Tips & Tools for Network Instigators

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

By Kate Zilke and Sahiba Borisuth As the world marks the first anniversary of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofit organizations are looking back on how they’ve managed to adapt their in-person events to virtual settings. Hosting events is crucial to an organization’s fulfillment of its strategic goals. Organizations have faced the critical challenge of shifting their in-person events to virtual platforms supporting their programming and providing an equally