Nonprofit Montgomery!

Montgomery County Board Vacancies

noreply@blogger.com (Molly Knopf) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:18:00 +0000

Montgomery County Board Vacancies
One of the ways in which nonprofits can influence issues critical to their missions and their communities is to be engaged with County boards, committees and commissions that work on these issues. Please take this opportunity to check out some of the groups currently seeking new members – it takes positive action on your part to make this happen. Current opportunities are listed below. In addition to nonprofit staff, your board members and community supporters are often great folks to recommend for these appointed positions.

We would love to hear your comments on how your nonprofit has used this kind of participation to advance your mission and the voice of your community. Please click on comments below.

County Executive Isiah Leggett has stressed his commitment to representation on all of the County’s boards, committees, and commissions that is reflective of, and responsive to, our County’s residents. Public participation contributes to the work of County government and provides a valuable service to the community when a variety of issues, concerns, and viewpoints are presented.

Currently, there are valuable opportunities to serve on the following:

Department of Permitting Services
Adult Public Guardianship Review Board

The deadline for applications is November 14.

Animal Matters Hearing Board
Commission on Aging
Commission on Common Ownership Communities
Historic Preservation Commission
Rustic Roads Advisory Committee
Sign Review Board
Taxicab Services Advisory Committee
Victim Services Advisory Board

The deadline for applications is November 21.

Please share this notice with anyone who may be interested.

You may access vacancy announcements for boards, committees, and commissions through the following link. http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/exec/vacancies/pr_list.asp.

Councilmember Nancy Floreen Applauds NM!

noreply@blogger.com (Molly Knopf) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Our non-profits are the backbone of the county, the unsung heroes of the day lending a helping hand in the time of need or even in a matter of life and death. It’s true, but you don’t need me to tell you that. Platitudes and pats on the back have their place, but public policy is a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” business, and what we all really need is to help each other move forward. To that end, I applaud the launch of this new website (that pat on the back was absolutely necessary), and I’m pleased to offer a bit of my perspective.

The Health and Human Services Committee and the Council Grants are excellent places to start for those of you who want to keep up with public policy, but there are also important issues tucked away in other committees. You may have heard about the Hillmead controversy a few months back since it got quite a bit of ink in the local media. Although ultimately we did not designate that property for affordable housing, many nonprofits chimed in, reminding the Council that there are about 150 families with children currently homeless in the County, and your voices added real weight to the debate.

Another issue, with a potentially larger impact on the nonprofit community, was buried in the spring budgeting process. I proposed eliminating the impact tax for non-profits providing direct services. The impact tax is assessed on new construction or additions to current structures in order to offset the costs associated with increased demand on public infrastructure, specifically the neighboring roads. We need the impact taxes, certainly, but I felt that the burden was too high for non-profit organizations who were already struggling with staggering property prices. I’m pleased to say that this particular measure passed even though we didn’t hear much from the non-profit community. Next time we might not be so lucky, so please help me help you!

Again, I’m really happy to see the launch of this site, and please feel free to contact me if you need help sorting through the mountain of information that comes out of the Council. Keep up the good work!

Submitted by Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen

Foreclosure Crisis Remains in the News in Montgomery County

noreply@blogger.com (Molly Knopf) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:38:00 +0000

The foreclosure rate continues to increase in Montgomery County, affecting more and more people, as well as the nonprofit organizations that assist these folks impacted by this crisis. Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett wrote an article about the crisis in Montgomery County in the August 17 edition of The Washington Post. The Gazette just published a story about how the rates are still increasing in Montgomery County and elsewhere in the state.

Let us know how the foreclosure crisis is impacting you and/or the services your organization provides!

Nonprofit Community Response to Foreclosures in Montgomery County

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:43:00 +0000

Foreclosure rates around the country are increasing at an alarming rate each month and Montgomery County is no exception. Montgomery County experienced 900 foreclosure filings in February and March of this year, giving it the second-highest rate of foreclosures in Maryland.

We would like you to take this opportunity to share how your organization has been affected or is addressing the foreclosure crisis. We would love to have stories about the individuals and families you are serving (without identifying information to maintain their privacy). With your help, we will be able to create a report on the nonprofit community’s response to this crisis. Please click on comments below to tell us your story.

A new source of foreclosure prevention information can be found on Montgomery County's Department of Housing and Community Affairs' site.

The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington has recently released a report detailing nonprofit organizations working with victims of the foreclosure crisis titled You Have 10 Days to Move Out. The report highlights, among many other nonprofits around the region, the Latino Economic Development Corporation, providing services in Montgomery County to help prevent foreclosures and increase homebuyer education.

More information regarding the nonprofit community's response to the foreclosure crisis can be found at the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington blog. More information regarding the scope of the foreclosure crisis in the Washington DC region can be found in George Mason Univesity's report.

Big Train Baseball Update

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:46:00 +0000

Bethesda Big Train Baseball's schedule is complete! Click on the link below to see the full schedule (and the nonprofit honorees) from May 31 to July 26.

Saturday May 31 - Habitat for Humanity

Wednesday June 4 - Fields of Dreams
Friday June 6 - Nonprofit Montgomery!
Saturday June 7 - Northwest Little League & Friends of the Library
Thursday June 12 - Interages & MCEA
Friday June 13 - BCC Baseball & Montgomery County Collaboration Council
Sunday June 15 - Bethesda Little League & Jewish Council for the Aging
Wednesday June 18 - Rockville Baseball Association
Friday June 20 - Bethesda Cares
Saturday June 21 - Capital City Little League
Wednesday June 25 - KEEN
Friday June 27 - Mobile Medical Care & League of Women Voters
Sunday June 29 - Maryland State Dairy Princess Association & Washington, DC Little Leagues

Saturday July 5 - Jewish Foundation for Group Homes
Wednesday July 9 - Children's Inn
Friday July 11 - Manna Food Center
Saturday July 12 - Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad
Wednesday July 16 - National Center for Children and Families & Silver Spring-Takoma Park Babe Ruth League
Saturday July 19 - A Wider Circle
Sunday July 20 - Arts & Humanities Council & Montgomery Community Television
Monday July 21 - Jewish Volunteer Connection/Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
Friday July 25 - Class Acts Arts
Saturday July 26 - The Dwelling Place

Bethesda Big Train Baseball to Honor Nonprofits

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:08:00 +0000

The Bethesda Community Base Ball Club (BCBBC) is pleased to announce that again this summer they will showcase the extraordinary nonprofits of Montgomery County.

The BCBBC will honor one or two nonprofits for each of the 24 home baseball games of the Bethesda Big Train to be played at Shirley Povich Field this summer. The Big Train is a team of college all-stars who come from all over the country to play in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. Unless there is rain, the Big Train usually draws between 600 and 900 fans each night. Most are families with young children.

Each nonprofit that signs up to participate will receive 100 free tickets and will be able to have a table to set up a display and banner and hand-out information about the organization. The organization will get a two paragraph write-up in the team's game night program insert. A representative will be announced to the crowd and will be able to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at 7:20 p.m. just before the game starts.

The gates at Povich Field open at 6 p.m. each game night. The games start at 7:30 p.m. For more information about Big Train baseball, including the schedule and directions to the field, please go here.

BCBBC will provide your organization with 100 free tickets. The tickets are valued at $7 for adults, $5 for students and military, and $3 for kids 5-12. You are free to use the tickets as you see fit. You may give the tickets to the families you serve or to your volunteers or you may sell the tickets as a fundraiser for your organization.

Your organization may schedule a picnic in the Davis Family Picnic Pavilion at Povich Field before the game. You would pay the BCBBC for the cost of the picnic (the game tickets are free). For information about the Big Train picnics including menu options and costs, please go here.
You could include the picnic as part of your fundraiser or volunteer night.

If your organization would like to participate, please respond to Bruce Adams by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 9. Please tell Bruce the contact person for this project and your preferred date by indicating your first three priorities from the dates listed below. You will note that some groups from last year and some youth baseball organizations have already claimed dates. We will likely have two nonprofits for some of the most popular dates. If you would like to do a fundraiser and are able to commit to buy 100 picnics, we will reserve the picnic pavilion for you and try to make you the only featured nonprofit that night.

Bruce will try to respond within a few dates of your request so that you will be able to begin to publicize your game night. By May 15, he will need your logo and a two paragraph write-up for the game night program.

We hope you take advantage of this offer and are able to have a great night at the ballpark.

Saturday May 31 - Habitat for Humanity (sponsored by Hopkins & Porter)
Wednesday June 4 - [need a military nonprofit] & Fields of Dreams
Friday June 6 - Nonprofit Montgomery!
Saturday June 7 - Northwest Little League and Friends of the Library
Thursday June 12 - MCEA School's Out Night
Friday June 13 - BCC Baseball
Sunday June 15
Wednesday June 18 - RBBA Baseball
Friday June 20 -
Saturday June 21 - Capital City Little League
Wednesday June 25 -
Friday June 27 - League of Women Voters
Sunday June 29 - Maryland State Dairy Princess Association

Thursday July 3 -
Saturday July 5 -
Wednesday July 9 -
Friday July 11 -
Saturday July 12 - Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad
Wednesday July 16
Saturday July 19 - A Wider Circle
Sunday July 20 -
Monday July 21 -
Friday July 25 -
Saturday July 26 -

Montgomery County Council Grant Review

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:54:00 +0000

The Report of the County Council's Grants Advisory Group is online at the Montgomery County Council's web site.

The County Council appointed a community Grants Advisory Group to review grant applications from nonprofit organizations and to provide evaluative comments on the proposals. The Grants Advisory Group Report provides one page evaluative comments for each of the 186 grant applications they reviewed. As directed by the Council, the Report of the Grants Advisory Group does not provide any ranking or scoring of applications.

The Report is set up in two parts: The first web-link has the Table of Contents, an Executive summary, and a summary spreadsheet of all the applications. The summary spreadsheet also lists the page number for each application's evaluation. The second link contains all of the individual evaluations.

The next step in the grants process, as directed by the Council, is the preparation of a staff memorandum listing those grants that are most highly recommended. Our goal is to have that memorandum available Monday, May 5. That will be sent out via e-mail.

Finally, on Tuesday, May 13, in the morning the Council is scheduled to have a budget worksession on community grants. The Council may make tentative decisions on funding of grants that day. The Council is expected to make decisions on the entire County operating budget later that same week, on May 15.

OCP E-Communications

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:50:00 +0000

The Office of Community Partnerships in Montgomery County is trying to spread the word to the greater public about programs, events, and other information (even recipes!) via their weekly e-bulletin and monthly e-newsletter, entitled Partnerships.

OCP Director Bruce Adams spoke of his office's attempt to publicize, moving from the original mail-outs to cyberspace.

"We're trying to reach as wide an audience as would be interested," he said. "Folks in faith-based groups, community leaders, information leaders, and others."

The Partnerships e-newsletter is an interesting collection of feature articles, observations, event notices, and calendar events.

In April, there are profiles of new staff, including Lily Qi, the Community Liaison for Asian, Pacifice Islander, and Middle Eastern Americans, and Reverend Tim Warner, the Community Liaison for the African American and Faith Communities. There is also a trivia question about the makeup of the African immigrant community in Montgomery County. Adams is responsible for the aforementioned recipe, his mother Polly Webster's rice pudding, which appeared in the first issue last October.

The OCP April e-newsletter, and subscription link, can be found here.

The OCP is also looking for help with the monthly e-newsletter. Please get in touch with the staff via e-mail if you would like to get involved with Partnerships.

County Council Public Hearing Testimony

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:31:00 +0000

April 7 was an historic night for the collective nonprofit sector in Montgomery County. For the first time testimony on the county's operating budget from the nonprofit sector as a whole was presented to the county council in a public hearing. The testimony was developed from the convening of nonprofit leaders on April 1st. Becky Wagner, Nonprofit Montgomery's co-chair, did a terrific job in testifying - unlike most folks who read from their written testimony, Becky spoke directly to the Council about two key issues for the entire sector. These issues: maintaining at least the current level of support for safety net services nonprofits and providing and raising the inflationary adjustment in the County Executive's budget from 1% to 2%, and to 3% if at all possible in this year of huge county deficits. To read the bullet points for the oral testimony and the full written testimony, press on the link for the full article.

ORAL TESTIMONY ON THE ’09 OPERATING BUDGET
To the
MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL
APRIL 7, 2007

• Nonprofit Montgomery! thanks the members of the County Council

• Unique moment - collective voice – convening of 80

• Rich tradition of county-nonprofit partnership

• We are the social safety net for the community – safety net needs more resources to meet growing needs, but maintain investment at least at current levels; many of us are preparing to serve more as the economic realities settle into our community; we ask your support as we plan to do more, without increases in support.

• Inflationary adjustments for contracts are essential to continue and expand service delivery - the current budget recommends 1% ; We urge a minimal increase of 2%. Just as you are negotiating employee contracts, we know you are aware that we too struggle to pay our employees competitive wages, provide benefits and keep the lights on! (Note: every 1% increase is $225,000 according to council staff).

• We want to work with the County Executive and Council to pursue new ways of doing business: we have begun this conversation with the County Executive and once the budget period is past - we hope to work with you to create efficiencies and develop creative solutions to our County's challenges - e.g., the expanded inclusion of nonprofits in the county’s cooperative purchasing agreements; some advance payment mechanisms for a portion of county contracts, as other jurisdictions have done.

• If you will consider our ability to leverage and save county dollars you will recognize that we are part of the answer to sustaining Montgomery County's service during this economic downturn.

• Recognize our Economic Impact - 16.5% of private employment; $1.7 billion in wages; $3.6 billion in spending in 2000, a substantial percentage of which is spent within Montgomery County.

• Use our Eyes, Ears and Expertise

WRITTEN TESTIMONY ON THE ’09 OPERATING BUDGET
To the
MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL
APRIL 7, 2007

Nonprofit Montgomery! thanks the members of the County Council for the opportunity to testify at this public hearing on the FY’09 Operating Budget. Thank you also for the role the Council has played in continuing the rich tradition of partnership between county government and nonprofits.

This is a unique moment for the Montgomery County nonprofit community because this is the first time we are coming before you with a collective voice to address budget concerns that affect the nonprofit sector as a whole.

Eighty nonprofit leaders came together at a convening on April 1 co-sponsored by Nonprofit Montgomery! and the Funders Roundtable of Montgomery County to discuss the County Executive’s proposed FY’09 operating budget and to consider a collective response to the budget on issues representing the nonprofit sector as a whole. Our written and oral testimony represent the consensus of the convening attendees, after discussion and lively debate.

