Building a Network Report - March 2019pdf
Building a Network Report - March 2019pdf
Page 1 of 11000
Hannah Colborn shared this file. Want to do more with it?
  1. BUILDING A NETWORKRecommendations for RedefiningCapacity Building in Southeast Michigan Prepared by Michigan Community ResourcesIN PARTNERSHIP WITH MICHIGAN NONPROFIT ASSOCIATION, NONPROFIT ENTERPRISE AT WORK,AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTERMARCH 2019MADE POSSIBLE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE RALPH C. WILSON, JR. FOUNDATION
  2. AcknowledgementsThe Collaborative would like to express its gratitude to each nonprofit leader and ecosystem stakeholder who generously gave their time to be interviewed or participated in a focus group. This report would not have been possible without your candid feedback and thought leadership.Special thanks to each capacity building service provider who provided information for the Ecosystem Map & Inventory. The Collaborative looks forward to working and learning together with many of you to serve nonprofits in Southeast Michigan.Finally, the Collaborative is extremely grateful not only for the financial support of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation to complete this report, but also for their leadership in advancing capacity building in the region.We are also indebted to Co.act Detroit for joining us to share its time, knowledge, space, and networks to support this work.This report was carried out on behalf of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF CO.ACT DETROIT
  3. Michigan Community Resources (MCR) advances the missions of Michigan nonprofit organizations that serve low income individuals and communities through pro bono and low cost legal and other professional services, organizational development, and trusted guidance.The CollaborativeThe Collaborative was made up of partners Michigan Community Resources, Michigan Nonprofit Association, Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, and The University of Michigan Technical Assistance Center. This collaborative was convened by Michigan Community Resources on behalf of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and Co.act Detroit.Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW) improves the impact and performance of fellow nonprofits by working alongside leaders to create high-quality strategic solutions that advance their missions in our communities.The University of Michigan Technical Assistance Center (UM TAC) is dedicated to establishing and promoting socially just communities, and deploys its interventions to support Detroit residents and stakeholders as they work to strengthen and improve their neighborhoods.About the AuthorsMichigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) is a statewide membership organization dedicated to serving the diverse nonprofit sector through advocacy, training, and resources. Membership is open to all Michigan nonprofit/tax exempt organizations. For-profit businesses and government entities may join as affiliate members. BUILDING A NETWORKRecommendations for RedefiningCapacity Building in Southeast Michigan
  4. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
  5. BUILDING A NETWORKReport Contents01 | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY07 | INTRODUCTION11 | METHODS29 | 57 | RESOURCE NAVIGATION TOOL61 |75 | ECOSYSTEM MAP & INVENTORY81 | REFLECTIONS & NEXT STEPS85 | APPENDICESA MODEL FOR BUILDING NONPROFIT CAPACITYROOTED IN PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL AND RACIAL EQUITYA MODEL FOR EVALUATINGNONPROFIT CAPACITY BUILDING TACTICSRecommendations for RedefiningCapacity Building in Southeast Michigan
  6. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
  7. BUILDING A NETWORKMICHIGAN COMMUNITY RESOURCES1The time is ripe for a renewed approach to capacity building for nonprofits. Thanks to decades of groundbreaking work by organizations like the National Community Development Institute and local organizations like New Detroit, the terminology and field of practice for capacity building has evolved from a one-directional focus on "fixing" nonprofits and the communities which they serve, to a focus on providing them with the needed tools, resources, and opportunities to address barriers that limit their success.As the National Community Development Institute (NCDI) notes, "A community is able to guide its own transformation process when it has good information, adequate resources, and the right kind of technical support. When capacity building is done right, social change occurs in response to the voice of the community."1Effective capacity building is contextual, continuous, and collective. The nonprofit ecosystem, including nonprofits, funders, businesses, consultants, networks, intermediaries, academia, and government, are all co-actors in shaping the policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural norms that form the context in which nonprofits operate.1 Satterwhite, O. and Teng, S. cited in CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. (2007). Culturally-Based Capacity Building: An Approach to Working in Communities of Color for Social Change. Cultural Competency in Capacity Building. http://3cjh0c31k9e12hu8v920fcv0-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Culturally-Based-Capacity-Building.pdfTRANSFORMING SOCIAL CONDITIONS IS PREDICATED ON WORKING AS A NETWORK TO DISMANTLE STRUCTURAL RACISM, SOCIAL INEQUALITY, AND OTHER SYSTEMIC BARRIERS.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
