Nonprofits can make a big difference in public schools, but that doesn't mean working with schools is always easy. Long-term partnerships with schools take a significant amount of time, effort, and flexibility to establish. Even hosting a one-time event at a public school can be a challenge. While school administrators appreciate the help from local nonprofits, they're often spread too thin and left with little time to coordinate schedules with your organization and help you execute initiatives. If your nonprofit is thinking about hosting an event at a public school or starting a long-term program in public schools, here's some advice to help you out.

Plan to be self-sufficient

Teachers and administrators have a million things to do each day. While they will often want to help your organization achieve its goals, they may not feasibly be able to provide you with a whole lot of assistance. Because of this, you should plan to be self-sufficient. The programs you establish should be able to run without the help of people who work at those schools. You should be able to come in before, after, or during school hours, and provide your service without interrupting the school's natural flow and schedule.

Get the word out

It'll be difficult to get kids and parents to participate in your public school initiatives without marketing those initiatives first. The more people your…

In today’s world, job roles are constantly changing and new challenges arise in the workplace. Professional development is a great tool to combat these issues and allows all individuals to continue to thrive within their organization. Additional training to individuals can also assist in expanding their knowledge on certain subjects that may be beneficial to them in the future.

Over the past four years, I have worked as an instructional designer in the for-profit education world and am excited to have transitioned into the nonprofit sector. While working in the for-profit sector I had access to the latest technology, studies, and methods to develop professional development courses for organizations such as Meritus University, University of Phoenix and Lockheed Martin. I was able to develop dynamic, innovative, and knowledgeable courses using e-learning tools such as Articulate, Camtasia, Microsoft Office, and worked with graphic artist to develop custom interactive multimedia instruction (IMI). During my time at Lockheed Martin I witnessed many software updates to critical machinery at airports across the country. Because of these updates, professional development courses/training had to be created and administered to airport personnel so that they could effectively continue to use the machinery. However, professional development does not only offer training regarding software updates or how to use a new tool, but professional development is a great…

Your grant proposal is due in a mere six hours and you are very confident that you have all your ducks in a row. Just to make sure, you unearth the official grant application checklist that was buried in a folder from day one, only to discover to your horror that you were so focused on writing the proposal narrative you completely forgot about the budget.

What do you do? Do you: a) grovel in front of your agency’s accountant and plead with them to make time to do it; b) simply do the budget yourself; c) submit the application without the budget and hope nobody notices; or d) start scrolling through the ASU Lodestar Center Nonprofit News looking for new job opportunities?

Ultimately, the answer is: you never should have gotten into this predicament in the first place, because preparing a grant application should be an inter-departmental endeavor. All too often, nonprofits that have a staff grant writer make the assumption that they will be 100% responsible for every aspect of the grant application process. And all too often the staff grant writer will take this on because that was the initial expectation.

The truth is that if ever there was a nonprofit activity that needs to be collaborative across departments, it is the preparation of a grant application package. It is not the grant writer’s job to create programs, or decide…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series, we invite a nonprofit scholar or practitioner to highlight current nonprofit research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day practice. We welcome your comments and feedback.

In April of 2011, a story broke regarding The Central Asia Institute, a nonprofit organization. Although it had been in existence for 13 years, the organization had no audited financial statements, had only three board members (including the executive director), was not clear about how donor money was being spent, and had a clear conflict of interest with the executive director promoting personal book sales through the nonprofit. The truth about the Central Asia Institute was revealed in several high-profile journals and newspapers such as the Harvard Business Review, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Wall Street Journal, with articles titled “Lessons from the ‘Three Cups of Tea’ Controversy,” “‘Three Cups of Tea’ Scandal Offers Lessons for Charities and Trustees,” and “Lessons for Donors from ‘Three Cups of Tea’,” respectively.
…

Twenty years ago, I was privileged to serve as a senior consultant and trainer with the newly created Center for Corporate Community Relations at Boston College (now the Center for Corporate Citizenship).

In the two decades that have elapsed, the scope and texture of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have evolved dramatically. Then, the focus of my consultation was on community needs assessments, priority-setting, and allocations processes; today, the focus is on impact and return on investment. In the coming years, given dramatic changes in the marketplace, the context and scope of CSR may need to take a giant paradigmatic leap.

What was once a matter of checkbook philanthropy is now decidedly strategic, and the driving forces of CSR revolve around the convergence or fit between the company’s business interests (its customers, product line, and brand) and the offerings of potential nonprofit beneficiaries.

Corporate support is today an indispensable component of the nonprofit organization’s diversified fundraising strategy. Corporate presence and visibility in the community have been most effectively accomplished through relatively low cost/high yield investments, including short-term project grants, event sponsorships, cause-related marketing, voluntarism and hands-on projects, in-kind giving (e.g., printing, marketing, human resources, information technology services), and board membership.

This is all good…