IdeaEncore: Some tips and advice on end of the year fundraising

You and others like you who share what you know and re-use others resources to help you save time, save money and learn faster ... that's what tops our list of things to be grateful for this holiday season.

Tips, advice and resources for end-of-the-year fundraising events

Ensure your holiday fundraising goes well The season of celebration, family and, importantly, giving has begun. Whether your organization is in the early planning stages of a fundraising event for next year or you've been planning for months, the Nonprofit Insurance Alliance Group's Sound Advice for Functions and Events will help you reduce accidents at your event. There are a wide range of fundraising strategies that nonprofits can integrate into their events. For tips, strategies and advice on special event fundraisers, asell as in grants and individual donations, read Ilona Bray's Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real World Strategies That Work ($14.99 off-site). If your nonprofit is considering integrating a raffle or other type of "gaming" into your holiday fundraising event, first read the IRS's Tax-Exempt Organizations and Gaming guide to understand the tax and reporting requirements. If your organization isn't ready to throw a large fundraising event, there are still options for you. Online auctions can be an effective and low cost way for your organization to raise money online. Northworld, LLC's A Strategy for Online Fundraising Auctions will help you learn about this twenty-first century fundraising technique. Sumac's article Making a Scene: The Recipe for a Great Fundraising Letter can help you refine your end of the year letter to touch and motivate donors. Help your nonprofit colleagues this holiday season and share your fundraising event plans, checklists and strategies on IdeaEncore.

Encores of the Week

Guilty as Charged: Prove Your Board Supports Your Organization Shared by Karen Eber Davis Consulting (Free) Two Hour Board Training Shared by Nonprofit Management Services, LLC ($5) Introduction to the Human Resources Discipline of Diversity Created by Society for Human Resource Management and Shared by Capaciteria (Free) Staffing Software-Related Positions Shared by CJW Consulting & Services, Inc. ($20 or $10 for group members) Becoming a More Effective Nonprofit Board Shared by The Bridgespan Group (Free)

IdeaEncore: Does your organization need board committees?

Forming and Managing Board Committees

Getting the most out the board of directors through committees Committees can be an effective way for board members to divide up responsibilities and use board member's skills and knowledge most effectively. However, committees aren't for every board and not all topics need specialized committees. Dalhousie University's short guide Should We Form a Board Committee? can help your organization make that decision. To get an idea of what committees your might benefit your board, check out YNPN-San Diego's Committee Descriptions, which includes descriptions of past and present committees. For recruiting specific committee members, use MEND's Board and Board Standing Committee Job Descriptions as a great example. Like any meeting, board committee meetings can become unmanageable. To keep committees on target and prevent problematic digressions, download Robert's Rules of Order Simplified from Nonprofit Management Services. Do you have experience with board committees, good or bad? Help your colleagues throughout the nonprofit sector by sharing your board committee checklists, policies and job descriptions on IdeaEncore.

Resources Wanted: Grant Tracking

Periodically your peers request specific tools and resources. Would you be able - and willing - to share your form or spread sheet for grant completion tracking, including important dates, dollar amounts, deliverables, staff time and any other information your organization uses to track grants? If you have this type of resource, we invite you to  share or sell it on IdeaEncore. You can help your fellow nonprofits, and even generate earned income for your own organization.

We First - Social Branding video< v/td>

We heard Simon Mainwaring, founder of We First, speak at the Social Enterprise Alliance conference in Chicago a few weeks ago.  He just wrote a book about the future of branding and social technology that is a New York Times bestseller, and strategy+business named it the Best Marketing Book of 2011. So his thinking and training is great. Just click on the link to watch a free Social Branding training video

Encores of the Week

Tip Sheet: NGO Board Member & Professional Volunteer Recruitment Shared by Social Enterprise Associates (Free) The Two Hour Executive Director Performance Review Shared by Nonprofit Management Services, LLC ($5) Financial Crisis: 10 Smart Things Your Board Can Do Now Created by Board Source and Shared by Capaciteria (Free) MNA Principles and Practices Infrastructure Checklist Shared by Montana Nonprofit Association ($10) Nonprofit Center Board Member Expectation Statement Shared by Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida (Free)

IdeaEncore: Organizational forms proliferate

Dear Scott Thank you using IdeaEncore to share what you use and to build your own capacity to serve others!