  8. 2ExEcutivE SummaryTransforming social conditions in Southeast Michigan is predicated on these co-actors working intentionally as a network to dismantle structural racism, social inequality, and other systemic barriers within individual organizations, the ecosystem, and communities. There is undeniable opportunity to build on the recent attention and activity around capacity building in Detroit and add to the dialogue catalyzed by initiatives such as Building the Engine of Community Development in Detroit (BECDD) and the Detroit Capacity Building Forum. This moment presents an opportunity to reframe how the ecosystem views, values, and invests in capacity building. The recent launch of Co.act Detroit, a physical hub for nonprofit support, provides a place to facilitate reflection and action, and to ground new ideas that emerge from this dialogue in practice. With this in mind, a collaborative of four nonprofit intermediaries—Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA), Michigan Community Resources (MCR), Nonprofit Enterprise at Work (NEW), and the University of Michigan Technical Assistance Center (UM TAC)—coalesced around a shared vision for a capacity building system for Southeast Michigan, starting with Detroit as the core. The report that follows presents our recommendations for investing in this system. It represents the culmination of one and a half years of sharing and mining our decades of collective expertise, a review of capacity building literature, a scan of program evaluation data sets from partner organizations, 7 focus groups, and 4 expert interviews.Guided by our vision of "thriving Southeast Michigan communities through thriving nonprofit organizations," and informed by our collective Theory of Change, our recommendations provide the blueprint for a capacity building system anchored by four components: a New Capacity Building Model, a Resource Navigation Tool, an Evaluation Framework, and an Ecosystem Map.In a broad sense, the recommendations, case studies, and research findings in the report are intended as a resource for the entire nonprofit ecosystem. Still, many of the recommendations that it contains are framed with special reference to Co.act Detroit, recognizing that it will be uniquely positioned to bring elements of the capacity building system to life. Equipping Nonprofits to Drive Social ChangeThe first anchor of the system is a NewCapacity Building Model rooted in principles of social and racial equity. In this model, strengthening the internal functioning of nonprofit organizations is a step in a larger process of transforming social conditions in communities. Advancing social change means tackling large, complex problems that are beyond the scope of any single nonprofit organization or ecosystem stakeholder. Addressing policies, practices, institutions, attitudes, and values that perpetuate social and racial inequality within the nonprofit ecosystem and in communities requires leveraging the resources, strengths, and knowledge of a broad-based network. In practice, leveraging network capacity can take the form of building a coalition around changing grantmaking practices of philanthropy or organizing communities of practice in which multiple capacity building service providers coalesce around shared values.For this reason, our model is underpinned by 2 strategies:GLOSSARY TERMNonprofit: A nonprofit is defined as an organization with a defined mission for social impact. Any revenue the organization generates must go back into achieving the organization’s expressed mission, rather than into the pockets of members or shareholdersFor the purposes of this report, "nonprofit" can refer to organizations that are tax-exempt with a 501(c)(3) designation and/or grassroots organizations run by volunteers, and/or incorporated not-for-profit organizations without a 501(c)(3) designation.GLOSSARY TERMNonprofit Ecosystem: For the purposes of this report, the nonprofit ecosystem includes stakeholders that shape the context in which nonprofits operate including nonprofits, funders, businesses, consultants, networks, intermediaries, academia, and government.