As is always true at Nonprofit Montgomery! convenings, nonprofit leaders in attendance represented large, mid-size and small organizations who deliver critical services for Montgomery County. Some of the leaders present are at the helm of nonprofits with a long and rich history. Others, most often working in communities that embody the “new” Montgomery County, are delivering needed services. Many of these organizations are not only of high quality, but have grown from community grassroots and meet the particular requirements of ethnic, cultural and other communities.

County government enlists the skills and abilities of the nonprofit sector to carry out many of the county’s goals and mandates to provide a social safety net for Montgomery County’s most vulnerable residents. At the same time, the nonprofit sector leverages many times over every county dollar we receive with private funding, state and federal government grants and contracts, as well as volunteer hours. In addition, we prevent current and future costs that would otherwise be required if our programs did not exist. We have included below specific information developed recently on the impact and return on investment of the county’s nonprofit sector.

Our written testimony has three parts:
• two recommendations on budget issues that affect the nonprofit sector as a whole;
• specific ways in which we hope you will work with us in the important period after the budget has been adopted; and
• statistics on the impact and return on investment of the nonprofit sector in Montgomery County. (Attached to the testimony is an expanded briefing on the impact of nonprofits in the county, including leverage of dollars received, cost savings and economic impact)

Recommendations on FY’09 Operating Budget

1. Investment in social safety net programs for poor and vulnerable - Working with county government, the nonprofit sector is the social safety net for the most vulnerable of Montgomery County’s residents. Given the economic realities at the national, state, county and individual levels today, we continue to lose ground as more and more residents face economic hardships including loss of jobs, health care insurance and, in some cases, their homes.

There is no question that a strong and adequate safety net needs more resources to meet the county’s growing needs. We want to make this point clear because we are already seeing significant increases in service requests across the sector. We recognize the arduous decisions you face in crafting a balanced budget when confronted with unprecedented deficits in the coming years. However, we ask that you, at minimum, maintain the investment in safety net programs serving our most vulnerable neighbors in the FY’09 operating budget.

2. Inflation adjustment - Nonprofits are facing major increased costs for energy and health care similar to the county government and other Montgomery County businesses. In addition, one of the well-documented dilemmas for nonprofits is providing fair compensation to staff members in terms of both salaries and benefits while also keeping our commitment of offering services to those who need them.

Our staff members are facing the same economic challenges bringing many of their fellow county residents to our doors. As nonprofit leaders, we must find ways to make fair compensation adjustments so employees can meet their own “inflation adjustments.” Reasonable inflation adjustments for contracts are essential to continue and expand service delivery.

The County Executive’s budget recommends 1% inflationary adjustment. We urge the Council to adopt a minimal increase of 2%. Just as you are negotiating employee contracts, we know you are aware that we too struggle to pay our employees competitive wages, provide benefits and keep the lights on!

Working Together on New Ways of Doing Business

One of Nonprofit Montgomery!’s goals is to bring nonprofit leaders together to share ideas, “best practices,” and innovations in order to continually strengthen the county’s nonprofit sector as a whole. In many cases, we will be building on innovations that are already being developed by nonprofits within Montgomery County but are not necessarily known widely. In other cases, taking an evidence-based approach, we will be identifying what has worked in other areas.

We want to work with the County Executive and Council to pursue new ways of doing business. With the support of the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships, we have begun this conversation with the executive branch. Our top priority for this work in 2007-2008 has been the solicitation, execution and administration of county contracts with the nonprofit sector. We have an ongoing procurement working group comprised of County government department heads and nonprofit leaders. The group, chaired by David Dise and Uma Ahluwalia, is implementing a jointly developed work plan.

Based on this work, Nonprofit Montgomery! is taking the lead in putting forth ideas and generating feedback from nonprofits about ideas for increased nonprofit inclusion in county contracts that could yield cost savings. Thus far, the top 3 areas of interest to nonprofits – given their wide ranging impact on the budgets of nonprofits– are gasoline, insurance and telephone services. Another area we are exploring is various methods of providing advance payments on selected contracts with nonprofits, based on techniques and experiences from other jurisdictions and Montgomery County’s own past experience with this approach.

We believe there are many other creative solutions that can be developed with this type pf partnership approach. We look forward to working with you and your staffs to create efficiencies and develop creative solutions to our County's challenges during this difficult period.

Impact and return on investment of the nonprofit sector in Montgomery County

If you will consider our ability to leverage and save county dollars you will recognize that we are part of the answer to sustaining Montgomery County's service during this economic downturn. Nonprofits save money, multiply every dollar they receive, and strengthen our county, our communities and our residents in innumerable ways.

The nonprofit sector is also an important part of the overall economic base of Montgomery County. The sector comprises 16.5% of private employment; $1.7 billion in wages; $3.6 billion in spending in 2000 (latest published figures), a substantial percentage of which is spent within Montgomery County.

What follows is a detailed overview of the ways in which investments in nonprofits in Montgomery County provides a substantial ROI to the County. We hope it will provide valuable information to you, and also serve as the basis for further discussion with you and your staff.

IMPACT and RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Nonprofits save money, multiply every dollar they receive and strengthen our county and our communities. A few examples follow:

Nonprofits save money by preventing and solving problems, now and in the long term.

 If 50% of elderly adults who receive in-home care from the Jewish Social Services Agency (JSSA) were instead placed in nursing homes, the total annual cost would be 15 times higher – or $96 million a year – than the $6 million it costs for JSSA to provide services and keep those 1,000 elders in their homes.

Nonprofits multiply the financial resources they receive from individuals, corporations, government, and foundations by accessing other funding sources, employing volunteers, and using every donated good and service.

 Manna Food Center turns each dollar of cash into $5 worth of food through food donations and distribution. Manna serves 2,000 families each month with donations from grocery stores, community food drives, individuals, and the USDA surplus food program.

 Interfaith Works has a $47,000 contract supporting the Interfaith Clothing Center and Up-county Interfaith Clothing Center. This $47,000 contract leverages $230,000 in contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. It results in contributions of clothing and household goods valued at $3.4M and 19,900 hours of volunteer service. The program served 14,548 individuals last year. The opportunity to access services at the centers helps families pay their less forgiving bills such as rent and utilities.

 The Arts and Humanities Council reports that more than 11,000 volunteers contributed close to 800,000 hours in 2001 at a value of $11.2 million.

Nonprofits strengthen our community by connecting people to each other, to services and to issues that matter to all of us.

 The United States has more soccer players than any other nation, and soccer is the fastest growing team sport in the country, in part because it crosses so many cultural boundaries. MSI, the largest youth sports organization in Montgomery County, provides 15,000 young people with the chance to play soccer, regardless of age, location, income, or physical ability. MSI receives no county funding and contributes to the maintenance and development of soccer fields at county public schools and parks.

 IMPACT Silver Spring educates and trains diverse residents in leadership and advocacy so that they can work across lines of race, class, and culture on challenging community issues. Parents who participate in IMPACT’s Parent Training Institute learn how to get involved in their children’s education, joining action teams at local schools, creating parent groups for immigrant parents, collaborating with administrators to make school-wide improvements, and making PTAs more inclusive. Last year, IMPACT engaged 200 minority, low-income parents – many of them immigrants – in five schools.

 In 1990, Imagination Stage in Bethesda pioneered its innovative approach to bringing together deaf and hearing students in the same classes and productions. Last year, more than 1,000 children and young adults participated in its Deaf Access programs and exhibit tours, along with more than 20,000 audience members.

 Identity, serving up-county Latino youth, is working to challenge negative stereotypes often associated with Latinos throughout the county. Youth volunteers are actively engaged in developing peer networks and contributing to the general community, including volunteering. They are also engaging their parents in community activism, especially in their schools.

 The Music Center at Strathmore in Maryland is a state-of-the-art 1,976-seat concert hall and education center. Supported by a public and private venture between the State of Maryland, Montgomery County, and corporate and individual philanthropists, the Strathmore offers audiences an impressive range of arts programming through its founding partners: the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Performing Arts Society, the National Philharmonic, the Levine School of Music, CityDance Ensemble, and the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Working in partnership with business, government and concerned citizens,
nonprofits have a substantial impact on the economic base of Montgomery County.

 Nonprofit employment accounts for 16.5% of total private employment in Montgomery County, representing 38,650 jobs.

 From 1998 to 2005, nonprofit employment in the county grew 22.11% compared to a total employment growth of 9.8%. Nonprofit wages in this period grew 68.7% compared to total wage growth of 45.2%.

 In 2005, Montgomery County nonprofits generated $1.7 billion in wages or 6.3% of the County’s total wages from public and private sectors combined

 In 2000, nonprofits in Montgomery County spent nearly $3.6 billion, a significant percentage of which was spent within Montgomery County.

 Statewide, Maryland’s nonprofits generated $9.9 billion in wages in 2005, or more than 8% of the state’s total payroll. These wages translated into an estimated $450 million of personal income tax revenue for Maryland’s state and local governments and approximately $1.9 billion in federal tax revenues.

The Context

Have you used nonprofit services lately? Although we often think of nonprofits as serving only our most vulnerable neighbors, in fact, every person at every income level in Montgomery County has turned at some time or another to a nonprofit for services, whether to attend a world class symphony, to make sure a middle-school daughter is in a vibrant after-school program, to provide day care services for an elderly dad with Parkinson’s, or to advocate for improved traffic patterns, additional stop signs or storm drains for the neighborhood.

One of the main selling points for businesses and individuals moving to Montgomery County is the high quality of life, and much of this is made possible through the nonprofit community. Although we all use nonprofits - and also often volunteer our time and money to them - few of us know the impact of the nonprofit community and the tangible and quantifiable results they provide so cost-effectively.

What nonprofits do best is change lives by leveraging public and private dollars to achieve concrete, measurable results. This has already translated into huge cost savings for County government and the private sector, whose employees also use nonprofit services. As if this payoff wasn’t enough, nonprofits employ a significant percent of the private workforce in the county (16.5%) and generate substantial personal income tax contributions.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this testimony.

~ MaryAnn Holohean
Director
Nonprofit Montgomery!

Important Testimony on Monday, April 7

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Representing the collective nonprofit sector for the first time in public hearings on the '09 operating budget, Nonprofit Montgomery! is testifying before the County Council on this coming Monday night, April 7, sometime between 7:15 and 7:45 PM. The Council hearings start at 7:00 PM and we are speaker #15.

Please plan to attend the Council hearing on Monday during the time of the testimony. Having both funders and nonprofits supporting our appearance before the Council will send a very strong message. The hearings will be held in the Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, 3rd floor Council hearing room.

On Tuesday, April 1st, The Funders' Roundtable of Montgomery County and Nonprofit Montgomery! hosted a convening of 80 nonprofit leaders. Attendees at the convening agreed unanimously that Nonprofit Montgomery! should present testimony before the County Council on the '09 budget, communicating budget concerns, such as inflationary increases, that affect the nonprofit community as a whole.

Future Executive Directors Fellowship (Applications due 5/30)

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:21:00 +0000

The Future Executive Directors Fellowship is a new leadership development program that will provide intensive peer coaching, mentoring, skills development, and ongoing support to nonprofit professionals who aspire to become executive directors or nonprofit CEOs as the next step in their careers.

The Future Executive Directors Fellowship is a nine-month program that begins with an intensive six-month series conducted over 11 days and concludes with three months of ongoing support facilitated by the Roundtable. In the pilot year, the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington will select up to 25 Fellows.

TO: Nonprofit Montgomery! Members
RE: Announcing New Leadership Development Program for the Next Generation of Nonprofit Leaders

The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington is proud of our deep commitment to developing and strengthening nonprofit leaders in Greater Washington. The past few years of research conducted by the Meyer Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bridgespan Group and others tells us that there will be a significant deficit of executive leadership available to the nonprofit sector in the next decade. And, over the years, the Roundtable has seen firsthand that about 15% of our member organizations experience CEO leadership transitions each year. The good news is that one-third of next generation leaders do have aspirations of becoming executive directors in the future. So, for the past six months, we've been developing a program to help prepare the next generation of nonprofit leaders.

Today, we are excited to announce the Future Executive Directors Fellowship, a new leadership development program that will provide intensive peer coaching, mentoring, skills development, and ongoing support to nonprofit professionals who aspire to become executive directors or nonprofit CEOs as the next step in their careers. The Future Executive Directors Fellowship is a nine-month program that begins with an intensive six-month series conducted over 11 days and concludes with three months of ongoing support facilitated by the Roundtable. In the pilot year, the Roundtable will select up to 25 Fellows. While preference will be given to staff of Roundtable Member organizations, several slots will be available to applicants who are not currently working in Member organizations. The fellowship class will likely include deputy directors, program managers, and other mid- and senior-level nonprofit professionals from a wide range of nonprofits including direct service, advocacy and grantmaking and will reflect the diversity of the region including, but not limited to: geography, race & ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and religion. More information can be found on the Roundtable's website at http://www.nonprofitroundtable.org/. Applications are due Friday, May 30, 2008.

If you or someone you know aspires to lead a small or medium-sized community-based nonprofit organization as the next step in their career, then the Future Executive Directors Fellowship may be a perfect fit! Applicants are encouraged to email fellowship@nonprofitroundtable.org with questions and Roundtable staff will get in touch with you.
• Download the complete Future Executive Directors Fellowship Description.
• Review the list of Frequently Asked Questions.
• Complete the Future Executive Directors Fellowship Application.

The Future Executive Directors Fellowship would not be possible without the support of the Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation, Freddie Mac Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation as well as generous operating support from the Meyer Foundation and the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. We are also deeply grateful to the following members of the Advisory Committee, whose guidance was instrumental in designing this program.

Celebrate Earth Day in Montgomery County

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:11:00 +0000

The Montgomery County Volunteer Center, in collaboration with other partners, is supporting Earth Day with volunteer projects throughout the month of April. Most activities fall on Saturday and/or Sunday, April 26th or 27th, but other days in April are also welcome. Nonprofit agencies, community groups, businesses, schools, clubs, religious groups, and others are all encouraged to host volunteer activities for Earth Day. All participating groups will receive an official certificate of appreciation, signed by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. To find out about this Seasons of Service effort, or to sign up to volunteer or lead a group project, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/volunteer.

There Are Many Ways to Get Involved...

Plan Your Own Earth Day Project
Tell us what your group is planning to do by completing our easy online Project Form found on our website, www.montgomerycountymd.gov/volunteer, or use our downloadable form. If you're in a hurry right now, send us a quick note to volunteer@montgomerycountymd.gov regarding your interest in organizing a group and we'll get back to you.

Volunteer With An Existing Earth Day Project
Find out what already has been planned throughout the County by visiting the Montgomery County Volunteer Center website at: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/volunteer. Review the latest listing of planned events and contact event organizers. Check back regularly as this list will expand as Earth Day approaches.

