Blog - Spokes | Resources for Nonprofits

Policy or Procedure?

April 22, 2021 by Michael Simkins

Setting policy is an important responsibility of the board of directors of a nonprofit organization. Determining procedures is not. That’s why board members need to know the difference!

Policies are general statements that express principles or requirements of behavior for the organization. They don’t change often. What are some examples of basic policies nonprofits should have in place?

Conflict of Interest
Whistle Blower
Document Retention and Destruction
Gift Acceptance
Financial Control
Investment

By contrast, procedures lay out the steps and processes by which the policies will be implemented. They do change, as often as needed, to make sure they are working right.

When a nonprofit has paid staff, generally it is the Board’s responsibility to establish polices and the staff’s responsibility to develop the procedures to implement the policies. In an all-volunteer nonprofit, the job of developing procedures probably should be delegated to a committee. In either case, the goal is for the board as a whole to work at the level of policy and strategic direction, and avoid “micromanaging” the organization.

Two good resources to learn more:

What Governance Policies Should Your Nonprofit Have?
Creating Nonprofit Policies

Black History Month 2021: Black-Led and Founded Nonprofits

February 22, 2021 by Grace Nielsen

We often hear the phrase “Black-owned businesses” but what about Black-founded or Black-led nonprofits? In order to continue supporting Black organizations and to honor Black History Month, we have highlighted several with a variety of missions.

R.A.C.E. Matters SLO

R.A.C.E. Matters is a grassroots organization dedicated to center the lived experiences of Black and other People of Color through anti-racism education and cultural projects. R.A.C.E. Matters fulfills their mission through workshops, special events, cultural projects, and rapid response to racial and social injustice.

Outdoor Afro

Outdoor Afro ensures that Black people have access, representation, meaningful participation, and quality experiences in nature with an emphasis on conservation and re-imagination of Blackness in the outdoors.

Black Girls Code

Black Girls Code aims to increase the number of women of color in the digital space by empowering girls of color ages 7 to 17 to participate in STEM fields and become leaders in their communities through exposure to computer science and technology.

Audre Lorde Project

The Audre Lorde Project is a center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Transgender, and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color that works for community wellness and social and economic justice through mobilization, education, and capacity-building.

Sister Love

Sister Love is a Black-founded nonprofit which aims to eradicate the adverse impact of HIV and promote sexual and reproductive health rights for women and families through education, prevention, support, research, and human rights advocacy.

Common Ground Foundation

Founded by rapper Common, the Common Ground Foundation empowers high school students from underserved communities to become future leaders through programs on healthy living, social impact, technology, creative arts, and more.

Trayvon Martin Foundation

Founded by Trayvon Martin’s parents Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, the Trayvon Martin Foundation aims to end senseless gun violence through education and awareness.

For more diversity, equity, and inclusion resources for nonprofits, visit our Resources and Useful Websites page.

Researching Local Nonprofits

February 6, 2021 by Michael Simkins

Looking for nonprofits near you? Perhaps you are thinking of starting a new nonprofit but, before you do, you want to see if there’s already one with a similar mission. Maybe you are a staff member or volunteer of an existing nonprofit and you are looking for nonprofits that complement what you do or with whom you could collaborate or share resources. Here are three online databases that can help you research nonprofits in your area—or elsewhere!

GuideStar has been around for years and provides a database of charities and nonprofits classified in the following nine groups: Arts, Culture and Humanities, Education and Research, Environment and Animals, Health, Human Services, International, Public, Societal Benefit, Religion, and that old faithful, “Other.” Each main category is broken down into various subcategories. You can search by state and city, but not by county without purchasing a subscription.

GreatNonprofits bills itself as “the leading platform for community-sourced stories about nonprofits.” Like GuideStar, you can search by geography (state and city). You can also search on a long list of issue areas from AIDS to Zika Virus. What sets GreatNonprofits apart are the individual reviews and ratings submitted by individuals who have experienced services or volunteered for various organizations.

