ‘mixer’ is scheduled for Thursday, February 23 from 3 – 5 pm, with internships beginning on the 27th of February.

Thrift Shop Grants
The Ann Arbor Thrift Shop requests proposals from qualified social service agencies designated 501(c)(3) for the Anne M. Hayes Fund disbursement to be made in June, 2012. Please note: Only agencies serving clients in the Ann Arbor School district are eligible for the funds which typically range from $2,000 to $5,000.  Download an application at the website.

Troy Nonprofit Conference
Wednesday, April 18, 8am – 3pm
Walsh College, 3838 Livernois, Troy

This affordable, day-long management conference is for nonprofit professionals, board members and volunteers. The keynote speaker will be Phil Power, President, The Center for Michigan. Attend a wide variety of informative workshops. Learn more and find a link to download the program.  To register, download the one-page flyer and fax back by April 13.
 

 


Developing an Effective Social Enterprise Business Plan - Webinar
Thursday, February 16, 10am-11am ET
HBS Alumni Relations and the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative

Harvard Business School Professor Allen Grossman will give an overview and examples of the key elements of a social enterprise business plan, including articulating your theory of change, developing your strategy and business model, measuring results, and addressing competition and risks. More information and registration.

Board Chair 101
Thursday, February 23 , 5:30pm-7:30pm
BoardConnect, NEW
NEW Center, 1100 North Main St, Ann Arbor
Cost: $50

Join Board Chairs and Executive Directors to learn best practices for managing your board, strengthening your partnership, and leading the board and staff through visioning and strategic planning. Plus, this two-hour workshop provides an opportunity for networking with peers to share common challenges and successes. Register now.

Board Member Training: Serving on a Nonprofit Board
Thursday, February 23, 3:30pm-5:30pm
BoardConnect, NEW
Jewish Vocational Services, 29699 Southfield Road, Southfield
Cost: $50

Addresses the roles and responsibilities of a board member, including board operations, strategic planning, resource development, oversight and ambassadorship. You'll also learn about BoardConnect's matching services and boardnetUSA, a national online database that connects candidates and nonprofits.  More information and registration.

President Obama's FY2013 Budget Proposal: Implications for the Nonprofit Sector - Webinar
Friday, February 24, 2-3:30 p.m. ET
Free for IS Members; $75 for Non-members  Register now.

Nonprofit Training: Building Your Board
Thursday, March 8, 4pm-6pm
BoardConnect, NEW
NEW Center, 1100 North Main St, Ann Arbor
Cost: $50

Covers important aspects of recruiting new members for a nonprofit's board of directors including recruitment planning, identifying and cultivating candidates, and electing new members. You'll also learn about BoardConnect's matching services and boardnetUSA, a national online database that connects candidates and nonprofits. Register now.

Board Member Training: Serving On A Nonprofit Board
Wednesday, March 14, 3:30pm-5:30pm
BoardConnect, NEW
NEW Center, 1100 North Main St, Ann Arbor
Cost: $50

More information and registration.

Economic Outlook for 2012 and Beyond -- Webinar
Tuesday, March 13, noon-1pm ET
Crain’s Detroit Business
Cost: free to Crain’s readers

Topics will include: • Key economic indicators • potential impacts of the 2012 election season • economic forecast over the next 5 years • specific actions businesses can take in the face of uncertainty. Register.

Nonprofit Training: Building Your Board
Thursday, March 22, 3:30-5:30pm
BoardConnect, NEW
Jewish Vocational Services, 29699 Southfield Road, Southfield
Cost: $50

More information and registration.

Get Connected: Benefits of Forming Strategic Alliances
Thursday, April 26, 1pm-3pm
ResourceConnect, NEW
Hannan House, 4750 Woodward Ave., Detroit
Cost: $10

Successful nonprofit organizations continue to adapt to the ever-changing economic climate in Southeast Michigan. Forming strategic alliances with for-profit organizations, government, and other nonprofit organizations is one way to maintain high-quality mission delivery while utilizing outside expertise to manage segments of operations. These partnerships, such as jointly-managed programs or consolidated administrative functions, must be based on a clear strategy.

This session is particularly relevant for nonprofit board members and executive decision-makers as well as socially-conscious business executives. Come learn how to identify the benefits, challenges and competitive advantages of partnering with other organizations. More information, panelists and registration.

Get Connected: Relationship Building for Fundraising
Tuesday, May 22, 10am-noon
ResourceConnect, NEW
NEW Center, 1100 North Main St., Ann Arbor
Cost: $10

The Benevon model of fundraising builds a long-term stable base of funding from individuals passionate about your mission. Ms.Terry Axelrod will demonstrate the inherent strength of the model and provide more information about this successful fundraising strategy. Learn how to engage your staff, board and volunteers to create lasting relationships with donors.  More information and registration.

See other trainings and events on the Michigan Nonprofit Association website.

Check out the wide variety of nonprofit and grant writing courses offered by Ed2Go. The next round of affordable, 6-week classes starts February 15.  Just $94!

If you work for a nonprofit agency in Washtenaw County you may apply for a Washtenaw Community College Nonprofit Agency Scholarship, which will reimburse the tuition for attending any of the LifeLong Learning classes shown on this page. Many short courses start in March or April.

Bulletin Board
 

The Michigan League for Human Services' most current paper calls for investing in children to reduce incarceration rates in the future.  Download Corrections Budget: A Failure to Plan for the Future.  "Investing in our communities on the front end benefits everyone by working toward an educated workforce, reliable infrastructure, safe neighborhoods and healthy families."

Success Story

"Shortly after I moved to Detroit I realized that I wanted to be more engaged and involved within the community but wasn’t sure of exactly what I wanted to do. After volunteering with a few organizations I asked Dan Robin of NEW’s BoardConnect program for suggestions that would be a better fit. His board matching services referred me to Developing K.I.D.S. and, although I was a little hesitant because of my lack of experience working with children, I decided to give it a chance. I was immediately drawn to the kids and loved working with them. My volunteership with the afterschool program developed into serving on the board. Today my passion and commitment to the mission of Developing K.I.D.S. motivates me to devote a lot of my time to mentoring children in the program as well as seeking new partnerships to further the goals of the organization. Several of those relationships were found through the Young Nonprofit Professional Network Detroit (YNPN Detroit) events which and have also helped me to become more aware of and engaged with other organizations that are working to build the Detroit community."
--Meredith Gonshahn, Board member, Developing K.I.D.S

See the Developing K.I.D.S. profile in the Directory of Nonprofits.  Is your organization represented?

Thank you to NEW's Community Partners:

Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
DTE Energy Foundation
  Lloyd and Mabel Johnson Foundation
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
  McGregor Fund
Online Tech
Washtenaw County

Special thanks to our founding partner:
McKinley Foundation