11th ANNUAL FORUM ON NONPROFIT EFFECTIVENESS

March 6, 2009

Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas

Morning Plenary Presentation

"Collaboration Promise and Pitfalls" with Carol Lukas, President, Fieldstone Alliance

As resources grow scarcer and individual and community challenges more complex, organizations often need to join forces to make headway. Collaboration—working toward a common goal with multiple organizations —is more than a buzz word. It’s a whole new way of getting work done. It offers the chance to access resources and leverage outcomes in ways no single organization can do by itself. Yet, working and managing together as a group of leaders, and doing that well, has its own set of challenges. This presentation will set the stage for the rest of the Forum.

About Carol

Carol is President of Fieldstone Alliance, a national nonprofit intermediary in St. Paul, Minn. Fieldstone Alliance works to strengthen the nonprofit sector across the country through its consulting, training, research, and publishing.

Carol has been executive director of nonprofit organizations, a trustee of a community foundation, a consultant within a fortune 500 company, and a small business owner. She has over 30 years of consulting and training experience with nonprofits, government, foundations, businesses, and collaboratives.

Carol focuses on building the capacity of national networks and organizations; strengthening connections between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors as they address urban issues; and helping organizations and collaboratives plan and manage change in strategic direction and organization structure and capacity.

Carol is author of Consulting with Nonprofits—A Practitioner’s Guide, and co-author of Strengthening Nonprofit Performance—A Funder’s Guide to Capacity Building, Conducting Community Forums—Engaging Citizens, Mobilizing Communities, and a contributing author to A Funder’s Guide to Organizational Assessment.

Morning Workshop Session

Maximizing Your Use of the Collaboration Handbook

During this breakout session, you will be acquainted with the four stages of collaboration discussed in the Fieldstone Alliance’s Collaboration Handbook. Then you will have the opportunity to practice using the handbook’s resources to empower effective collaborations between nonprofit organizations. Additionally, Collaboration Prize finalists will share what they have learned during their own collaboration process in relation to a tool from the Collaboration Handbook.

2009 Collaboration Prize Finalists:

Cancer Vaccine Collaborative, New York City

Chattanooga Museums Collaboration, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Crittenton Women’s Union, Boston

Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas

New York LawHelp Consortium, New York City

Ready, Set, Parent, Buffalo and Lackawanna, New York

ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, Ilwaco, Washington

YMCA/JCC Integration, Sylvania (Greater Toledo), Ohio

Afternoon Workshop Session

Collaboration: An Arizona nonprofit’s point of view

During the afternoon session, participants will have the opportunity to learn from local Arizona nonprofit executives who have extensive experience with collaborations, mergers and partnerships. The presenters will highlight their organization’s successes, challenges, lessons learned and best practices in dealing with the topic of collaboration.

Scheduled Presenters:

Todd Hornback with Links Community Collaborative
and
Marie Sullivan with Arizona Women’s Education & Employment

From creating school-based community partnerships and innovative grassroots cooperatives to serving as executive director of LINKS Community Collaborative and leading the merger of two large Arizona nonprofits, Todd Hornback has been “building a more collaborative world” for over 20 years. Within a wide variety of unique settings, Todd Hornback's in-depth experience in building community partnerships has led to the development of a well tested blueprint for successful collaboration.

Marie Sullivan, President and CEO of Arizona Women’s Education & Employment (AWEE), will share with attendees how AWEE utilizes Choice for Changed Lives, a collaboration model that assists ex-offenders, specifically younger offenders ages 18-29, male and female, re-enter the community and find and keep employment. AWEE functions as the primary administrator and partners with a group of other community and faith-based organizations to assist these young people in transforming their lives through the dignity of work.

David Bridge with Central Arizona Shelter Services

David Bridge, Chief Program Officer with Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), will share with attendees how collaboration is a core strategy for CASS’ efforts to provide a continuum of resources to address the crisis needs of homeless men, women and families. CASS has participated in a number of innovative collaborative partnerships, most importantly with the City of Phoenix Police Department to provide homeless outreach in the shelter zone, the CASS Dental Clinic, and the Human Services Campus (HSC). The Human Services Campus is a facility that houses CASS as well as multiple other service providers including Maricopa County Health Care for the Homeless, the Lodestar Day Resource Center, Community Bridges, St. Joseph the Worker, the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, and NOVA among others. Through the campus homeless individuals seeking emergency shelter and services can access the services they need to end their homelessness.

