Archive for the ‘Showcase’ Category

Awaken Your Strongest Self: Break Free of Stress, Inner Conflict, and Self-Sabotage by Neil Fiore, Ph.D.

Dr. Neil Fiore, a renowned psychologist, lecturer, and bestselling
author, has created his groundbreaking new program with you in mind. He
guides you on an empowering journey of discovery–a journey to your
Strongest Self. He'll show you step-by-step how to let go of all your
old baggage and live a new, richer life.

Discover how you can:

1. Break free of old, ineffective patterns
2. Step up to your "new brain" and voice
3. Awaken the five qualities of your Strongest Self
4. Put everything together to achieve your goals

NPC:  Tell us a little bit about your organization, Free Costumes For Kids. Why was it started?

Chris McCarthy:  Free Costumes for Kids was the brainchild of my sons, Joe and Casey McCarthy.  They had added a line of Halloween costumes to their website, Gigaweb.com.  They knew that they would have returns and thought what better to do with them than give them to needy children.  Then they thought, why not ask people to also recycle their gently used costumes or donate new ones.   And, voila, Freecostumesforkids.org was born.
 

 

NPC:  Who does it serve?

 
Chris McCarthy:  Right now it is serving underpriviledged kids in Palm Beach County, Florida, but we are hoping to expand in years to come.  

 

NPC:  How long have you been in operation?

 

Chris McCarthy:  This is our first year.

 

NPC: How many people did you serve your first year? And, this year?

 

Chris McCarthy:  We are hoping to serve 1,000 kids this year.

 

NPC: What is your most difficult challenge as a nonprofit?

 

Chris McCarthy:  Our most difficult challenge this year has been getting drop off sites.

 

NPC: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a nonprofit?

 

Chris McCarthy: Ask.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  People truly want to help, so if they can, they will.  

 

NPC: How can people get involved?

 

Chris McCarthy:  Send and email to ChrisMcCarthy@freecostumesforkids.org
or call   561 789-2421

 

    
NPC:  Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

 

Chris McCarthy:  We are changing lives, one costume at a time!  Whatever you have to share, can make a difference too!

*Chris McCarthy is the Vice President of Free Costumes for Kids. For more information, please visit the website at www.freecostumesforkids.org. 

Optimal Thinking: How to be your best self by Rosalene Glickman, Ph.D.

The quantum leap beyond positive thinking, Optimal Thinking offers a
whole new way of looking at life, business, and relationships. This
prescriptive self-improvement book is filled with superlative
information for every type of reader.

Generating and Sustaining Nonprofit Earned Income: A Guide to Successful Enterprise Strategies by Samantha Beinhacker, Cynthia Massarsky, Sharon Oster

This guide is filled with
concrete lessons and sound business strategies that can significantly
benefit your organization’s internal capacity and financial health. The
book covers a wealth of topics, including:

• Leadership strategies for managing a nonprofit enterprise
• Targeting the market and developing a marketingplan
• Techniques for pricing goods and services
• Legal and tax considerations
• Securing financial capital
• Pitching your venture
• Forming strategic alliances
• The fundamentals of implementation
• Deploying resources effectively
• Assessing social impact and financial return
• Taking your venture to the next stage of development

NPC: Tell us a little bit
about your organization, The Princess Project. Why was it started?

Melissa Morey: The Princess Project began in February
2002. Laney Whitcanack and Kristin Smith Knutson, co-workers at a San Francisco non-profit,
were talking with a high school student who said she was going to miss prom
because she couldn’t afford a dress. To help the young woman, Knutson and
Whitcanack sent an e-mail to friends asking for dress donations. And they ended
up with more dresses then they knew what to do with! The Princess Project was
born. Knutson and Whitcanack realized there are many girls unable to
attend prom because of the expensive costs of dresses and accessories, while
many of their friends and peers have unused dresses from weddings and parties.
So they decided to match this resource with the need of the girls.

NPC: Who does it serve?

Melissa Morey: The Princess Project serves high school
girls who could not otherwise afford a dress for prom in four California areas – San Francisco,
the East Bay, Silicon Valley and new  last  year, San Diego.
Since The Princess Project began serving Bay Area girls in 2002, over 12 ,000
girls have received dresses and accessories through our giveaway events.

NPC: How long have you been
in operation?

Melissa Morey: 2002 

NPC:  How many people
did you serve your first year? And, this year?

Melissa Morey:

2009 – 3,500

2003 – 600

2002 – 250

 

NPC:  What is your most
difficult challenge as a nonprofit?

Melissa Morey: We're 100% volunteer-run organization
which can be a challenge because we require at least 300 volunteers to
pull off four events each year. Also, we are committed to helping
every girl that comes to one of our giveaway events find a dress, so we always
need to use a portion of our donations to purchase extra dresses in our most
popular sizes, including petite and plus sizes.  

NPC: What was your most
difficult challenge starting out?

