Yesterday morning I attended this excellent summit (sponsored by United Way of Dane County) at the Epic Campus outside of Madison. Aimed at nonprofit leaders in Dane County, this half-day event was chuck-full of information and inspiration.
Sure, not everything everyone had to say was what we in the nonprofit community would like to hear. Yes, money is tight -- we all know this. But what I really appreciated about the event, was that it focused on practical strategies for (sure) tightening our belts, (but more significantly) moving forward and even thriving in the now changed landscape:
- Mergers
- Measures and Accountability
- Collaboration
- Boosting Employee Performance
- Lowering Administrative Costs, and
- Effective, Efficient Use of Volunteers
The speakers themselves were excellent as well, though I won't name them all here. And, the Panel Moderator, Neil Heinen of WISC-TV, was a delight as always.
For those of you who were also at the Measures and Accountability breakout group, here are some links to resources you might find helpful:
Logic Model - Comes from UW Extension and focuses on three factors: inputs, outputs, and outcomes.
SMART Criteria - A brief, Wikipedia overview
Writing Measurable Objectives: SMART from the Association of College and Research Libraries
And, for those of you who prefer to cosy-up with a book in hand, you might like to take a look at the following two books available at the Grants Information Collection:
Level Best: How Small and Grassroots Nonprofits Can Tackle Evaluation and Talk Results by Marcia Festen and Marianne Philbin.
Storytelling for Grantseekers: The guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising by Cheryl A. Clarke
No comments:
Post a Comment