In CNM’s monthly e-newsletter, NP News, we asked nonprofits to take a look back, and tell us some of their “top moments” of 2009. Middle Tennessee nonprofits stretched budgets, worked longer hours, applied for more grants, all with the looming threat of an economy that was in a free fall. It was quite a year! Here our some of our “top moments” (in no particular order) of 2009. In the comments section, please tell us some of yours!
1. Successful 2009 Conference
Geoffrey Canada, Mayor Karl Dean, and 200 nonprofit leaders came together to learn, network, and be inspired!
2. Salute to Excellence 2009
Nothing is more fun for us than giving away close to $160,000 to local nonprofits in a star studded event that honors the entire nonprofit community.
3. Introduction of Webinars
CNM launched a new initiative designed to bring our training to the comforts of your own home or office. Look out for more opportunities to learn online in the coming year!
4. Young Nonprofit Professionals Group: A Pilot Program
What started with an idea, turned into a four-month pilot program, and ended up with 80 people at our kick-off event. Needless to say, we were blown away by the response, and are excited about the first year of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Group in 2010!
Aside from hurtling into the 21st Century by using Facebook and Twitter to expand our reach, the Community Resource Center had a top moment in the giveaway department. We hold 12 free monthly giveaways a year for our nonprofit partners and usually they include basic household necessities, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products. But in April, we got a call from Southwest Great American. Could CRC, they asked, give away $400,000 in flower bulbs. Well, we said, sure! But we were a little apprehensive that we could move 30 large pallets of bulbs. Our nonprofit partners are inventive, though, and we gave away every last one. They went to schools for beautification projects. They went to senior centers where grannies love to garden, but can’t afford the supplies. They went to Alive Hospice to be included in goody bags at a fundraiser.
Look around you this spring. You might see some beautiful new flowers that came from CRC.
FiftyForward’s Top Moments for 2009 (for CNM blog)
We would like to share three top moments for us from the past year:
(1) Our development staff’s increased focus on grants research, plus more of the staff taking on grant writing, resulted in funding from several new sources. One grantor even awarded us more funding than we had requested.
(2) Partnerships:
•A new fitness center was opened (by Williamson County Recreation Dept.) in the same building as our FiftyForward College Grove center, providing designated hours for use by seniors and enabling our members and others in the community to improve their fitness and overall well-being. The center also gained new members through their exposure to the wide variety of programs offered.
•Also at the same center, a partnership with the Tennessee Association of Crafts Artists (TACA) brought workshops and new learning activities to members.
• Through a partnership with Second Harvest, customers of FiftyForward Meals on Wheels and Adult Day Services received additional meals to address their nutritional needs. A second supplementary meal for evening consumption was provided for those who live alone and have the greatest difficulty preparing or accessing meals.
(3) Broadway.Com Nashville named the Nashville Dinner Theatre’s Beauty and the Beast among the top ten productions by local theater and opera companies. The theater program is part of of the Senior Center for the Arts (a 501(c)3 subsidiary of FiftyForward) headquartered at FiftyForward Donelson Station.
Donna Clark
FiftyForward Communications Director
dclark@fiftyforward.org