25 Random Things that Make the Nonprofit Sector Great
Contents
It's Not All Bad News
25 Random Things that Make the Nonprofit Sector Great
From Rebecca Post, Managing Editor, Fieldstone Alliance
It’s Not All Bad News!
IF YOU'RE A FACEBOOK* USER, you've likely been "tagged" in the past month by friends inviting you to write twenty-five random things about yourself. Here at Fieldstone Alliance, we decided to come up with our own list to remind all of us that, despite the bad news about the economy, many good things continue to be accomplished every day in the nonprofit sector.Take a look at what our staff brainstormed and give yourself a pat on the back. After all, your work at a nonprofit organization really does make a difference—in big ways and small ways.
25 Random Things that Make the Nonprofit Sector Great
1. The sector is always coming up with innovative solutions to society’s problems. A great example is the Harlem Children’s Zone, with its holistic approach to community building, starting with The Baby College.
2. Nonprofits come together in tough times. In December, Intermedia Arts convened a group of arts organizations from the Twin Cities to discuss the State of the Arts in Minnesota. These groups continue to have conversations about how arts organizations can reinvent themselves in the economic downturn.
3. Nonprofits share information and resources. Nonprofits Assistance Fund has a blog called The Nonprofit Harvest that is a great collection of financial management resources from and for nonprofit organizations of every discipline. Fieldstone Alliance releases two free Nonprofit Tools You Can Use articles each month such as December’s popular 20 Emergency Funding Sources and January’s helpful 20 Cost Cutting Ideas.
4. Change is good. The next generation of nonprofit leaders is poised to take on the opportunities and challenges facing the sector. The Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN) promotes an efficient, viable, and inclusive nonprofit sector that supports the growth, learning, and development of young professionals.
5. Nonprofit organizations strive to improve their effectiveness. New tools are being developed to help nonprofits become better organizations. For example, this framework discusses board effectiveness.
6. Nonprofit professionals make long-standing improvements in their communities. For example, look at the Minnesota Literacy Council. Each year thousands of students (children and adults) benefit from reading and math instruction, GED preparation, and many other services.
7. Nonprofits drastically improve the lives of people on a global scale. Feed My Starving Children distributes food in more than 50 countries where natural disasters and economic conditions have created the most severe of needs.
8. Everyone deserves to have a good hair day. Locks of Love is a nonprofit that provides hairpieces to disadvantaged children who have lost their hair due to illness. People grow out their hair, then donate their ponytails for the hairpieces.
9. Need a lift? Angel Flight and similar organizations provide free air transportation to people who have medical needs. These nonprofits remove the barrier of transportation for patients with medical and financial needs.
10. Style and sustenance. Aside from adding to the overall aesthetics and culture of a community, arts-related activities make a financial contribution as well. In Minnesota, the arts contribute an estimated $205 million dollars to the annual economy.
11. The arts are portable. You can take your music with you on an MP3 player, you can take your poetry journal in your backpack, and you can bump into Shakespeare in the park on a warm summer evening. The arts are ever present.
12. A multitude of nonprofits foster creativity and appreciation for our histories and cultures. For example, Mixed Blood Theatre Company is a multi-racial organization that uses theater as a vehicle for artistry, entertainment, education, and social change.
13. Nonprofit leaders and staff are creative and smart. Not only do they know their market and their services, but they come up with numerous ideas to make things work more effectively. CompassPoint is a good example.
14. Nonprofits connect us. Organizations such as Pro Bono Partnership, winner of numerous legal service awards, connects attorneys in corporations and law firms to work on rewarding pro bono projects with nonprofits in the New York tri-state area that serve the poor and disadvantaged.
15. Nonprofits do an incredible variety of things. They rescue animals, help immigrants settle in new communities, and teach children basic skills they aren’t getting at home. What would our lives be like if nonprofits weren’t there all along the way?
16. Nonprofits create jobs. More than 10 percent of American workers are employed by a nonprofit.
17. Nonprofits motivate people to “pay it forward.” An estimated 29 percent of Americans volunteer their time through nonprofit organizations.
18. Nonprofits offer a wide spectrum of career opportunities. There’s a place for everyone—from salespeople, scientists, and computer technicians to teachers, writers, and even bakers.
21. Nonprofits are visionary—literally. Lions Clubs International has worked for years to end preventable blindness. Lions are an international network of 1.3 million men and women in 205 countries and geographic areas who work together to answer the needs that challenge communities around the world.
21. Nonprofits are accountable. Even nonprofits can have a bad day or be influenced by well-meaning but ineffective leaders. Fortunately, groups such as Charity Navigator work to advance an efficient philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of more than 5,300 of America’s largest charities.
22. Nonprofits provide nonpartisan and in-depth information and research. Examples include League of Women Voters, Stateline.org, Public Television, and National Public Radio.
23. Nonprofits break down stigmas through education. Illnesses like bipolar disorder or depression can be among the most stigmatized of health issues, but the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) continues to make a world of difference. NAMI’s mission is to work behalf of individuals and their families to provide support, education, and advocacy on mental health issues.
24. Nonprofits create, for many, a place to hang their hat. What could be more essential than a home of one’s own? Habitat for Humanity has built more than 300,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.5 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter.
25. Give yourself a break. The arts provide much needed escape and entertainment during difficult times. During the Great Depression, movie theater attendance increased, despite people’s limited money for even food and shelter. People still needed creative diversions. The same remains true today.
As I look out my office window—here in the heart of a major city—bald eagles circle overhead. When I was a kid, bald eagles were on the verge of extinction. Through advocacy and public education efforts of various nonprofits and foundations, enough pressure was generated to ban the pesticide DDT. (Not familiar with DDT? Here's a primer.)
Next time you need some good news, pull out this list and add your own accomplishments. Here's to good work.
* Fieldstone Alliance now has a Facebook page. Please become a friend of FA and invite your colleagues and others to do the same on this popular social networking site.
Best Regards,
Rebecca Post
March 18, 2009
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