Sustainability Strategies: Specifics About First 5 LA's Customized Consulting Program

For a small participation fee, First 5 LA will connect up to 30 current and former grantees with one of the three organizations listed below:

Nonprofit Finance Fund - a new approach to financial planning and management

The Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) offers a comprehensive range of financial management and sustainability services for nonprofit organizations, regardless of size. The NFF/ First 5 LA Customized Consulting Program is intended to support nonprofit organizations in managing during difficult times and emerging stronger.

The NFF focus will be on balancing mission with financial realities, examining financial health, and developing options for courses of action to address weaknesses and build financial viability.  NFF's analytic resources include Nonprofit Business Analysis, Situation and Cash Flow Analysis, Program Profitability Model and Scenario Planning.

Timeline:

The information session for the NFF will be Wednesday, October 14, from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. at First 5 LA's offices located at 750 N. Alameda, Los Angeles, 90012. Applications will be available at and after this session and are due no later than 5 p.m. on November 19. The selection process will be complete by January 2010. Projects will be completed before July 2010.

Taproot Foundation - media is more than ever the message

Effective, conscious communications and public presence have become increasingly important in all aspects of contemporary life, and are often among the under-resourced areas of nonprofit organizational operations. The Taproot Foundation has developed a proven approach to integrate the public relations and marketing needs of the nonprofit sector with the talent and motivation of professionals from the communications fields through its Strategic Communications Service Grants program.

Each service grant is executed by a team of five to six professionals who volunteer more than 100 hours of time and expertise over a six-month project, working in close collaboration with the nonprofit organization. Taproot Communications Service Grants include annual reports, brochures, Web sites, naming, visual and brand identity, key messages and brand strategies.

Timeline:

The information session for the NFF will be Monday, November 2, from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. at First 5 LA's offices located at 750 N. Alameda, Los Angeles, 90012. Applications are available now at the Taproot Foundation Web site, click here to see the application information. The applications are due no later than 5 p.m. on December 1. The selection process will be complete by January 2010 and projects are anticipated for completion by July 2010.

Benevon - building qualitative relationships with individual donors

To develop financial sustainability, nonprofits can benefit significantly by developing lifelong connections with individual donors. The Benevon Model is a successful, proven strategy for raising funds from individuals through respectful and thoughtful engagement and cultivation. The process produces a consistently high level of giving and generates a self-sustaining cycle of continued and meaningful personal engagement and philanthropy.

Later this month, several grantees who applied by the September 25 application deadline will be selected to participate in the Benevon one-year program that guides organizations in customizing the model to their mission and organizational culture. The goal is to successfully generate support and commitment from individual donors, and become less dependent on labor-intensive special events and restricted funding from foundations and corporations.

For more information on how to apply to the Customized Consulting Program through the Grantee Technical Institute or to RSVP for the NFF or Taproot Foundation information sessions, please contact Heather Tunis at (213) 482-7526 or htunis@first5la.org.

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