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Lexi Paza Co-Director
21/Feb/2022

Most of us generally understand that humans must have their basic needs met before they can engage in meaningful personal growth. If someone is struggling with hunger or can’t pay rent, it’s unlikely that they can ponder self-determining their own future by knowing and then having what it takes to achieve their own goals. The same thing happens in our community-serving organizations. If a nonprofit struggles to meet its basic needs – think constantly chasing funding or stressing about clients’ needs outpacing organizational capacity – then talking about shaping its future feels impossible at worst but unlikely at best.


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The Nonprofit Centers Network has an active listserv as part of its membership. As various cities or states across US and Canada enacted shelter in place type orders, center managers started chiming in with questions and steps taken, and together our community began to navigate this unprecedented time.  It became clear that it was time to take this discussion into a webinar format and open it up to a wider community, not just members. So on April 3rd, NCN hosted a panel discussion style webinar around Managing Shared Spaces During COVID-19 addressing concerns around financial sustainability, the logistics of an empty building and maintaining community. NCN’s new Co-Directors Alexis Paza and David Schrayer joined Saul Ettlin of Community Vision and NCN’s Steering Committee to dive into these topics, guided by pre-submitted questions and the listserv discussions. Below is a summary of NCNs suggestions around these topics, including tips shared in the chat box from some of our 80 participants.


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Michaell Rose, DrPH, L.C.S.W., Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, CA
27/Aug/2019

The role of the hospital is growing. With the continued trend towards population health and diagnosing root causes, rather than only treating the symptoms, hospitals are being forced play larger roles in the health of their patients. As the healthcare industry shifts towards understanding the social determinants of health and adverse childhood experiences (ACES), the previously siloed institutions are no longer the standards in healthcare. The hospital must adapt, and look outside of its walls to better treat the health of its patients. For nonprofit hospitals, looking outside of the hospital walls have always been standard. Through Community Benefit, nonprofit hospitals have been charged with improving the health and well-being of the community. At Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian (Hoag), the opportunity to create a model to address the social and health needs of the community aligned to develop the Melinda Hoag Smith Center for Healthy Living (MHSCHL).


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Heather Hiscox, Pause for Change, Tucson, AZ
12/Aug/2019

Think about the last time you created or joined a collaborative project or partnership. In my most recent experience I felt optimistic, excited, and hopeful. I also felt scared, territorial, and skeptical. My hope was about how the collective skills contributed by each partner would elevate the work, and my fear was about how my organization’s name and my hard work might get lost in the mix. I also felt a bit of distrust with some of the organizations in the room. None of these feelings were outwardly expressed as I sat around the table. What we discussed was the work of each of our organizations and gaps that we saw in our community that perhaps our collective effort could help to address. While this was a start to identify new or enhanced potential programs, services, etc., I was reminded of the early foundation-building steps that are often missed in a new collaborative effort: empathy and experimentation. Empathy provides the foundation of deep and authentic understanding between collaborative partners and experimentation tests the behaviors you need to see in order to achieve success. What if we asked new questions of one another and what if we held each other accountable in new ways?


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Allandra Bulger Executive Director, Co.act Detroit and Nicole de Beaufort EarlyWorks Founder & President
05/Aug/2019

In the context of increased community need and funding constraints, organizations often feel stuck when it comes to collaboration. Sector dynamics often pit organizations against each other competing for funding, external awareness, and the vocal community ambassadors that can give voice to their respective issue. And, the ever-changing nonprofit landscape is a constant journey, and one in which individual organizations often travel alone. Many of Southeast Michigan’s most pressing challenges and opportunities are connected and realizing impact requires a collective approach, a diversity of perspectives and ideas, and coordination across efforts. The status quo needs to be flipped to one that moves away from organizations chasing dollars to one that would stimulate community-level problem solving and collaborative action.


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Lauren Andraski and Ezzie Dominquez, Posner Center Denver, CO
29/Jul/2019

The Posner Center for International Development is a mission-oriented community dedicated to making the world a more equitable and prosperous place. We believe that we can transform global development through catalyzing collaboration. For mission-oriented centers like ours, it can be challenging to maintain a clear focus on the needs of the community while simultaneously advancing our own organizational aims. In an ideal world, the facilitation and leadership of your network would always be perfectly aligned with your organizational mission. However, it can be easy to fall out of balance or prioritize the many discrete needs of the community over new levels of achievement and visibility for your center.


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10/Jun/2019

Recently I was very fortunate to tag along with a delegation of incredible community and student leaders from the Boston area who participate in the Solidarity Economy Initiative and Center for Economic Democracy and Tufts New Economy. Together we visited Montreal to learn from practitioners about local efforts to build the social or solidarity economy. Speaking with local practitioners, we learned about an available apartment designated specifically “for someone who will never earn income again;” a seasonal, manufactured, beach front - designed on land used to store snow in winter – that boosts social engagement and enjoyment of the coast; and a flourishing farmer’s marketplace that offers community lunch and movie nights. Our visit included time spent with:


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03/Jun/2019

It’s been a long winter in Denver…and yes, I know it’s June! But within my son’s last 2 weeks of school, it snowed at least 3 inches, and we received an epic middle of the night hail storm. My plants were already struggling to grow even before they were pummeled. But finally, the sun is peaking out, and it’s beginning to warm up. New growth is around the corner, and I can taste sandal weather. It seems nonprofits and local leaders are coming out of hibernation as well lately. NCN has seen quite the uptick of people inquiring about our services, joining our network, considering building spaces or wanting to learn more about shared services. What gives? Here is some of what we’ve been hearing lately:


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Chelsea Donohoe
13/May/2019

It’s Time to Register for Sharing Innovation 2019! It’s time to register for the third annual Sharing Innovation event! (Don’t miss the best registration rate! Early bird discounted registration ends Friday, August 30th). We are ecstatic at NCN about this gathering. It has continued to grow each year, and we are even more impressed with the groundbreaking collaboration happening all over the US and Canada. Every day, more groups are creating shared spaces and shared services to enable organizations to realign how they use resources to tackle the biggest challenges in their communities. No matter the size or scope of your organization, our speakers will have relevant, actionable advice and creative strategies for sharing. Sharing Innovation is a different type of NCN gathering. It’s a time to amplify ideas, dream big, and discuss what’s possible. You will hear from our network about the increased efficiency and effectiveness folks are experiencing from sharing space and other resources. We sought out speakers who are using infrastructure to achieve impact, and we wanted to hear how they are shaping their communities through collaborative, place-based initiatives.


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Jackie Cefola Director, Consulting and Shared Services
07/May/2019

The Nonprofit Centers Network is happy to announce the Upcoming release Rethinking Overhead: Daring to Share Resources Preview, a new on-line publication designed to help you consider why shared back office services could be fit for your organization.* Why are we asking you to think about shared services? As a sector, we need innovative strategies that support nonprofit organizations to access essential overhead services. As nonprofit center developers and operators, we understand the power of collaboration and the potential for shared services to add value to shared spaces. As organizational leaders, we know that our operations gain strength and resiliency through high-quality back office services. And as mission-based practitioners, we want to focus our time and effort on mission-based activities. Sure, this all sounds great in theory but what are the real reasons why organizations participate in shared services? To answer this question, the NCN team asked the leaders of 12 organizations (six service providers and six clients/partners/members/projects) to tell us their shared services stories.


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