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CRE has developed practical management manuals to help organizations, funders and individuals address important issues. Below is a list of publications and reports that are for sale or available for free online.
Rethinking Capacity Building
by Barbara Blumenthal
The goal of capacity building is to help promising nonprofits attain stability, improve program quality and even expand activities. Forays into capacity building have left a bad taste in the mouths of some grantmakers, however, amid growing concern that such assistance may not lead to lasting results and scarce resources are being wasted. This article, originally published in Foundation News & Commentary, presents a critical analysis of the drivers of capacity building success and outlines common challenges. See also Barbara's book Investing in Capacity Building: A Guide to High-Impact Approaches, available via the Foundation Center.
The Courage to Pause:
Lessons Learned from CRE’s Leadership Caucus
by Jean Lobell and Fran Barrett
More than 400 nonprofit leaders come through CRE’s door each year. In the midst of this heavy consulting workload, we engaged 67 leaders over the last three years in four Leadership Caucuses, CRE’s nine-month leadership development program. These leaders in turn had the "courage to pause" from their impossibly crowded schedules and delve into the uncharted and fuzzy universe of leadership issues. This publication summarizes some of what we've learned about leadership in the nonprofit sector.
Peak Performance:
Nonprofit Leaders Rate Highest in 360-Degree Reviews
by Jean R. Lobell and Paul M. Connolly
Jean Lobell, CRE’s managing director and head of our leadership practice, is co-author with Paul M. Connolly, PhD, President of Performance Programs, Inc., of a feature article in the Winter 2007 issue of The Nonprofit Quarterly. The article, Peak Performance: Nonprofit Leaders Rate Highest in 360-Degree Reviews, discusses preliminary results of a study showing that nonprofit leaders may well be more effective than for-profit leaders. CRE Executive Director Fran Barrett said the article provides an “exciting validation of the incredible talent and skill CRE sees in our clients every day.”
Square Feet: How to Navigate NYC's Perilous Office Leasing Market
A Guide for Non-Profit Organizations
Are you a small to mid-size non-profit group looking to relocate in New York City? Are you a non-profit executive who rarely and reluctantly has had to deal with the world of commercial real estate? Then you need this manual! This guide was designed to level the playing field, and help you protect your organization's long-term interests. It will guide you through each step of the leasing process, from the all-important advance planning, to finding suitable space, to negotiating the financial, legal and construction-related issues of the lease.
From Vision to Reality:
A Guide to Launching a Successful Nonprofit Organization
Through worksheets, model documents and plain-spoken explanations, this 250-page handbook will guide you on how to design an effective program, create a budget, raise money, form a board of directors, hire staff and take all the steps you need to launch a successful nonprofit.
Price: $30 plus shipping
To Order: Email nbailey(at)crenyc.org
Sample Chapters:
CHAPTER ONE: GETTING STARTED
CHAPTER TWO: FUNDRAISING
Del Dicho al Hecho:
Una guía para crear con éxito una organización sin fines de lucro
The Spanish translation of From Vision to Reality is now available.
Price: $30 plus shipping
To Order: Email nbailey(at)crenyc.org
Sample Chapters:
CAPÍTULO UNO: EL COMIENZO
CAPÍTULO DOS: LEVANTAMIENTO DE FONDOS
Dare to Chair:
The Art of Chairing a Nonprofit Board of Directors
This elementary guide for board chairpersons addresses the role of the board chair and the strategic importance of the not-for-profit board of directors. It provides advice on such topics as increasing attendance at board meetings, planning meeting agendas, developing by-laws, fundraising, replacing a founder /director, and increasing board membership. Each section includes real-life examples and hands-on tools. Particularly useful for those individuals new to board leadership (1990).
New! Free Download
Mastering Your First Government Contract
Using a case study of an organization new to government contracting, this handbook is a guide to analyzing government requests for proposals, negotiating government contracts, and preparing the required documents to monitor, manage, close out, and renew government contracts.
Price: $25 plus shipping
To Order: Email nbailey(at)crenyc.org
Creating an HIV-Free Future for NYC's Youth:
Strategies From a Future Search
This report captures strategies to create an HIV-free future in New York City that emerged from a two-day community event held in fall 2004. The event was attended by 75 individuals - parents, youth, service providers, trainers, researchers, funders, and policy makers - representing every stakeholder group fighting HIV's spread among our young people.
The strategies in this report represent the participants' positive visions for an HIV prevention environment beyond the current context of funding cutbacks and social conservatism. These visions suggest the importance of continuing to embrace approaches that have a track record of success while also forging new ways of conceptualizing HIV prevention for youth.
Here's the lead quote from the report:
"Recent media coverage on the epidemic in New York City has highlighted what we in the scientific community have known all along: We have yet to win the fight against HIV/AIDS. New variations of the virus are always on the horizon, and medications, while life-prolonging for many, do not work efficaciously for everyone. As a society, preventing new infections has to be an ongoing priority. We need to give people of every age, beginning with our youth, in every community and speaking every language, the appropriate tools they need to protect themselves, their family and their community."
Dr. David D. Ho
Scientist Director and Chief Executive Officer
Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, New York City
The Mexican Community in Staten Island:
A Report of Findings and Recommendations
This report studies the Mexican community in Staten Island. It provides demographic and socioeconomic information; describes the needs of the community; identifies the programs that serve Mexican immigrants; and makes recommendations* to address the needs of this community.
Community Resource Exchange was the principal researcher and documenter of this report which was commissioned by The Staten Island Bank and Trust Foundation.
*CRE's recommendations are specific to the Staten Island Bank and Trust Foundation
Youth and HIV in New York City:
A Presentation on Current Trends for a Briefing on "Creating an HIV-Free Future for NYC's Youth: The Need for Collaboration between Youth and AIDS Grantmakers"
This Power Point presentation was delivered by Dr. Allan Rosenfield before a gathering of 25 public and private funders on April 25, 2005. Dr. Rosenfield is Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and chair of the New York State Department of Health AIDS Advisory Council.
The presentation explains in clear terms current trends in the HIV epidemic among New York City's youth, and makes a compelling case for continued prevention and (age-appropriate) case-finding efforts targeting young people. It speaks to the critical need to improve school-based HIV education, and also for culturally appropriate outreach in the city's new immigrant communities about fighting HIV/AIDS.
The presentation in its entirety is posted here and freely downloadable courtesy of Dr. Rosenfield and the briefing cosponsors: Funders Concerned About AIDS, NYC Youth Funders Network, and CRE.
