Non-Profit Resources

Grow Help / Resources / Non-Profit Resources

Board Resources:

• Board Source: http://www.boardsource.org/
  • The Board Source website offers free online tools and resources covering most board-related issues from assessment and evaluation to recruitment and orientation. Some resources are only for members which is not free.
• Free Complete Toolkit for Boards: http://managementhelp.org/boards/index.htm 
  • Great online resource that is completely free. Provides a comprehensive list of information and answers to basic, as well as more complex, issues of board governance and operations.
• The Blue Avocado: http://www.blueavocado.org/
  • The Blue Avocado (which is home to Board Café) is an online magazine for nonprofits and their boards. Its many articles and columns cover the gamut from finance and strategy to human resources issues. It is also interactive so people in the field can write in questions or share experiences.
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits: http://www.minnesotanonprofits.org/nonprofit-resources
  • This webpage offers links to resources and tutorials for board members, and even offers free sample templates such as a board member position description and a board evaluation.

Forms/Samples:

• Sample job descriptions:
  • Board Members:
    • http://www.managementhelp.org/boards/brdjobs.htm
    • http://www.greenlights.org/resources/resource-library/doc_download/13-board-job-descriptions
    • http://www.dochas.ie/pages/resources/documents/Sample_JDs_for_Board_Members.pdf
  • Staff:
    • http://www.supportingadvancement.com/employment/job_descriptions/job_descriptions.htm
    • http://humanresources.about.com/od/jobdescriptions/Job_Descriptions_Free_Samples_Examples.htm
  • Volunteers:
    • http://www.supportingadvancement.com/employment/job_descriptions/job_descriptions.htm
    • http://www.ditr.org/mentorjobdescription.doc
    •  
• Sample bylaws:
  • http://www.minnesotanonprofits.org/nonprofit-resources/templates-samples
  • http://www.folusa.org/sharing/sample-bylaws.php
  • http://www.lectlaw.com/forms/f162.htm
• Sample board policies:
  • http://www.community.net.nz/how-toguides/governancemanagement/Templates/Sample+board+policies.htm
• Sample fundraising plans:
  • http://www.fundraising123.org/article/sample-online-fundraising-plan
• Sample volunteer manuals:
  • http://www.jewishresource.net/index.cfm-method=manual%20Management.htm
  • http://www.casanet.org/program-management/volunteer-manage/sample-manage.htm
• Sample board manuals:
  • http://managementhelp.org/boards/manual.htm
  • http://www.arts.texas.gov/resources/tools-for-results/nonprofit-basics/

Human Resources Management Resources:

• Alliance for Nonprofit Management: http://www.allianceonline.org/
  • This professional organization is focused on capacity building for nonprofits and offers free resources and assistance to members who pay a membership fee.
• Innovation Network: http://www.innonet.org/
  • This website has a wealth of resources related to planning and evaluation. Specifically, the Point K Learning Center on the site contains a wealth of free resources and tools, but free membership registration is mandatory for access to most resources.

Legal Resources:

• Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta: http://pbpatl.org
  • This organization seeks to link pro bono counsel to agencies that serve the poor and disadvantaged communities of metropolitan Atlanta.

Financial Management Resources:

• Basic Guide to Nonprofit Financial Management: http://www.managementhelp.org/finance/np_fnce/np_fnce.htm
  • This webpage offers links to non-profit specific resources dealing with how to establish a finance system to managing cash flow and financial audits.
• Guide Star: http://www.guidestar.org/
  • Guide Star is a searchable database of over 1.7 million nonprofits that provides information on taxable status and even Form 990’s.

Marketing and Fundraising Resources:

• Association of Fundraising Professionals: http://www.afpnet.org/
  • The AFP website offers a wealth of information about fundraising in today’s nonprofits in the form of articles and resource links.
• Guide Star: http://www.guidestar.org/
  • Guide Star is a searchable database of nonprofits that provides information on taxable status and Form 990’s. It is a good way to see how other nonprofits are fundraising and to see what other kinds of nonprofits are in your area.
• SEO Consultants: http://www.nonprofitpr.com/
  • This is a blog where users can post all types of questions related to nonprofit fundraising and marketing on the web and consultants will respond to the answers.
• Nonprofit PR: Communication with a Purpose: http://nonprofitprforum.blogspot.com/
  • This is an online forum for nonprofit leaders to exchange information and ideas about public relations and marketing in the nonprofit sector.

• Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org
  • This website rates charities’ ‘financial health’ based on free financial evaluations and provides this information to potential donors and funders.

Start-up Resources:

• The Foundation Center: http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/establish/index.html
  • This webpage offers a snapshot of how to start a nonprofit organization and the steps involved. Excitingly, this page can also be viewed in Spanish.
• The IRS: http://www.irs.gov/charities/index.html
  • This is the IRS’s webpage for charities and non-profits. Although it may be hard to navigate at times, it contains all essential information for nonprofits to gain and maintain their IRS status.
• Georgia Secretary of State: http://sos.georgia.gov/securities/charitable_organization.htm
  • This website contains all the information needed for nonprofits in Georgia to register and maintain compliance with the Georgia Secretary of State.
• IRS Stay Exempt: http://stayexempt.org/IndepthTopics.aspx
  • This is a helpful website created by the IRS in order to help organizations obtain and maintain their tax-exempt status. This free online training includes fifteen courses.

• The Georgia Center for Nonprofits: http://www.pbpatl.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/gcn_starting_a_nonprofit1.pdf
  • This is a very useful guide to starting a nonprofit in Georgia covering a range of topics such as articles of incorporation and bylaws to an incorporation checklist and writing the mission statement. This packet can be downloaded for free from the website.

Training and Development Resources:

• The Foundation Center: http://www.grantspace.org/
  • All you need for these free online training courses are a computer with Internet connection and a phone. These trainings cover foundation fundraising, proposal writing and everything grants!
• Nonprofit Law Podcasts: http://nplawcast.blogspot.com/
  • These weekly podcasts cover all sorts of legal issues that nonprofits can face.

 Nonprofit Jobs:

• http://www.idealist.org/if/as/Job
• http://www.opportunityknocks.org/jobseekerx/SearchJobsForm.asp
• http://www.nonprofitjobs.org/

General Resources:

• Idealist:  http://www.idealist.org/search/v2/?search_type=resource&search_browser_options_initial_sort=published_date
  • This webpage offers a list of links to useful resources for nonprofits to help with a variety of issues from fundraising to diversity in the workplace.
• Free Management Library: http://www.managementhelp.org/
  • This website has links corresponding to a very wide variety of organizational topics such as volunteers, fundraising, management development and finances. Although many of the resources pertain to both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, many are specific to the nonprofit sector.

• Tech Soup: http://home.techsoup.org
  • This website offers discounted software to nonprofits.
• WebMonkey: http://www.webmonkey.com/
  • This website offers advice, tutorials and tips for designing and building websites and programming web applications for web developers of all skill levels.
• Greenlights: http://greenlights.org
  • This website offers a free online resource library that contains a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics ranging from board governance and ethics to issues in human resources.

• SurveyMonkey: http://www.surveymonkey.com

o         This website helps users create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time.