Melissa Morey: Probably logistics. We were
pleasantly overwhelmed by the number of dress donations and community support
we received. Time, talent and taffeta were and always have been in high
supply! Luckily our partners and husbands were supportive about
helping us lug dresses into and out of the give-away space at the crack of
dawn. It was an all-hands effort because people were so generous.  

 

NPC: What advice would you
give to someone who wants to start a nonprofit?

Melissa Morey: I would first look around and see if
there are other organizations who are doing similar work – no need to reinvent
the wheel and use resources unnecessarily – there are often awesome ways to do
some "intrapreneurship" within other organizations. If no one is
actively working on your idea, I would get an informal board of advisors
together – to share about your idea, get their thoughts and insights, and help
you get rolling. It's very important to have other people on board for
launching a new idea – folks who share your commitment and enthusiasm.  

 

NPC: How can people get involved?

Melissa Morey: We're 100% volunteer-run organization so
are always looking for volunteers to join our event committees or volunteer
during our dress sorting or give away events. Princess Project
welcomes dresses and all fashionable, clean and stylish jewelry, wraps and
purses for our Giveaway Events. Also, a $25 donation will send one
girl, outfitted in a gown and accessories of her choosing, to prom. You can
find information about volunteer opportunities or making donations to the
organization at www.princessproject.org.

 

NPC: Is there anything else
you’d like to share with our readers?

Melissa Morey: We believe that Prom is
one of the most important events for a high school student - a
rite of passage for every teen that wants to attend. And we're
committed to helping disadvantaged teens who might miss their prom because they
can't afford to buy a dress. The main goal of The Princess Project is to
promote self-confidence and individual beauty. We celebrate all sizes and
shapes of girls, and make a specific point to avoid body imagery that can
promote negative and unrealistic images to girls.

 

*Melissa Morey is a Board Member
of The Prince Project. For more information on how you can get involved, please
visit the website at www.princessproject.org.

NPC:  Tell us a little bit about your
organization, Locks of Love. Why was it started?

Lauren Kukkamaa: When Locks of Love first began, it was
connected with a for-profit wig retailer. In December 1997, the organization
obtained its 501(c)(3) certification from the IRS. With the installation of a
volunteer Board of Directors, the charity began operating as an entity unto
itself under its bylaws and separated from the for-profit retailer. This
initiative was spearheaded by Madonna Coffman, a retired cardiac nurse who had
a great deal of volunteer experience working for not-for-profits in the
surrounding Palm Beach
area.  When Mrs. Coffman was in her 20's she developed alopecia after
receiving a hepatitis vaccination. With medications, she recovered. 15 years later,
her 4-year old daughter developed alopecia and lost all of her hair. Madonna
said it was difficult to deal with her hair loss, but her daughter's loss was
ten times harder. It was at this time that she quit all other charity work and
took on Locks of Love as a full time volunteer cheered on by her daughter’s
recovery as her inspiration.

It is Locks of Love’s mission
to assist all financially disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair
loss with the highest quality hair prosthetics utilizing donated human hair.

 

NPC:  Who does it
serve?

Lauren
Kukkamaa:  Locks of Love serves children age 18 and
younger who are financially disadvantaged and suffering medical hair loss from
any diagnosis.

NPC:  How long have you been in operation?

Lauren
Kukkamaa: Locks of Love was incorporated into a
nonprofit in December 1997, and began providing hairpieces in 1998.

NPC: How many people did you serve your first year? And, this year?

Lauren
Kukkamaa:  Around 20 hairpieces were provided in
the first year, now we have provided over 2,000.

NPC:  What is your
most difficult challenge as a nonprofit?

Lauren
Kukkamaa:  Because we do not spend any
funding on marketing or advertising, there has been some misinformation spread
around about what it is Locks of Love actually does.  We always want to
ensure that our mission is properly portrayed so that we can reach more
families who may need our help.  It is important to know that we are a
children’s charity and that we do not discriminate as to the cause of the hair
loss. 

 

NPC:  What was your
most difficult challenge starting out?

Lauren
Kukkamaa:  I believe some of the early challenges
involved securing office space and a space to store all of the donated
hair!  For a while, the hair was stored in Mrs. Coffman’s garage! 

NPC:  What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a
nonprofit?

Lauren
Kukkamaa:  I wasn’t responsible for
incorporating Locks of Love into a nonprofit, so I can’t give advice on
starting one.  But I will say that one reason Locks of Love has been so
successful is because we have always spent the vast majority of our funding on
the program costs, spending minimal on fundraising and administrative costs.

 

NPC:  How can
people get involved?

Lauren
Kukkamaa:  There are a lot of ways to get involved. 
We accept hair and financial donations.  You can also hold an event within
your community to benefit Locks of Love.  For more information about this,
please visit our website and download the Registration Packet under the “Other
Ways to Help” tab.  Most importantly, you can tell someone you know about
Locks of Love.  Especially a pediatrician or a dermatologist, as these are
the people who know the children in need and can refer them to our program.

