A group of 19 literacy organizations were at a meeting in Chicago that was late to start. Two of the organizations’ leaders got to talking about how they were having trouble getting the principal of Schiller Elementary to call them back. Ears perked up and unsolicited utterances of “us too” rang out. Finally, one leader asked the question: “how many of us have a literacy program at Schiller Elementary?” All

This blog will outline The VOICE Heuristic, another tool from Michelle Shumate and Katherine R. Cooper’s book, Networks for Social Impact. The VOICE Heuristic is a helpful way for network instigators to manage ongoing conflict within a nonprofit network. What is the purpose of The VOICE Heuristic? The VOICE Heuristic provides a backup plan for times when conflict management fails to rectify a conflict between disagreeing parties in a nonprofit

In this blog, the NNSI team outlines a helpful tool for nonprofit networks to keep track of stakeholder attendance and participation in meetings. The Stakeholder Participation Tool comes from Michelle Shumate and Katherine R. Cooper’s book, Networks for Social Impact.  What is the purpose of a Stakeholder Participation Tool? A Stakeholder Participation Tool keeps track of who attends and participates in nonprofit network meetings. Many nonprofit stakeholders are part of

In this blog, the NNSI team untangles a new tip for network instigators: Fiscal Sponsorship. This tip, like all the “Tips & Tools for Network Instigators,” is straight out of  Michelle Shumate and Katherine R. Cooper’s book, Networks for Social Impact. Fiscal sponsorship is a resource management technique for new networks that allow networks to operate as a program of another organization, delaying the need for them to have their

In their book, Networks for Social Impact, Michelle Shumate and Katherine R. Cooper provide tips and tools on the best ways to set up a network. When creating a network, it is essential that all major actors–relevant leaders, organizations, and existing collaborations–are included in the network. If a critical actor is left out of the network, this results in 1) the duplication of service efforts by both the network and

“The only way to teach people how to truly do it and do it the right way, is to get those ingredients and kitchen tools in front of them and in their hands to use” – Wolfgang Puck Learning to design and manage networks for social impact effectively is a lot like learning. And one of the most important things in both cooking and in network leadership is using the