Announcement from Bank of America:

Nashville area nonprofits,

 Attached you will find an RFP with information about the 2010 Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s local grant process. There is new information about this year’s funding priorities, accessing the online request system, and the deadline to apply. Review carefully and feel free to reach out to me with any questions or for more information.

 Please note, we ask that all submissions be made by Friday, December 18 in order to receive consideration for 2010 funds.

 Thanks for the important work you do in our community!

 Andrea M. Smith
VP, Community Relations Manager
Bank of America
414 Union Street, 2nd floor
Nashville, TN 37219
P) 615.749.3405
C) 615.495.9015

That’s the argument that author Dan Palotta is making in a recent article posted on the blog for Harvard University’s School of Business. The article argues that nonprofit employees are often expected to trade a competitive salary for the “psychic benefits” of nonprofit work. Palotta turns that argument on its head with the following points:

1. People in other industries also feel good about the work they do: Palotta gives the example of a people that build environmentally friendly cars, medical researchers, and book publishers that all feel they are giving back to the world and are not asked to sacrifice quality of life.

2. Nonprofit employees are in cubicles just like everyone else: Palotta argues that nonprofit employees are often working in typical office environments and are not the volunteers on the front lines helping the community. Therefore, the majority of nonprofit employees are not getting the feel-good benefits of daily service.

3. Volunteers from the for-profit world have the opportunity to be philanthropists: Board members have considerable power over nonprofits while they have for-profit employment. They are getting to experience service without sacrificing their income.

This article is part of a larger picture that Dan Palotta paints for the future of the nonprofit community in his book, Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential. The book questions the separation of capitalism and the nonprofit sector and how that business model is harming nonprofits, and the communities they serve.

Let’s Talk About it!

Let us know what you think in the comments section and save the date for CNM’s Bridge to Excellence conference on May 18th where you can hear conference keynote Dan Palotta in person! Stay tuned for more information on this exciting event.

From the Tennessean:

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is distributing more than $572,000 in federalstimulus funding to help five Tennessee food charities.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is the state’s top beneficiary, receiving more than $205,000.
The organization serves 46 counties in Middle and West Tennessee, including Davidson County.

“This money couldn’t come at a better time,” said Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee spokeswoman Tasha Kennard. “The demand is up 38 percent over last year.
“We haven’t seen an increase like that in our 31-year history.”

Kennard said Second Harvest officials were expecting the stimulus money to arrive in Nashville within the next 30 days. The funds will be used to help offset the cost of transporting and buying food for the agency’s more than 350nonprofit service providers, such as shelters, food pantries and after-school programs, within its service area.

Earlier this year, service providers were struggling to meet rising demands, Kennard said.

From the Tennessean:

Landesman is trying to re-shape the NEA’s reputation with the new slogan “Art Works,” which pushes against the notion that public money spent on the arts would be better spent on things like roads. “Arts jobs are real jobs,” he said. “The 5.7 million people who have full-time arts-related jobs in this country are a part of the real economy.”

Landesman’s itinerary hasn’t been announced yet, but Rich Boyd, executive director of the Tennessee Arts Commission, said he hopes the NEA chairman will get to taste a little bit of everything in Music City.

Volunteer Tennessee has announced the release of the AmeriCorps Notice of Funding Opportunity and AmeriCorps*State Application Instructions for the 2010-2011 program year:

AmeriCorps is a federally funded national service program that connects more than 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet the country’s critical needs in education, the environment, health, veterans, and economic opportunity. AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations that identify an unmet critical need in their community that will be addressed by AmeriCorps members that the organization recruits, trains, and manages.

Agencies interested in applying can find the complete Notice of Funding Opportunity and application instructions on Volunteer Tennessee’s web site at www.volunteertennessee.net.

 For more information, contact, Rayna Coe, AmeriCorps Program Manager, at rayna.coe@tn.gov or 615-253-6313 or Jamie S. Dent, AmeriCorps Program Manager, at jamie.s.dent@tn.gov or 615-532-9415.