Get Earth Day Resources, Ideas, and Inspiration
Ideas on how to set up your own group/community project and other project planning resources are available at the Volunteer Center's Earth Day page: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/volunteer. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact us by phone at 240-777-2600 or via e-mail at volunteer@montgomerycountymd.gov.

A Welcome Message from Nonprofit Montgomery! Co-Chairs Becky Wagner and Jayne Park

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:38:00 +0000

Welcome to Nonprofit Montgomery!’s blog - a web space for you to accomplish your mission, to strengthen your organization and our nonprofit sector.

Nonprofit organizations in our county contribute in countless ways to the quality of life for all of our citizens - from the arts and humanities to feeding hungry people, mentoring, job training and support for seniors. These organizations work on a shoestring and bring best practice strategies to the work of their heart and hands. We create our impact through flexibility and the leveraging of resources to benefit many people from all walks of life. In turn, we invest our resources in the community because there is some work best done simply because we are neighbors and it is the right thing to do.

On this blog, you will find people who know what they are doing -and you’ll find people you can learn from and people you can mentor. I’m talking about connecting with each other. Here it is safe to talk about the unglamorous nuts and bolts of accomplishing mission - “not out there” but in the elevator.

Together we can change the discussion; we can re-frame the dialogue and public perception that nonprofits are “given” funds. What we do is provide services in a flexible, creative and cost effective way, in a way that gets services to the front line of our diverse community.

We hope you will get involved and be part of the new and strong voice on Nonprofit Montgomery! Talk with you - here!

Becky Wagner and Jayne Park
(Nonprofit Montgomery! Co-Chairs)

Talking Points for "Beyond Charity" (with MoCo focus)

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:34:00 +0000

The following article has talking points for the groundbreaking "Beyond Charity" report, with a specific Montgomery County focus. These are very useful in framing your own message and specifying the contributions your organization makes on a regional or local level.

BEYOND CHARITY: recognizing the return on investment of the nonprofit community in Montgomery County

Context –
• Although we often think of nonprofits as serving only our most vulnerable neighbors. In fact, there is no one in Montgomery County at any income level who has not turned to a nonprofit for services, whether it is to attend a world class symphony, make sure our middle-school daughter is in a vibrant after-school program, provide day care services for our elderly dad with Parkinson’s, or advocate for improved traffic patterns, additional stop signs or storm drains in our neighborhood.

• In fact, one of the main selling points for businesses and individuals moving to Montgomery County is the high quality of life, most of which is made possible through the nonprofit community. Although we all use nonprofits—and also often volunteer our time and money to them—few of us know the impact of the nonprofit community, whether in job creation, personal income tax generation, leverage of public and private dollars, cost savings and the strengthening of our communities and our county.

• Nonprofits also, of course, provide the social safety net for our most vulnerable citizens. While many people inside and outside the county still think of Montgomery County as a homogenous, affluent bedroom community, this image no longer reflects the shared lives and aspirations of the most diverse county in Maryland. The hardships faced by many of our neighbors, a growing number of whom live at or below poverty, are growing due to current economic realities, including the loss of homes and apartments, jobs, and health care insurance. These hardships are occurring now, in a period when Montgomery County government faces a projected $401 million budget deficit for FY’09

• Although nonprofits are part of our community and our lives in more ways than most people ever realize, it is still important to ask: what is the economic impact of nonprofits in Montgomery County and the State of Maryland? Government partners are facing difficult choices. Smart investments in the community matter even more. Montgomery County is facing a projected $401 million budget shortfall.

Economic Impact – Working in partnership with business, government and concerned citizens, nonprofits have a substantial impact on the economic base of Montgomery County.

• Nonprofit employment accounts for 8.31 percent of total private employment in Montgomery County. From 1998 to 2005, nonprofit employment in the county grew 22.11 percent as compared to total employment growth of 9.8 percent. Nonprofit wages in the same period grew 68.7 percent compared to total wage growth of 45.2 percent.

• In 2005, Montgomery County nonprofits generated $1.7 million in wages or 6.3 percent of the County’s total wages.

• Statewide, Maryland’s nonprofits generated $9.9 billion in wages in 2005, or more than 8 percent of the state’s total payroll. These wages translated into an estimated $450 million of personal income tax revenue for Maryland’s state and local governments and approximately $1.9 billion in federal tax revenues.

Return on Investment – Working in partnership with business, government, philanthropy and concerned citizens, nonprofits save money, multiply every dollar they receive and strengthen our county and our communities.

Nonprofits save money by preventing and solving problems, immediately and in the long term.

It costs the State of Maryland $25,000/year for each child who remains in the child welfare system. The nonprofit Adoptions Together works with the government to place children with families at an annual cost of just $7,200. It’s good for the child who benefits from having a permanent home and family and it is more cost-effective for Maryland.
If 50% of elderly adults who receive in-home care from Jewish Social Services Agency (JSSA) were instead placed in nursing homes, the total annual cost would be 15 times higher – or $96 million a year – than the $6 million it costs for JSSA to provide services and keep those 1,000 elders in their homes.

Nonprofits have a truly amazing multiplier effect on the financial resources they receive from individuals, corporations, government, and foundations, primarily through accessing other funding sources, using volunteers and take full advantage of donated goods and services.

Manna Food Center turns each dollar of cash into $5 worth of food through food donations and distribution. Manna serves 2,000 families each month with donations from grocery stores, community food drives, individuals, and the USDA surplus food program.

Interfaith Works has a $47,000 contract supporting the Interfaith Clothing Center and Up-county Interfaith Clothing Center. This $47,000 contract leverages $230,000 in contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. It results in contributions of clothing and household goods valued at $3.4M and 19,900 hours of volunteer service. The program served 14,548 individuals last year. The opportunity to access services at the centers helps families pay their less forgiving bills such as rent and utilities.

The Arts and Humanities Council report that more than 11,000 volunteers contributed close to 800,000 hours in 2001 at a value of $11.2 million.

Nonprofits strengthen our community by connecting people to each other, to services and to issues that matter to all of us.

The United States has more soccer players than any other nation, and soccer is the fastest growing team sport in the country. No other sport crosses so many cultural boundaries. MSI, the largest youth sports organization in Montgomery County, provides 15,000 young people with the chance to play soccer, regardless of age, location, income, or physical ability. MSI receives no County funding and contributes to the maintenance and development of soccer fields at county public schools and parks.
IMPACT Silver Spring educates and trains diverse residents in leadership and advocacy so that they can work across lines of race, class, and culture on challenging community issues. Parents who participate in IMPACT’s Parent Training Institute learn how to get involved in their children’s education, join action teams at local schools, creating parent groups for immigrant parents, collaborating with administrators to make school-wide improvements, and making PTAs more inclusive. Last year, IMPACT engaged 200 minority, low-income parents – many of them immigrants – in five schools.
In 1990, Imagination Stage in Bethesda pioneered its innovative approach to bringing together deaf and hearing students in the same classes and productions. Last year, more than 1,000 children and young adults participated in its Deaf Access programs and exhibit tours, along with more than 20,000 audience members.
Identity, serving up-county Latino youth, is working to challenge negative stereotypes often associated with Latinos throughout the county. Youth volunteers are actively engaged in developing peer networks and in contributing to the general community, including volunteering. They are also engaging their parents in community activism, especially in their schools.
The Music Center at Strathmore in Maryland is a state-of-the-art 1,976-seat concert hall and education center. Supported by a public and private venture between the State of Maryland, Montgomery County, and corporate and individual philanthropists, the Strathmore offers audiences an impressive range of arts programming through its founding partners: the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Washington Performing Arts Society, National Philharmonic, Levine School of Music, CityDance Ensemble, and Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra.

Biography for Director MaryAnn Holohean

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 22:02:00 +0000

MaryAnn Holohean has been the director of Nonprofit Montgomery! since its inception in early 2007. The following is a brief biography.

MaryAnn Holohean directs Nonprofit Montgomery!, which just celebrated its first birthday. The mission of Nonprofit Montgomery! is to build the collective strength, visibility and influence of the nonprofit community in order to create a just and caring community.

MaryAnn was one of the pioneers of organizational effectiveness work in the Washington, DC region. As the founding director of the Nonprofit Sector Advancement Fund at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, her dedication to nonprofits enabled Meyer to award management assistance grants and timely cash flow loans to hundreds of worthy organizations. Her leadership also made possible the development of critical nonprofit infrastructure organizations, including the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington. She was the founding chair of Technology Works for Good (now NPower Greater DC Region).

As a champion of local capacity building for nonprofits, MaryAnn successfully extended Meyer’s work by creating dynamic, networked relationships with colleagues in the DC region and throughout the country. As founding co-chair of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG)’s Organizational Effectiveness Working Group, she enlarged the circle of local funders who share a vision of building strong nonprofit internal operations. Through her work as one of the founders and later chair of the national foundation affinity group, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), she helped shine a national spotlight on the groundbreaking work of regional funders in the vanguard of organizational effectiveness thought and practice.

MaryAnn has foundation, nonprofit, and city and state government experience. Her roles have included: Vice-president of the Fund for the City of New York, Chief Operating Officer of Planned Parenthood of New York City, and Deputy Commissioner of Operations in the New York State Health Department.

In the community, she currently serves as Chair of the Grants Advisory Panel for the Arlington Commission for the Arts and as a board member of the Nonprofit Village of Montgomery County. MaryAnn has lived in Montgomery County for 15 years with her husband, Bob Schiffer, her daughter, Anna Schiffer and her extended family: a horse, two dogs and four ferrets.

February 2008 Brown Bag Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:47:00 +0000

In this Brown Bag, presenters addressed the following topic, "Are There Ways to Leverage Non-Financial County Resources in Hard Times?" and explored three interesting possibilities.

Leveraging the county government’s purchasing power in high cost areas such as gas, office supplies, etc.
Making specific county government services available to nonprofits
Advancing payments to nonprofits, with due diligence safeguards, as soon as a contract is signed

Presenters included:
Phyllis Courlander, Assistant Director, Top Banana Home Delivered Groceries
Craig Dowd, Director of Re-Entry, Clarksburg Correctional Facility
MaryAnn Holohean, Director, Nonprofit Montgomery!

Nonprofit Montgomery! (NPM!) and
Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships (OCP)
Brown Bag Lunch
February 13, 2008

Panel topic: “Are There Ways to Leverage Non-Financial County Resources in Hard Times?”

Welcome
MaryAnn Holohean welcomed the participants to the February Brown Bag meeting and directed their attention to the list of revised dates for the 2008 meetings. Participants were asked to complete the evaluations found in their information packets.

Panel Presentation

Phyllis Courlander - Assistant Director, Top Banana Home Delivered Groceries

How to make the small dollars work.
Top Banana, operating from Brandywine, has their own vehicles that are used to service clients in Washington D.C. and Prince George’s County and parts of Charles and Montgomery Counties.
Top Banana began looking for ways to stretch their dollars when the increasing cost of gasoline put a strain on the organization.

§ Knowing that the County had a bulk contract for gasoline that avoided the station overhead costs, Top Banana began seeking information from the Office of Procurement on a potential piggy-back on the contract.

- There is a 25-50 cents per gallon difference in what the County is paying for bulk gasoline opposed to what everyone else is paying at stations. This equates to a savings of $2,800 per year.

o This would save an organization like Manna, that is on the streets daily, $7K per year.
o Top Banana, a twice a week service, would realize a savings of $2K per year.

- Section 11B-49 of the County Procurement Code states that “If goods are needed to perform a contract with the County, a nonprofit organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code but which is not a public entity may:”

o purchase goods under an existing County requirements contract;
o engage in cooperative procurement for the goods with the County; or
o purchase the goods from the County if it is in stock and not otherwise
needed.

As a part of a required report, the Procurement Director “must provide information on use of this subsection by nonprofit organizations in aggregate dollar amount, type of purchases made, significant purchasers under this subsection (as determined by the Director based on dollar amount), any identified additional cost or cost savings to the County, and any other relevant information.”

- Organizations wanting to piggyback must have a site that can accept bulk gasoline deliveries; they would not be allowed to pull up and use County pumps.
- Specific commodities with invoices are easier to track. Gasoline is more complicated.

§ What can the County do?
- Issue a card to participating nonprofits that is acceptable at County pumps.
- Fleet Management was asked by a solid waste contractor to use the County gas pumps and was told no by the County Attorney.

§ The Office of Procurement wants to work with the nonprofits.
- What are the top items nonprofits would like to procure under County contracts? Having this list would allow for a more effective investigation.
- Compile a survey to collect the top five big ticket items.

§ It would be helpful to nonprofits to know how the County handles procurement of services.

Craig Dowd – Director of Re-Entry, Clarksburg Correctional Facility, Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR)

The emphasis in the DOCR is on rehabilitation as well as incarceration.

§ It costs $31K/year and $3K/72 hours to house a person.
§ The Clarksburg facility teaches the detainees, most of whom have never had a structured job, work habits and work skills.
- People come from all over the country come to tour the facility.
o Leadership Montgomery brings all their classes for a tour.
- The Alternative Community Service Program is also run out of the Clarksburg facility.

The Clarksburg facility provides two services:

§ Photocopying (black and white), collating, mailing
§ Digital imaging
- All news articles on the County’s website
- Blueprints used by Permitting Services
- In the future, may digitize 40 years of Gazette newspapers.

The fees are minimal – supplies and materials.
All work is done inside the facility. Give some lead time for a rush job. The facility does not take on more than they can handle.
The DOCR will come and pick up the job and deliver it directly to the Post Office.
Win-win situation – the nonprofits get work done at minimal costs (those with operating budgets under $500K only pay for materials/supplies) and the detainees really benefit from the work experience and being able to give back.
Question – How can DOCR claim money from the State’s realignment of current resources?
§ Montgomery County will not have a shot at this money. DOCR is self sufficient – it does not receive money from the state.
How do nonprofits access this resource? Contact Craig Dowd – 240-773-9798.

MaryAnn Holohean – Director, Nonprofit Montgomery!
Nonprofit Cash Flow

Cash flow is the life blood of all nonprofits.
It is Important to understand and manage the cash flow.
Cash flow is important to the government sector as well.
Most government agencies work on the MBA approach – never make money available before the service is received.
The average nonprofit lost $10K last year to lines of credit fees.
Under the former Comptroller William Donald Schaeffer, the State of Maryland stopped all advanced payments.
Those organizations who received grants from the Meyer Foundation were permitted to borrow money against front-in and pay it back when the County funds were received.
Circular argument – nonprofits are asked to be more business like, but are hamstrung on cash flow.
Examples of the way in which government agencies handle advance payments on contracts to nonprofits:
§ Loan funds, set up within government or in collaboration with an operating or a community foundation;
§ Exceptions granted under specific circumstances;
§ Advances made available during a specified time period, usually in response to a systems breakdown in contract management with the government agency and coupled with a mandate for immediate major systems improvement with the government; and
§ A general advance payment policy.
These examples are part of an effort by Nonprofit Montgomery! to identify ways in which nonprofits contracting with the county government may be able to improve cash flow by accessing advance payments once a contract has been signed.

