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April showers may bring May flowers, but the month can also bring some serious focus to developing your summer internship program. Use the links below to find great resources for creating or refining your intern or volunteer programs.

 

But first, a few short announcements...

 

Membership

For the month of April, CAN is offering 20% off new membership dues (based on sliding scale). Be part of a statewide network that connects you to valuable resources and tools that help you manage your nonprofit successfully! To receive the 20% discount, please email Allen Rubinstein, Membership and Outreach Coordinator, at arubinstein@CAnonprofits.org or call 213-347-2070, ext. 212.

 

Member Benefit of the Month...Manager’s Helpline

Do you have questions about nonprofit accounting, financial systems and taxes, risk management, Board governance, ethical issues, nonprofit salaries, advocacy or communications? Don’t waste your time with endless online searching for answers.

 

CAN members can call the Managers’ Helpline at (800) 776-4226 to take advantage of the CAN staff’s combined nonprofit experience of 135 years.

 

Call for Success Stories

Do you have a story or example of how CAN has helped you or your organization become more successful? Is your organization doing something unique in order to better serve your community? Do you have photos of recent fundraising events or conferences you’d like to share? Please let us know! Email CAN at successstories@canonprofits.org.            

 

Find a job/Post a job

Let CAN’s Nonprofit Career Center be your premiere online job source. Employers, take control of your search by specifically targeting nonprofit professionals and receive a special discount on postings as a CAN member. For job seekers, here are a few recent posted positions: Executive Director, Marin Services for Women and Associate Director, Grants and Development. Visit CAN’s Career Center today!

 

Public perception project

CAN is spearheading a project aimed at changing the way people think about the nonprofit sector. This project gained momentum with the Public Awareness Work Group's recent training session in California, featuring Patrick Bresette of Demos. CAN will host focus groups to help pilot the reframing project and ideas will be presented at a breakout session during the Nonprofit Congress National Meeting. To learn more about the project, call Lynn Bryson-Charles, Membership and Development Director at 213-347-2070, ext. 209 or email: lbryson-charles@CAnonprofits.org

Events  

The Northern California Planned Giving Council will host a planned giving conference on May 1 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. To learn more or register, click here.

  The Nonprofit Accounting Boot Camp will be held on May 15 in Watsonville. The boot camp is co-sponsored by The Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County and CAN Insurance Services. Early bird rates are good until May 1. To register, click here.

 

The 7th Annual CAN Money Matters Nonprofit Finance Conference will be held: Aug 13 - Los Angeles, Aug 20 - Riverside, Sept 10 - Oakland and Sept 17 - Fresno. This is the up-to-date conference for Resources, Reporting & Responsibility. Visit www.canonprofits.org for more information.

The Nonprofit Congress will convene over 800 nonprofit professionals in Washington, DC from June 1-4. To register or learn more, click here.

 

The Center for Nonprofit Management will hold "Overcoming 'Founders Syndrome'" and "Meet the Corporate Funders" on May 6 as part of The Executive Leadership Series. To learn more, visit www.cnmsocal.org.

The Resource Center for Nonprofit Management will host the "Celebrating Nonprofits Day Luncheon" on May 8 in Riverside. For more information, please visit www.nonprofitresource.org.

 

Awards and Opportunities

1.     National Council of Nonprofit Associations -- Phyllis Campbell Newsome Leadership Award. Deadline: April 18, 2008

2.     OMB Watch Awards -- A Rising Star Award and the Public Interest Hall of Fame. Deadline: April 23, 2008

3.     World of Children Awards. Health, Humanitarian and Founder Awards. Deadline: April 30, 2008

4.     Youth Venture -- Go Overboard Challenge Grants. Deadline: May 1, 2008

5.     Tiger Woods Foundation -- Grants for Underserved Youth. Deadline: May 1, 2008 (Second quarter awards)

6.     2008 CA Fit Business Award Program. Deadline: June 20, 2008

7.     Women's Sports Foundation -- Ambassador Team Awards. Deadline: July 18, 2008

8.     Reader's Digest Foundation -- "Make It Matter" Grants. Deadline: end of 2008.

 

Also in opportunities, the National Council of Nonprofits Associations (NCNA) is seeking a new executive director. To learn more, click here.

Publications

 

Guidestar has a good article on nonprofit advocacy issues available online here. The article also includes a link to the IRS ban on political activities for nonprofits.

 

Also on the IRS website is a new publication on what governance practices nonprofits should follow and information on how nonprofits can help reach out to those who may be eligible for the 2008 economic stimulus payment.


The Nonprofit Risk Management Center also has a great article on The Essence of Youth Protection: Rules, Reporting and Consequences.

An informative article from Guidestar on Building Donor Affinity While Incorporating Financial Data into Fundraising Campaigns offers great ideas on how financial information can be used for more than setting and maintaining the budget.

 

Looking for a helpful e-newsletter? The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has a great monthly e-newsletter that recently included articles on protecting your agencies assets and the role of philanthropy in addressing structural inequities. Sign up here.

And now: Internship program resources...

 

Starting and Maintaining a Quality Internship Program, is a great resource whether you’re just beginning to develop your internship program or looking to finesse your efforts going forward. Sponsored by The Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, and written by the Internship Center Director of a local college, this pdf provides a form for evaluating your intern, an orientation checklist and key points to keep in mind when working with interns.

 

If you plan to hire a number of interns for different roles, it’s important to let students know the various internship options available, whether it’s interning for the finance dept, fundraising, programs or even communications. The City of Palo Alto does a great job of outlining their summer internship options and providing a brief overview of the activities involved in each internship.

 

In addition to providing an overview of internship options on your website, you’ll want to write job descriptions or ads to post on other sites. You can find a great resource for job description writing (applicable for internships and other open positions) online at ClevelandIntern.net.  copy of the full manual, including tips for evaluating a student resume and working with college career centers, can be found here.

 

And, of course, once you’ve developed a job description, you’ll want to post it in as many places as possible – especially in places where students are likely to check. In addition to posting on your organization’s MySpace or Facebook page, check out the sites listed here.

 

Don’t forget to contact the career centers at local colleges and universities, generally the costs are minimal (or free!) Each school has its own career center, but here’s a sampling to get you started: UCSD, Berkeley, USC and Sacramento State. Don’t have the time to visit individual sites? Check out the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Network for their multi-school posting service. For $150, you can post to up to 15 schools.

...And volunteer resources

 

Is a volunteer program a better fit for your mission and needs? Idealist.org has a fantastic listing of tips and articles on best practices available here.

 

Developing and Managing Volunteer Programs through the Free Management Library is by far the most comprehensive resource we’ve found. The site includes tips on everything from setting up a volunteer program to legal issues to keep in mind, and even includes a section on recruitment and retention strategies.

 

Be sure to take the Volunteer Risk Management Tutorial from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. This online tool can help your staff focus on simple steps for managing the risks that could result from the actions (or inactions) of volunteers.

 

Like the idea of volunteers, but don’t have the space or available computers? Why not turn to virtual volunteering? Technical assistance volunteers can create presentations or help on your website while direct contact volunteers might assist on organization blogs or social networking sites. A list of additional ideas and best practices can be found on ServiceLeader.org.

 

Again, when it comes to posting your volunteer opportunities, you’ll want to get the message out to as many people as possible. Include volunteer opportunities in your print or email newsletter, list with your local volunteer center, and try sites such as Idealist.org, Network for Good, ServeNet.org and Volunteer Match.

California Association of Nonprofits
520 S. Grand Ave., Suite 695
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone (213) 347-2070/Fax (213) 347-2080