March 2007

The Interchurch Center (TIC) has initiated two inventive community programs.  The Technology Training Institute offers classes on MS Office applications for both tenants and non-tenants.  TIC contracts with employees of tenants who are trained to teach the software and offer the classes at a reduced rate for tenants.  In partnership with another tenant, the Interchurch Center has also installed a community Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) system on every floor.  TIC pays a tenant agency to train interested tenants in CPR and AED operation, and their medical office administers the program.  In addition, recent renovations and system upgrades have delivered significantly enhanced phone service, air conditioning and ADA compliant bathroom upgrades and public space renovations.  For more information on any of these innovative shared services and programs, contact President/Executive Director Sue Dennis at (212) 870-2931 or sdennis@interchurch-center.org.

Demonstrating the value of MTNCs can be a challenging task.  Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation has generously shared the results and framework used for their strategic evaluation processes over the last two years.  Copies of their Tenant Survey Evaluation, Strategic Plan Model and Overview can be found in the Online Resource Center.  The feedback processes and data collected by CSI helped them to grow significantly. In early March, they welcomed 30 new tenants in to their expanded 16,000 square foot space.  Learn more about their collaborative model for social innovators in our Online Resource Center, or by contacting Eli Malinsky at (416) 979-3939 or eli@socialinnovation.ca. 

Congratulations to the Detroit Youth Foundation's new YouthVille center.  The YouthVille building has won recognition awards from the National Association of Black Architects and the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects.  They also received a feature article in the Construction Association of Michigan magazine.  View a copy of the article in our Online Resource Center. 

Happy 10^th Anniversary to theCommunity Service Building in Wilmington, Delaware.  The building, housed in two former DuPont Company properties, is home to 78 nonprofit tenants who enjoy rental rates approximately 65% below market.  The project was championed fourteen years ago by the heads of the DuPont Company's corporate philanthropic program and the Longwood Foundation.  For more information on their April 2nd anniversary celebration, contact Jerry Bilton, CFM at 302-777-3266 or JABilton@aol.com.    

Congratulations to the North Penn Community Health Foundation, who broke ground on January 7, 2007, for their new 24,000 square foot nonprofit center in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.  Construction on the Center is moving forward quickly, with an anticipated opening in December, 2007.  Read more in their online Center Profile.

Welcome to New NCN Members - Coalition for the Homeless in New York; McConnell Center in New Hampshire; Town of Carbondale, Colorado; United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast in Houston; Vancouver Festivals Centre in British Columbia; Mary Jo Dike and Nancy Moore in Kentucky; Ethika Foundation in Sacramento; Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles; Orange County Great Park Corporation in California; Many Mansions in Los Angeles; HELP of Ojai, Inc. in California; and Partners for the Common Good in Washington, DC.  Join NCN today at www.nonprofitcenters.org/membership/index.php to take advantage of members-only resources and special discounts on the upcoming conference!

Do you have an exciting development or interesting experience that you would like to share with the Network?  Send your news to info@nonprofitcenters.org and we will add it to the next Blueprint for Success.

What do you include in your tenant agency applications?  Carol Walker Aten, Executive Director of developing center Squamscott Community Commons in New Hampshire, is looking for examples of MTNC tenant agency applications, and resources dealing with legal and financial  commitments tenant agencies are asked to make to a new MTNC.  If you have resources you can share, please contact Carol at 603-770-9913 or carol@squamscott.org. 

How do you budget your conference space?  Does your Center make its conference space available to external organizations and community groups?  New Executive Director of the David Brower Center, Amy Tobin, is looking for sample budgets or advice on estimating income and expenses for operating a conference center.  Please contact Amy at (510) 486-0286 or amy@browercenter.org.

The National Association of Realtors is seeking nominations for its eighth annual Good Neighbor Awards, which recognizes members of NAR whose extraordinary commitment to volunteer work has enhanced and improved their communities. The five winners will each receive national media exposure for his or her community cause, and a $10,000 grant. For more details and a nomination form, due by May 25, visit http://www.realtor.org/. 

The Northern California Community Loan Fund has an opening for a Facility Fitness Program Manager.  The Program Manager will coordinate all aspects of NCCLF's technical assistance programs related to nonprofit facilities. The goal of this program is to increase the capacity of nonprofit organizations to lease, purchase and/or operate their facilities and to enable management teams and boards to make timely and effective facility decisions that will support organizational success and stability.  For more information, or to see a full job description, visit http://www.ncclf.org/.

Register Now for Innovative Strategies for Nonprofit Workspace, March 12th in Boston