  9. MICHIGAN COMMUNITY RESOURCES3Strategy 1: Build Nonprofit Capacity to Meet Mission Objective: Strengthen the internal capacity of nonprofit organizations to meet their missions. This means investment in 7 capacity areas: Talent; Operations; Funding & Resources; OrganizationalCulture; Strategy & Planning; Program Development, Management, & Evaluation; and Leadership & Governance. The Collaborative approaches each capacity area through the lens of social and racial equity principles. In this way, conversations around advancing social and racial equity within organizations can mimic external conversations around advancing social and racial equity in the nonprofit ecosystem and within communities. TALENTDefinition: Build the capacity of nonprofits to recruit, retain, and invest in the knowledge, skills, and leadership of diverse, capable, empathetic staff at all levelsOPERATIONSDefinition: Build the capacity of nonprofits to manage operational functions such as budgeting and accounting, data and technology, organizational policies and procedures, communications, and human resourcesFUNDING & RESOURCESDefinition: Build the capacity of nonprofits to secure1.Income through fundraising, philanthropic giving, and earned income streams2.Nonmonetary resources (pro bono services, volunteers, in kind donations)ORGANIZATIONAL CULTUREDefinition: Build the capacity of nonprofits to critically examine and challenge the attitudes, practices, and values which shape how they operate internally, and how they engage with their constituents and actors within the nonprofit ecosystemSTRATEGY & PLANNINGDefinition: Build the capacity of nonprofits to develop plans to achieve their organizational goals and to put those plans into actionPROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT, & EVALUATION1Definition: Build the capacity of nonprofits to develop and manage programs and services which are responsive to community needs and voice, and to evaluate the effectiveness of those programs and servicesLEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCE2Definition: Build the capacity of nonprofits to develop diverse, empathetic boards and executive leadership that demonstrate vision and competenceSome tactics to put this strategy into action across all 7 capacity areas: Funding, Assessments, Targeted Convenings, Coaching and Consulting, Mentorship, Fiscal Sponsorship, and Low Cost or No Cost Professional Services.1 This terminology and definition were adapted from Satterwhite, S. & Teng, S. (2007). Culturally-based Capacity Building: An approach to Working in Communities of Color for Social Change. pp.102 lbidSarida Scott, executive director of Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD), participates in a committee meeting at Co.act Detroit. PHOTO COURTESY OF CO.ACT DETROIT.
  10. 4ExEcutivE SummaryStrategy 2: Build Network Capacity for Social ChangeObjective: Strengthen the capacity of nonprofits to work effectively in collaboration with each other and with other nonprofit ecosystem stakeholders to: 1) shape policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural norms that form the context in which nonprofits operate, particularly in communities of color, and 2) multiply the impact of their individual efforts to transform social conditions in communities.Some tactics to put this strategy into action: develop an Ecosystem Map, facilitate communication between nonprofits and funders, and provide facilitation support for collaborations.Creating Access by DesignThe second anchor of the system is a Resource Navigation Tool. Creating access is a core function of the capacity building system envisioned by the Collaborative. We believe that nonprofits can be key drivers to transform social conditions in their communities when they have access to information, resources, and supports to address barriers to success. The tool is designed to foster access by providing: 1.A centralized directory of capacity building resources and providers2.A platform for nonprofits to share feedback on their user experience with capacity building resources and providers.Striving for Continuous ImprovementThe third anchor of the system is an Evaluation Framework. The Collaborative believes that our proposed model for building nonprofit capacity will result in changed attitudes, practices, and policies within individual organizations and the broader ecosystem. Further, we believe that our model will lead to transformed outcomes in communities.Yet, how can we measure progress towards these outcomes? How can service providers working with Co.act Detroit put the proposed capacity building tactics into action and collectively understand the impact of their services on organizations’ internal functioning? How can service providers gather feedback on their services and use it to improve their approach?Our evaluation framework is designed to address these questions along with others related to how to evaluate capacity building activities. It consists of a series of tactics to gather and interpret data to serve the following goals: 1.Examine the impact of capacity building tactics on nonprofits’ organizational functioning2.Evaluate service quality, client satisfaction, gaps in service, and barriers to access3.Measure progress towards outcomes identified in the Collaborative’s Theory of ChangeThe framework also includes methods for feeding this evaluation data back to nonprofit ecosystem stakeholders for continuous improvement of capacity building strategies and services. It is intended to help funders, capacity building providers, and other relevant stakeholders use evaluation findings to better understand unmet needs and challenges of nonprofit clients. This will allow for the development of new interventions and approaches to service delivery."I also think that along with that, this idea of competition versus connectedness is kind of something that we’re trying to shift. Especially when it comes to the game changers at some of these higher levels of resource allocation or power. I think having the ability to speak with one voice about what the changes are that we want to see how it would be better if we want to move the needle on the community as a whole to change expectations for funders about how they’re even going to give grants to organizations, what that looks like... the importance there of...I don’t want to homogenize it but like being able to have a collective voice in talking about what those changes are."COMMENT FROM A FOCUS GROUP ATTENDEEVolunteers from DTE Energy during a skills-based volunteering day with Grace in Action. PHOTO BY MICHIGAN COMMUNITY RESOURCES.
