2009 Nonprofit Economic Climate Discussion and Resources

In December 2008, Fiscal Management Associates (FMA) and the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) joined together to present a workshop that offered nonprofit leaders concrete tools to lead their organizations in response to the current ecnomic challenges. With the support of The Clark, Robin Hood, and Tiger foundations, the tools and presentation from this program are available online here. The link offers a 90 minute webinar and powerpoint and various tools.
Topics include:

• How the current market environment will affect nonprofits
• Practical scenario planning and modeling: how to develop smart, strategic responses
• Recognizing the hidden opportunities to strengthen your standing
• Revenue and expense considerations
• Cash flow management and managing credit
• Role of the Executive Director and Board in leading the organization through a downturn

Community leaders to be honored

The National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York, formerly the National Conference of Community and Justice, will honor 33 people, a family and an organization Thursday at its annual Community Leaders Awards Luncheon in the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

The honorees will be introduced by John G. Horn, managing partner of the Buffalo office the law firm of Harter Secrest & Emery, and Daryl E. Rasuli of Rasuli and Associates, the luncheon co-chairmen.

Read more here about the community leaders being recognized.

BoardSource Offers 990 and Economy Advice

BoardSources offers two helpful articles for nonprofit executive directors. The first article gives an overview of the new 990 and what it means for nonprofits. The second article is by Barry D. Gaberman, Board Chair of BoardSource, and relates 10 smart things a board can do when facing financial crisis.

Upstate voices input for Gov. Paterson

Hillary Rodham Clinton will soon vacate her Senate position to become U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration. Gov. David Paterson will then appoint a Senate replacement. Upstate communities are rightly adamant the new senator pay attention to their concerns, which often are overshadowed by the political power of New York City and other downstate regions.

The Poughkeepsie Journal editorial board reached out to editorialists across upstate, including The Buffalo News Editorial Page Editor, Mike Vogel, to get his thoughts on these issues - and to find out what the new senator needs to know about upstate. Read the full editorials here.

Downturn 2008: Harvard Business Survival Guide

Harvard Business Publishing has developed a resource section featuring information and resources for manager's on the economic downturn. The information is available here.

Still looking for that gift for the person who has everything?

Have you seen the gift cards out for donating to charity? I know all of the pundits are saying that gift cards are a bad gift this year since you never know how long that store is going to be around! But philanthropic gift cards? Never heard of them, not until this week!

What a great gift to give that "hard to buy for" person who has everything...or a way to get kids into the spirit of the holiday, and out of that consumeristic (is that a word?) mindset that they get this time of year!

Check out the Good Card that your "givee" can use to donate to 1.5 million different nonprofits! Get your board members to use them as corporate or family gifts...get your family members to use them to help out...in any event, promote them as a way to give this holiday season!

If you missed yesterday's meeting

If you missed yesterday's meeting of the WNY ED Network, don't worry. It was such a great discussion that it's being carried over to the next meeting.

Attendees welcomed Bill O'Connell, ED of the Homeless Alliance of WNY. Bill provided us with great information on policy making and lobbying (yes, nonprofits can...and if you don't think so, we'll see you on March 4th!).
"Nonprofits are in a unique position to inform" legislators about the issues that you face every day, and they want to know the numbers, the funding and other alternatives, Bill said. He also urged attendees to frame their discussions with reporters, uring them to become an asset to the media and be recognized as a community expert on the issues facing your nonprofit. It was also pointed out that you want to stress the importance of lobbying to your Board of Directors and gain their crucial support of the organization's efforts.

The WNY ED Network also welcomed Pat Johnson, Associate Professor at Canisius College. Pat talked about the project opportunities through the Nonprofit and Government Accounting course. The goal is to get MBA and senior students involved with nonprofits early in the semester. In the past, they have assisted with development and review of policies and procedures, governance, writing resource guides, etc...If you're interested, she can be reached at johnsonp@canisius.edu.

We also reviewed the results of our Skills Inventory Survey to date. A big thanks to those of you who took a minute to answer the four questions...The number of ED's who are willing to help each other is certainly indicative of what makes Buffalo a great place to work!

So what's ahead? Our Wednesday, March 4th meeting will be extended one hour, starting at 9:00 a.m. for networking with the program starting at 9:30 a.m. By that time, this recession will be 15 months long, just one month shy of the previous record 16 months! How will it be affecting your organization's donations, funding, staffing, programs, etc...?

Please join us for a great discussion by several community leaders about what you can do to help your organization through these difficult economic times. Watch here for more details!