Shared Spaces Archives - Page 13 of 19 - The Nonprofit Centers Network

19/Dec/2016

I first heard of Joanne Posner-Mayer when I was a consultant working with a fledgling shared space in Denver focused on international development in 2013. The project was in trouble. They had secured a lease for a building through the Denver Housing Authority, but it was a historic structure and the group needed to raise the funds for renovations and start-up costs. There was a gap between the projected costs and the actual costs and it wasn’t clear how the project could move forward. I remember thinking, another one bites the dust.

But I was wrong. The project succeeded because of Ms. Posner-Mayer and it is now one of the best examples of mission-driven shared space. Posner-Mayer is a Denver physical-therapist-turned-entrepreneur who invented the FitBall™, which is now ubiquitous in gyms and therapy rooms. She had deep roots with the Curtis Park neighborhood where the international development shared space center was being developed. Her father, a Polish immigrant, had a successful hardware store in that neighborhood. Ms. Posner-Mayer felt she could give back to the neighborhood that enabled her to achieve so much. I remember being so surprised at how it all came together – her contribution was truly pivotal to the center, the difference between life and death. Now in Denver we are lucky to have the Posner Center for International Development, named in honor of her family.

If that wasn’t tribute enough, a recent blog by the Rose Community Foundation reported that Ms. Posner-Mayer has been instrumental in another shared space project, the Rose Andom Center. The Andom Center is a one-stop shop for survivors of domestic violence and houses over 20 agencies in a central location. Previously, those affected by domestic violence had to travel to up to a dozen different locations to access services. Taking a client-centered approach will help stop the cycle of violence by improving rates of reporting abuse. Ms. Posner-Mayer contributed to the Rose Andom Center and is helping it establish an endowment so it can be financially sustainable for a long time to come.

I’m anxious to learn of other philanthropists who have embraced the shared service model as much as Ms. Posner-Mayer. In working with her at an NCN training event in 2015, we discussed the notion of mission-driven shared space centers as a kin to a mutual fund investment vehicle – invest in one shared space center and you’ve touched all the organizations who locate there. It’s a great way to address a pressing community issue in a holistic way. I’ve not heard of many who have invested in multiple centers, but I’d love to see it catch on.

At this time of year, it’s inspiring to think about the many ways our generosity can make a huge difference in people’s lives. The Posner Center addresses global poverty and creates opportunity for men, women and children around the world. The Andom Center is helping local Denver families find safety and peace. I can’t imagine a better example of what we all hope for in this holiday season.

Katie Edwards

11/Dec/2016

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a video worth? Here are a few of our favorite videos to showcase the model of sharing. Take a moment to check out three different models of shared space!

Theme Center: Posner Center for International Development
Denver, CO

Service Center: Together Center
Redmond, WA

Multi-Sector Center: Carroll Nonprofit Center
Westminster, MD

Katie Edwards

06/Dec/2016

My consulting work takes me to all parts of the county, but so often I hear the same comments from community to community. “I can’t spend money on office space, because that takes away from my mission.” “How am I going to justify the overhead to my donors?” “If I spend $1,000 a month on office space that’s X number of people I can’t feed.” While every group I meet with has a unique flavor, the concerns are still the same. It’s an extension of the poverty mindset that most nonprofits live in. We need to move away from the idea that overhead is a necessary to evil towards thinking about all the ways that we can leverage our infrastructure to make a greater impact. Minimizing your overhead leads to other costs that can make a big impact on your work, particularly when it comes to office space.

“Making Do” takes time, and time is money. I recently discussed finding meeting venues with a group of nonprofit leaders. Many said they were fine “making do” with free spaces in town. Those free spaces take time to find and book, not to mention set up. Sometimes you event have to buy and set up your own AV. Is spending hours setting up chairs and projectors the highest and best use of your staff time?
The cost of decreased productivity. Free office space sometimes translates to “office space in need of major capital investment.” I recently heard the story of a nonprofit that has cheap rent, but in the summer one of the staff members must choose between running a computer or the air conditioner, due to the faulty wiring. I’ve also seen many nonprofit staff members shivering when the HVAC goes out and they can’t afford to fix it. You can’t be efficient and effective in these conditions.
Lack of visibility. Many nonprofits operate out of church basements or off kitchen tables with a webpage, an e-mail address, or a phone number. Without a physical presence, you could be missing out on a chance to connect with your stakeholders, especially those that don’t have access to the world wide web. Having an office raises your profile with funder too. For the vast majority of nonprofit organizations, you need to be easily found.