The Disability Empowerment Center of Arizona (DEC) is the new home of Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL) and nine other nonprofit organizations that serve people with disabilities. Each organization shares a common history and vision for the future. ABIL Executive Director, Phil Pangrazio, will share with attendees how the DEC offers individuals with disabilities and their families empowering programs and integrated services by creating synergistic partnerships and collaborations that promote and enhance the choice, dignity, rights and responsibilities of people with disabilities and their families.

Patti Caldwell, COO and Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness for Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona, will share her experience with service delivery collaboration: analysis with three other nonprofits on the efficacy, practicality and cost effectiveness of consolidation of all or some back office functions and/or creation of a management services organization.

Michael Hughes, Executive Director of A New Leaf, will share with attendees how A New Leaf has been instrumental in assisting other community agencies over the past 25 years in various ways, including lending of expertise, including staff resources; collaborations; partnerships; and mergers. Each has addressed an immediate need and had an impact on long-term individual agency operations and community resources. The presentation will provide an overview of the impact of A New Leaf’s intervention and the effects on the service community.

Our Family Services has a long history of working collaboratively within the Tucson community. Over the years the Agency has been involved with many informal and formal collaborative situations, ranging from a sharing of referrals and community planning all the way to organization mergers and acquisitions. Join Sue Krahe, Executive Director of Our Family Services, as she details the successes and challenges of collaboration. This presentation will provide a broad view and examples of Our Family’s experiences as well as many of the lessons the Agency has learned along the way.

Roger Schwierjohn, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Central Arizona, has recently experienced collaboration firsthand through the merger of Habitat for Humanity Valley of the Sun and Habitat for Humanity West Valley into Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona. Roger was also a member of the SHO coalition, a group of nonprofits working to assist municipalities with home renovations and neighborhood revitalization as a result of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act, commonly referred to as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Glenna McCollum-Cloud, one of the founding members of the Chandler Non-Profit Coalition (CNPC), will share how in the community of Chandler, Ariz., several nonprofit organizations came together to form the collaborative partnership CNPC. The purpose for establishing CNPC was to find ways to collaborate for the benefit of the community and to increase the social capital of time, treasure, and talent. In addition to increasing the social capital, the CNPC was organized to minimize the competitiveness in an expanding and growing market (The City of Chandler). CNPC members identified a mission and four stakeholder groups, and together they embarked on a journey that increased communication among the nonprofits, enhanced visibility, and promoted the benefits of collaboration.

Afternoon Plenary Presentation

"Doing More with Less: Utilizing collaboration as an effective tool in today’s economy" with Paul Luna, President and CEO, Helios Education Foundation

The state of Arizona is facing many economic challenges and it is greatly impacting the nonprofit sector. Collaboration can serve as an effective medium for nonprofits to feel empowered to thrive and continue to positively provide services to their constituents. Implementing effective management and board governance skills are also critical to the success of a nonprofit organization. In this session you’ll hear from one of Arizona’s most prominent nonprofit leaders, Paul Luna. Paul will outline some critical strategies for nonprofit effectiveness as well as share some of his professional career experiences with collaborations/partnerships and mergers.

About Paul

Paul brings more than 22 years public and private professional experience to his leadership role with the Foundation. As President/CEO, Mr. Luna is responsible for guiding the strategic direction of the growing organization, cultivating strong community relationships and initiating strategic partnerships in Arizona and Florida for the Foundation. Prior to his role at Helios, Mr. Luna served as president of Valley of the Sun United Way where he led an organizational transformation and community-wide fundraising effort approaching $50 million. Under his presidency, Valley of the Sun United Way was consistently recognized as a leader across the United Way system with model early childhood education, youth workforce development and domestic violence intervention community initiatives. Mr. Luna has nearly 10 years corporate experience in sales and marketing with Pepsi Cola and IBM. He currently serves on the Arizona Early Childhood Development & Health Board, the Governor’s P-20 Education Council, the Arizona STEM Advisory Council, and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. A graduate of Stanford University, Mr. Luna holds a degree in Civil Engineering.