NSC's Sector Update
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April, 2007
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Nonprofit Services Consortium is proud to announce our partnership with the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) to help develop, inform and implement the foundation's capacity building initiative.

Beginning with the 2007 programming year, MFH has entered into a collaborative relationship with NSC. Given our expertise and competencies in the delivery of programs and services related to nonprofit organization effectiveness and capacity building, NSC will now serve as the primary contact for the MFH Capacity Building Initiative.

NSC recognizes that an essential aspect of a stronger nonprofit sector is the continued development of the capacity of nonprofit organizations to operate efficiently and to be effective in the achievement of their respective missions. With this vision in mind, NSC deems it a privilege to join with the Missouri Foundation for Health in its programmatic efforts to provide capacity building services to eligible nonprofits in MFH's service area.

Components of the MFH Capacity Building Initiative are:

Capacity Building Grant Program
Funding plans for the 2007 Capacity Building Grant Program (formerly known as the Strategic Organizational Development (SOD) Grant) includes two grant cycles in 2007. Grant applications will be available to health-related organizations online through the NSC web site. Applications will be accepted beginning on May 1, 2007. Learn more.

Workshops and Trainings
Twenty-six workshops, offered throughout Missouri and targeted to health-related nonprofits, will provide learning and enrichment opportunities specifically focused on strategic thinking, skill-building, and organizational leadership. Topics range from Grant Writing and Fund Development to Board Recruitment and Human Resource Management.

Workshops will be scheduled in the Spring and Fall. You can view the Spring Workshop Schedule and registration information on the NSC web site.


Leadership Development for Women Executives
NSC will host a day and a half retreat for Women Executive Directors as a celebration, networking opportunity and kick-off event to future leadership development programming. The Women's Leadership Conference will be held on June 28 and 29, 2007 at Cedar Creek Conference Center in New Haven, Missouri. Learn more about the Women's Leadership Conference on the NSC website - and return often to find out how you can apply to participate in one of two year-long programs: "Women Executive Directors in Underserved Communities" or "Women Executive Directors of Color". Both programs are designed especially for women leading nonprofit organizations in rural communities and small cities throughout Missouri.
You'll notice a change in the NSC website next time you log on. As NSC continues to expand programs and services, partnerships and program region it was important to develop a website that could grow and change as quickly as we have been. While this site is temporary, it will provide us an opportunity to add timely information and allow you more access to resources than our previous site.

Check it out! We hope you like it. And, please offer suggestions or submit other items we should consider as we develop NSC's new permanent site so that it best serves your needs. Send ideas to Carmen . She'll love to hear from you!
Welcome Kristy Guttmann, NSC's new Program Manager
Kristy's previous experience in the public sector includes a position at the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission and at the University of Arkansas. She is dedicated to the nonprofit sector and has given time to several advisory boards, planning committees, and other volunteer opportunities in the area. Kristy has an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Arkansas and a B.A. in Photography and Media Communications from Webster University.

Kristy will oversee the development and day-to-day management of NSC's programs and services delivered to key organization clients and constituencies. Kristy is currently overseeing the details of the Spring Capacity Building Workshops.

In addition to her work as a nonprofit administrator and volunteer, Kristy taught dance classes at Girls Incorporated and at the Lighthouse Community Outreach Center. She has produced two documentary short films and recently began painting for creative outlet. You can reach Kristy at kristy@non profitservices.org.

Welcome Kristy!

NSC welcomes Stacey Hughes as Administrative Assistant
Stacey brings over 10 years of office administrative experience to the NSC organization. She also has experience in event planning and coordination having been co-owner of an art gallery in Illinois.

Stacey will manage the daily support operations of the office, be the primary contact when arriving at NSC and be the warm and friendly voice you hear when you call our office. Stacey can be reached at stacey@nonprofitservices.org.

Welcome Stacey!
Thank you to everyone who has responded to NSC's Call for Consultants. We have received a total of over 220 emails and survey completions to our request throughout the State! NSC will continue to keep our online questionnaire open to new submissions past the deadline.

Our search for Missouri-based consultants and service providers skilled in working with nonprofit organizations will be ongoing. Consultants may also email their resume and contact information to info@nonprofitservices.org . The NSC office will call you for more information.