Discussion/Questions

The County should be able to upfront money to nonprofits with which they have ongoing relationships/conversations.
County Executive, County Attorney, Finance and Procurement must work together to change the procurement language. Truly make them grants.
§ Because the current process is a contractual one, there must be insurance which eats into the grant amount.
§ Nonprofits are seen as vendors, and this will probably not change during this budget crisis.
Procurement process does not preclude the upfront payment by the County, but “for the good of the County” prevails.
A clear picture needs to be painted as to what happens when the money is not given upfront- what services are not given.
The money cannot be used before a certain time and must be used by a certain time – the window between the two can be very small.
How to tap into Leadership Montgomery alumnae to serve on boards and volunteer in communities?
§ Leadership Montgomery still has a beggar picture of nonprofits.
§ Need to make clear the impact that nonprofits have.
- Beyond Charity Report
§ The nonprofit sector is the fasting growing employment base.
Greater DC Cares has a volunteer alert that focuses on young professionals.
What is the County doing to advertise to their employees about volunteering and recognizing those who do volunteer?
§ Reed Dewey and the Volunteer Center team are working on how to encourage and promote volunteering county-wide; getting nonprofits to identify and work better with volunteers.
§ Federal government workers cannot volunteer during business hours.
§ During the County Charity Campaign, the emphasis should be on not only giving money, but time.
There is a motor fuel refund from the State through the Comptroller’s Office – there are some restrictions – must be a nonprofit.
§ Some organizations are getting 23-24 cents/gallon from the State through the motor fuel refund.
Is there a model of nonprofits buying together?
§ Nancy Hall, Maryland Association of Nonprofits could provide information on what is going on around the country.
§ Center for Nonprofit Advancement which serves Montgomery County would also be a resource.
Can the nonprofits cut their own deal with gas station owners?
Lutheran Social Services serves as a source for other nonprofits to receive printing services at a discounted rate.
Items that nonprofits would like to buy/obtain in bulk or cooperatively if possible:
§ Health benefits
§ Qualified Childcare providers
§ Rent
§ Office equipment (telephones, copiers, furniture, etc.)
It would be helpful to have a list of County contracts.
Avoid bureaucracy by putting in contracts “giving nonprofits ‘best price.’”
§ Small and large organizations partner to keep bureaucracy down.
Rent/lease sharing
§ The Trawick Foundation and Catholic Charities are looking for small nonprofits to lease space.
§ Jewish Council for the Aging is looking for a space to consolidate all of their programs. They may have space to lease to smaller organizations.
§ Cultural issues have been a problem when sharing space.
§ Nonprofit Village – Council has a grant application from the Nonprofit Village.
§ How to get the information out regarding what lease space is available for nonprofits.
Nonprofit Montgomery! will begin a blog in March.
Professional services such as lawyers, accountants, human resource consultants, etc. are needed.

§ Has NPM! ever tried to work out a deal to have paperwork filled out professionally?
§ The Volunteer Center’s Pro Bono Consultant Program is a great avenue for obtaining professional services.
§ Where do you go for a bundle of services?

-Different levels of services that are needed and difficult to obtain for a startup nonprofit.
§ Ask the Chambers of Commerce for referrals.
§ Maryland Nonprofits has a job posting service.
- What is the fee to join the association?
§ infoMontgomery has a section on their website (http://www.infomontgomery.org/) that promotes nonprofit dialogue. This is a good way of posting and sharing best practices.

How to follow up on Top Banana’s work with procurement?

§ Get a list of contracts from the Procurement Office.
§ MaryAnn Holohean, Phyllis Courlander and Maureen Herndon to prepare information regarding nonprofit procurement needs to present to David Dise, Director, Office of Procurement.
-Utilize SurveyMonkey.com to create a survey.
§ Invite someone from Procurement to one of the next Brown Bag meetings (David Dise or Pam Jones).
§ Maybe to April’s meeting – Procurement Office is working with limited staff.
§ Not an end, but thrilled there is a beginning.

Outcomes

noreply@blogger.com (Benjamin) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:12:00 +0000

This document outlines the specific completed, expected, and ongoing outcomes for Nonprofit Montgomery! in the areas of collective strength, visibility, and influence to build a just and caring community.

2007-2008 Proposed Outcomes

Nonprofit Montgomery!
…collective strength, visibility and influence to build a just and caring community

The mission of Nonprofit Montgomery! is to build the collective strength, visibility and influence of the Montgomery County nonprofit sector in order to create a just and caring community.

Collective Strength

2007-2008 Outcomes:

1. At the end of 2008, an informal survey of selected nonprofit leaders in the county will show that a majority of these leaders report an increase in collective action among nonprofits in working together to accomplish common goals.

2. At the end of 2008, a cohort of at least 30 diverse nonprofit leaders will have developed the strong ties, trust and working relationships to build Nonprofit Montgomery! into a lasting and effective network that is both collaborative and catalytic.

3. Organizational support has been provided to an organized capacity building effort by nonprofit leaders serving the many Asian communities within Montgomery County. This effort, which is being designed and led by a diverse group of Asian nonprofits, includes survey research on the size and scope of county’s Asian communities and their needs, identification of the ways in which the various Asian communities access services, and mapping of the nonprofit resources serving the various communities. The Asian leaders report that the support received from Nonprofit Montgomery!, although modest, has facilitated the success of this capacity building effort.

4. Over 300 nonprofit leaders have participated in one or more convenings or other events organized by Nonprofit Montgomery! Eighty percent of these leaders report they have developed a continuing working relationship with at least one other nonprofit leader. Seventy percent of these leaders report they have been able to apply their learning from the convening to their service delivery and advocacy work.

5. Collaborative working relationships have been established between Nonprofit Montgomery! and other key organizations and networks working in the nonprofit sector within Montgomery County (including, among many others, the Collaboration Council for Children and Families, the Montgomery County Volunteer Center and the Corporate Volunteer Council, the Montgomery County Funders Roundtable, Upcounty and Downcounty Latino Networks, Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, Center for Nonprofit Advancement, Foundation Center Cooperating Collection at the Rockville Public Library, United Way of Montgomery County, Asian Nonprofit Leaders Collaboration Network, etc.) The leaders of these organizations, when queried, indicate that the working relationship with Nonprofit Montgomery! has added value to their ability to serve their audiences.

6. The nonprofit capacity-building network for Montgomery County nonprofits has been mapped, with information readily accessible to nonprofits via electronic, print and other channels about all the resources available to them

7. With a 2007-2008 special emphasis on the state and local revenue challenges in Maryland and Montgomery County, an ongoing working relationship has been established with the Rockville Public Library and the Foundation Center to expand free access for nonprofits to critical grant-seeking information. In collaboration with Nonprofit Montgomery! and the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships, the library is the site of a variety of free information sessions for nonprofits on fiscal developments at the state and county levels, and the challenges facing nonprofits in addressing these issues both externally and internally. Nonprofits attending the seminars report they have been able to apply the knowledge in their daily work. The library-based sessions directly connect attending nonprofits with expert resources within the county offering technical assistance and other resources (see #5).

Collective Visibility

2007-2008 Outcomes:

1. An ongoing relationship with ACCESS Montgomery/MCT-TV has resulted in a 20% increase in on-line information about Montgomery County’s nonprofit community.

2. One hundred and seventy (170) nonprofit leaders, at least 1/3 of whom are from small and emerging nonprofits, participated in the third annual Funding EXPO to bring nonprofits together with county and foundation funding sources; nonprofit leaders who have been successful in generating funding; and technical assistance providers who offer support in the fund-raising area. At least 80% of the attendees report they are bringing new information that will be helpful in fundraising back to their agencies.

3. Five hundred (500) county employees participated in the first annual Montgomery County Nonprofit Fair, co-sponsored by the Montgomery County Government Employees’ Charitable Campaign, the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships, the Montgomery County Volunteer Center, and Nonprofit Montgomery!. The Nonprofit Fair, held at the Executive Office Building cafeteria, kicked off the annual campaign and was organized with the six (6) charitable umbrella groups involved in the campaign. Fifty (50) nonprofit organizations exhibited at the Nonprofit Fair. The County Campaign reported a 10% increase in giving.

Collective Influence

2007-2008 outcomes:

Government sector:

1. Establish Montgomery County’s nonprofit sector and its leaders as a key source of subject matter expertise, best practices and community knowledge and insight, and as an essential partner at decision-making tables with government and business on all types of Montgomery County issues, including the establishment of priorities for the county.

2. Ten (10) monthly “brown bags,” co-sponsored by the Montgomery County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) and Nonprofit Montgomery! , have been held at the Rockville Public Library to expand the shared knowledge and understanding among government, business, and philanthropic and nonprofit leaders. Approximately 30 leaders attended each month. Seventy percent report that they have established a working relationship with at least one new partner.

3. The Montgomery County government-Nonprofit Montgomery! procurement working group, led by the Director of Procurement, focused on possible improvements in contract solicitation, execution, and administration. Specific improvements in each area have resulted from this work. These improvements have had a direct and documented effect on a nonprofit’s contract management requirements.

4. County Council members consult with nonprofit leaders as expert resources and sources of best practices and other knowledge as the Council evaluates changes in its grant making process and in other areas of county funding of nonprofits. Changes in funding processes reflect the input of the nonprofit community.

5. Support the Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) in developing a single point of entry for nonprofits on the county website to get up-to-date information about opportunities for input on planning and policy development; relevant information from the county, including county and state grant opportunities; and links to relevant resources, including training and technical resources both within and outside the county.

6. Government officials have attended and participated in at least two convenings, each with over 100 nonprofit leaders, on critical issues for nonprofits within Montgomery County. For 2007, these convenings focused on the executive and legislative branch funding processes for nonprofits. For 2008, it is expected that convenings will focus on the impact of state and county revenue shortfalls.

Another area of convening for 2008 may be evidence-based planning approaches and outcomes measurement, including results-based accountability, and community indicators. Government officials attending the convenings report an increase in their perception of the knowledge and expertise that nonprofits bring to the public policy table, and in their appreciation of nonprofit leaders as peers rather than supplicants.

Business Sector:

1. Collaborative work with the Montgomery County Volunteer Center and the Corporate Volunteer Council of Montgomery County (CVC – MC) has led to an expanded understanding of the knowledge and expertise nonprofit leaders bring to the table as peers with business and government leaders in county decision-making. This increase in peer-to-peer relationships has been demonstrated in at least one specific issue area.

October 2007 Brown Bag Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Holohean) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:28:00 +0000

At this fifth Brown Bag, panelists discussed the Maryland “Budget Crisis” or “Structural Budget Deficit” discussed by policy-makers and in the media relating to the state’s “general fund” budget, which accounts for roughly half of state spending in Maryland – or over $14.5 billion in 2007. The projected shortfall to continue current services and operations within the general fund budget in the next budget year (FY 2009) is approximately $1.42 billion (almost one of every ten dollars being spent today).

Panelists included:
Henry Bogden, Director, Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute
Chuck Short, Special Assistant to the County Executive
Pamela Cudahy, President/CEO, St. Luke's House, Inc.

Nonprofit Montgomery! and
Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships (OCP)
Fifth Brown Bag Lunch
October 16, 2007

Meeting Notes

Panel Topic: “Not a Spectator Sport: The Role of Nonprofits in the Maryland
Budget Solution”

Welcome and Introductions
MaryAnn Holohean welcomed the participants to the October meeting and introduced the panelists.

Participants were asked to complete and return the questionnaire in preparation for the
2008 meetings.

Henry Bogden, Acting Chief of the Budget and Tax Institute

“What You Should Know About Maryland’s Budget Challenge”
· The budget crisis or structural budget deficit refers to the state’s General Fund Budget, which accounts for approximately half of state spending in Maryland.

The General Fund Budget is money raised through state taxes (80%), the lottery (4%), corporate income (4%) and other fees (12%). It does not include federal dollars, gasoline tax, and tuition at state colleges and universities tuition or motor vehicle fees.
83% of the General Fund supports education (47%), health (26%) and public safety (10%). The General Fund also supports aid to local government programs.
· Structural budget deficit is when “ongoing/recurring costs exceed ongoing/recurring revenues (what is being paid for does not lineup with incoming revenue).
Maryland’s structural revenue problem stems from:
o Increased obligations in critical areas such as education, health, and public safety over recent decades
o Revenues not growing with obligations
o Tax cuts without regard for growing needs
Maryland is not a high-spending state; this is a revenue problem.
Maryland has not grown a revenue base that keeps up with the spending
o Maryland is still spending the same amount of wealth as 30 years ago.
o The proportion of Marylanders’ personal income being
collected to pay for state and local government is lower than in 46 of the 50 states.
o All state and local government spending in Maryland represents a
smaller investment of collective income than any other state in the country.
· The projected shortfall to continue current programs and services in the next budget year (FY09) is $1.62 billion.

· The Governor must present a balanced budget.
The Department of Legislative Services has prepared a document to present possible cuts – “Doomsday Budgets”
o These reductions (10% of the General Fund Budget) would be spread over state agencies.
o Reductions include:
- A quarter billion in state workforce ‘savings’
- $500 million in cuts to K-12 education and libraries
- $32 million from DHMH budget
- $37.5 million from medical care programs
- Elimination of property tax relief for low income renters
- Elimination of General Fund support for DHCD capital program
o Total number of proposed reductions – 150.
The Governor has proposed a fairly progressive mix of revenue and spending reductions, which include restructuring of income and sales tax.
o The plan would balance the General Fund Budget for the next several
years and close the structural budget gap by fiscal year 2011.
o The proposal includes two new initiatives with general funds.
- A new health initiative, which would be partially funded by the increased tobacco tax.
- Increased funding for higher education funded by proceeds from the increase in corporate income tax.
o The plan would seek to make the state’s tax system more progressive through income tax rate changes and increasing the refundable earned income tax credit.
o Also included in the plan, is a phased reduction of the state property tax.
o Unaddressed in the plan is the revenue to meet the needs of the already under-funded programs that exist.
- There are disabled individuals and seniors still waiting for services.
- There are foster care issues.
o Many problems will be left unaddressed with this new budget plan.
o The plan will not work without the “special session” that the Governor has requested.
- More revenue has to be generated in FY08.
- Generated revenue will be moved to the FY09 budget.
o If slots are realized, any revenue over $425 million will be used for
school construction.
· The problem is political.
Those opposed to taxes and ‘big” government will exploit the natural resistance to paying more.
Historically, spending constraints and cuts have not generated any pushback.
There is no pushback for the advocacy side.
o Legislators need to hear that people care about these programs.
o Advocates must influence what the legislators are hearing in their districts.
o Know who your legislators are and how to contact them.
o Delegations from three counties hold the bulk of the votes.
· A solution must be worked on at the grassroots level.
Develop partnerships and coalitions.
Engage board members, volunteers, donors, etc.
Use media, mailings and websites for publicity.
Engage the community through informational meetings, special events, rallies, etc.
Contact legislators.

