Resources Managing Nonprofit Organizations
“Concerns and specific questions around resources available to nonprofits and grassroots organizations for management have been voiced during many of our recent meetups.”
Digital rights organizations are often under-resourced, with many organizations lacking the structures, resources, tools and knowledge to properly implement best practices in regards to nonprofit management. Part of this is because the Digital rights space is still an emerging field, with many orgs and projects being relatively new, as compared to other fields. In addition to this, because of the privacy and security concerns many of us have, at times we struggle with attempting to implement best practices without putting the communities we serve at risk.
Concerns and specific questions around resources available to nonprofits and grassroots organizations for management have been voiced during many of our recent meetups. To help, we’ve put together a few suggestions for free-and-go resources including templates for a diversity of nonprofit management issues, questions for potential hires , exit interviews, performance improvement conversations and methodologies.
Below we outline some of the resources available, as well as templates that can be used to get started with managing a nonprofit or grassroots organization. We have broken them into the following sections: General Management Guides , Financial Management, and Technology. We will be updating this blogpost routinely, as our community members recommend more.
Notes from our Community Knowledge Share Workshop on Nonprofit Management with Quinn McKew, Executive Director of Article19
In addition, on June 9 we hosted our first Community Knowledge Share Workshops on Nonprofit Management. Our speaker was Quinn McKew, Executive Director of Article19. She provided an overview of nonprofit management, shared lessons she has learned throughout the years, and answered questions about nonprofit management. Click here to read the notes and resources shared during this Community Knowledge Share Workshop.
If you have some knowledge to offer, and would like to be part of this series, reach out to us at team@digitalrights.comunity. Our community has unique needs, and we need more organizational leaders in our space sharing their lessons learned!
This list will be updated periodically and we’ll make sure to include the updates in our newsletter. Sign up for our newsletter here.
General Management Guides
Management Center offers intensive hands-on coaching, management training courses and a range of resources to equip leaders to manage effectively. This is the go-to resource on how to be an effective leader in social change organizations. [Management Center]
Candid is a knowledge bank for social activists, providing resources on every imaginable situation - research organizations, find funding, gather data on issues, and more. [Candid]
OrgOrg is a community of business operations folks that provides resources, training and development to the people who organize organizations. The community exists to help prove the necessity of the business operations function and is striving to increase the actual and perceived value in the NGO and nonprofit sector. [OrgOrg]
BridgeSpan has helped organizations with their strategies, growth plans, and organizational assessments for more than 20 years. Their team tailors their consulting services to what organizations need– which could be just a team of consultants exploring your strategic questions or an in-person program where nonprofit executive teams work together to develop their strategies and improve their effectiveness. You can also use BridgeSpan's online self-paced programs to improve the effectiveness of your executive team's strategy. [The Bridgespan Group]
Financial Management
Wallace Foundation Toolkit for Financial Management
The Wallace Foundation’s toolkit for Financial Management assists organizations build for and maintain capacity for strong financial management. With the help of Fiscal Management Associates, they’ve developed tools, schedules, guidance documents, and self assessments to help organizations become "fiscally fit." Toolkit topics include budgeting, cash flow, operations, data and analysis, audit readiness, and governance strategy. [Wallace Foundation]
The BUILD Organizational Mapping Tool allows you to be strategic and organized. With the constantly evolving nonprofit landscape, it can be difficult to keep up with all that’s happening – especially within a growing organization. You’ll systematically craft a plan to address current challenges and create desired outcomes for your future organization projects. [Ford Foundation]
Technology
NTEN's Equity Guide exists to support nonprofit organizations to use technology strategically, to guide equitable decision-making at all levels as a way of meeting missions and community needs. Nonprofit technology is marked by inequities in both the nonprofit sector and the tech industry at large. You can see this in staffing, processes, and how tools are implemented and NTEN’s Equity Guide, 27 pages with facilitator notes can help drive these discussions at an organizational level. [NTEN]
TechSoup offers technology tools and solutions that make running a tech nonprofit easier. The organization offers discounts and resources so that nonprofits, libraries, and foundations can be most prolific in their work. TechSoup also works with generous donors to get these resources into the hands of changemakers all over the world. [TechSoup]
1Password for Good is exactly the same product as the one you’re used to seeing from 1Password, helping you create secure passwords, track your identity, and more. The perk here is that discount pricing is available for teachers journalists, NGOs, and nonprofits. [1Password]