We are also developing a paper version of the questionnaire for those consultants that prefer to fax information to our office or had technical trouble with the online version. Please drop an email to info@nonprofitservices.org with your request.
According to a recent online article in the Chronicale of Philanthropy Update, a new survey of young nonprofit workers shows that long hours and low pay are a key reason that few of them expect to stay in the charity world throughout their professional careers — and even fewer desire to become top leaders of nonprofit organizations.

More than 70 percent of young nonprofit employees don't ever expect to serve as the executive director of a charity, according to a new survey released last week at the national conference of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network.

Where will the nonprofit sector turn to for future leadership?
News about young professionals deciding not to lead in the nonprofit sector adds more urgency to CompassPoint's "Daring to Lead" study findings that three quarters of current executives don’t plan on being in their current jobs five years from now. And most don’t see themselves leading another nonprofit organization.

Nonprofit Services Consortium will be planning future dialogues about the topic of leadership deficit. Until then, perhaps we should look at another generation for assistance as seen in the next article.
Baby Boomer
The surge of Baby Boomers will increase volunteering by older adults by 50 percent by the year 2020 – and double the number of older adult volunteers by the year 2036, according to a report and projections released by the Corp oration for National and Community Service.

The first-ever study to track volunteering among a large sample of Baby Boomers from year to year, Keeping Baby Boomers Volunteering, found that Americans born between 1946 and 1964 want higher- skill assignments to keep them engaged, and it advised nonprofit organizations to re-imagine roles for that emerging crop of volunteers. The report also found that Baby Boomers are volunteering at higher rates than their predecessors – including the Greatest Generation – and that those who volunteer 12 weeks or more annually are most likely to serve year after year.

The Corporation’s “Volunteering Among Older Americans: Population Projections, 2007-2050 (PDF) ,” released along with the report, forecasts that the number of older Americans will continue to rise sharply for decades because the youngest Baby Boomers will not reach age 65 until 2029.
In the Spring 2007 edition of the Stanford Social Innovation Review a new research article, How Nonprofits Get Really Big, offered by Bridgespan found that between 1970 and 2003, 144 nonprofits went from founding to at least $50 million or more in annual revenue. While this is a small percentage of all the nonprofits started during this period, it’s a larger number than is generally perceived. How did these trailblazing organizations achieve such substantial growth?

  • They found a funding source that was a natural match to their mission. Corporations, for example, almost always offer in-kind support focused on hunger or health issues. Far from being random, large funders’ interests often fall into distinct categories.
  • They focused their efforts on funding in one concentrated area. Casting a wide net may seem like a logical approach; but in fact, most high-growth nonprofits had a single dominant funding source, which accounted for just over 90 percent of their total funding.
  • They built a professional organization to support their chosen funding model, for example, bringing in people with expertise in areas like marketing or logistics. For many organizations, this step marks an important cultural shift.
Growth is not the right answer for every organization. But for those that do want to increase revenues substantially, understanding the paths that others have blazed over the past four decades may increase their odds of success

This article is the most recent product of an on-going stream of Bridgespan research focused on nonprofit funding and economics. It is accompanied by individual profiles of 21 organizations that went from start-up to more than $50 million in revenue within the past 35 years. As their experience attests, the lessons that emerged from our analysis don’t always conform to conventional wisdom.
Ameren Community Development Corporation (AmerenCDC)
Applications are now available for the 2007 AmerenCDC economic development grant program. This will be the only grant cycle conducted by the AmerenCDC in 2007. The AmerenCDC funds projects that promote economic development and job growth in AmerenUE's electric service territory in Missouri. To date, the AmerenCDC has awarded $8.1 million of the total $9 million in funding available for projects.

Individuals and groups can apply to the grant program from now through May 1, 2007. To request a copy of the application, contact Ameren's Economic Development Department at eddept@ameren.com, or by phone at 800.981.9409. You can also secure a copy of the application by visiting the "AmerenCDC" link on Ameren's Web site, http://www.ameren.co m/ .

AT&T Excelerator Grant
The 2007 AT&T Excelerator grant program will provide $9 million in competitive technology grants to help local nonprofit organizations integrate technology into their operations and community outreach.

AT&T Excelerator helps nonprofit organizations better serve their communities by improving technology resources — including hardware, software and networking tools. These grants also fund resources, such as Internet access and computer training, to assist organizations with various programs, many aimed to increase educational learning and job skills development. Applications are due 5 p.m. on May 4, 2007. Download an application.

Thank you for spending a few moments with us today.

Until next month...

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Deborah Cooper, President
Nonprofit Services Consortium

phone: 314.436.9580
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