Summit Registration is open!

Posted on April 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

Registration is in full swing for the May 12 Southern Minnesota Nonprofit Summit. Last week alone, more than 50 registrations came in for the event. As many of you know, working on an event is like a moving puzzle — this is one is coming together and I can’t wait to announce the details of the breakout sessions.  I’m still waiting for a few final details to come through, but if you have questions, contact Amy at MCN (507-469-2217).  I’ll also be sharing what I know at this Friday’s Nonprofit Networking Lunch in Mankato, so if you’re curious and want the latest, join us. Otherwise, check  out MCN’s new website — details will be posted there as well. To be continued…

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Posted in Good News from Greater Minnesota

Mankato Recap: Nonprofit Leadership Tips and Tricks

Posted on February 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

During last Friday’s Mankato Area Nonprofit Networking Lunch, Lynn Vincent of Vincent & McBride, a Northfield-based consulting firm, shared some of her favorite tips, tricks and resources.  It was a full-house and the pens were busy, including mine.  Here are a few of things I managed to jot down:

  • Have a “lieutenant” — someone who is empowered to act as needed (in addition to you)
  • As the executive director, work in deep partnership with the board chair/president. Be seen together. Make sure people know you are team.
  • Remember to regularly assess the strengths of individual board members and to have a variety of people on your board.
  • Don’t underestimate the importance of the nominating committee.
  • Also, boards should do a self-assessment of themselves.
  • Other board reminders: make sure your board knows how to read financial statements, make sure they are not micro-managing, and remind them one of their jobs is to “give and get”.
  • Encourage the board to set the agenda — it empowers them.

Lynn also spoke a lot on leadership and shared several books that have helped guide her through her years of leading nonprofits. It was such a good reminder that while  even in the midst of the challenges that come with simply managing day-to-day (sometimes hour-by-hour), that taking time for some big-picture leadership is critical.

If you missed the networking lunch or want to follow up on any of these thoughts with Lynn, please feel free to contact her or her colleagues. They are MCN Associate members, have an amazing combined experience and are looking forward to working with nonprofits in Southern Minnesota.

Our next lunch in Mankato will be Friday, March 18!

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Posted in Mankato Networking Meetings

Looking for a nonprofit job in Minnesota? Be sure to check “the beast”…

Posted on February 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

If you’re actively searching for a nonprofit job, then you may have seen this funny, short (and informative) video clip, produced by an MCN Associate Member. Although it’s about finding nonprofit work in the Twin Cities area, some of the suggestions are also applicable to Greater Minnesota. In our neck of the words, I suggest narrowing your focus, doing informational interviews with orgs that do they type of work you’d like to do, telling everyone you know, volunteering for the type of nonprofit you’d like to work for, checking “the beast” of a job board, and keeping an open mind when scanning the newspapers — it’s odd where nonprofit jobs sometimes get categorized. Anyway, enjoy the video!

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Posted in Nonprofit Jobs

Tapping our “outside voices”

Posted on January 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

I just came across a moving blog entry about using “outside voices” verses “inside voices” at the Capitol. What I love about this entry is that it made me feel better about my recent use of my outside voice — something I had been regretting.

Last week, during a conference call about nonprofits/public policy/the Legislative Session, I found myself using my outside voice, which is extremely rare for me, especially in the type of meeting I was participating in. There I was, listening to a group of nonprofit public policy experts, meeting in St. Paul, sitting around a conference table while I was at my home office, staring at a small, blue, flip phone. While the group was discussing this and that and how and what could be done, I kept thinking:

“we don’t have time!”
“we need to do something NOW!”
“we have to do something big!”
“do something that will get their attention!”
“and make it easy for nonprofits and more personal!”
“we need to do more than just refer people to a website!”

Some of this I verbalized, and when I did, I was met with a long, awkward silence. While I was by no means upset, I was passionately using my outside voice. Had  I been  a kid on the playground and done that, all the activity would have stopped and I would have blushed and/or turned around and left.  Instead, I signed off and spent the rest of the day ruminating over whether or not I should have spoken up. A week later, with a bit more perspective, I’m glad I did. And I hope that more people with stories to tell about how nonprofits impact their lives will join me and others in using their outside voices.  This Legislative session IS going to impact nonprofits across the state and I implore you to please, use your voice — inside or outside — but find it and use it.

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Posted in Public Policy

Mankato Networking Lunch Recap: Virtual Assistants

Posted on January 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

Despite the coldest air of the winter and a late-start day for area schools impacting many schedules, we had a nice turnout of the first Mankato Networking Lunch of 2011. MCN associate member Holly Anthony of Anthony Office Solutions joined us to explain a little bit about what a virtual assistant is and how they can help nonprofits. Turns out Holly can not only help with a whole bunch of things (check her website for a complete run down), but she is also a wealth of knowledge about what is new/good/not-so-good when it comes to web-based software. She shared some of her favorite resources and we heard about how she helps clients all over the country using web-based resources. She has one client that relies on her to a lot of reminding and it got me thinking how useful something like this would be in fundraising. How often have you had in the back of your mind to touch base with so-and-s0 that you met a while ago? Well, one of things Holly can do is help keep people on track and does of a lot of behind-the-scenes the leg-work too, like crafting emails, but makes sure that it’s authentic and is coming from the client. She also is a Constant Contact Business Partner and is qualified to come talk to you or your group about the benefits of using this software.  Despite much of her world being virtual (and acknowledging that her entire business was in her laptop bag), Holly has a real life in Madison Lake, which just east of Mankato, and offers a free phone consultation if you want to chat with her about the unique needs of your organization.

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Posted in Mankato Networking Meetings

Bottom Line: It’s about the people

Posted on January 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

I had the opportunity to be part of a conversation about MCN’s public policy efforts for this spring. It’s a changed climate, we know. And it will  impact nonprofit organizations, we know. But how can MCN best help nonprofits?  One of the best pieces of information I took away was the simple reminder that during a time of reduced funding, a recession and more budget cuts, is that no matter what, it’s about the people. When we go to work every day, we are doing what we need to  sustain our organizations. But it’s not directly about our salary, it’s about providing the services that are critical to the people in our communities. On some level, we all know this, but are we doing a good enough job communicating that message? Some nonprofits, yes. Many nonprofits, no. And  even those who do not work directly with people still are impacting and changing people’s lives for the better. How effective is your organization at sharing those stories with your donors, supporters, businesses, elected officials and the media?

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Posted in General Fundraising Resources, Public Policy

Nonprofits and the Economy

Posted on August 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

Looking for economic data regarding nonprofits?  For recent Minnesota data, check out the latest Current Conditions Report and for national insight, check out this report from Guidestar.  Depending on the size, culture and dynamics of your organization,  this type of information might be helpful to review at a staff and/or board meeting.

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Posted in Uncategorized