Charles “Chuck” Short – Special Assistant to the County Executive
· First problem - The state budget crisis causes a crisis for the County.
· Timing is everything.

A balanced budget must be presented by the Governor in January.
A balanced budget must be presented by the County Executive in March.
If the special session does not solve the problem, the Governor’s budget will reflect this is January – Doomsday.
The County’s budget, which is currently under preparation, will have to be reworked.
· The County is currently looking at a $300 million deficit, which will be resolved by mid-February. If the special session does not resolve the state’s budget crisis, the County will face another $150 million in cuts.
All of the counties are pretty much in the same situation – facing severe reductions.
· Second problem – Montgomery County needs to raise taxes.
The increase will be in property tax – the only tax the County can control. The only question is how much.
· The greatest disaster is a dramatic increase in taxes with a dramatic decrease in services.
This happened in 1992, which lead to a countywide referendum that was defeated by 2 percentage points.
- If the referendum had passed, many jobs, especially those in the nonprofit sector would not exist.
· With an increase in taxes, county services, at the minimum, must be held at the same level.
· A political problem for Montgomery County is that the state will increases taxes in January
(sales tax will increase from 5% to 6%) and the property tax will increase July 1st.
· 53% of the income tax that will be raised by the state will come from Montgomery County -
only a small portion of that will come back.
· Practical thoughts:
Nonprofits will need to advocate – participate, but don’t “play.”
- The best way to participate is in an informed and strategic way.
- Be informed, be careful.
- The message should not be to protect the nonprofits, but to protect services.
Understand the difference between posturing and positioning. Where are they trying to go?
· With higher taxes, private nonprofit agencies will have to figure a way to maintain services.
· Taxpayers revolt – your services will go first.
· How can you convince the persons who are paying for your program that it is money well spent?
Right work, right way, right pay!

Pamela Cudahy, President/CEO, St. Luke’s House, Inc.
St. Luke's House, Inc., (SLH) was founded in 1971 by concerned citizens from St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Bethesda, MD, to address the needs of patients being released from state psychiatric hospitals who had no place to go. SLH was established independently soon thereafter, and the first group home was opened. (http://stlukeshouse.org/aboutus.html)
· This is the time to take action, make voices heard. It is not about the nonprofits, but the services – the means to an end.
· How are we serving the general community? Not everyone has the understanding or the empathy.
Nonprofits must become more sophisticated in their approach.
· If programs are not funded, where do these needs go?
Needs and people do not go away. They are like shifting sand – moving from
place to place.
Must be able to show how lives are impacted by the lack of services.
· Nonprofits must be able to put a human face on problems for the community and legislators to see – take them to Annapolis.
· Create coalitions and partnerships – numbers count.
Find partners in other parts of the State.
Find ways to get together and get the message out.
Identify the vulnerable.

Questions/Comments
· When do the nonprofits get the word about cuts?
Example – Did not find out about a program cut until September, which was retroactive to July 1.
· Nonprofits with small staffs spend so much time grinding out the service that there is very little time left to find out what is going on with the budget cuts.
· Coalition-type work is very effective for this situation. Draft letters, lay out a strategy, share the load.
· When advocating, only two things matter – money and votes.
If you don’t have money, you can influence votes. Don’t forget to utilize e-mail – eight e-mails about the same subject represent a public outcry.
No amount of votes is too small.
· African Immigrant Community has no idea what is going on in terms of taxes being raised. They do not know about the issues in order to vote.
Communication is key.
In the African Immigrant Community there are many small nonprofits that are being operated with no or little support from government.
· There is room for everyone at the table, but the rules of the table change.
· Nonprofits have to become more and more skilled at what people are buying.
Must be skilled in knowing what the person is buying – political, financial, and human, etc.
· How far can a 501(c)(3) go in advocacy?
A 501(c)(3) organization may choose to elect to participate in lobbying activities under the safe harbor provisions of the tax code by filing form 5768 with the Internal Revenue Service. Once that has been elected, the organization is subject to specific expenditure limits for lobbying activities (election is optional; the organization may prefer to rely on the general rule of “no substantial part” of income . . .” particularly if lobbying activities are minimal.) The expenditure limits under the election rules are graduated, beginning at 20% of the first $500,000 of the organization’s expenditures for charitable “exempt function” purposes.
· Nonprofits must work together to create coalitions and partnerships – money is not coming top-down, but from all over.
· Human service side of a private nonprofit – not in it for the money, but for the principle side of it (a moral and just community).
Justice and fairness – that’s the message.
· What can be done as agencies to help the County and State government get the message out about who needs the services?
Look at different coalitions; see what they are doing. Join with them – don’t duplicate the work.
Community statements – just don’t stand alone.
“Gee whiz” statements.
· Challenge – to have someone on the board to monitor legislation.
· County Council should put out a request for persons to be on the review committees during the grant process.
· Four levels to work through – individual, executive (County), Council members, State.
· Advocacy fair – how to write a letter to my legislator; have experts in the room; target small, emerging nonprofits.
League of Women Voters has a program on how to lobby your legislator.
Maryland Nonprofits also has a program geared toward this subject.
· Maryland Nonprofits – Coalition for the State

October 17, 2007- Nonprofit EXPO and the Montgomery County Charity Campaign Kickoff in the Executive Office Building, Cafeteria, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

September 2007 Brown Bag Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Holohean) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:15:00 +0000

At this fourth Brown Bag, panelists discussed the report by the Corporation for National & Community Service, Volunteering in America: 2007 City Trends and Rankings. In addition to statistical analysis, the report contains an analysis of several key findings relevant to Montgomery County. Panelists also discussed creative ways to maximize volunteers as a resource for the non-profit community through services like the Pro Bono Consulting Program.

Panelists included:
Shelby Jennings (CNCS)
LaMonica Shelton (CNCS)
Della Stolsworth (Pro Bono Consulting Program)
Becky Wagner (Community Ministry of Montgomery County)

Nonprofit Montgomery! and
Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships (OCP)
Fourth Brown Bag Lunch
September 18, 2007

Panel topic, “Maximizing Volunteers as a Nonprofit Resource: 2007 Trends and Challenges”

Welcome/Introductions
MaryAnn Holohean welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Suzanne Carbone, Public Libraries/Archives, who gave a brief overview of the Foundation Center and the Foundation Directory Online. The Foundation Directory Online, available at the Rockville Library, is an electronic database that provides access to comprehensive information on grantmakers and grants. It includes over 80,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities as well as a searchable database of 500,000 recently awarded grants. It is the best source of information in the world for grants. The database is not available at any other library in Montgomery County. The Foundation Center provides seminars at Rockville Library on a regular basis. A library card and pin number are needed to access the database. This is the first Foundation Center in the nation that has made this information available on line.

Ann Evans, Acting Director of the Volunteer Center, introduced the panelists.

LaMonica Shelton – Senior Policy Analyst, Corporation for National & Community Service (CNCS), http://www.nationalservice.org/
The mission of CNCS, a federal agency, is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.
o The Corporation is headed by a CEO who reports directly to the President of the United States.
o It is the largest grant provider in the nation – $900 million a year.
CNCS serves as an umbrella for:
AmeriCorps – 75K members each year participate in intensive service; the largest funded program
Senior Corps – Citizens ages 55 and over volunteer to meet the needs of America’s communities; largest number of participants.
Vista – Focus on reducing poverty
Learn and Serve America – Engages students, teachers and others in service learning.
Strategic Initiatives
o Mobilizing more volunteers – volunteering is a resource to address the nation’s most pressing problems.
o Ensuring a brighter future for all youths.
o Engaging students in communities.
o Harnessing the experience of baby boomers.

Goals
o Increase the number of volunteers from 65 million to 75 million by 2010.
o Mentor 3 million more youth living in at-risk environments; engage over 3
million at-risk youth in service.
o Engage more college students and baby boomers in volunteering.

Volunteers are necessary.
They respond well in disasters.
They help generate more volunteers.
They help strengthen nonprofit organizations.

Shelby Jennings – Research Communications Specialist, CNCS

As part of its mission, CNCS conducts research about the volunteer activities and
trends of Americans.
o The research is based largely on the data collected annually by the U.S. Census
Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
o The aim of the research is to provide nonprofit and government organizations
with an in depth understanding of the trends and habits to help them develop
better strategies for engaging more Americans in volunteer service.
o Data used to develop the report is from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
· The CPS is one of the largest and most reliable surveys in the United
States, and includes 60K households.
· CPS produces the country’s monthly employment and unemployment numbers.
· Volunteering information has been collected every September
since 2002.
o Volunteering for political campaigns is not excluded from the data.

Volunteering in America
o The volunteer rate has been at historic highs since 1974, but declined in 2006.
o The growth in volunteering has been led by teens (ages 16-19), baby boomers (ages 45-64) and seniors (ages 65 and older).
o Older adults have volunteered at much higher rates than in previous years. They have the most intensive volunteer hours – 100 hours per year, some more than 500 a year.
· As baby boomers get older there will be a larger base of volunteers.

Volunteering in states and cities
o The City report provides the most detailed information for local communities.
o The more local the information on volunteering, the more actionable it becomes
to grow service and volunteering.
o Montgomery County is included in the information for Washington, D.C.
· The Washington MSA ranked 15th in volunteer rate.
o Many of the top-ranked metro areas are in the central part of the country.
o Central cities lag behind (24%) suburbs and rural areas which have similar
volunteer rates (29%).
o The number of nonprofits and their ability to retain volunteers may affect a community’s volunteer rate.

Do some communities care more?
o Community factors can drive volunteering
· Level of attachment to the community
· Homeownership rates – the higher the homeownership rates the higher
the volunteer rate.
· Multiunit housing
· Education – the high school graduation rate has the most effect on the
volunteer rate.
· Poverty - the higher the poverty rate, the lower the level of volunteering.
· Commute time – longer commute times to work may limit opportunities for volunteering.
- Washington, D.C. area has the 2nd longest average commute time.
The longer one is alone, the less social interaction; there is a
direct correlation between social interaction and volunteerism.
· Diversity – the more diverse the community, the lower the level of trust. Low trust has a negative impact on civic engagement (Putnam study).
· Population density – The denser the population the lower the volunteer level of participation.

Addressing long commute times
o Workplace volunteer programs
o Flexible work schedules
o One-time volunteer opportunities such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
o Flexible volunteer opportunities – tele-volunteering, flexible volunteer schedule.

Volunteer Retention
o 1 out of 3 persons drop out of volunteer service from year to year.
o Faith-based volunteering has the highest retention rate.
o Practices that lead to increased retention:
· Recognition – award ceremonies for volunteers.
· Screening procedures to match volunteers with assignments.
· Training and development opportunities for volunteers.
o Service learning requirements – to keep youth on the path of volunteering, it is important to involve them in the planning of service.

Ideas for community leaders
o Promote service learning schools
o Emphasize volunteerism among the growing numbers of seniors.
o Encourage and create policies that promote home ownership.
o Support small and new nonprofit organizations.
o Support businesses that are taking steps to increase volunteering in the community.
o Ask people to volunteer.

Della Stolsworth – Pro-Bono Consultant Program, Volunteer Center

The Pro-Bono Consultant Program, begun 3 ½ years ago, is a program of the Montgomery County Volunteer Center. The program was created to increase volunteer opportunities and to meet the needs of nonprofits. One of the needs of nonprofits is skilled resources.

Volunteer opportunities are short-term projects (usually no more than 3 months).

Program is perfect for those who have a fear of commitment and like variety/different choices.

20-30 percent of volunteers continue to work with the organization and remain committed.

The program allows for a great deal of flexibility – most work can be performed from home, at the agency or other locations.

Key component of the Pro-Bono program is the screening and matching process.
o Potential volunteers are interviewed and their experience verified by the Volunteer
Center staff.
o Projects are reviewed before acceptance to ensure that they meet the program
timeframe and guidelines.
o Because Pro-Bono consultant candidates are interviewed one-on-one, their real
passions are able to be tapped increasing retention.
o Once volunteers are interviewed, they select projects of interest and a meeting is
arranged with the nonprofits/agencies to discuss their needs and parameters. There is
no obligation to accept a project.
o Volunteer’s skills, knowledge and experience are matched to projects and agencies.

The Volunteer Center remains in contact with the volunteer and the agency throughout the project to ensure a successful completion.

At the end of the project, the volunteer and the agency evaluate the results.

Becky Wagner – Executive Director, Community Ministry of Montgomery County

Interfaith coalition is a natural volunteer base.
They do not work exclusively from their group of congregations or with the faith community, but also corporations.
· Looking to grow their relationship with mid-size companies.
There are over 7 thousand volunteers a year working with programs.
135 congregations looking at the business community to see who shares their values.
$3.6 of $8 million is cash and the rest is in-kind.
Have to find a balance between the gifts of the volunteers and the needs of the organizations.
o Matching professional skill sets of volunteers with the needs of the agencies.
o Under-utilized volunteers become very unhappy and will tell others.

The volunteer piece is taken very, very seriously.
“The experience you want, the experience you need.” This includes students who have to (service learning hours required to graduate), and people who have to (court ordered).
Never know the outcome of volunteering. Some of the largest personal contributors have been gained because of their service experience.
65% of residents of Bethesda are un-churched and feel good about it.
More people are volunteering fewer hours.
Early retirees are natural volunteers, but because of the economy, many have had to take second jobs.
Of the 33 thousand new residents to the area, 50% are immigrants.
o Most immigrants have a very different idea of volunteerism.
o Many assume the government takes care of these problems, so why are you asking them to help?
o It is best to align those of the same culture together.
o A lot of challenges with the diverse community – help must be asked for discreetly.
It is very important for the nonprofit who is asking for help to be able to define exactly what they want in a volunteer and have a work plan.

Questions/Comments

Any correlation between service learning requirements and the increase in teen volunteering?
o Not certain; but it was found that there is a correlation between those high school students who were required to volunteer and those who volunteer as college students.

Is there any way to measure a person’s attachment to their community?
o There are certain questions (trust, emotional attachment, commitment) that could be
asked, but it is a very lengthy and difficult process to get questions changed on the
survey.

Diversity, as is inclusion, is a white concept.
o Volunteering means different things in different cultures. We are familiar with the traditional white model of volunteering.

