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C05 Model Showcase

Model Showcase

Friday, July 15

2:15pm - 4:15pm

Building From the Inside Out: Empowering Women of Color Leaders in the Greater Boston Area

Presenters: Doris Ferrer Roach, PHR Consulting; Jennifer Matias, Management Assistance Program, JRI Health

The presenters will share their experience, conceptual framework and best practices that emerged from the creation and launching of the first six month leadership forum for women of color executive directors and senior managers of nonprofit agencies in the greater Boston area. The Compass Point study, “On The Rise: A Profile of Women of Color in Leadership” by Anushka Fernandopulle, Jan Masaoka and Pardis Parsa and the resulting successful network of women executive directors of color in the Bay Area (WEDOC), identified the need for leadership support on the east coast. Participants will be introduced to a series of culturally rooted and inspired tools and useful concepts for creating a successful women of color leadership network in their communities.

Capacity Building at United Way Metropolitan Chicago: Utilizing New Technologies and Processes to Ensure Staff Capability and Accountability

Presenters: Stephanie Medlock, Graham School of General Studies, University of Chicago; Janet Froetscher, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago; Gordon Medlock and Michael Zwell, Exxceed, Inc.

Reevaluating the job descriptions and performance of every employee in a 100+person organization is an enormous task. Yet the United Way of Chicago embarked on this ambitious enterprise nine months ago. In effect, every employee was asked to turn in his or her resignation and reapply for his job or another within the system, and to justify that application with evidence of demonstrated competencies. This session will describe the unique collaboration among UWMC staffers and an online performance evaluation provider. Together they adapted an online competency modeling tool to reinvigorate the United Way and to address perceived inefficiencies in their capacity to monitor member organizations and to ensure programs were meeting quality standards. Central to the task was the use of a performance management solution to align employee performance with organizational goals and the strategic plan.

Measuring Impact: the Story of an MSO’s System for Evaluative Learning

Presenters: Chantell Johnson and Peter York, TCC Group; Deborah Strauss, IT Resource Center; Kevin Smith, Digital Media Center, Illinois Institute of Technology

Measuring impact is one of the greatest challenges for an MSO. We can all track services delivered and short term client satisfaction. However, some impacts are much more difficult to discern. Is the client operating differently? Are staff implementing new tools? Is our work reflected in the client’s double bottom line? This session is for those interested in hearing first-hand how a management support organization engaged a team of consultants to measure outcomes and build the MSO’s own organizational capacity around evaluation. In fall 2002, the IT Resource Center engaged TCC Group to facilitate the development of a comprehensive evaluation framework that can be used by the organization to collect data around client outcomes and to frame evaluative learning for years to come. Most recently, it was used to collect data around outcomes. The findings from this data collection were reported in Summer 2004 and are being used by the IT Resource Center to educate constituents, colleagues, and supporters about the impact of the IT Resource Center’s services and to determine programmatic next steps and strategic direction.

Taking the Guesswork out of Capacity Building

Presenters: Christine Márquez and Robin Leake, JVA Consulting, LLC

In this workshop, capacity builders will learn about a comprehensive, organizational assessment developed by JVA Consulting, LLC that takes the guess work out of capacity building. Rather than a list of questions requiring subjective interpretation, this tool calculates a capacity score that the consultant and the client can use to focus technical assistance. The tool also generates a simple, two-page report that helps clients see areas of strength and weakness that can be linked to a corresponding service plan resulting in better organizational performance and client outcomes. While the instrument is designed to help consultants focus their technical assistance, it can also be used to evaluate overall capacity building initiatives. This session will address both the diagnostic and evaluation uses of the tool.

The LEAD Project: Leadership Education And Development; Executive Coaching for Nonprofit Executive Directors

Presenters: Jennifer Matias, Management Assistance Program, JRI Health; Curdina Hill, ClearWays To Freedom

In the current social and economic environment of rapid and continual change, increased competition for diminishing funds, and escalating community needs, executive directors of non-profit organizations need experienced leadership counsel and support more than ever. Executive Coaching is a powerful and transformational leadership development approach designed to support nonprofit executive directors who often feel isolated and overwhelmed with the complex demands of their leadership role. This workshop will explore the benefits of executive coaching as well as well as describe a model for individualized leadership development that builds an executive director’s capacity to be an effective manager and strategic thinker as well as an inspiring and visionary leader.

Volunteering Redefined: The Taproot Foundation Model of Capacity Building

Presenter: Matthew O’Grady, Taproot Foundation

Can volunteers really build the capacity of an organization to have impact in the community? The Taproot Foundation has answered resoundingly, “Yes!” with its groundbreaking model. Since its founding in 2001, Taproot has awarded some 200 “grants of service” to nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay area and New York City, valued at over $6 million. These grants have built capacity in fundraising, marketing, IT, and human resources performance management. Experience the Taproot model, learn what we’ve learned, and participate in a dialog about other areas where volunteers could impact nonprofit capacity.