  11. MICHIGAN COMMUNITY RESOURCES5A core value of our framework is allowing nonprofits to define what success looks like for them. This means not holding nonprofits to an unachievable pre-determined standard and, by extension, not creating a structure that forces capacity building providers to do so. Mapping the EcosystemThe Collaborative recognizes that the capacity building system must be grounded in an understanding of the evolving needs and priorities of nonprofit organizations and ecosystem stakeholders to remain dynamic and relevant. To this end, the system’s fourth anchor is an Ecosystem Map. The Ecosystem Map is envisioned as a tool to inform our proposed capacity building system in two ways. First, it will present a comprehensive picture of evolving needs and other key indicators within the nonprofit ecosystem in Southeast Michigan. Second, it will share information on emerging capacity building initiatives so that stakeholders can more effectively consider what can be leveraged and connected.A key mechanism for building out and continually updating a robust Ecosystem Map will be a proposed Biennial Census: "The State of the Nonprofit Ecosystem in Southeast Michigan." The census will be used to gather data on key indicators within the nonprofit ecosystem and on emerging capacity building initiatives through a survey tool. The survey tool, which will differ for nonprofit organizations and other ecosystem stakeholders, can be used to:•Capture evolving needs, characteristics, and barriers faced by nonprofits•Catalog existing capacity building services•Monitor trends in funder investment priorities•Track other key indicators within the nonprofit ecosystem in Southeast Michigan•Identify new and emerging ecosystem initiatives•Measure awareness of existing ecosystem initiatives•Measure connectedness to existing ecosystem initiativesThe data gathered through the census can be used by funders, capacity building providers, and other stakeholders to understand evolving needs and challenges within the ecosystem. Stakeholders, in turn, can use this data to refine their approaches to supporting nonprofits. This data can also be used to demonstrate the connectedness, breadth, and impact of each identified ecosystem initiative across various stakeholder groups. These efforts can then be intentionally documented and mapped, and also be used to facilitate in person connections for deeper impact and information sharing.Dreaming BigFrom the start it was clear that in order to build capacity in a way that was new and transformative for nonprofits, the ecosystem, and communities, our system had to do more than support nonprofits in developing solid budgeting practices, fund development plans, and marketing strategies; it needed to support nonprofits in changing the environment in which they operate and to address systemic issues that perpetuate social and racial inequality in the communities they serve.But how? FOR YOUR INFORMATIONThe Ecosystem Map will: 1) Present a comprehensive picture of evolving needs and other key indicators within the nonprofit ecosystem in Southeast Michigan2) Share information on emerging capacity building initiatives so that stakeholders can more effectively consider what can be leveraged and connected
  12. 6ExEcutivE SummaryWe asked nonprofits, intermediaries, corporate partners, capacity building providers, and others to help us answer that question. What we learned is that the key to equipping nonprofits to drive change in the ecosystem and in communities is to build their capacity to work effectively in collaboration with one another and with other nonprofit ecosystem stakeholders as a network. In “Building a Network," we lay out our blueprint for a capacity building system in Southeast Michigan. Central to this system are strategies to both strengthen nonprofits’ internal functioning and strengthen their ability to function as part of a network collectively striving to advance social change. We invite nonprofits, funders, intermediaries, businesses, and other ecosystem stakeholders to join us as we work to bring these strategies to life in Phase II of this A Detroit nonprofit leader during a recent MCR work. Together we will redefine capacity building in Southeast Michigan.focus group. PHOTO BY MICHIGAN COMMUNITY RESOURCES.
We use cookies to provide, improve, protect and promote our services. Visit our Privacy Policy and Privacy Policy FAQs to learn more. You can manage your personal preferences, including your ‘Do not sell or share my personal data to third parties’ setting using the “Customize cookies” button below.