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)

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IdeaEncore: Top shared resources of 2010

As 2010 comes to an end and we begin to think about the things we hope to accomplish in 2011, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of IdeaEncore.  Your support and use of IdeaEncore has been absolutely essential to our success this past year.    Free Webinars Start out the New Year by learning how to fulfill your resolution to help strengthen nonprofits everywhere by sharing more broadly. Please join us on Wednesday, January 5th, at 1pm Eastern/10am Pacific as Scott and Flo present "Nonprofits create new income streams while sharing knowledge", a free webinarthrough Nonprofit Webinars. IdeaEncore Network: Growing Everyday Visits to our website have been growing by about 20% a month since last summer. There are over 1,000 resources on IdeaEncore with new items coming on every week. Resources you share can reach over 350,000 people each month with our eNewsletter and Partner email outreach. Over 6,400 nonprofit professionals subscribe to updates The network includes 57 Library and Affiliate Partners plus another 50 in various phases of negotiation including some national partners that will greatly increase the resources we can make available to you. Frequent technology updates have made IdeaEncore even more user friendly. IdeaEncore's Top 10 for 2010 Top 5 Selling Items: 1. Board Member Engagement Pack, Shared by Vantage Point, $6.99 2. Fundraising Plan Outline, Shared by EDA Consulting, $10  3. Volunteer Handbook and Employee Handbook on Volunteer Engagement, Shared by Vantage Point, $25 4. Benchmark Against Leading Practice: Human Resources Checklist, Shared by San Diego Social Venture Partners, $10 5. Board Job Description sample pack, Shared by OneOC, $10 Top 5 Free Items: 1. Theory of Change: A planning and team building tool, Shared by BWB Solutions 2. Nine Keys to Reinvigorating Board Leadership, Shared by TCC Group 3. 20 Tips Every Strategic Grantseeker Should Know, Shared by Internaut & Associates 4. What Makes an Effective Advocacy Organization?, Shared by TCC Group 5. Unified Chart of Accounts (UCOA), Shared by The Urban Institute/NCCS Grantwriting Series with GrantStation Some of our most popular items were from our series on grantwriting done in partnership with GrantStation (www.GrantStation.com): Examples of need or problem statements were downloaded by 69% viewers. Examples of organization history were downloaded by 67% of viewers. AED Center for Leadership and Development's proposal to the Ford Foundation was downloaded by 68% of viewers. The Ink People Center for the Arts' proposal to the NEA to fund a program for preserve and continue traditional Hmong culture and art has been downloaded by 65% of viewers. Check out the 5 most downloaded items from IdeaEncore's partnership with GrantStation:  1. Grant Proposal to support the Senior Services Programs from LTSC, Shared by Little Tokyo Service Center 2. Grant Proposal to the Ford Foundation for the New Voices in Human Rights and International Cooperation, Shared by AED Center for Leadership Development 3. Grant proposal from InkPeople to Community Technology Foundation, Shared by InkPeople, Inc. 4. Grant Proposal Components: Part 3 - Introductions 5. Grant Proposal Components: Part 6 - Project or Program Narrative