Changes in demographics affect everything that has to do with volunteering.
Has any data shown what roles groups such as the Volunteer Center play in the level of volunteering? Who is asking people to volunteer?
o This information can be found in the report from the Points of Light Foundation.
o Businesses
· Corporate Volunteer Council focuses on their members.
· Allstate depends on the Volunteer Center for referrals.

61 million people volunteer through some formal organization; 5 million volunteer informally.
Are there certain challenges volunteering with small organizations? Are there certain models that work better with small organizations?
The Pro-Bono program is a great proven model for small organizations.
Nonprofits need coaching/training on how to prepare for volunteers – program of work and project proposal form.
o This is what we need, and this is what we hope you will do for us.
Can Nonprofit Montgomery! do this training?
o Nonprofit Montgomery! can network to bring the nonprofits and trainers together.
o Maryland Nonprofits is a resource for training and technical assistance.
o It should be written into grants that organizations must have training.

Next Meeting

Tuesday, October 16

August 2007 Brown Bag Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Holohean) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:02:00 +0000

At this third Brown Bag, panelists discussed the importance of learning to communicate effectively across all three sectors in Montgomery County – business, government and nonprofit/philanthropic – within the City of Gaithersburg. Panel members spoke briefly about the characteristics of Gaithersburg and what convinced them to work in partnership – and what kept them working in partnership - even though such efforts have either never gotten off the ground or failed in other jurisdictions around the country.

Panelists included:
Crystal Carr, Director of Human Services, City of Gaithersburg and Panel Chair
(School UpCounty Partnership, nonprofit grants, Character Counts! and UpCounty Latino Network 1)
Chief John A. King (Cops in Shops & Extra Eyes)
Cindy Hines (Olde Towne Coordinator- Gaithersburg Business Alliance)
Maureen Herndon (HS Program Manager- Gaithersburg Coalition of Providers,
Principals Lunch, Landlords Lunch)
Ralph Bunge (Gaithersburg Help - Holiday Giving Program)

Nonprofit Montgomery! and
Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships (OCP)
Brown Bag Lunch #3
August 21, 2007

Meeting Notes

Welcome and Introductions
MaryAnn Holohean and Bruce Adams welcomed the attendees. Ms. Holohean gave a brief overview of the collaboration between NonProfit Montgomery! and the Office of Community Partnerships; she thanked the City of Gaithersburg for hosting the meeting.
Participants introduced themselves.

Panel Topic - “Local Government, Business and Nonprofits Working Together to Create a Just and Caring Community: What We Can All Learn from Gaithersburg”

Crystal Carr, City of Gaithersburg Director of Human Services

· Gaithersburg is a fiscally responsible city that has a pay-as-you-go financial philosophy that allows the City to enjoy a thriving economic status. A comprehensive, bottom-up opposed to top-down, management approach is taken, as the City acts as both conduit and facilitator.
· The City of Gaithersburg Human Services Office has only three staff persons.
° They credit their ability to provide these programs and services to their partnerships with area business, nonprofits, government agencies, and congregations.

° The Human Services Office is responsible for the following initiatives:

Education Committee
Multicultural Affairs Committee
Community Advisory Board, Montgomery Outcomes Development Group, Gaithersburg Coalition of Providers
Latino Providers Network
Character Counts! Steering Committee
Community Partnership Development

· Friends of Wells/Robertson House
° The Wells/Robertson House is a 14-bed transitional housing program for homeless men and women in recovery from alcohol and/or drug addiction. The program is a combined community effort supported by the City, grants, state funding, fundraisers and local contributions.
° The house was established by the City of Gaithersburg in response to the concerns over the rise of homelessness in Olde Towne. A City Task Force was formed to explore the concern and recommended that Homeless Advocate position as well as the Wells program, which would provide those overcoming chemical addictions and homelessness with a clean, safe, sober, long-term environment to pull their lives together and become committed to a program of recovery.
° Friends of Wells/Robertson House, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that was formed later to raise funds to ensure the growth of the Wells/Robertson House program.

· Nonprofit Grants – Recognizing that the City can not provide all the needed services, some programs are outsourced to nonprofits organizations that have the skills and can speak the language.
° Four priority areas
Healthcare and mental health
Prevention of homelessness
* permanent, transitional and emergency housing
* eviction prevention
Building strong children and families
* gang prevention
* early childhood care
* home visitation
Individual and family self-sufficiency
* job training and education – seeing larger gaps in education due to the increasing immigrant population
* case management services
* food, clothing and furniture
* affordable home care
$626,947 funding 29 nonprofit grants which provide 15,547 units of service (units of service differ with the type of service).
· School Grants, Prevention Dollars & Breakfast Program: serving approximately 6,000 students
° Partnering with a business can help supplement programs for schools.
° Prevention dollars and breakfast program - $14,500
° The breakfast program in the City is subsidized by the Gazette Newspapers - $3,130
° Grants going to 23 schools that have student bodies composed of 10% or more City residents.
° 16 Gaithersburg Schools funded $54,987 for students.
° Three priority areas
Promoting academic enrichment
Safe environment conducive for learning
Parental involvement

· City World Market
° The City World Market is a celebration of cultural heritage, diversity and economic empowerment, winning national and state economic development and cultural diversity awards upon its debut in 2006.
° The City World Market is sponsored by the City of Gaithersburg’s Office of Economic and Community Development, Montgomery College, Through the Kitchen Door International, All About Signs, Inc., and the Gaithersburg-Germantown and Mid-Atlantic Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.
° For the second year, new entrepreneurs selling ethnic crafts and goods have had the opportunity to receive 15 hours of free business development training through Montgomery College, television exposure and a place at the City World Market to be held on September 16, 2007 at the 26th Annual Celebrate Gaithersburg in Olde Towne Festival.
° This year, 17 of the 23 participating students will graduate (August), representing 19 new businesses; the market will host 50 vendors, 27 of which are selling international crafts.
° Workbooks were developed on marketing and business plans how to’s.

· Vivan Las Americas
° Began and organized by Through the Kitchen Door International, Vivan Las Americas conducts life skills and empowerment training programs using food and nutrition as a means for family and community empowerment.
Graduates of Through the Kitchen Door program are reported to make two dollars more and hour than others in the same job positions.
° The success of the program is a tribute to the contributions and efforts of volunteers, community and corporate partners such as the City of Gaithersburg; VisArts, Rockville; CASA de Maryland; and Whole Foods Markets.
° The event celebrated the heritage, culture and diversity of the area’s Hispanic community. VIVAN LAS AMERICAS featured the healthy preparation and samples of typical foods from representative countries of the Americas. Activities and exhibits that addressed interests and needs of Hispanic residents focus on nutrition, diet, health, public and private social and consumer services, cultural exchange, education and training.

· Character Counts! Program
° The Character Counts! program, enables adults to teach children the six pillars of ethics -responsibility, respect, caring, fairness, trustworthiness and citizenship in ways that they will understand.
° There are 29 Character Counts! Schools
° National Character Counts! Week - $1,750 - is sponsored by Gazette Newspapers, Montgomery Village Rotary and Gaithersburg Rotary.
° Character Counts! Scholarship - $5500 – Bohrer Memorial Scholarship Fund, Rodgers Consulting, Lockheed Martin, and DRS.

· Upcounty Latino Network
° The mission of the Upcounty Latino Network is to strengthen human service provider networks in the Upcounty Montgomery County and to improve access and delivery of health and human services to individuals and families who encounter language and cultural barriers.
° An estimated 20 organizations and providers are active members.
° Monthly forum (workgroup format) where issues that are timely and current to the community are addressed.

Chief John A. King, City of Gaithersburg Police Department

· There are approximately sixty thousand residents in the ten square miles that is the City of Gaithersburg. Policing of the City is shared with Montgomery County Police Department. Community policing is the philosophy of the City - working with community, City departments and other government agencies. Cops in Shops and Extra Eyes are two programs in which the City partners with government agencies, businesses, nonprofits. The success of the programs is measured by anecdotal feedback from the community who express that with the programs there is a better quality of life.

· Cops in Shops
° Implemented by the Gaithersburg Business Alliance, the Cops in Shops program involves businesses that sell or serve alcohol in an on-going campaign that includes owner policy seminars, state certified alcohol server training, business intervention, business code of conduct and risk assessment, compliance checks and stepped-up enforcement.
° Cops in Shops often use plan clothes police officers to make alcohol purchases or act as cashiers.
· Extra Eyes
° Extra Eyes is a component of the Enhanced Enforcement program run by the County Police Alcohol Unit.
° Community persons are trained on Maryland alcohol laws, underage drinking, how to recognize intoxicated individuals, subtle signs of intoxication and impaired drivers.
Those who have successfully completed training are able to work in the community to identify violators and notify a police officer by radio.

Cindy Hines, City of Gaithersburg Olde Towne Coordinator

· The Gaithersburg Business Alliance acts as an umbrella organization under which business owners work with State and local governments to implement prevention, education and enforcement programs that address alcohol abuse, public intoxication and related issues.
° The program was implemented in Gaithersburg to bring awareness to the ripple effect of over serving.
° Aware of the County program, Kathie Durbin from the Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control was contacted. The Gaithersburg Business Alliance is a model out of the Dept. of Liquor Control Outreach Office.
° State certified training is offered at a reduced cost to Alliance members.
· National Night Out
° The City of Gaithersburg and more than ten thousand communities across the nation participate in National Night Out.
° The goal of National Night Out is to increase drug prevention awareness, generate support for anti-crime programs, empower neighborhoods to organize to fight back against crime.
° Businesses may need additional training and lines of communication are open even after the National Night Out.
° National Night Out in Gaithersburg is sponsored by the business community and helps to bring together residents, law enforcement agencies, local officials, civic groups and community organizations.

Maureen Herndon, City of Gaithersburg Human Services Program Manager

· Human Services in the City takes a one-on-one macro approach to needs assessments. Human Services under the Department of Economic and Community Development goal is: “To foster collaboration and partnership among the private, nonprofit and public sectors in the community. To foster efficient and beneficial service delivery, community awareness of challenges and successes, volunteerism and educational opportunities for all. To promote and encourage ‘best practice’ and mutual understanding among community groups.”
· Gaithersburg Coalition of Providers
° Founded in 1996, the Coalition is comprised of over 60 representatives from area nonprofits, congregations and schools that provide services for families in need in the Gaithersburg area.
° The Coalition meets quarterly and focuses on identifying gaps in service, training, information sharing, promotion of service collaboration and community partnerships.
· Annual Gaithersburg Landlord Lunch and Budgeting Classes
° An annual lunch of appreciation for City landlords that was started in 2004.
° Coordinated by the City of Gaithersburg Human Services and Stepping Stone Shelter Housing Counseling Program in conjunction with landlords and area nonprofit housing assistance programs.
° The lunch is an opportunity to share common concerns and ideas for the betterment of Gaithersburg residents. Landlords are updated on County and City services.
° Follow-up budgeting classes are held for renters who are experiencing financial challenges.
° Discussion on how landlords can recognize when their tenants are having issues and how to educate the greater community on how to avoid evictions.
· Annual School Principals, Counselors and PTA Lunch
° Coordinated by the City’s Human Services, this lunch provides an opportunity for 10% schools to present to the City information on programs, volunteer opportunities and wish lists.
· Montgomery County Housing Fair
° The Housing Fair is an annual event that is coordinated by the County’s Departments of Housing and Community Affairs and Health and Human Services; Cities of Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Takoma Park; Maryland State Housing Office and various nonprofits in partnership with area businesses.
° Over 60 exhibitors from area housing programs, County programs, realtors, mortgage and rental companies participate.
° Workshops are held to address homeownership, renting, financial literacy and credit issues.
· Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. event and Literary Arts contest
° County-sponsored program that draws over 800 each year to celebrate the life of Dr. King.
° A representative from the City serves on the event committee.
° Literary arts contest is co-sponsored by the Gazette Newspapers and the City and is open to Gaithersburg students who present their works at the annual event.
· Community Ministry of Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Coalition
° The City is an active member of this Coalition which coordinates numerous nonprofit and congregational supported programs that serve thousands of needy County families.
Provide emergency services such as food, medicine, and money to prevent evictions.
° Churches are frustrated with the many requests for money.
° Training is provided during monthly meetings to ensure proper service delivery and good stewardship of donations.
· Gaithersburg Interfaith Alliance
° The City is a participating member of the alliance which is comprised of congregational representatives who meet monthly for spiritual development, training and coordination.
° The alliance provides an opportunity for area nonprofits and schools to present issues and programs that promote mutual understanding and address gaps in services.

Ralph Bunge, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
· Holiday Giving
° The City of Gaithersburg Holiday Giving Program is supported by area congregations, businesses, nonprofit organizations and area individuals and families.
° Needy families are referred by counselors, schools or social services (duplicate referrals are weeded out).
Over 800 households were referred last year.
° Special Thanksgiving and December holiday meals are provided.
° This program is run county-wide by the Montgomery County Volunteer Center.

Discussion/Questions

· How did the collaboration/partnerships begin?
° Mayor Edward Bohrer brought together a group of people with varying views to work with the City Council to address the homeless situation in the City. This group became the Community Advisory Board. The committee was given the freedom to come up with a plan. The group identified and reached out to community leaders and area nonprofits.
· Training small nonprofits
° The Human Services Office can coordinate with Maryland Nonprofits to bring in a trainer for a group of nonprofits who will share the cost of the training.
° New nonprofits can be paired with established nonprofit organizations who will act as mentors.
° Partner each nonprofit in Gaithersburg with a business or church.
° Each nonprofit should be run like a small business.
° Several nonprofits are supported by churches.
· Nonprofits are a form of social capital.
· Asian community
° No natural collaboration – most are in survival stage
° Asian communities believe in helping themselves.
° The need to work very closely with each distinct Asian cultural group to understand how best to deliver services.
Jayne Park of the Asian Pacific American Legal Resources Center and co-chair of Nonprofit Montgomery! has established a committee of ten Asian leaders. The group is working with Larry Shinagawa at the University of Maryland to conduct survey research on the county’s Asian communities, their needs, and their networks of service providers. As is true nationally, Asian-serving nonprofits are funded at lower levels than any other subset of ethnic-serving nonprofits.
° Korean Community Service Center located in Grand Mart has taken some of the stigma away from receiving help. The space is provided free of charge. The Center partners with Mobile Med to offer health services to the community.
· Are new businesses coming into Gaithersburg made aware of the community’s ethic of county service?
° Depends on the type of business. Those who serve or sell alcohol are approached by the Gaithersburg Business Alliance.
° The Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) also reaches out to these businesses to create a climate of giving back and employees volunteering.
The CVC has made more inroads in Gaithersburg than in any other area.
· Idea to develop an orientation brochure to give to businesses.
· Volunteer Center implements a great many partnerships and programs.
· It is often true that nonprofits are not seen by government and business as equal partners; they are seen by these sectors as full of passion but poorly organized and managed – the old “charity model” perspective. It is very impressive to see the value the City of Gaithersburg places on their nonprofit partners.
° The City of Gaithersburg appreciates the uniqueness of the nonprofit sector and the depth of knowledge and expertise of nonprofits. They have a deep embedded appreciation for the nonprofit sector.
· Where are the gaps?
° Affordable housing – many residents are one small crisis away from being able to afford housing.
· When the City puts out the call, people respond. The City is very specific when explaining the need.
· The City has great collaboration with the County.
· The County should adopt the Character Counts! Program which has been a cornerstone of Gaithersburg’s success in bringing the three sectors together.
· Building mutual trust and loyalty is essential to any partnership.