 

NPC: Is there anything
else you’d like to share with our readers?

Lauren
Kukkamaa:  I would just like to repeat what it is
that we do.  We are here to assist children who are suffering medical hair
loss from any diagnosis: alopecia, treatments for cancer, burns, trauma,
genetic and psychological disorders.  Please refer anyone you know who may
be able to benefit from our services.

*Lauren Kukkamaa is the Communications Director of Locks of Love. For more information on how you can get involved, please visit the website at http://www.locksoflove.org.

 

Play to Win: The Nonprofit Guide to Competitive Strategy
by David La Piana

This resource for nonprofit leaders explains how to use competitive
strategy to increase the likelihood of organizational success.
Consultant La Piana presents step-by-step directions designed to help
leaders to compete effectively for limited resources in areas such as
funding, board member recruitment, and media attention.

Nonprofit Strategic Positioning: Decide Where to Be, Plan What to Do 

by Thomas A. McLaughlin

The first nonprofit-oriented book to describe strategic positioning as
an alternative to traditional strategic planning. Even in the nonprofit
sector, strategic planning is becoming discredited as a formulaic,
go-nowhere exercise. This book will take the reader on a stimulating
journey through nonprofit strategy development and implementation.

Marketing Management for Nonprofit Organizations 

by Adrian Sargeant

The third edition builds on the success of previous editions whilst
also addressing critical topics such as corporate responsibility and
social entrepreneurship. Developments in relationship and public sector
marketing, for example the increasing emphasis on partnerships, as well
as in fundraising media such as the Internet and SMS messaging, are
reflected in the new edition.

The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook, Second Edition by Walter W. Powell (Editor), Professor Richard Steinberg

The second edition of The Nonprofit Sector provides a novel, comprehensive,
cross-disciplinary perspective on nonprofit organizations and their
role and function in society. This new, updated edition keeps pace with
industry trends and advances as well as with the changing interests and
needs of students, practitioners, and researchers. As before, every
chapter has been written to stand on its own, providing sufficient
background for the reader to follow the argument without referring to
other chapters—allowing readers to selectively choose those chapters
that are most relevant to a particular course, interest, or issue.

Storytelling for Grantseekers: A Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising by Cheryl A. Clarke

Cheryl Clarke presents an organic approach to grantseeking, one that
views the process through the lens of the pleasures and rewards of
crafting a good story. Grantseekers who approach the process as one in
which they are connecting with an audience (grantmakers) and writing a
narrative (complete with settings, characters, antagonists and
resolutions) find greater success with funders. The writing process
becomes a rewarding way to tell the organization's tale, rather than a
chore, and their passion and creativity lead to winning proposals.

The Accidental Fundraiser: A Step-by-Step Guide to Raising Money for Your Cause

by Stephanie Roth, Mimi Ho

Are you a volunteer with an organization, school, or project that needs to raise money? The Accidental Fundraiser
is a how-to resource that guides you through the process of raising
money from your community. The book presents eleven proven fundraising
strategies that are easy to carry out and don’t require significant
funds, large numbers of people, or extensive knowledge of fundraising.

askCHARITY

askCHARITY is a free online contacts book for media professionals.

Search hundreds of charities to find what you're looking for and get fast access to key media contacts – including those vital out of office hours phone numbers. 

Nonprofit Kit For Dummies, 2nd Edition (Kindle Edition)

by Frances Phillips

This book shows you the fun-and-easy way to get your nonprofit up-and-running. It
contains savvy advice from the experts on everything from incorporating
and managing your nonprofit to unbeatable tactics for raising money and
managing public relations. This hands-on, no-nonsense guide is packed
with tons of useful information that will give you everything you need
to: Plan your nonprofit for the community; Write a buy-in guaranteed
mission statement; Incorporate and apply tax exemption: Build your
board of directors with the right people; Design a volunteer program;
Have a paid staff run your nonprofit; Create budgets and financial
reports; Craft the perfect fundraising plan; Write a great grant
proposal; Raise money from individuals.

Grant Writing For Dummies (Kindle Edition)

by Beverly A. Browning

Grant Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition serves as a one-stop reference for readers who are new to the grant
writing process or who have applied for grants in the past but had
difficulties. It offers 25 percent new and revised material covering
the latest changes to the grant writing process as well as a listing of
where to apply for grants. Grant writers will find:

• The latest language, terms, and phrases to use on the job or in proposals.
• Ways to target the best websites to upload and download the latest and user-friendly application forms and writing guidelines.
• Major expansion on the peer review process and how it helps improve one's grant writing skills and successes.
• One-stop
  funding websites, and state agencies that publish grant funding
  opportunity announcements for seekers who struggle to find
  opportunities. New to third edition.