The Community Building Class

I went to a class today on "Process of Community Problem Solving". I thought that this would be about building community between nonprofits with similar missions to work toward resolving issues or sharing resources. I was slightly mistaken, as most of the attendees were from public organizations or working with neighborhood organizations. Whoops. Despite my confusion, the class was actually pretty great. I learned a lot about the process in building these community groups and heard some success stories about how organizations (mostly government) have made change. The biggest lesson that I got from it was that a lot of change is about having the right people and the right resources at the right time (sounds a lot like Jim Collins!).

According to my friend Jordan, there is a new trend in nonprofits where smaller nonprofits are teaming their resources together and then voting on how to use the funds. I think that this is an amazing idea, and there are so many tiny nonprofit organizations that could make a big impact if they worked with others!

The information that I learned today was great, and I learned some very valuable skills that I will hopefully be able to use either to consult for some nonprofits or to help nonprofits become even more successful.

I also made a couple of contacts today--one girl who is in a similar situation that I am in! She moved here a few months ago and is looking for a job in nonprofits. We are going to get together at some point next week to work today.

Yesterday

Yesterday, I went on an informational interview with a friend of a friend, Jordan, who works at a foundation. I have met with a few different people in development, but this informational interview was with someone in programs. It was interesting to get a different perspective on how the money is dispersed from a foundation and how grants are evaluated.

I am currently writing a grant proposal, and this was a great opportunity for me to get some solid advice on how to best write a grant that is most appealing to the grantor. I found out that the key to getting a grant is creating a program that is sustainable over time. Grantors want to make sure that they aren't giving a grant for a flash in the pan program. Foundations want to give funding to kickstart a program, but is up to the grantee to ensure that the program continues.

Jordan also mentioned that something that his particular foundation advocates is for smaller (community) NPOs to join forces with the others that have a similar mission. By doing this, these smaller NPOs can have a stronger impact. This is a trend that is happening throughout the nonprofit world. Nonprofits not only need to build community with their constituents, they need to build a strong network with others in their area and those with similar missions.

This was a super meeting and I am looking forward to the few that I have going on this week!