Welcome to the Nonprofit Partnership E-News

In this Issue

	May, 2008
	You and Your Strategic Message
	Erie Bike Nights are Fundraising Opportunities for NPP Members
	On Deck in the Education Line-up
	Grant Time
	Grantsmanship Training for Your Organization
	Crossing the Digital Divide

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May, 2008

You and Your Strategic Message

What strategic planning has been to the nonprofit community for a generation, strategic messaging has become today. Strategic planning has taught nonprofits how to organize and focus their functions internally to achieve mission, but strategic messaging teaches them how to organize and focus externally by mobilizing supporters behind their work. Given the competition today and the increasing number of channels for message delivery, the crafting and delivery of your strategic message can be a challenge.

An organization’s strategic message – that set of compelling, attention-getting statements that lays the foundation for conveying more in-depth information, is no longer a task for the public relations departments. It is a fundamental responsibility of presidents and executive directors. Here are six things to keep in mind when crafting your message:

1. Make your message relevant. Self-interest drives what individuals pay attention to and act upon.
2. Give people an opportunity to do what they want to do. Don’t tell people what they need to do.
3. Ask people to do something. Creating awareness, informing, and persuading are the preludes to action.
4. Deliver on your promises. Once you have identified what people want, you must identify the time, money, expertise, and other resources to deliver results.
5. Less is more. Your strategic message is just a prelude to more in-depth learning and involvement.
6. Communication is a priority. Getting your strategic message out through your chosen channels is essential, not optional.

If this sounds like a piece of work your organization needs to dedicate itself to, The Nonprofit Partnership may be able to help. We assist you in crafting a strategic message that is packaged with a compelling story in The Story Project, and our next Story Project training and production session is upcoming on May 22. Call us at 454-8800 for details.

Source: Rebecca K. Leet, “Strong Messages Mean Strong Leaders”, Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 17, 2008.

Erie Bike Nights are Fundraising Opportunities for NPP Members

Here is a great fundraising (and visibility!) opportunity for the summer. Scott Enterprises and Connoisseur Media are partnering up this summer for Bike Night at Quaker Steak and Lube and the Classic Car Cruise In at Steak ‘N Shake every Wednesday night beginning at 6 pm from May 21 through September 24.

Nonprofit Partnership members can sign up to be the exclusive charity each Wednesday night. You can set up a booth and pass out your materials to the hundreds of visitors, classic car lovers, and bikers who will be cruising through. Featured organizations will received on-air recorded promos for their specific week and are permitted to conduct raffles and on-site fundraising if so licensed and approved. Your responsibilities on your chosen Wednesday are to staff your booth, conduct permitted fundraising, and assist with radio and restaurant promo activities like the dunk tank. Sign-ups are on a first come/first served basis by calling or e-mailing NPP at 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org.

On Deck in the Education Line-up

Endowments: The Toolkit, Part 2
Karen Jackson from Results in Giving, Ltd. will be in Erie for her final endowment planning session on Tuesday, May 20 from 1:00 to 3:30 pm at the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, 40 Holland Street behind the Blasco Library. This session will examine the legal structures and documents you will need for your endowment. Bring your questions for discussion during the last half hour.

Nonprofit Financial Management
The second full-day training on the Erie Capacity-Building Collaborative calendar is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28 at GECAC, 18 West 9th Street. Content will include an overview of the entire scope of fiscal management issues for nonprofits, and executive and fiscal management staff are encouraged to attend. All of the ECBC trainings are open to Nonprofit Partnership members.

Our 2008 Nonprofit Leadership Forum features David Joseph and Raye Rawls from the Public Conversations Project in a forum entitled, “Conversations in the Boardroom: From Divisions to Distinctions to Decisions.” The session will take place on Tuesday, June 3 from 9:00 to 11:00 am in the Yehl Ballroom at the Waldron Campus Center at Gannon University.

This two hour experiential workshop utilizes structured exercises, group discussion, and presentation to acquaint participants with the Public Conversation Project’s approach to constructive conversations that lead to robust discussion and an active, engaged Board of Directors. The workshop offers Erie area nonprofit leaders an opportunity to experience and discuss PCP’s approach to intentional communication. Participants will learn to better understand ways in which inquiry can set the tone for constructive interaction, promote reflection one’s own and others’ ideas and purposes, deepen trust and relationships, and contribute to problem-solving and long-term engagement.

The Public Conversations Project guides, trains, and inspires individuals, organizations, and communities to constructively address conflicts relating to values and worldviews. Their work around the world has helped to strengthen communication across divides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as the political Red/Blue divide in the US. The Public Conversations Project is based in Watertown, MA.

David E. Joseph, LISCW, Program Director, is an experienced dialogue practitioner, trainer, facilitator, mediator and consultant who has conducted training regarding dialogue throughout the United States and Africa. Raye M. Rawls, JD, Associate, is a faculty member at the University of Georgia’s Fanning Institute and brings to PCP more than 20 years experience as an attorney, arbitrator, mediator, and trainer. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to catalyze your Board!

RSVP for NPP sessions to 454-8800 of tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org

Grant Time

The mid-year deadline for Nonprofit Partnership capacity-building grants fast approaches. The pre-application questionnaire for capacity-building grants or the full technology grant application is due on June 16. Details and forms are available on our website at www.thenonprofitpartnership.org.

Grantsmanship Training for Your Organization

By all accounts, we are entering one of the most intensive crunches in nonprofit funding history. Cutbacks at every level of public funding, coupled with increased pressure on the healthcare dollar, a lackluster stock market, and a bad economy will conspire to make the next few years the most competitive time for funding we have ever seen....

Time to get your game on and invest a week of your time to build your grantwriting skills so that your proposals are as competitive as they can be.

The world-renowned Grantsmanship Training Program, presented by The Grantsmanship Center, is coming for Erie for a full week this summer, August 11-15, 2008.

The Nonprofit Partnership is contributing $200 toward the cost of the $875 tuition for this program for member organizations. If you are interested in attending this program, please complete the registration form in the Grantsmanship Center brochure and return it with your check for $675 payable to The Grantsmanship Center to:
The Nonprofit Partnership
PO Box 1698
Erie, PA 16507

Crossing the Digital Divide

According to sociologist Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone, the seminal study about the importance of social capital, young people in poverty are particularly at risk for being massively disconnected from the social and economic streams of the future.  To start building connections now and bridging the digital divide, consider the skill-building summer opportunities available in Tech Camps for Kids at the Learning Lab at 12th and Powell.  Details are available at www.pclearn.org.