 October 2014 |
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Catalyst Team
Ravi Shah
Senior Program Associate
Lauren Kay
Director of Communications |
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From the Desk of Paul Vandeventer
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A $200,000 Ante for Nonprofit Entry?
"There ought to be a rule that no new nonprofit can start until it has $200,000 in the bank," she said. "Every time I turn around there's some kid just out of school telling me they want to start up an organization."
The "she" to whom I was listening - in rapt astonishment - was a seasoned fundraising consultant, hired by many of the largest groups in her community to help them develop donors.
I thought she had lost her mind. Then I realized she had lost just her civic mind. Her worldview had narrowed to the pinched perspective that only established organizations - particularly the ones equipped to pay her fees - sit at the center of the universe.
"If you imposed that kind of rule," I asked, "wouldn't it dry up the stream of all those young people we've educated to believe that engaging in civil society - that place in America where nonprofits live - matters?" Wouldn't a quid pro ante dampen their vision and vigor?
She didn't have a good answer. And I continued to dwell.
To read the entire article, please click here.
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Save the Date
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An Evening with Community Partners
Tuesday, December 9, 5-7 p.m.
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Annenberg Alchemy Leadership Seminar
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Apply Now: Annenberg Alchemy Leadership Seminar
Deadline: Wednesday, October 15
Applications are due this Wednesday for the Alchemy Leadership Seminar, the Annenberg Foundation's signature three-day capacity building training.
The free training is now open to nonprofits from Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The only cost of admission is the attendance of both the executive director and the board chair during all three days of training. Click here to see the eligibility requirements and here to view the schedule.
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Projects in the News
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Two Projects Win Big in LA2050 Challenge
Two of the 10 My LA2050 Grants Challenge winners are projects of Community Partners! Major kudos to both Move LA and Pershing Square Park Advisory Board. Each will receive $100,000 for their proposed projects. Click here to read more.
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GOLD Holds 6th Conference in Tokyo
Community Partners CFO Mamie Funahashi and project leader Hiroko Tatebe were in Tokyo last month for the 6th annual GOLD conference - an annual gathering designed to promote global workforce diversity and cross-cultural relations between the US and Japan. Click here to read more.
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As the Hyperion Bridge connecting Atwater Village to Silverlake prepares for a much-needed facelift, a citizens' committee is weighing in on designs to improve this notoriously dangerous path for walkers and bikers. Committee member Deborah Murphy, founder of LA Walks, a fiscally sponsored project of Community partners, tells KCET's Krista Carlson about her hopes and concerns for the project.
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PressFriends Receives Service Award
PressFriends received an ABC Summer of Service Award from Youth Service America to continue their summer programs. This past summer, PressFriends held over 47 mentoring sessions that included a number of new literacy programs developed by its student board, including TheatreFriends, SportsFriends, STEMFriends, DanceFriends, and ArtFriends.
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Knowledge Sharing
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Recipe for Success: 5 Takeaways from Project Leaders with Successful Crowdfunding Campaigns
While the #Icebucketchallenge and other viral memes come and go, crowdfunding is here to stay. Two projects of Community Partners -- SLAM! and Big Citizen Hub -- raised at least $25,000 each in crowdfunding this year. Roi Matalon, the project leader of SLAM!, and Mario Fedelin, project leader of Big Citizen Hub, generously shared their takeaways and advice on running a successful crowdfunding campaign. Click here to visit SLAM!'s Indiegogo page and here for Big Citizen Hub's Razoo page.
1. Planning and Preparation Matter
Planning a successful crowdfunding campaign is not as easy or simple as it looks. Stories of absurdly lucrative, yet simple campaigns (see: Potato Salad Kickstarter) are the exception, not the rule. Give yourself enough time to prepare content, recruit and train volunteer fundraisers, create a timeline and communications plan, and determine your goal and the number of donors you estimate you'll need before you start your campaign.
Roi Matalon (RM): The more you invest in the preparation, the more successful your campaign will be. It's not just making the video or the campaign. The one-on-one meeting with Priscilla, (Community Partners program director) was really helpful -- it was important to think very carefully about the people we were going to ask, and the number of donors that were needed at all levels of giving in order to reach our goal. I did the same exact training with my campaign captains. Ultimately, it was the preparation, getting the right people as the fundraisers, and prepping them accordingly that helped make us successful.
Click here to read the entire article.
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Events and Learning Opportunities
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Workshop: Qualitative Evaluation Methods
Wednesday, October 15
Sick of surveys? Curious about focus groups? Learn about the world of qualitative evaluation methods during this two-hour introductory workshop hosted by the Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles and presented by Special Service for Groups and Research & Evaluation.
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Social Innovation Fast Pitch Event and Showcase
Wednesday, October 29
Be inspired by the next generation of social innovators. Social Venture Partners coaches high-potential nonprofits to tell their story in a powerful 3-minute pitch. Witness the pitches first hand and network with a diverse group of professionals. Tickets are on sale here.
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From the Field
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Social Impact Calculator
A new online tool from the Low Income Investment Fund allows you to put a dollar value on the benefits of things like an affordable home, a great school, or access to transit. Explore the calculator to see how it can be used to demonstrate the impact of your work.
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For board members and staff of nonprofits, talking about nonprofit overhead can be tricky and challenging. Jan Masaoka and Steve Zimmerman have created a useful guide on Blue Avocado to help board members and staff understand what the conversation is really about and to know what overhead is as it relates to their respective organizations.
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Need a Responsive Email Template for your Newsletter?
Responsive email templates allow your newsletter to be viewed optimally on both desktop and mobile devices. Mashable has compiled a list of 32 free and premium templates that look great on the computer and on the phone.
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About Us
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Community Partners works with social entrepreneurs, grantmakers and civic leaders to imagine possibilities, design solutions and see them through to results. Our work includes fiscal sponsorship, grantmaker partnerships, thought leadership and knowledge sharing.
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1000 N Alameda St, Suite 240
Los Angeles, CA 90012 | Phone 213.346.3210
Fax 213.808.1009 | info@CommunityPartners.org |
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