Why Detroit?

Where will you be this week? Many nonprofits will be attending the Council of Michigan Foundations and Independent Sector Annual Conferences in Detroit.
Why Detroit? Some say because it’s ground zero for the economic stress of the nation with the Auto Manufacturers in crisis, the nation’s highest unemployment rate and a state government that [...]

Join Your Nonprofit Colleagues in the FutureLab

Our work to define the sector’s role in society will never be more important. Every day we witness the work of the nonprofit sector being defined and redefined by circumstances seemingly beyond our control. For example, the health care reform debate is the nation’s single most contentious issue—even greater than our two foreign [...]

2010 Census: Nonprofits Count!

Michigan Nonprofit Association is embarking on an exciting new initiative to organize Michigan’s nonprofit sector to prepare communities for the 2010 Census. MNA recently organized the Michigan Nonprofit Complete Count Committee to serve as a collaborative, coordinated, statewide campaign to increase participation in the 2010 Census in communities that are at significant risk of [...]

Want to Attend the 2009 Independent Sector Conference?

Michigan Nonprofit Association is pleased to announce a scholarship program for the 2009 Independent Sector Annual Conference, which will be held in partnership with the Council of Michigan Foundations on November 4-6, 2009 at the Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center. This program is generously sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Max M. & [...]

StrategyLab: Building a Stronger Nonprofit Sector

I was invited along with more than 70 other individuals to participate in a “Strategy Lab” hosted by Independent Sector called, Envisioning our Future. The focus? Building a stronger nonprofit sector out of one of our nation’s worst financial crisis. This meeting started with a three-day conference in Colorado and continues now [...]

Summer Reading List

Remember those infamous summer reading lists? Why didn’t that fun seem to continue past high school? Oh yeah, I still have a reading list, it’s just now a giant pile on my table (and spilling onto the floor) of work-related books, articles, as well as personal guilty pleasures like (gasp) Ayn Rand. I was [...]

Are you a Best Managed Nonprofit?

Detroit-area nonprofits listen up! Crain’s Detroit Business is searching for the Best Managed Nonprofits. For all the details and an application, read Crain’s article about this year’s search: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090730/FREE/307309991/-1#
Crain’s states that this year’s search will focus on ways nonprofits are meeting the challenges of the economy. Applications are due August 10 so [...]

Member Perspective: The Power of Nonprofits

I’ve attended hundreds of recognition dinners, receptions, galas and events. A few weeks ago, I was lucky to be part of two particular events that reminded me that volunteers and employees who dedicate their careers to the nonprofit sector are the ones that power the nonprofit sector. I was invited to attend the [...]

Making time for Learning Opportunities

As I leave sunny San Francisco after several days of conferencing, I can’t help but reflect on the high-energy, jam-packed days just behind me. I spent a day last week with the Craigslist Foundation at their Boot Camp held on the campus of UC Berkeley and then attended the National Conference on Volunteering and [...]

Managing Transitions

“You should feel lucky to have a job in this current economy.” We hear this more and more recently as the unemployment rate jumps up to 14%. Yet we sometimes forget the nonprofit sector has, like many other industries, experienced significant turn over. Whether hiring for existing positions or creating new employment opportunities, [...]