Nonprofit, For Profit, Hybrid . . . Oh My

Learn about new hybrid nonprofits and B Corporations A new type of company that emphasizes social enterprise over profit-making is gaining popularity across the United States. The exciting aspect of these flexible-purpose or hybrid corporations that put social benefit ahead of financial performance is their ability to access capital markets while also receiving traditional philanthropic support. And the model is gaining traction. Social enterprise and hybrid organizations are almost everywhere: from Seventh Generation in your grocery store to the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. Give to Get Jobs has compiled a helpful database of social enterprise organizations - you can check it out at Social Enterprise Database. You can also find a list of the low-profit limited liability companies (L3Cs) by state at interSector Partner's List of L3C Organizations. Some states in the United States also recognize Benefit corporations, or B corporations, a certification for corporations and LLCs with public benefit missions.   IdeaEncore Network has been a proud B Corp for roughly two years and was part of the team that adocated in Sacramento for the recently passed California legislation.  The B Corporation website has information on certification and a directory of certified B Corps. There are almost as many ways to structure a social enterprise as there are social enterprise organizations. Vox Legal's webinar, Structuring Nonprofit Businesses: Hybrids, Subsidiaries and Other Options is a must-watch if you or your organization is considering a social enterprise initiative. Allen Bromberger's article Social Enterprise: A Lawyer's Perspective is a good place to start to understand the basic legal issues involved in hybrid organizations. Social Enterprise Associate's Case Study: Local Food and Sustainable Agriculture in the United States discusses the approaches several local and organic food movements have taken to address widespread social issues.   The Social Enterprise Alliance provides a national structure for furthering social enterprises. Help your colleagues through out the social sector by sharing documents, templates and guides on social enterprise initiatives on IdeaEncore.

Encores of the Week

Building a Nonprofit Career Path Shared by The Bridgespan Group (Free) MNA Principles and Practices Self-Assessment & Implementation Guide Shared by Montana Nonprofit Association ($10) Can Your Organization Obtain More Income? The 7 Sources Shared by Karen Eber Davis Consulting (Free) R.A.S.I.C. Roles, Accountability and Responsibility Shared by Concinnity Network ($9) Opportunity Knocks Nonprofit Retention and Vacancy Report 2010 Created by Opportunity Knocks and Shared by Capaciteria (Free)

IdeaEncore: 5 Grant Writing Resources & More

Dear Scott Thank you for making IdeaEncore one of the top nonprofit resource sharing sites by sharing and finding valuable and proven resources.

5 Grant Writing Resources

Whether you're writing your first grant proposal or just improving years of grant writing experience, check out these six resources that your nonprofit colleagues have shared for tips, checklists and more on grant writing. If you're brand new to grant writing and don't know where to start, Merrimack Valley Food Bank's Basic Grant Writing presentation offers recommendations on finding available grants, putting together a grant proposal and following up after submitting proposals. IdeaEncore's own Grant Proposal Components, written for GrantStation's 2010 Tracks to Success series, contains breakdowns of each of the components necessary for a successful grant proposal. For some short tips on grant proposals Mission Possible Nonprofit Solutions has shared Top 20 Items for a Successful Grant and Nonprofit Webinars has shared 10 Tips for Successful Grant Proposals. For a checklist to make sure every grant proposal is complete, download one of the most popular items on IdeaEncore, JVA Consulting's Grant Proposal Checklist ($5). If you have a time tested grant writing checklist, tip sheet or guide, help your nonprofit colleagues by sharing it on IdeaEncore.

Free Webinar:  Leverage Your Expertise - Technology for Nonprofit Content Curation

As nonprofit professionals, it's easy to become overwhelmed with the quantity and pace of information. So we all turn to trusted friends to help us "find the good stuff". As an expert in your area, you have a unique opportunity (and responsibility) to build your credibility and leverage your expertise by helping others make sense of your world. By adding resources to your website or blog, you become a content curator. Because the source of power for networked nonprofits is no longer "what you know", it is in "how you use and share" what you know.  Learn how nonprofits and associations use IdeaEncore and many other online tools to save time and money and engage members through custom online libraries and re-using others' materials to leverage their expertise. It's an opportunity to become a leader of the peer-to-peer learning movement that is sweeping the nonprofit community.   Takeaways: Understand the elements of content curation Gain an appreciate for the role content curation can play in your organization Identify examples of how nonprofits and social enterprises use online content curation tools Explore the increased impact that nonprofit curators are achieving Learn how to convince your board and staff that online content curation is worthwhile The one hour, free webinar will be tomorrow (Tuesday, 11/8) at noon pacific / 3p eastern.  We hope you will join us - reserve you spot today.

Encores of the Week

Impact Measurement Framework Shared by the The Center for What Works and Urban Institute (Free) Volunteer Development for Nonprofits   Shared by Nonprofit Management Services, LLC ($5)    Evaluation Tools for Racial Equity   Shared by Capaciteria and Created by Center for Assessment and Policy Development (Free)  Field Building: Your Blueprint for Creating an Effective and Powerful Social Movement   Shared by capbuilders ($19.95)  Tip Sheet: Google AdWords 101   Shared by Social Enterprise Alliance (Free)