July 2007 Brown Bag Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Holohean) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:46:00 +0000

At this second Brown Bag, a panel of corporate and philanthropic leaders discussed the value of the nonprofit sector in Montgomery County, and how we can identify, measure and communicate that value. Panel members spoke about how they viewed the nonprofit sector in Montgomery County and posed some of the tough questions they think about when they consider the value of nonprofits.

Panelists included:
Bill Schlossenberg, Director of Public Affairs/Associate Publisher, The Gazette and member, Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC)
Jackie Ogg, Deputy Director, Montgomery County Community Foundation
Chrissina Herbert, Corporate Volunteer Council
Carol Trawick, Founder of the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation

Nonprofit Montgomery! and
Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships (OCP)
Brown Bag Lunch #2
July 17, 2007

Meeting Notes

Welcome and Introductions
The participants were welcomed to the second brown bag lunch meeting by Molly Callaway and Cindy Price. MaryAnn Holohean gave an overview of Nonprofit Montgomery!, reviewed the meeting handouts and introduced the guest panelists. Bruce Adams provided a brief overview of the Office of Community Partnerships and pointed out that the conference room in which the meeting was being held had been named the Charles L. Short Conference Room in recognition of Chuck Short’s (Special Assistant to the County Executive) many years to of service.

Panel Topic – “Our Perspectives on the Nonprofit Sector of Montgomery County”

Bill Schlossenberg, Director of Public Affairs/Associate Publisher, The Gazette and member of Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC)

The nonprofit community is a very important facet in the day to day functioning of
the Gazette.
The better the nonprofits do, the more people they are able to serve, the better the community is as a whole.
Tries to support the nonprofit community whenever possible through free advertising and direct monetary support. (Wants to invest in an already proven nonprofit – the return on the investment is that the nonprofit is actually performing the good work it promised to do. Sometimes we support a unique situation, e.g., giving free advertising to an 11 year-old and his brother who planned a fundraiser for the homeless).
Nonprofits should be run “as a business.”
It is very important to keep lines of communication – let us know what you are doing with our support – let us know your needs.

Carol Trawick, Founder of the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation and corporate and community leader
The nonprofit community identifies undone work and does it. Nonprofit leaders are “heroes” – combining passion with specific skill sets.
Has experience with all three legs of the stool – government, private/business and
nonprofit.
Business view of the nonprofit community: they’ve got: passion, expertise,
ability to identify where the needs are; they don’t have: management and
funding expertise
° Nonprofits are constantly chasing the funding for their programs.

° Many nonprofits keep going to the same businesses for funding; and these
businesses see constant requests for funding.
· Montgomery County has a unique pool of businesses – the County’s
small business community is not 60-65% of the overall pool, but well over 95% - a lot of these are consulting businesses because of the federal government – this means that there is a very large number of small businesses with whom nonprofits are not now communicating with whom they need to communicate.
Encourage businesses to adopt a nonprofit through the Volunteer Center or
Community Service Day.
° Link the hidden small businesses with nonprofits.
Ask these small business leaders to sit on your nonprofit board, but only where they can make a difference.
° When bringing a business leader on the board of a nonprofit, be clear about the skill set you are seeking (finance, human resources, etc.). Also, be clear about your expectations of a potential board member.
° Businesses think in real outcomes – create a time line, follow up, relate the project back to the general community.
° Businesses see results when giving to political campaigns – this same thought process should be used by nonprofits when developing a funding proposal.
Larger nonprofits could bring smaller nonprofits under their auspices as subcontractors (must fit within their mission).
° Smaller nonprofits have the expertise; larger nonprofits have the management capabilities.
Nonprofits need to organize their finances to reflect direct cost, indirect cost, general and administration cost
The Trawick Foundation has a program (a nonprofit village), Go Occupant, that offers small nonprofits their first professional environment.
° Private office and access to equipment
° Brown bag lunches with other nonprofits to share information

Chrissina Herbert, Allstate Insurance and member of Corporate Volunteer Council
Nonprofits should be effective and accountable.
Nonprofits should model themselves after for-profit businesses.
General perception of nonprofits is very good.
Businesses want to know
° Is it going to help the business (retention, publicity)?
° What’s in it for us?
° Will it affect our bottom line?

Jackie Ogg, Deputy Director, Montgomery County Community Foundation
The Montgomery County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region, is 11years old.
° Works to build charitable giving/philanthropy by Montgomery County residents.
° Area of expertise is donor advisement.
· Approximately 125 donor advised funds for charitable giving.
° Of the $20 million given last year, 75% stayed in this region; 50% of the regional giving stayed in Montgomery County.
There are significant growing pockets of poverty in Montgomery County.
° Different nonprofits are rising to meet the needs of the community.
° Montgomery County is still a “hard sell.” Many people do not recognize the reality of needs in the “new” Montgomery County.
Sharing Montgomery Fund provides support to County nonprofit organizations.
° A vehicle for recognizing and learning about the challenges and the nature
of nonprofits with the County.
· 38 of the 100 requests received $250,000 in total funding last year.
· Six categories reviewed to determine funding eligibility:
- Meet guidelines
- Track record
- Impact
- Management
- Leadership
- Financial capacity
Three categories of nonprofits:
° Large, well established
° Kitchen table – leaders in the communities, have a skill, helping neighbors; sometimes by default become nonprofits (under ten years old).
° Established, District of Columbia based nonprofits following their clients as they move into Montgomery County.
Want to fund all types that are out there and encourage communication within the sector.
How to build the capacity of the nonprofit sector?
° RFPs for nonprofits to come together to learn about collaborating – small
and large nonprofits
· Stipends for smaller nonprofits
· Series of workshops
° A Learning Circle initiated in 2006 focused on building the capacity of the
nonprofit sector in the County with recommendations for county government,
philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
° Invest in the collective development of the sector – Nonprofit Montgomery!

Questions
Question: How many requests are received a month? [to Bill Schlossenberg]

Answer: 75-150 requests. The Gazette is able to act on half of the requests, mostly through free advertising. Tend to support projects involving children and the arts, staying away from religious institutions across the board unless the money being raised is going to children or to feed the hungry.

Follow up question: What can the nonprofits do to diminish the load?

Answer: A certain amount of advertising space is allotted in each edition for nonprofits. The nonprofits should collaborate and submit requests for this space on a rotating basis. One of the worse things that can happen is that we agree to provide the free space, a deadline is established, and the nonprofit never remits the copy.

Discussion
Building relationships
● Important to develop a relationship between the nonprofit and the business.
- The nonprofit must hold up its end.
- Everyone needs to be able to say what they need or want to get out of the partnership.
- Developing partnerships takes time and work.
- Use Community Service Day as a means for connecting small nonprofits with
businesses for a day. The nonprofits should follow up with the businesses and work
to form partnerships.
● The business community is not monolithic.
- Each business is different – comprised of different individuals.
- Brainstorm on how to approach each business.
- There is no specific model that will work for everyone.
● It’s about trust and value. Businesses want to know that their money is being invested and
handled wisely.
● Is it feasible to have peer on peer dialogue with nonprofit, government and business sectors?
There seems to be no place where the three can come together and debate and discuss these
issues.
- Each sector needs each other – must have the skill set to talk each other’s language.
- Government has been a great support and true partner to the nonprofit sector.
- Government can be a facilitator and an enabler.
- Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) is working to bring nonprofit and
business sectors together.
- Nonprofits need to have a relationship with the Department of Economic
Development (DED). It is difficult for nonprofits to even be recognized in any literature from DED.
- The Volunteer Center helps to build the relationship with business, nonprofit
and government sectors. They also have a monthly orientation for nonprofits.

Communication
● Communicate the value of the project/program before you approach the business for support –
trust and personal relationships are key.
● Companies want the tangible. They want to know where the money is going, what the money
is doing (outcomes).
● Companies appreciate positive reinforcement and “thank you’s.”
● Keep the lines of communication open. Let the business know what you need, what’s going
right.

Collaboration
● Subcontracting can work when there is mission alignment, but it has often failed because the
cultural dimensions of the relationships have not been deeply explored and understood ahead
of time (“cultural can range from ethnic differences, to the balance between service and
advocacy, to the manner in which services are delivered to the office environment).
● Once the small nonprofit becomes linked to a larger nonprofit the mission and “culture” of the larger organization often becomes the driving force.
- To be successful, the small nonprofit would come in with a program/project clearly
defined. The large nonprofit would manage the small nonprofit’s “business” functions
not the program/project.
- Failures arise when criteria are not set up and contracts do not spell out specifics.
● Set up a system in which businesses are invited to learn of ways they can make a difference in
the communities. A monthly stipend would be collected from each business and dispersed to
the participating nonprofits. The more experienced nonprofits would make the pitch.
- Businesses like one on one relationships.
- Each nonprofit has to figure out what works for them.

Finances/Funding
● Nonprofits should do research before putting together a funding proposal.
- What does the company want to see?
- Know how the company handles asks.
- Know the company’s fiscal year and when to apply for funding.
- What criteria does the company use to determine funding?
- Look at the marketplace when planning the fundraising. How are the fundraising
dollars being spent? Have to spend money to make money.
● One of the biggest problems nonprofits feel they face is disrespect.
- A sense that they are always begging for money.
- How do they garner the same respect as the politicians who ask for money?
● For-profit businesses are better at identifying what they want. Nonprofits know they want
money, but many are not willing to do what it takes to get it.
● The ability to leverage is very important. Show how every dollar was leveraged into
additional dollars.
● Recognize that in most businesses there are two pots of money – transactional
advertising/marketing money throughout the year and grants that are usually focused on a
single calendar date.
- Do not assume you can get money from both pots; or use the first to get the second.
● Smaller businesses face the same start-up issues as nonprofits.
● Nonprofits have a tendency to go after the money before determining if it will cover the true
costs of delivering the services. In doing so, they end up getting further and further behind in
accomplishing their mission. One of the most important contributions business leaders can
make to nonprofits is helping nonprofits demonstrate to foundations and government what it
actually costs to deliver a service because often these costs are not covered by funders even
though no business could operate without them.
● Know and use the skill sets of the board of directors in raising funds.
● Teach nonprofits how to set up their finances to show direct and indirect costs;
general and administrative costs. These areas must be included in the financials so
that the nonprofits have the ability to hire additional staff such as grant writers.

Goal
● Sustainability

Next Steps/Follow up
● A nonprofit expo is scheduled for Wednesday, October 17, 2007 in the cafeteria of the
Executive Office Building. The expo will tie into the County charitable giving campaign.
Members of the Corporate Volunteer Council will be invited. A tip sheet will be provided for
the nonprofits who participate.

● Try to link business and nonprofits for Community Service Day, October 27, 2007.

● Request that DED include nonprofit information when preparing literature for new
businesses.

● Next Brown Bag Meeting on August 21, 2007, will be hosted by Crystal Carr, City of
Gaithersburg.

Announcements
● Funding Expo, Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at the Long Branch Community Center, Silver
Spring, 7-9 p.m.

June 2007 Brown Bag Minutes (1st Brown Bag)

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Holohean) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:37:00 +0000

In this first Brown Bag, panelist Chuck Bean (Executive Director, Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington) discussed the “Beyond Charity” project undertaken by the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington in partnership with the World Bank. This project (which resulted in the late 2007 publication of the Beyond Charity report) focused on providing nonprofit leaders in the region with examples and tools to communicate the value of nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofit Montgomery! and
Montgomery County Office of Community Partnerships (OCP)

Brown Bag Lunch #1

“How should we better measure and communicate the value of nonprofits?”

June 19, 2007

Meeting Notes

Welcome and Introduction
Bruce Adams and MaryAnn Holohean welcomed the participants to the First Brown Bag Lunch.

Purpose of monthly “Brown Bags”
To build relationships/partnerships between Montgomery County government and the nonprofit sector.

Brief Introduction to Nonprofit Montgomery!
° A newly organized effort to build the collective strength, visibility and influence of Montgomery County’s nonprofit sector
° Nonprofit Montgomery! seeks to bring collective leadership together across the nonprofit sector in the “new” Montgomery County: encompassing large anchor organizations; mid-size nonprofits; newer nonprofits that are developing from communities both new to Montgomery County or underserved within the county; DC-based nonprofits that are developing new programs within the county for their constituents; and faith-based organizations.
° The goal is to have a wider range of nonprofit leaders “at the table’
° Unlike earlier efforts to bring nonprofits together in the county, Nonprofit Montgomery! is staffed.
° Driven by common issues
° A critical element of the work is supporting the sector in measuring and communicating its value

Speaker
Chuck Bean, Executive Director, The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington
http://www.nonprofitroundtable.org/

(Interactive discussion throughout the session: notes cover both presentation and discussion)

Three areas of focus:
· Perception of nonprofits
· Why should we better measure and communicate the value of nonprofits?
· How should we better measure and communicate the value of nonprofits?
° Key words – measure and communicate

National Perceptions/descriptions of nonprofit organizations (from a 2006 Independent Sector national survey)
· In comparison with some for-profit corporations, nonprofit organizations were viewed
favorably by the public. However, the public also expects a lot more from nonprofits than from for-profit corporations.
· In an opinion poll on name perception:
° “Nonprofit” was viewed most positively and associated with helping the community, (i.e. there was no profit motive).
° Descriptives like “charities” and “foundations” were perceived more negatively in comparison with “nonprofit,” “philanthropic,” and “charitable.”
· It was determined that the term “nonprofit community” was preferable to “nonprofit sector”. “Sector” was considered jargon and too abstract a concept, whereas “community” was an easily understood and had positive connotations.
· Nonprofit attributes:
° The most valued traits for nonprofits were accountability, effectiveness, commitment and caring.
° In general, nonprofits were viewed, and expected to be, committed and caring.
° The attributes that nonprofits were felt to not possess: accountability, effectiveness,
efficiency, selflessness, and results-oriented. (i.e., those interviewed valued the trait
of nonprofit accountability very highly, but felt that many nonprofits were not accountable)
° Surprisingly, being local was not viewed as an important attribute.
· The nonprofit sector believes that:
° It is clear that nonprofit effectiveness has not been communicated to the public.
° Being considered as caring, but not selfless, is contradictory.