Cause IQ provides the most sophisticated queries of these three services. Create a free account and you can search using many filters. For example, the first filter I applied was to limit organizations to those in the “San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area.” That yielded 1, 845 nonprofits. Then I applied the additional filter “501(c)3.” That brought my total down to 1,465. I limited that set to “Animal organizations” which reduced my group to 53. Finally, I excluded organizations that filed a 990-N tax form (i.e. those with gross annual receipts of $50,000 or less). The result: a list of 28 animal organizations in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles area with 501(c)3 status and annual income of over $50,000.

Whether you’re searching nearby or afar, add these tools to your research kit.

Low-Cost Professional Development Opportunities for Nonprofits

January 12, 2021 by Grace Nielsen

For smaller nonprofits, having an efficient and knowledgeable team is vital to your organization’s impact. According to Nonprofit Hub, providing opportunities for your staff to grow professionally leads to increased employee engagement and fosters a culture of learning, which can keep your team focused on your mission.

With the challenge of a small budget, extensive or elaborate education may not be an option. However, there are many opportunities for your nonprofit’s team to grow and develop professional skills without spending a large portion of your budget. Taking advantage of resources such as free webinars, workshops, and websites can take your nonprofit’s impact to the next level.

Here are five low-cost development resources for your organization.

Candid offers free live and on-demand workshops on important topics such as proposal writing, fundraising planning, and starting nonprofits. They also regularly offer training on how to navigate the Candid site and utilize its resources.

NonprofitReady is a free learning library for nonprofits that offers guidebooks and courses on diversity and inclusion, volunteer management, board development, and more.

CharityVillage offers free webinars, articles, and podcasts for industry professionals. Their resources offer insight on topics such as volunteer engagement, marketing, and job searches.

TechSoup provides low-cost courses and webinars on topics such as engaging donors, grant writing, and mastering new databases.

Nonprofit Learning Lab offers online trainings and free webinars on a variety of topics such as data visualization and social media for nonprofits.

Conflicts of Interest

December 27, 2020 by Michael Simkins

“Looking at the agenda, does anyone see that they may have a potential conflict of interest?”

As president of a nonprofit board of directors, I routinely ask that question at the beginning of each board meeting. Rarely does anyone speak up, and we go on about our business. We also have a conflict of interest policy and each board member must sign an annual acknowledgement that they have received and read a copy. When it comes to conflict of interest, our board is on top of things, right?

Not necessarily. At a recent meeting of leaders of some of our Spokes member organizations, the topic of conflict of interest came up. These leaders were concerned that their board members did not have a very sound understanding of what constitutes a conflict of interest. That prompted me to do a little research and guess what? I learned that my own concept of conflict of interest, while not wrong, was far too narrow.

Duality of Interests

First of all, the concept of conflict of interest relates to more than direct financial gain. Let’s imagine a board needs to hire a general contractor for some job. Let’s also imagine that one of the board members happens to be a general contractor. We probably all would say that board member should recuse him or herself from the discussion and decision on what contractor to hire for the job. On the other hand, what about a board member who also serves on the board of another nonprofit in the same community. Is that a problem? Could be!

Two considerations can help us to a broader, more complete understanding of conflict of interest. First, we need to think in terms of ethics rather than legality. An action can be strictly legal yet not necessarily the right or good thing to do. Second, we need to remember that among the three “duties” that board members owe to their organization is the Duty of Loyalty—essentially, that they will put the organization’s welfare first.

As the National Council of Nonprofits puts it, “Conflicts can be nuanced and have more to do with a “duality of interests” than a financial conflict.”

What now?

Based on my new understanding, I want to go back and re-read our conflict of interest policy. Are we following it? Does it reflect this broader concept? Does it say anything about how we will manage conflicts of interest that do come up? What should we consider adding or changing? My hunch is there will be work to do.

Want to educate yourself and/or your board on this topic? Here are some excellent resources to share.

Conflicts of Interest | National Council of Nonprofits

Charity Conflicts of Interest: A Guide – Non Profit News …

Nonprofit Conflict of Interest: A 3-Dimensional View – Blue …