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Nonprofit Notes February 2008
In This Issue
Removing Barriers: Education for a Long Nonprofit Career
Documenting San Francisco's Nonprofit Sector
Making Data Meaningful
USF MNA Student & Alumni News
Thanks to Our Donors

Happy 2008!  In this issue, we bring you up to date on several exciting Insitute projects.  We start with our inquiry into the barriers to promotion faced by "rank and file" nonprofit workers who lack a college degree-an issue that the discussion about a "leadership crisis" in the nonprofit sector hasn't addressed.  Next, we present a preview of our study of the nonprofit sector in San Francisco, with a map showing the distribution of nonprofits in the city by census tract.  Third, we describe how using our database and mapping capabilities is helping one foundation better target their grantmaking to the areas of greatest need.  And speaking of maps, we welcome Jamie Rogers, our new part-time research assistant, who produced the San Francisco map below.

 

Kathleen Fletcher

Director

Removing Barriers:  Education for a Long Nonprofit Career

 
We have all heard a lot lately about the coming "leadership crisis" in the nonprofit sector.  Some studies have shown that many people now in executive director positions are planning to retire within a few years.  Other studies have shown that many young people currently working in nonprofits are not contemplating continuing their nonprofit career.  Nonprofit organizations are not necessarily planning for the leadership transitions ahead--there is little succession planning being done.  Many factors are converging to create concern in the nonprofit sector about where future leaders will come from.

 

One part of the problem, however, is seldom discussed-the issue of younger workers currently in direct service jobs who cannot be promoted to management because they lack a bachelor's degree.  They would like to go to school, but concerns of time, cost, and possibly educational background make earning their degree very difficult.  Organizations are hurt by this situation as well--they often want to promote from within but are forced to look outside because of a lack of qualified internal candidates for management positions.

 

The problem was illustrated for us by the co-directors of San Francisco Neighborhood Centers Together, a coalition of neighborhood centers that serve low to moderate income areas of the city.  They hire young people from their neighborhoods to carry out their programs but often cannot promote them to management positions due to their lack of higher education.  Their experience was echoed by one of our advisory board members, an executive with the YMCA, who said that the Y hires young people to be camp counselors or recreation leaders but often cannot promote them beyond a certain level because they lack a college degree.

 

So what can be done about this?  We know that many young people like the ones at neighborhood centers or the YMCA face substantial barriers to higher

education--cost, work and family commitments, past educational disadvantages, and so on.  We also know that the nonprofit sector, especially the human services sector, will need a large number of new leaders, especially people who represent the diversity of our communities. 

 

The Institute has always been deeply involved in education for nonprofit sector leadership.  The first master's degree program in nonprofit management in the country was established at USF in 1983 and continues to thrive today.  Now we are concerned about this new leadership challenge, and we believe that documenting and then helping to solve the problem fits right in with the mission of the University of San Francisco--to educate leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world.

 

Our first step should be to learn more about the educational goals and barriers of the next generation of nonprofit leadership.  We would like to conduct several case studies to cover different parts of the human service field.  Besides documenting the educational barriers, such case studies could help nonprofits strategize around the organizational support needed for the educational success of their employees. Ultimately, the aim of any research we conduct on this vital question is to connect human services workers with resources at USF and other institutions that could help them pursue their college degree.

 

Our thinking is in the exploratory stages now, and we invite your input.  Let us know what you think about this important issue.

 

Kathleen Fletcher

Director

Map of San Francisco Nonprofit DensitySan Francisco:

Documenting the Accomplishments and Concerns of a Vibrant Nonprofit Sector

 

We all know that San Francisco has a vibrant nonprofit sector, but few people appreciate its size and contribution; there are  5,162 nonprofit organizations in the city, earning $11.8 billion in revenues in 2005.

 

The Institute is now working on a report on the state of San Francisco's nonprofit sector that will profile nonprofit demographics and reveal its impact on the social and economic life of the City. This report will also identify emerging questions of importance to San Francisco's nonprofit community. It will function like the various business sector reports available to for-profit industries, helping policymakers; corporate, nonprofit, and government leaders; and the public at large better appreciate the important role the nonprofit sector plays in strengthening our community.

 

Our examination of the San Francisco nonprofit sector begins with an analysis of numerous data sources including the IRS, the California Employment Development Department, US Census Bureau, and the Foundation Center (among others) to address the following type of questions:

 

·      How many nonprofits are in San Francisco and what services are they providing?

·      Where are San Francisco's nonprofit organizations found; how are they located relative to social needs?

·      What revenue sources do nonprofits rely on?

·      What is the economic contribution of the nonprofit sector, measured by expenditures and employment?

 

This data will enable us to produce the kinds of maps and tables that will not only enrich the report but vividly illustrate the sector's impact and scope. The report will also be enhanced by a survey of 1000 San Francisco nonprofits to gather information that cannot be captured in official data sources.  It will look at issues such as the diversity of nonprofit leadership, at particularly organizational challenges that face the sector  and at the sectors' accomplishments.

 

We will launch the survey in March and have taken every step possible to ensure the highest possible response rate.  If you are working in a San Francisco nonprofit, keep an eye out - every response matters and you could be on the list!

 

The Institute has teamed with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in doing this study.  We are grateful to our funders for their support of this project:  Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, San Francisco Foundation, and United Way of the Bay Area.

Making Data Meaningful:  An Assessment of Nonprofit Capacity

 

The Institute is committed to providing data on California's nonprofit sector.  Data by itself, however, can only tell part of the story.  Over the years, the Institute has developed sophisticated methods for creating maps to reveal the relationship between nonprofits and the communities in which they work.

