National center seeks to improve nonprofit sustainability

The National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise wants to point nonprofits in the direction of resources that can be useful in improving nonprofit sustainability. "First," says Richard Brewster, NCNE executive director, "there’s some great new material on business and strategic planning in nonprofits on our website in the NCNE Knowledge Base." These include a popular session at last year’s NCNE Conference, "Life is what happens while you’re Making Strategic Plans." Click here to access the transcript and recordings. There is also a guide to business planning and planning templates.

"Second, we’ve posted on the NCNE website some of the materials that form the basis of our new trainings in nonprofit income strategy," Bewster said. These are designed to help nonprofit managers identify and tap the right mix of sources of income and include a powerpoint presentation of a case study NCNE uses in its workshops..

"Third, NCNE has begun to explore a rounded view of nonprofit sustainability. This goes beyond the notion of financial survival or surplus and considers, for example, possible tensions between the sustainability of the community and that of its nonprofits." In this paper, Dennis Young captures seven principles of nonprofit sustainability.

NCNE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps other nonprofits make wise economic decisions. NCNE focuses on resources -- how nonprofits can find them and use them well; and on ideas that can improve the way nonprofits work. For more information contact Brewster at richard@nationalcne.org or (757) 214-5084.