CAPACITY-BUILDING RESOURCES

One of the best things you can do for your arts organization is to keep it financially sound and running smoothly. There is much information on the Web that can help you with this. There are also numerous resources for mentoring and training that are available locally.

Self-Help Toolkits

For Additional Resources sorted by topic: Advocacy Evaluation Financial Management Fundraising Governance Grant Writing Legal Issues Management Marketing & Audience Development Program Planning Strategic Planning Volunteer Management

Toolkits are comprehensive sites for information in a certain area. They come in handy when you are looking for a one-stop shop. Some are geared toward a specific topic or geographic area, though, so be discerning.

AICPA Audit Committee Toolkit: Not-for-Profit Organizations — From the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

ArtsMarketing.org — This site is maintained by the National Arts Marketing Project, an office of Americans for the Arts.

Communications Toolkit — sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Craigslist Foundation — great directory for starting, managing and funding nonprofits.

Creativity Matters: The Arts and Aging Toolkit  — sponsored by the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts for creating and sustaining effective arts and aging programs.

Free Complete Toolkit for Boards — Comprehensive information offered by the Free Management Library

Lessons Learned: A Planning Toolsite — for all types of planning. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts

Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Toolkit — For artists and arts organizations. Contains sample business plans, contracts and information on public relations and submission of work samples.

Nonprofit Good Practice Guide — sponsored by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership

Nonprofit Management Toolkit — The McKnight Foundation sponsors this collection of information organized by topic

Taking Part in the Arts — a variety of toolkits sponsored by Arts Council England

Tools for Organizations — Sponsored by Idealist.org

Tools for Results Toolkit — Sponsored by the Texas Commission on the Arts, this is one of the best. Covers information by topic including not only the basics but cultural tourism, leadership transition and much more.

Working Methods: Tools for Making Good Community Art — sponsored by the Community Arts Network

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Online Newsletters

Many organizations have websites that offer the opportunity of receiving an email newsletter. Newsletters are a great way to get important, targeted information that will develop your organization, provide fundraising information and keep you up to date.

Arts Journal is a daily digest of arts, culture and ideas.  Read online or subscribe to daily or weekly news.

BoardSource — even if you don’t become a member of BoardSource, you can get a helpful, nonmembers’ monthly e-newsletter.

Blue Avocado is a nonprofit online magazine published twice a month.

Fieldstone Alliance — Consulting firm for boards and fundraising offers free tools, articles, and newsletter.

The Foundation Center is the most comprehensive resource in the country for information on grants and funders.  In addition to their Fifth Avenue location in New York, they have locations with their materials and databases at many libraries throughout the country.  In Delaware, these are the Morris Library at the University of Delaware and the Dover Public Library. This site provides a variety of important newsletters for your fundraising efforts – all free.

GuideStar — Lists most nonprofit organizations. They also offer a free online newsletter with important articles.

Nonprofit Issues — Electronic newsletter of nonprofit law.

NonProfit Times — Access current and back issue articles in The NonProfit Times.

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Research Organizations

These organizations serve nonprofits and/or arts organizations.

Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. They also sponsor great conferences.

Delaware Association of Nonprofit Organizations (DANA) offers tools, templates, nonprofit information, workshops.

Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation Promotes multi-state arts programming, information, and grants in the Mid Atlantic region.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is the federal agency providing grants, information, research on the arts

Society for the Arts in Healthcare  Research, articles and toolbox with guides and templates to help start or refine a program.

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Mentoring and Training Providers

These organizations serve nonprofits and/or arts organizations.

AFP Brandywine — Association of Fund Raising Professionals. They have training sessions and audioconferences.

DANA — Delaware Association of Nonprofit Agencies offers a variety of training programs throughout the State.

Foundation Center — They offer in-class training in New York and Washington, DC and webinars. Also archived training in audio, video, webcast and transcripts.

LaSalle University Nonprofit Center — they offer individual training classes, board boot camp and certificate programs.

MANO — Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

SCORE — the nation’s largest volunteer business counseling service, is a nonprofit association dedicated to help those in business, about to start one, or just thinking about it. Includes a Service Corp of Retired Executives that offers inexpensive workshops and free counseling.

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Online Training

These organizations serve nonprofits and/or arts organizations.

Charity University	Craiglist Foundation
The Free Nonprofit Micro-eMBA(SM)	The Foundation Center
Grassroots Fundraising Journal	GIFT
Nonprofit Technology Network	Nonprofit Risk Management Center
Society for Nonprofit Organizations	Philanthropy Journal
Webinar Archive/N.C. Center for Nonprofits	TechSoup

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Self-Assessment Tools

For the ongoing health of an organization, it is good routinely to conduct an objective assessment to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the organization, and to find opportunities for improvement.

National Endowment for the Arts Self-Assessment Checklist — Board assessment tool which can be administered by the Division online upon request.

Checklist of Nonprofit Organizational Indicators — offered by the Free Management Library

Organizational Self-Assessment Tool (PDF) — developed by the Texas Commission on the Arts

Nonprofit Financial Management Self Assessment Tool  (PDF) — developed by Technical Assistance for Community Services

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