Alliance for Nonprofit Management › Annual Conference › C04 Sessions - Friday 2:15pm

C04 Sessions - Friday 2:15pm

Capacity-Building with African American Faith-Based Organizations

Presenters: Alyson Parham, Partec Consulting Group, Inc.; Chester France, The C. Whitney Group, LLC

This session will allow participants to explore some of the unique and spirit-filled opportunities in working with faith-based organizations. Presenters will highlight the importance of understanding the various religious systems, structures and protocols unique to the African American church; the skills needed by capacity-builders to assist faith-based organization; and the resources available to help this growing sector.

The Voice of Nonprofits in Public Policy: Recent Research

Presenters: Deborah Sturtevant, Hope College; Linda Plitt Donaldson, Catholic University of America

This session will present findings from recent research on advocacy behavior of nonprofit human service agencies in Washington, DC as well as findings from interviews with nonprofit managers and state legislators on effective advocacy strategies.

Field-Specific Capacity Building Organizations: Empowering Nonprofit Fields From the Inside

Presenters: Alan Brickman, Brickman Associates; Sally Waldron, World Education; Donna Haig Friedman, University of Massachusetts at Boston

Do nonprofit fields (such as community development, adult literacy, arts and culture, etc.) have unique issues and needs related to organziational capacity and effectiveness? Can the needs of organziations in these fields be best met by capacity building entities that have been created to target services and supports specifically to those fields? How do such field-specific capacity builders make strategic decisions about their programs, structure, and long-term sustainability? This workshop will give participants the opportunity to explore various models of field-specific capacity building organizations and the factors that drive their strategic approach to addressing the needs of their respective fields. Through the use of case studies and interactive discussion, workshop participants will explore the capacity building needs of selected non-profit fields and, drawing from existing successful models, consider how such entities can more effectively meet the capacity building needs of emerging or under-served fields.

Opening the Space for Nonprofit Advocacy

Presenters: Sue Fisher, Nonprofit Services Consortium; Mary Ann Moore, Moore Consulting

Many nonprofit organizations are involved in legislative or policy advocacy, but very few are involved in sector advocacy. This session reveals how, using modified open space technology, a collaboration of universities, grant makers and nonprofit capacity service providers convene and connect stakeholders to become advocates for the nonprofit sector, and become catalysts for action.

How to Get Funding for Your Training Program

Presenters: Marla Cornelius, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services; Sharon Kayser, Nonprofit Support Center; Betsy Johnson, Washington Council of Agencies

As nonprofit technical assistance providers, we understand the value of our training and capacity building programs, but finding the financial support for them has become increasingly more difficult. We’ve seen the rise and fall of funders’ interest in capacity building initiatives while many of our clients are experiencing deeper financial troubles - leaving them with fewer dollars to send staff to training programs. This session will examine the effects of these trends on our own training programs and discuss ways in which we can make our case to funders that both supports training but also illustrates why it is one of the most important investments they can make not only in us, but in their grantees. Participants will leave with a plan of action for their organizations and a list of potential funding vehicles including memberships, scholarships, and training enhanced initiatives.

MSO-Funder Collaboration: American Express Company Partners with Arts and Business Council; Alcoa Foundation Partners with Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management

Moderator: Roni Posner, Alliance for Nonprofit Management

Panelists: Terry Savage and Dionne Rogers, American Express Company, Gary Steuer, Arts and Business Council; Peggy Morrison Outon, Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management, Robert Morris University

This session will highlight the lessons learned in two highly successful partnerships between corporate funders and management support organizations. Learn how these corporate foundations worked with MSOs to extend their reach and impact in the nonprofit community, and how the MSOs designed specific programs to meet shared goals.

Providing Holistic Information Technology Support Services

Presenter: Lisa Rau, Confluence

This presentation focuses on how management support organizations can provide holistic information technology support to their nonprofit clients. Participants will become aware of where technology support needs to include management support to ensure sustainable, lasting, positive change. Specific, concrete examples will provide operational guidance for instituting changes to existing IT support programs.

Whither Nonprofit America: Looking to the Future

Presenter: Lester Salamon, Institute for Policy Studies, Johns Hopkins University

The author of The State of Nonprofit America will lead session that draws on years of research on the nonprofit sector to gain a better understanding of the future of the sector.

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