The NonprofitCenters Network

• Innovations in Workspace for the Nonprofit Sector: A Study of Multi-tenant Nonprofit Centers
• 2004 Midwest Regional Conference: Creating and Operating Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Centers
• Meet Mina Kim, the NonprofitCenters Network Coordinator
• Learning from Each Other: A Profile of The Women's Building of San Francisco
• Recommended Resource: Finance Gap: Charter Schools and their Facilities
• New and Expanded Services from Collaborating for Success
• Save the Date! May 12-13, 2005

Last fall, the NonprofitCenters Network embarked on a scan of MTNC features and trends around the country. The results have been compiled into a report entitled, Innovations in Workspace for the Nonprofit Sector: A Study of Multi-tenant Nonprofit Centers. It includes findings on how MTNCs provide cost-savings, programmatic efficiencies, valuable infrastructure and community resources. It also discusses the challenges MTNCs face and highlights opportunities for continued growth in the future. A special thank you to LoriAnn Girvan, author of the report and Network Board Member, as well as to the over 100 people who took the time to complete the online survey, participate in interviews, and respond to our questions and ideas. We are particularly grateful to the many Multi-tenant Nonprofit Centers who participated. The questions were quite comprehensive and completing the survey took much time and thought. Your efforts have enabled a comprehensive understanding of the MTNC landscape.

To access an Executive Summary of the study, visit the NonprofitCenters Network website at www.nonprofitcenters.org/iwns.html. Study participants and Network Members will receive the complete, 40 page report. If you are not a Member and would like to receive the full report, please consider joining the Network by emailing us at info(at)nonprofitcenters.org.
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Over 110 participants from 16 states and Canada contributed to the tremendous success of the 2004 Collaborating for Success Midwest Regional Conference. Attendees were able to gather valuable information and make meaningful connections to further the development and management of multi-tenant nonprofit facilities. One participant stated, "Thanks for this incredible opportunity to interface with so many competent and thoughtful people knowledgeable about every aspect of MTNCs."
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We are pleased to announce the recent hire of Mina Kim as NonprofitCenters Network Coordinator. Mina worked with the Network in April 2004 as part of her Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs. Now she joins the Network as its full-time Coordinator responsible for implementing our membership program and coordinating the development of our online Resource Center and national conference. Mina has a varied work and volunteer background including Executive Director of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit called Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE), domestic violence counselor, first grade teacher in New Jersey with Newark Public Schools, and Teach For America's Director of Operational Support. While studying abroad in South Korea, she was volunteer editor for the Asian Journal of Women's Studies, and as a Coro Fellow, contributed two radio stories to KQED's program Pacific Time. We are very excited to have Mina on board. She can be reached at 415.561.6311 and mkim(at)tides.org.

The first women-owned, multi-tenant nonprofit center in the nation celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. The Women's Building in San Francisco, perhaps best known for the mural Maestrapeace that graces its exterior, is a multi-service community center committed to providing women and girls the tools and resources they need to achieve full and equal participation in society.

This profile highlights the Women's Building's 1998 earthquake retrofit and renovation project, "Reinforce the Dream." It offers a quick look at the issues they faced and the lessons they learned along the way.
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A nine-month, national study by New York University's Institute for Education and Social Policy, LISC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

This study looks at the decade-long experience of charter schools with private-sector involvement in facilities financing and the use of instructional revenue for the repayment of debt. It highlights the lessons this phenomenon offers to both charter schools and the wider public school community. The financing vehicles and lessons mentioned here are also extremely relevant to practitioners and activists working on Multi-tenant Nonprofit Centers. The complete study, downloadable in Adobe Acrobat format, can be accessed at The LISC Online Resource Library (www.lisc.org/resources/). LISC provides grants, loans and equity investments to community development corporations for neighborhood redevelopment.
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By fall 2004, the NonprofitCenters Network will launch a new website with an expanded online Resource Database and Center Profile Database, as well as a Members’ Listserve for peer networking. Spread the word among practitioners and activists working with Multi-tenant Nonprofit Centers or on other strategies to create affordable workspace for nonprofit organizations.

Collaborating for Success National Conference III:
Creating and Operating Multi-tenant Nonprofit Centers
Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, California