Common Good Advisory Team Meets to Launch Vermont Nonprofit Capacity Building

Vermont nonprofit leaders met in the first of a series of discussions designed to improve the capacity of the state's independent sector. CommonGoodVT.org aims to help Vermont nonprofits "do more with less" and raise the visibility of the sector. CCTV invited a number of state level leaders to join the Advisory Team and identify the next steps of the project, which include regional network building events (now being scheduled across the state), a web portal and related activities.

A summary of the first CommonGoodVT.org Advisory Team meeting follows:

Present: Lauren-Glenn Davitian welcomed everyone. 17 people in attendance: Jane Van Buren, James Lockridge, Glenn McRae, Ryan Torres, Tim Palmer, Paula Cope, Katherine Long, Amy Kirschner, Kate Williams, Karyn Vogel, Amy McGlashan, Jessica Hyman, Holly Tippett, Eddie Gale, Bill Schubart, Amy Hamlin. Staff: Kathleen Swanson, Nick Carter, Megan Humphrey, Jess Wilson. Many others interested but not able to attend.

Opening Comments: CommonGoodVT.org is part of the "three-legged" stool of nonprofit capacity: advocacy, face-to-face training and networking/ resource sharing. We have a variety of strong and vital resources for nonprofits that can be aggregated as a web "portal" (CommonGoodVT.org) and a loose but vital network of nonprofits that can be knit together by focused organizing. The key to our success is to meet the real needs of the sector and deliver services in ways they can be easily consumed. It is also clear, that the independent sector as a whole will benefit from a higher profile. The purpose of this meeting and regional meetings that follow is to identify the "networks" that exist in the state, the "resources" that are already available and to package them in ways they can be used for maximum impact.

1. Describe the challenges faced by Vermont’s independent sector:

*Network of support for executives: Jane Van Buren says she hears from executive directors all the time about needing peer support.

*Not enough professional fundraisers to cover the needs of the state.

*Administrative help for payroll, booking, etc. More expertise in operational support is needed by nonprofits. Possible need for consolidating back office functions.

*Challenges of Collaboration: How to effectively collaborate with more effective outcomes. Hard to know who is doing what so that we do not duplicate activities. Better understanding of how to truly collaborate for outcomes. Value in broader understanding of the good work United Way does with outcome training (this is tied to purse strings and limited to UW organizations).

*Competition for fundraising dollars and volunteers. Dwindling resources v. increasing demand.

*Lack of public understanding of the independent sector: Average Vermonter does not understand how the elements of society are met by the nonprofit versus government.

*Are there too many nonprofits in Vermont?: It’s like asking if there are too many small businesses . There is a problem of redundancy, duplications of services, mission driven. Question is less about the “good work” an organization does and more about:

“What does the community need?”
* Deficit Talk. Non profits persistently talk about what they lack. The fact is that the sector is creative and innovative. The word needs to get out and the best practices shared.

2. What Opportunities face Vermont’s nonprofits?

*Creating federations to address regional/ state problems (e.g. Humane Federation or Regional food hubs in the sustainable agriculture arena).

* Thinking creatively to solve challenges

*Go public with the role of government and the relationship of the nonprofit and government

* Potential for using Social networking and media to expand reach and impact.

* Lots of talent in the nonprofit world; it is an asset that merits more appreciation and loyalty.
*Vermont nonprofits provide model for national innovation that funders are interested in.

* Retelling our story

* Number of associations can benefit Vermont nonprofits (e.g.Vermont Businesses for Social Responsible, Vermont Business Roundtable, Chambers, etc.)

*Regional opportunities: Vermont can be very inward thinking. Reach out to neighboring communities (New Hampshire, New York) to attract more national funding

3. What does “capacity” mean to you? There are a lot of statements that have to be unpacked. Dig down on some of these concepts. What does capacity mean to you?

*A place and tools to share ideas with other organization. These opportunities need to address the many levels/ multiple tiers to address the variety of needs in the network and ways that people use to communicate. A distinction is made between “building” and “maintaining” relationships.

Include: public and private discussions, face to face and virtual discussions, time sensitive and archived conversations, sector specific, staff level specific (executive directors, line staff, boards) and expertise specific (long time EDs v. newbies).

What makes sense in terms of finding places to share ideas: There are many arenas.

* Ability to Achieve Mission and Demonstrate Outcomes – Capacity building needs to serve the priorities that nonprofits identify to be mission critical. The discussion of “what is possible” to provide must be tempered with considered responses to the question “what is your priority over the next 6-12 months”, how can CommonGoodVT help you meet your mission and demonstrate your outcomes.

* Financial “survivability, efficiency and efficacy” – Tied to the outcome discussion, capacity is seen as the means to stay in business and produce meaningful changes on the community level.

* Peer Group Matchmaking – Nonprofit leaders and staff can benefit from a “matchmaking service” that connects them directly to people that are trusted, who share their experience and have something to meaningful to offer. These groups include, but are not limited to Executive Directors, Techies, Development staff, new staff, board members, financial officers, etc.

* Ability to Collaborate around Shared Interest – A way to find out what other people in related fields are doing and the opportunities for collaboration.

* Free Standing Applications that help nonprofits organize their work. Basecamp is an example of this.

4. What should CommonGoodVt.org watch out for:

• Chittenden County focus
• Difference between what people “want” and what they “need” and will actually use.
• Start with a a core tool that a lot of people will be likely to use: Funding alerts, outbound messages, then something that takes them to the project hub.
• Need tools like the Vermont Directory of Foundations.
• Clarity about what is being offered and not offered by the porject
• Is there a way to create an “early warning mechanism” about organizations that are in trouble so that the organizations can get help when they need it?
• Don’t recreate the wheel.
• Tell stories that recast the nonprofit sector and advance new models of change and perceptions about the sector.
  Becoming an “association” v. a “network”.
• Be nimble and responsive.
• Build leadership beyond the CCTV network.

A video of the meeting will be posted within the next week.

For more information on CommonGoodVT.org please contact Lauren-Glenn Davitian, davitian [at] cctv [dot] org Kathleen Swanson, kathleen [at] cctv [dot] org