Built to Change: Catalytic Capacity-Building in Nonprofit Organizations

Summarizes the results of a broad survey of programs, and business and nonprofit experts, in the field of organizational effectiveness

2007 Annual Performance Report

Based on Irvine's Performance Assessment Framework, reports on program impact -- grantmaking, outcomes, and lessons learned -- and institutional effectiveness -- leadership, constituent feedback, and financial and organizational health

Boston Unplugged: Mapping a Wireless Future

Reviews a variety of models that would allow Boston to provide free or low-cost high-speed Internet access citywide. Outlines the benefits and mechanics of citywide WiFi, and lists factors to consider in designing, developing, and deploying a system

Financial Coaching: A New Approach for Asset Building?

Through a literature review and interviews with nonprofit financial coaches, examines the concepts, training, and capacity building involved in financial coaching for low-income families, as well as critiques of existing models and their implications

From Nascar to Cirque du Soleil: Lessons in Audience Development

Examines marketing trends and principles in entertainment and performance. Case studies include nonprofit arts organizations, mega-concert promoters, for-profit entertainment conglomerates, sports promoters and religious organizations

Providing the Missing Link: A Model for a Neighborhood-Focused Employment Program

Outlines a strategy for bridging the gap between low-income neighborhoods and regional workforce development programs. Describes nine implementation steps of a model for increasing career opportunities, and evaluates the feasibility of the program

Understanding Park Usership

Uses five approaches to information gathering and describes how four parks put them into practice, in order to illustrate the value of systematic surveys to understand how people use parks

Can Roanoke, Virginia, Become the Next Bilbao? Taubman Museum of Art

In November 2008, after a $68 million project to build a new museum building in Roanoke was complete, the Taubman Museum of Art reopened. The$15 million needed to fund the new building was still to be raised, and by the end of the 2008 fiscal year (FY) in July, $14.4 million had been borrowed. Before the move, the museum was provided with its space free of any rental, maintenance, security, custodial, and utility fees by a local operating foundation at its Center in the Square. After the move, the costs of staffing and maintaining the facility far exceeded estimates, while the revenues proved far below expectations. In the first year, the museum's operating budget before depreciation was$5.5 million. In fiscal year 2009, an additional $2.8 million had been borrowed and$945,000 paid in interest. This debt expense alone was larger than the entire pre-expansion operating budget. For the grand opening, the Taubman Museum had hired additional staff for a total of 52, but the financial pressure forced four rounds of layoffs, during which the staff was trimmed to 17. At the same time, the admission fee increased, from nothing before the project's beginning to $3 during the capital campaign to$10.50 after opening. Even after these drastic measures, the museum is still struggling, fighting for its very survival. Moreover, other arts organizations complained that the museum had become a drain into which cultural funds were being sucked from foundations and philanthropists in Roanoke Valley.Why did the Taubman Museum's fortunes change so drastically after its move? To what extent was the new building -- rather than the depressed economy -- to blame for the severity of its crisis? What measures during the planning process could have been taken to prevent this catastrophe

INN Index 2022: The State of Nonprofit News

Nonprofit news is driving sustained, multi-year growth, and the number of outlets providing local coverage has rapidly increased over the past four years, according to the 2022 INN Index Report.New data from the INN Index 2022, the fifth annual survey of nonprofit news organizations across North America, offers a look at the sector's trends, opportunities and challenges in the years ahead. The INN Index 2022 is based on 2021 data from 93% of INN's membership

Building Capacity in Nonprofit Organizations

Offers a capacity building model that is based on a review of civil society, sustainable development, and organizational management literature. Reviews effective capacity building programs sponsored or operated by foundations. Includes recommendations