[COMM-ORG] query: ways to provide training/ support to existing community orgs

Wed Feb 10 11:23:46 CST 2010

[ed:  thanks to Kathy for replying to Amy's query.]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:     FW: [COMM-ORG] query: ways to provide training/ support to 
existingcommunity orgs
Date:     Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:27:53 -0700
From:     Staudt, Kathleen <kstaudt at utep.edu>
To:     rstoecker at wisc.edu, amy at grassrootsleadershipcollege.org
References:     <4B71527E.1050600 at comm-org.wisc.edu>

Hi Randy and Amy,
Thanks for the post and for recent discussions about what kind of 
coursework exists in higher ed.  Attached is a syllabus for the 
undergraduate, upper-division political science course I teach called 
Nonprofit Organizations.  It involves a 30-hour mini-internship. (I am a 
great believer in community experiences linked to learning... in a way 
that does not burden the organizations--thanks for your recent book, 
Randy: please put me on a potential reviewer list.)   The students are 
reading Randy's 2005 book!   If you wish to post this on the website, 
please do so.

I also co-founded the Nonprofit Enterprise Center.  See 
www.nonprofitec.org.  It provides training, workshops, and an umbrella 
network called the Nonprofit Congress that has held two candidate forums 
in the last year, each of them with hundreds of attendees ('organized 
power').  Because I am former co-chair of an IAF affiliate and have gone 
to IAF trainings, the forums have adapted some of the IAF approach: an 
interactive format that not only allows candidates to respond to focused 
questions but also contains stories and/or presentations that educate 
the candidates and politicians about the nonprofit sector and encourage 
both relationship building and priority for the nonprofit agenda (a 
mixed agenda, to be sure, but there are overlapping interests).

 From a former UWisc person (PhD political science, 1976!),
Kathy
Kathleen Staudt
Professor of Political Science

Discussion list for COMM-ORG wrote:
> --------
> This is a COMM-ORG 'colist' message.
> All replies to this message come to COMM-ORG only.
> --------
>  
> [ed: please feel welcomed to copy COMM-ORG with responses to Amy's 
> query. A bit from me below.]
>
> From: "Amy S. Mondloch" <amy at grassrootsleadershipcollege.org>
>
>
> Hi all—
>
>
>
> The organization that I run, the Grassroots Leadership College, is 
> embarking on an interesting new path and trying to find who else has 
> traveled or is traveling the same way and can share some insights. For 
> the past 7 years we’ve been providing training to emerging community 
> leaders and assisting their efforts on a wide variety of different 
> community projects. Now, we’re moving toward providing support and 
> training to community organizations (rather than the focus on the 
> individual).
>
>
>
> Our community (Madison, WI) has literally thousands of nonprofits. This 
> doesn’t include the many, many organizations that are more informal 
> community groups without official nonprofit status. We’re focusing on 
> the small or young organizations, especially those led by traditionally 
> disenfranchised groups (i.e. women, People of Color,,,,). We’d like to 
> provide training and support to the staff and volunteer leadership of 
> these organizations that is inline with our belief that everyone is a 
> learner, everyone is a teacher, and everyone is a leader. For us this 
> means non-hierarchical training/support opportunities that give 
> participants to learn from each other as well as from faculty. This 
> could come in many forms. That’s why I’m looking to all of you. What 
> have you seen/been a part of that is successful?
>
>
>
> The biggest challenge I think we’re facing is the element of time. The 
> folks running small organizations whether as staff or in unpaid 
> capacities are simply booked to the gills! Often they aren’t doing thing 
> very effectively, but they have a hard time finding the opportunity to 
> slow down and fix the systems so that they run better. They also often 
> aren’t aware that things can work better.
>
>
>
> How have you dealt with providing training and support to already active 
> people with a wide range of experience levels in community work? Any 
> models to suggest?
>
>
>
> Thanks so much!
>
>
>
> Peace,
>
> amy
>
>
>
>
> Everyone A Learner, Everyone A Teacher, Everyone A Leader
> a proud member of Community Shares of Wisconsin
> now accepting applications for the spring semester at 
> www.grassrootsleadershipcollege.org
>
>
> Amy S Mondloch
> Executive Director
> Grassroots Leadership College
> 1321 E. Mifflin St. Suite 201
> Madison, WI
> 53703
> phone: 608-441-0085
> fax: 608-204-0835
> amy at grassrootsleadershipcollege.org
>
> www.grassrootsleadershipcollege.org
>
> [ed: one of my favorites is the Neighborhoods Resource Center in 
> Nashville, http://www.tnrc.net/]
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