Nick Flynn's "The Reenactments" Book Launch
On January 25th, Nick Flynn will read from his newest book, The Reenactments, and join in discussion with Rebecca Solnit (author of Invisible Cities, among others). Co-presented by St. Cyprian's & The Rumpus, the event will also feature musical appearances by Penelope Houston and Cass McCombs.
Ticket sales will support Delivering Innovation in Supportive Housing, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of the homeless in the San Francisco Bay Area. More >
How Small Nonprofits Can Improve Their Financial Health
Three-quarters of American nonprofits have annual budgets under $1 million, and most are even smaller. What these organizations lack in size, however, they make up for in impact. They respond to local needs, are absolutely critical to community building, and are staffed by people who understand and care about their communities–communities that have been abandoned by countless others.
Yet, we know from our work with small nonprofits (most recently through the Capital and Capacity for Economic Recovery Initiative) that they often struggle with financial challenges that are unique to their size and structure.
Executive directors of small groups often assume leadership through a deep knowledge and understanding of programs and generally have less experience in finance than those of larger ones. On top of that, it can be hard for groups with limited budgets to bring financial expertise in-house. So the executive director often handles finances, relying on part-time bookkeepers who aren't committed to the organization's strategic goals. Without financial expertise, staff members struggle to analyze their audit data or ask the right questions, and data-driven decision making is just not possible. More >
A Storytelling Platform for Nonprofit Organizations
Are you looking for a better way to tell your story of change?
Do you want to increase funding, volunteer recruitment, and awareness for your cause?
Totella is a community-driven storytelling platform designed for community members to easily tell their story and then present those stories in a compelling way. Our platform allows users to tell their story through pictures, videos, audio, and text. In doing so, communities articulate organizational value, increase engagement between stakeholders, and increase awareness of their cause.
By adopting such a platform, organizations can:
* Increase funding by showing organizational value in an engaging and compelling way (important for donors and fundraising drives)
* Save time by providing members, volunteers, and other stakeholders the tools to tell their story
* Engage their base by providing them a platform to express themselves
* Increase volunteer recruitment through real stories of creating change
* Use it as a campaigning tool for causes by integrating with social networks like Facebook and Twitter
Totella is seeking to partner with five (5) organizations to develop the feature set for non - profit organizations. Organizations that take advantage of this opportunity would be the first to be profiled on Totella at no cost to the organization. Partnership would require active involvement from the organization in providing feedback and testing new features.
If you are interested, send an email to Paul Singh at paul@totella.com.
Greenpeace Action Camp
Apply today for Greenpeace Activist Training Camp – March 18-23, 2013
Are you ready to take your activism to the next level? At Greenpeace Action Camp, we give you the tools you need to be an activist in your community -- from climbing in direct action scenarios to learning how to talk to media. In 2012 we witnessed movements everywhere taking a stand for real change, and this year promises to be even more exciting.
This March, Greenpeace will be gathering together with activists from across the country to hold a week-long direct action training camp in California. There couldn't be a better moment to build the skills, techniques, and strategies that the next generation of activists will need in order stop climate change, protect the oceans and forests, stop toxic pollution, and transition to clean energy. The deadline for applications is February 1st, so please apply today.
At the camp, participants will learn:
● History and philosophy of nonviolent direct action
● Scouting and preparing for a direct action
● Discuss Greenpeace campaigns with the campaigners themselves
● Blockade techniques
● Arts and prop making
● How to talk to media
● Know your rights and legal training
● Climbing in direct action scenarios
● Boat driving for water based direct action
And much more. Find out more and apply today!
One goal of the Greenpeace training program is to spread skills in a variety of direct action techniques throughout the activist world with the idea that the more skilled and experienced activists there are in our shared movements, the better for all. We recognize the fact that most, if not all, meaningful social movements throughout history have been conceived, organized, and orchestrated from the ground up by front-line communities. We also see how the environmental activist movement has often failed to be inclusive and supportive of these very same communities. As a larger, well resourced activist organization, Greenpeace would like to be a part of changing this dynamic by supporting all communities through offering direct action skills trainings, resource development, and bringing different activist communities together by creating a safe and inclusive space for skill sharing and learning.
To that end, we will prioritize outreach to people in marginalized, underrepresented, and front-line communities. People of color, women, especially women of color, LGBTQ and gender nonconforming individuals, and those with limited financial resources are all highly encouraged to apply.
Study on Nonprofit Investing
Raffa Wealth Management, LLC (RWM) and Raffa, PC today announced the launch of The Study on Nonprofit Investing (SONI), to provide senior finance executives at nonprofit organizations with peer benchmarking data on investment policies and investment performance. The survey is accessible via an online registration here, will interview finance executives at trade associations, public charities and private foundations. All survey respondents will receive a full copy of the results, which will be replicated annually. Amplitude Research has been commissioned to conduct the survey.
"Finance executives at nonprofits today are really operating in a vacuum with regard to solid peer data about investment policies and performance," said Dennis Gogarty, president of Raffa Wealth Management. "We created SONI to respond to this void, and to provide nonprofits with the benchmarking data they need to strengthen their policies, reach their investment potential and ultimately better serve their communities."
The survey results will identify best practices in nonprofit investment policies including:
· How cash reserves are segmented
· How long-term investments are allocated
· How to respond to temporary short falls in revenue
· How to best manage earnings on long-term investments
· Who has investment decision-making authority
The survey will also look at average annual ROI for each type of nonprofit surveyed including associations, charities and foundations.
It is anticipated that survey results will provide nonprofit administrators and their governing boards with a new set of tools to measure the success of nonprofit investment management strategies so they can more effectively fulfill oversight and fiduciary responsibilities, strengthen investment decision-making, and ultimately improve bottom line results.
Nonprofit organizations that would like to participate in the survey must register by January 18, 2013 at: SONI Registration Form
Participation is anonymous and responses will be analyzed collectively with the results of other survey participants.
The Tides Holiday Party!
On December 14th, Tides staff gathered to celebrate the holidays and the end of the year. The #WhatsPossible awards were given out to 12 of our star employees (check out our Facebook page for the winners), and great food and drink was had by all. Here's to a great 2013! More >