Montgomery County nonprofits by the numbers (based on research by Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and the Urban Institute)
° According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), there are approximately 5,000 501(c)(3) organizations in Montgomery County.

This number includes many inactive organizations that are still listed on the IRS roll.

° 1,600 of these nonprofits have budgets of $25,000 and up.

One of the largest nonprofits (most assets) in the region is located in
Montgomery County - Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
437 of these organizations have budgets over $ 1 million/year.

° Two thirds of the 1,600 are locally serving organizations.

Therefore there are approximately 1,000 nonprofits serving the nearly one million people living in Montgomery County (this is the same as the national average).

° Do these 1,000 nonprofits have the ability to serve the increasing and very diverse population of Montgomery County?

There is currently no overall research being done to track trends and to ensure that the needs of all types of residents are being covered. This research would be very expensive.
However, there is research being carried out in specific areas (e.g., the recent health status research among the Asian American communities within the county, carried out by the Asian Studies and Research Center at the University of Maryland and funded by HHS).
Does Montgomery County have the “right” nonprofits?

Why should we better measure and communicate the value of nonprofits?
To raise awareness about the role of nonprofits in our lives. Although many of us view nonprofits as the organizations that deliver critical services to our poor and under-resourced neighbors, we often forget that every one of us – at some time in our lives – relies on nonprofits, whether to provide afterschool programs for our children, health and other support programs for our elders, or the League of Women Voters guide we review before casting our ballots.

Nonprofits:
- deliver needed services in the community
- give citizens opportunities to volunteer and youth opportunities for community service
- identify and find solutions for community problems
- develop public policy options for government to consider
- provide a voice for the underrepresented
- advocate for change
- educate the public on important issues
- provide “the commons” where citizens can come together to discuss and debate

· To recognize that the government cannot provide all critical services, and know that there are organizations that can effectively close the gap (i.e. that government and nonprofits can work together to help close the gap with the money provided).
· Private, corporate, public sectors do not speak the same language or have the same values as the nonprofit sector:
· Different ways are needed to communicate what the nonprofit “value added” is to all sectors. Depending on the sector/audience being addressed, there are different presentations for the same program asking for the same support.
· Nonprofits have a difficult time putting together a narrative about what they accomplish.
· The corporate/private sector needs to provide input when resolving these issues.
· Policy makers always want to fund the best program.
° Difficult to show that your program is the best when the County government is
only interested in outputs and not outcomes.

Outputs asked for by the County have no relationships to outcomes.

"Outputs" = number of units served (most tangible)
"Outcomes" = the difference made to those served (difficult to track)

· Government is chartered to make the services happen; nonprofits feel they have that same charter.
· The real challenge is to develop a candid relationship between the government and nonprofit sectors. Some points of clarification and discussion that are needed include:
° If government feels they should fund critical services and not organizations, how can the organizational costs of delivering a service (i.e., the real cost) be covered?
° A need for a clear definition of terms, goals and priorities.
° Are the nonprofits cognizant of the priorities of the County?
- New organizations are not in the loop and don’t know the plan.

How should we better measure and communicate the value of nonprofits?
· Effectively describe in-kind services, including the $ amount contributed
· The ability to bring in additional funding sources:
° Makes individual nonprofits more competitive on the front end (proposal stage), but there is no follow up by contract monitors. (Contract monitors have different levels of sophistication and experience.)
° Nonprofits must be able to identify and describe all the ways they leverage additional $s for every $ they receive
· National statistics can be used to complement local data or serve as proxies for local data when they are not available
· The Office of Management and Budget takes into account
° the additional funding that the organizations can bring in
° the value of the organizations’ volunteers (translated into dollars)

Many organizations do not include this in their proposals.

· Costs prevented should be included in the outcomes (e.g., a recent study in North Carolina shows that dispute settlement centers resolved 13,544 cases at a cost to the state of only $118 each, compared to $922 per case had they gone to district court.)

What is the end goal of the monthly “brown bags”?
· Relationship building that leads to better community service
· Bringing people forward who add value to our understanding of the nonprofit sector.
· Help define the fundamental role of government
· Provide opportunities for better nonprofit-government co-visioning (cultural competency – how nonprofits fit in).
· Explore the definition of “nonprofitness”
· Common understanding of the “value” of nonprofits.
· Create a common language among the government and nonprofit sectors (as well as business and philanthropy).

Follow up items
· Contact information to be sent to all participants.

· Corporate Volunteer Council, private businesses, philanthropy and County Council members to be invited to future meetings.
° Representatives from corporate philanthropy , businesses that promote volunteering, and those that currently do neither.

· Ask the question, “What is your perception of nonprofits?”

· Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at Long Branch Community Center from 7-9PM there will be a Funding EXPO where nonprofits will have the opportunity to meet and dialogue with staff from county government and some private foundations, as well as support organizations such as the Foundation Center, which is now offering services at the Rockville library, and infoMontgomery – the countywide database of nonprofit services

· Put together a Nonprofit Expo in the fall (late September or early October) in the Executive Office Building cafeteria to showcase the work of nonprofits from throughout the county
° Most of the OMB analysts and others in government do not know what the individual nonprofits do – we need to learn a lot more about each other
° Ideally, the Nonprofit EXPO would be scheduled to coincide with the annual United Way campaign.

· Participants were encouraged to view Jed Emerson’s views on values at http://www.blendedvalue.org/

Frequently Asked Questions

noreply@blogger.com (MaryAnn Holohean) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:26:00 +0000

What is Nonprofit Montgomery? What is its history? What is it trying to achieve? If you have questions about Nonprofit Montgomery, or are just trying to better understand our mission, then check out this FAQ.

Nonprofit Montgomery!
.…collective strength, visibility, and influence for a just and caring community

What is it? Why Should I be Involved?

Why Should the Nonprofit Sector in Montgomery County Seek to Build its Collective Strength, Visibility and Influence at this Time?

Montgomery County is still one of the wealthiest counties in the United States - but it is also now the most diverse county within the State of Maryland. This new Montgomery County is a very different place from the primarily white, bedroom community that many in the Greater Washington region, and the nation, still imagine.

Just as the new Montgomery County is growing, the County’s nonprofit sector is changing. A sector led primarily by a relatively small number of large anchor agencies is evolving into a complex system of small and large, emerging and established organizations carrying out many different missions in an array of diverse communities.

The new Montgomery County and its resulting fast growing and diverse nonprofit sector have created momentum that makes it timely to bring nonprofit leaders together “to build the collective strength, visibility and influence of the County’s nonprofit sector in order to create a just and caring community.”

What Led to the Interest in Developing Nonprofit Montgomery!?

From 2004 to 2006, “thought leaders” within the Montgomery County nonprofit community, including Sally Rudney (Montgomery County Community Foundation), Frankie Blackburn (IMPACT Silver Spring), Theresa Cameron (Arts and Humanities Council), Cindy Price (YMCA Youth and Family Services), Becky Wagner (Community Ministry of Montgomery County), and Jayne Park (Asian Pacific American Legal Resources Center) and many other nonprofit leaders, worked through the Nonprofit Action Team (NPAT) and the Learning Circle to forge a vision of building the nonprofit sector’s collective voice within the county.

The Learning Circle, led by the Montgomery County Community Foundation, brought together leaders from nonprofits, government, corporate and private philanthropy, and the nonprofit technical assistance community. The Learning Circle presented its recommendations to county government, philanthropy and the nonprofit community in November 2006. These recommendations remain important guideposts for action across the nonprofit, philanthropic, and government sectors.

The leaders of both NPAT and the Learning Circle came together in January 2007 to create a small Formation Team to oversee the implementation of the Learning Circle recommendations and the creation of a countywide nonprofit sector organizing effort recommended in the Learning Circle report.

There were two previous efforts in the county several years ago to create a nonprofit sector organizing effort, but both were short-lived due to a number of factors. At this moment, the energy, momentum and support seem to be in place to make this third effort a successful one.

Is Nonprofit Montgomery! the same thing that used to be called the Montgomery County Nonprofit Sector Initiative or the Montgomery County Nonprofit Roundtable?

Yes it is. Our original idea was to wait until many more nonprofit leaders were involved to develop a formal name. But in the meantime, terms like ‘initiative” and “roundtable” were confusing. So we have come up with a name – Nonprofit Montgomery! – that we think conveys the energy and excitement in Montgomery County’s nonprofit sector today.

What Is The Mission of Nonprofit Montgomery!?

The mission of Nonprofit Montgomery! is to build the collective strength, visibility and influence of the nonprofit sector in Montgomery County in order to create a just and caring community.

What type of organization is envisioned for Nonprofit Montgomery!?

The goal is not to create a new 501(c) 3 or a new membership organization, but instead to build an ever-expanding viral network of nonprofits, nonprofit coalitions, foundations, and nonprofit technical assistance providers. We believe this network will enable individual nonprofits and nonprofit leaders to view themselves as part of a larger community of nonprofits tackling issues that affect all Montgomery County residents.

Nonprofit Montgomery! physically resides at the Montgomery County Community Foundation and operates under the fiscal sponsorship of and in partnership with the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington.

The leaders of NPAT and the Learning Circle melded their efforts into Nonprofit Montgomery! in early 2007. In 2005, NPAT sponsored a Funding EXPO that was well received by nonprofits throughout the county, especially smaller organizations. Nonprofit Montgomery!, building on the work of NPAT, sponsored a second Funding EXPO in July 2007. We constantly refer back to the recommendations of the Learning Circle as we work with county government, philanthropy, business and nonprofits.

What is Nonprofit Montgomery doing right now?

In its early formative stage, Nonprofit Montgomery! has, through discussions with nonprofit leaders across the county, identified an Action Agenda under each of the elements of its mission for 2007-2008. Specific outcomes have been assigned to each task so that Nonprofit Montgomery! is accountable to the larger community. These outcomes are described in detail in a separate document, Nonprofit Montgomery! 2007-2008 Outcomes, which is available by contacting MaryAnn Holohean (maholohean@nonprofitroundtable.org)

Collective Strength

2007-2008 Action Agenda

1. Demonstrate an increase in collective action by the Montgomery County nonprofit sector

2. Develop the initial stages of a lasting and effective viral network of nonprofits that is both collaborative and catalytic

3. Provide ongoing support to an organized research and capacity-building effort by nonprofit leaders serving the many Asian communities and the Asian American Studies program at the University of Maryland

4. Engage over 300 nonprofit leaders in two or more convenings or other events that focus on critical issues facing the entire nonprofit sector, including the development of approaches to performance-based measurement and strategies to address state and local revenue shortfalls

5. Map the nonprofit capacity-building and technical assistance network for Montgomery County nonprofits and facilitate connections between nonprofits and services they need

6. Establish collaborative working relationships between Nonprofit Montgomery! and other key organizations and networks working in the nonprofit sector within Montgomery County (including, among many others, the Collaboration Council for Children and Families, the Montgomery County Volunteer Center and the Corporate Volunteer Council, the Montgomery County Funders Roundtable, the Upcounty and Downcounty Latino Networks, the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations, the Center for Nonprofit Advancement, the Foundation Center Cooperating Collection at the Rockville Public Library, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, Venture Philanthropy Partners, the United Way of Montgomery County, the Asian Nonprofit Leaders Collaboration Network, etc.)

7. With a 2007-2008 special emphasis on the state and local revenue challenges in Maryland and Montgomery County, establish an ongoing working relationship with the Rockville Public Library and the Foundation Center to expand free access for nonprofits to critical grant-seeking information and other sources of technical assistance

8. Support development of a collaborative network among multi-tenant nonprofits in the county.

Collective Visibility

2007-2008 Action Agenda

1. Create lively interactive communications vehicles, including a blog, that support and stimulate network-building among nonprofits in the county

2. Sponsor an annual Funding EXPO to bring nonprofits together with county and foundation funding sources; nonprofit leaders who have been successful in generating funding; and technical assistance providers who offer support in the fund-raising area.

3. Co-sponsor an annual Montgomery County Nonprofit Expo/Fair with the Montgomery County Government Employees’ Charitable Campaign, the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships, the Montgomery County Volunteer Center, and the six (6) involved charitable umbrella groups as the kick-off for the campaign.

Collective Influence

2007-2008 Action Agenda
Government sector

1. Co-sponsor ten (10) monthly “brown bags” with the County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) to expand the shared knowledge and understanding among government, business, and philanthropic and nonprofit leaders

2. Support the nonprofit sector in advocating for improvements in the County Council grants process, including convening nonprofit leaders to develop recommendations and working closely with Council grants management staff and Council members to communicate these recommendations in the most effective ways possible

3. Engage actively in discussions led by a Procurement Working Group, led by the Director of Procurement and the Director of DHHS, focused on potential improvements in contract solicitation, execution, and administration

4. Work with the Departments of Procurement and HHS to design and implement two informational sessions on contracting processes for nonprofits

5. Design and host at least two convenings on the measurement of nonprofit value and impact, including the relationship of the county’s new results-based budgeting approach to nonprofit reporting (see #4 above)

6. Prepare at least two “best practices” briefs, the first on the issue of initial cash availability to organizations with whom the county is contracting, detailing existing practices at the local, county, state and federal levels.

Business Sector

1. Expand working relationships with the Montgomery County Volunteer Center and the Corporate Volunteer Council of Montgomery County (CVC–MC)

How can I get involved?

Nonprofit Montgomery! can only work if you DO get involved. The minimum commitment we ask nonprofit leaders to make is that they will read Nonprofit Montgomery! emails and make every effort to attend convenings and other gatherings.

Involvement in Nonprofit Montgomery! can range from this minimum to a variety of active roles, including:

membership on the founding steering committee and other leadership groups
participation in “best practice” teams around critical issues, such as best practices in performance indicators
participation in discussions around content areas, such as contracting
bringing the materials shared by Nonprofit Montgomery! and other nonprofit resources serving Montgomery County back to your own community of nonprofits – and bringing the needs of your part of the nonprofit community forward
reporting back to the sector-wide Nonprofit Montgomery! email contact list on council committee meetings or other important gatherings
sharing “what works” with other nonprofit leaders, and being willing to share what has not worked
helping to create an interactive on-line presence for Nonprofit Montgomery! to serve nonprofits throughout the county
building bridges with sister organizations, such as the county’s Corporate Volunteer Council, to foster exchange and learning
and so much more . . .

“Commitment of interest” forms are distributed by email to those interested in being part of this evolving network. If you think you might not be on the Nonprofit Montgomery! contact list, please email maholohean@nonprofitroundtable.org and we will add your contact information and get a commitment of interest form to you right away!

Nonprofit Montgomery! can only thrive
if you are an actively engaged!