National Council of Nonprofit Associations

What if you could get 27 years of insight into nonprofit management over your lunch hour?  The Management Assistance Group has just released three free, easy-to-read booklets that help answer social justice nonprofit leaders’ most vexing questions about building effec

The Arkansas Diamond Standards™ provide the foundation for learning and for equipping nonprofit organizations to achieve their highest potential.

A resource of the Free Management Library, this checklist is a resource developed by staff and volunteers of the United Way of Minneapolis Area for internal use by nonprofit organizations. Management can use the checklist to identify their organization's administrative strengths and weaknesses. United Way staff and community volunteers intend this to strengthen their administrative capabilities. The checklist is not intended to be used as a tool for external evaluation, or by grantmakers in making funding decisions. This tool will be used to assist nonprofit organizations to gain a better understanding of their management needs and/or make improvements to management operations.

Effective Capacity Building in Nonprofit Organizations brings some common language to the discussion of capacity building and offers insights and examples of how nonprofits have pursued building up their organizational muscle.

The Guiding Principles & Practices program is designed to help nonprofits evaluate and improve all aspects of their organizational performance.

This program focuses on eleven principles and practices proven to help create stronger, more successful nonprofit organizations.

A key part of the Public Trust Initiative is the Illinois Nonprofit Principles and Best Practices. The principles, originally published in 2005, cover a wide range of important issues -- including board governance, legal compliance, responsible stewardship, and communication -- and go beyond the federal, state, and local laws.

Next generation board members often display strong passions that inspire other members, have a drive to produce results, open doors to new networks and donors, and provide a fresh perspective on old problems, according to a new BoardSource report based on interviews with 50 nonprofit chief executives and senior staff leaders

The report, part of BoardSource's Next Generation and Governance project, is designed help nonprofit leaders explore the benefits of and strategies for including members of Generations X (born 1965-1979) and Y (born 1980-2000) in nonprofit governance. View the complete report

StayExempt.org, which provides online IRS educational resources for tax-exempt organizations, now features five new mini-courses on the redesigned Form 990. These mini-courses provide information on preparing to file the new Form 990 as well as a walk-through of the entire form and frequently used schedules.

This tool, which provides a snapshot of organizational strengths and areas for improvement comes from Point K by way of the Innovation Network. It is free but requires registration.

An organization assessment is a data gathering and diagnostic process in which you step back from the day to day details of life in the organization and try to see the bigger picture, the trends, patterns and dynamics that have made the organization what it is today. The review can be broad, scanning all aspects of the organization (programs/services, structure, staffing, personnel, finances, internal systems, leadership, culture, etc.); or it can focus on selected areas, depending on the needs of the organization. In many cases, the organization assessment is the first step in a broader planning, change, or improvement process. Learn more about the process in an article from Carol Lukas, author of Consulting with Nonprofits.

The Marguerite Casey Foundation Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool is a self-assessment instrument that helps nonprofits identify capacity strengths and challenges and establish capacity building goals. It is primarily a diagnostic and learning tool. Results from the Assessment can also help grantmakers deepen their understanding of the current capacity of their grantees as well as track their growth in capacity over time.

From the Human Interaction Research Institute:

In 1994, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) became the first state association of nonprofits to develop a set of accountability principles and management practices. This revised edition completely updates those original standards while remaining true to MCN’s long-standing goal of open access to our comprehensive policies for strong public accountability.

The Colorado Nonprofit Association has developed Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence in Colorado, a guidebook detailing nine principles and 120 practices to help Colorado nonprofits assess and strengthen their work.

Coinciding with its 30th anniversary, CT Nonprofits published Principles and Practices for Nonprofit Excellence in Connecticut.

This document has three intended purposes:

The Mississippi Center for Nonprofits has established a Principles and Practices of Nonprofit Management Excellence initiative to help our state’s nonprofits and charities reach the highest level of performance possible.

An Assessment of Organizations and Publications That Rate/Rank Charitable Nonprofit Organizations

Produced by NCNA and the National Human Services Assembly ©2005

Sample Board of Directors Commitment Form, including guidelines on participation in board meetings, fundraising, committee participation and more.

Nonprofit organizations should have a conflict of interest policy in place to prevent the personal interest of staff members, board members, and volunteers from interfering with the performance of their duties to, or result in personal financial, professional, or political gain on the part of such persons at the expense of or its Members, supporters, and other stakeholders.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act addresses the destruction of business records and documents and turns intentional document destruction into a process that must be carefully monitored. 

All organizations should develop procedures for handling employee complaints, and should establish a confidential way for employees to report any inappropriateness within the entity’s financial management.

The Maryland Nonprofits Standards for Excellence® Program is designed to promote excellence and integrity in nonprofit organizations.

This free online guide captures and organizes good practices for nonprofits and foundations. There are thousands of effectiveness-building tips and resources on topics including:

• Accountability and Evaluation;
• Advocacy;
• Communications and Marketing;
• Foundations and Grantmaking;
• Fundraising and Financial Sustainability;
• Governance;
• Management and Leadership;
• Staff Development and Organizational Capacity;
• Technology; and
• Volunteer Management.