 

The California Endowment recently engaged the Institute to delimitate the numbers  and location of nonprofits that provide health and social services in the Bay Area.  They were concerned about changing demographics in rapidly growing areas, nonprofit capacity to serve changing needs, and whether nonprofits are located in areas of high and changing need.

 

Working closely with Endowment staff, the Institute used census data to map the changing face of the Bay Area, particularly those areas that are impacted by entrenched poverty, high growth, and lack of services.  The maps permitted the California Endowment to better see the geography of its current grantmaking and the areas where need was high but nonprofit capacity low.  From this, a picture has emerged that can help the foundation better target resources.

 

Mapped data provides a powerful tool for local assessment and we were pleased to assist the California Endowment with this project.

USF MNA Alumni & Student News

Congratulations Recent MNA Graduates: 

Ruth M. Collins, Lisa Noelle Cooney, Alison Margaret DeJung, Anita Dharapuram
Ranjit Dhaliwal, Adam L. Eisendrath, Laura Gonzalez, Jyl G. Hardenbergh, Jennifer Levin, Aimee Denise Loya, Reed Milnes, Marci A. Nunez, Gita Monica Wenaweser
 

Alumni/Student News:

 

Craig Appel, 2006 MNA graduate, has been promoted to the position of Director of Partner Relations at the Energy Foundation.

 

MNA alumnus Keith Archuleta is stepping down after seven years as Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Contra Costa County in order to return to fulltime consulting.  His firm, Emerald Consulting, is develops community-based collaboratives that focus on system change as well as outcomes-based projects that help improve the lives of families, youth and entire communities.

 

Current MNA student Alison Brody has started a new job at the Jewish Community Federation as the Donor Advised Funds Donor Relations Manager.

 

MNA graduate Edna Casteel has accepted a position in the Business and Administration Department at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.  She was nominated by the Filipina Women Network as one of the "100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States" under the category of "Builders & Emerging Leaders."

 

MNA alumna Carla Gyetvan is now living in Denver.  She's doing some consulting, volunteering, and enjoying the activities the Rocky Mountains have to offer.  She'd love to hear from any USF-MNA graduates in the area.  (Contact the Institute for her email address.)

 

Pam Hogan, 2003 MNA graduate, is being honored in February by KQED as a recipient of the 2008 Local Hero Award during Black History Month for her contributions to improving the quality of life in her community.  A short documentary of Pam will air on KQED during the station's month-long celebration of Black History Month.

 

MNA alumna Shirley Roberson Kaufman is retired but still does occasional work, most of it volunteer, with United Policyholders, a consumer education organization organized after the Oakland/Berkeley firestorm to focus on insurance issues.

 

MNA graduate and former adjunct faculty member David LaPiana has a new book coming out in March.  The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution: Real-Time Strategic Planning in a Rapid-Response World, published by Fieldstone Alliance, is the product of four years of research on how nonprofits can more effectively form and implement strategies.  David is found and president of LaPiana Associates, Inc.

 

Recent MNA graduate Wendy Levine has taken a development director position at First Graduate, an educational nonprofit in San Francisco.  First Graduate provides academic support, mentoring, high school and college counseling, family engagement, and college support to  young people from age 12 through 22 who would be the first in their family to graduate from college.

 

MNA graduate Shanahan Lim has been promoted to Vice President of the Bay Area Family of Funds at the Bay Area Council, an influential business membership organization that develops private equity funds (venture capital and real estate) to attract private investment into low and moderate income neighborhoods.

 

Recent MNA graduate Ziba Marashi will be leaving her role as Regional Development Director for the American Friends Service Committee and moving to a new role as Leadership Gift Officer for AFSC's Pacific South West Region (SoCal, NM, AZ),

dealing with $25,000+ donors or potential donors.

 

MNA alumnus Dale Needles was recently promote from Vice President of Finance and Administration to Chief Operations Officer at the Global Fund for Women.

 

MNA graduate Marj Plumb has been elected chair of the California Department of Health Services, Women's Health Council.  Marj is a consultant specializing in policy advocacy training, community-based participatory research, strategic planning, project management, evaluation, and organizational and leadership development.

 

2005 MNA graduate Michelle Shutzer has just joined Full Circle Fund's Community Fellowship. Full Circle Fund is an engaged philanthropy organization with members from the private, nonprofit, and government sectors who leverage their time, money, skills and connections in partnerships that result in significant community impact in the areas of: education, technology, environment and affordable housing.

 

Attorney and MNA alumnus Gene Takagi co-authored an article (with MNA adjunct faculty member Barbara Rosen) entitled "Group Exemptions Demystified" in the January/February 2008 issue of Taxation of Exempts.  Last year he was invited to serve on the newly convened Pro Bono Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco and started a series of roundtable seminars for minority leaders of public charities.
Send your news for the next issue to fletcher@usfca.edu.
Thanks to Our Donors!
 

December was an end-of-year donation month, and we want to thank these generous donors from the advisory board, faculty, and alumni for their support of the Institute and of the MNA Scholarship Fund:

   

Keith Archuleta, John Baldwin, Jeanne Bell, Sherrill Britton, John de Miranda, Denise Gammal, Carla Gyetvan, Kevin Hickey, Rachel Jackson, Joni Ann Kaiser, Carol Kossler, Ingrid Mittermaier, Jason Morris, Patrick Murphy, Michael O'Neill, Janice Pettey, Steve Piuma, Barbara Webster, Hope Witkowsky
This email was sent to amartinez@usfca.edu, by inom@usfca.edu
Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management | University of San Francisco | 2130 Fulton Street | San Francisco | CA | 94117