 

Yesterday at CNM’s monthly CEO Network meeting, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival  presented a sampling of their Shakespeare in Business Workshops. Thanks to the great folks from the Shakespeare festival, participants learned how role playing can stimulate insight and how facilitated reflection can promote growth. 

Nonprofit CEOs learning that “all the world’s a stage.”

The Tennessean printed a story in today’s Davidson AM on how the recession has reduced contributions to the Iroquois Steeplechase event in addition to other nonprofits:

Nonprofit organizations have struggled through the recession to help more people in need with fewer resources, said Lewis Lavine, president of the Center for Nonprofit Management, a group that works with more than 750 nonprofit groups in Middle Tennessee.

Those who have continued to give have shifted their focus from donating to long-term projects such as endowments and new buildings to supporting basic operational needs of agencies to keep them afloat, he said.

“Those agencies that are providing basic human needs, social services in particular … corporations, foundations and individuals seem to be focusing on those needs rather than on the arts. Generally, arts organizations’ funding has been down more than some of the social services agencies’. The tradeoff is that some of the needs of those social services have increased,” he said.

Although attendance at most fundraising events has remained pretty strong, it’s the corporate sponsorship that’s suffered, Lavine said.

“What we’re seeing is that companies want to continue to give but at lower amounts. They seem to be restricting their giving to what they consider high-priority agencies, and their gifts are frequently less than what they were in the past.”

The trend was evident in May at the Steeplechase, Cheek said.

“Our box seat area was sold out, our tailgating area was sold out,” she said. “In our general admissions area, those numbers were down some. We did notice a decrease in our corporate tent sales area. That was a direct reflection of the economy and the entertainment budgets being slashed.”

Do you ever want to attend a training workshop, but just can’t take a day-or even a half day-away from work? You know you need to continue the cycle of learning and growing, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Now, CNM can help by bringing training to you!

Beginning October 28th, you’ll be able to participate in new training workshops from the comfort of your own office…or home…or coffeehouse…or wherever you happen to be with your computer and an internet connection. In partnership with Kim Carpenter Drake, author of www.goaldrivenphilanthropy.com, CNM is proud to present the first in a series of Webinars. Kim offers additional details on the first event:

What Donors Want to Know – Making Your Case in Tough Times

For many of us, our case statement and mission statement have not changed for years. We set goals to achieve and determined the ways in which we thought we could serve those goals.

Now, the world of nonprofits has changed around us and most pundits say that the change is permanent. Are you adjusting to the changes? Are you meeting the challenge head-on or hoping to ride out the storm and wait for quieter waters ahead?

This Webinar will address the primary question: How are we meeting the changing needs of our community and how well are we collaborating with the funding community to maintain their support during these changes? If you are finding your direct mail, proposals and personal requests are showing lower results, this conversation will help your organization to update your case and invigorate your message. Click here to register for this exciting Webinar.

From United Way:

Let’s put 1,000 newborns to bed with a full tummy and a dry diaper! Join a city-wide effort to collect essential baby items that will help at-risk mothers give their newborns a stronger start.

Organize a supply drive with your friends, family and colleagues, or simply pick up a few items next time you’re out. Bring your items by the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville office between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 29 and help prepare the items for delivery to pregnant women and new mothers served through seven United Way partner agencies. Visit www.unitedwaynashville.org/babyshower for details and to RSVP!

From our friends at Tennessee Foreign Language Institute:

Members of CNM can attend the TFLI International Wine Tasting and Silent Auction at the “Friends of TFLI” rate of $40 per person. (Regular rates: pre-event, $50; at the door $60). This 11th annual event, benefiting the outreach programs of the TN Foreign Language Institute, will be held at the University Club on the Vanderbilt campus.

From 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm on Friday, November 13th, 2009, over 100 unique international wines, sponsored West End Discount Liquors and Wines, will be offered for tasting, along with a buffet of hearty hors d’oeuvres. Music by Serenatta Latin Ensemble. Tickets may be purchased securely by either:

Sending a check to the TFLI Fund at P.O. Box 58315, Nashville, TN 37205, or
Calling TFLI at 615-741-7579 with credit card information, or
Purchasing your ticket securely online, by clicking here.