As you’re struggling to justify the membership fee for a coworking space or a month’s rent in a nonprofit center, I encourage you to think about all the ways that being in a high quality office space helps you meet your mission. It’s worth the investment.

Leena Waite

14/Nov/2016

In the wake of the election, no matter who you voted for or if you were watching from the North, the results have shown the true polarities of opinions, emotions, classes, and struggles that American’s face. There was a large sum of individual voices mainstream media did not even pick up on in the polls. Whatever you believe or hoped, I am recognizing the need to acknowledge these unheard voices.

Katie Edwards

08/Nov/2016

pie During the 2015 State of the Shared Space Sector survey, NCN found that a large proportion of mission driven shared spaces are operating as successful social enterprises. At the same time, the majority of these spaces are offering their tenants below market rate rent. How is this possible? A new publication, Balancing Act: Sustainable Finances for Shared Spaces, out this week, gives us some insight. Here are three key findings to help you balance your shared space business model.

Maximize your rentable square footage. We all love to have access to vibrant common areas, big meeting spaces, and funky cafes, but when it comes to profitability, rentable office space is key. For every 10,000 square feet of common area, profitable centers have four times as much rentable space. Centers running in the red only had 25,000 square feet of rentable space for every 10,000 square feet of common space.
Make sure your offices are full. Rental revenue is perishable income – if someone isn’t in that space for a month, you will never have the opportunity to regain that revenue.
Manage your expenses per square foot. Profitable centers in our studies had total expenses in the range of $22 (including staff, utilities, maintenance, internet, and more) per rentable square foot. Centers running a loss were paying over $90 per rentable square foot on average! Paying close attention to your expenses goes a long way.

Want to learn more about our research? Download the report here today! Thanks to the Jones Trust for sponsoring this publication.

Nonprofit Centers Network

05/Nov/2016

In September of 2014, the House of Neighborly Service submitted a grant request to the Boettcher Foundation for $150,000 to go toward the building of the HNS Life Center. The center was to house multiple nonprofits who would collectively provide what HNS Grant Specialist Sarah Morales calls “one-stop-shopping” for those in need, including school readiness services for children, a food pantry, and other services.

Katie Edwards

31/Oct/2016

For most people, sharing resources – whether it be office space, accounting staff, or a common kitchen – is a new way to work. With the release of the Streamlining Social Good report and our recent webinar on the same topic, I’ve been thinking a lot about my biggest takeaways from this convening and what I would tell other people

Katie Edwards

17/Oct/2016

For many years, I’ve believed that building the trust necessary for collaboration takes time – weeks, months, maybe even years. While at the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s institute on Network Leadership, a presentation by David Sawyer and David Ehrlichman of Converge for Impact shook loose my perspective on the subject. Over the course of a two-hour session, I and over 300 participants were led through a series of exercises focused on what we could do to build trust for impact in our own networks. At the end, I was surprised, not only at what had been shared with me, but also at what I had shared with others, and how quickly we had found common ground upon which to build. Here are my top take aways from the session...

Lara Jakubowski

10/Oct/2016

On Wednesday we experimented with a new format for NCN Boot Camp. In response to feedback about the high cost of travel to an in-person training, we decided to offer our introductory-level training in an online format. We had a great turn-out, even better than our in-person Boot Camp trainings. The curriculum covered most aspects of starting a nonprofit shared space, but it’s always interesting to see the kinds of questions and conversations that emerge during these trainings. I thought I would share some of them with you, along with our shortened responses. My burning question is: where do we start?!

Katie Edwards

03/Oct/2016

In September, I had the privilege of attending the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s Nonprofit Management Institute on Network Leadership. I have been interested in the topic of network leadership because every nonprofit center that we know of is or has the potential to be a network for catalyzing social good. For many years, the idea was that to increase your social impact, you had to bring your model to scale. However, researchers like Jane Wei-Skillern have found that there have been many organizations who have multiplied their ability to achieve impact by taking the opposition – slimming down their operations, specializing, and working in concert with partners.