Please help us with the next installment of Rich Tips: Top 10 Nonprofit Media Outlets . Send us your tips on this topic. Send to nicolle@richardmale.com

This week's tips:

Conducting a Board Self-Evaluation

Very few professionals in the nonprofit or for-profit sector would argue that staff members or executive directors should not undergo regular performance evaluations. Similarly, the idea of assessing the effectiveness of programs, projects and overall organizational efficiency rarely meets with objections. It is simply good practice. However, the mere suggestion that an organization's board of directors conduct a self-evaluation is typically met with either blank stares or passive - if not direct - resistance. Unfortunately, given the diminishing trust Americans have for the leadership of so many public companies and private organizations, it is essential that any board of directors not only adhere to strict ethical standards but that they also engage in regular in-depth performance self-evaluations in order to:

• Ensure that the board is representative of the larger community. If yours is a direct-service organization then the board should also represent your target audience.
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the board as a whole by asking the following questions: What skills are lacking? Do you have legal or accounting expertise or a realtor if needed? As an animal welfare organization do you have a veterinarian on the board? As an at-risk youth organization do you have a therapist on the board? Is the board ethnically diverse and gender-balanced?
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the individual board members and their roles on the board. For example, is everyone fulfilling their board agreement to chair a committee? Is there100 percent financial giving from the board on an annual basis? How is everyone's attendance at meetings?
• Determine if the board is effectively setting and achieving objectives in fundraising, budgeting oversight, policy development, et cetera.
• Engage individual board members in a fulfilling way that encourages and supports their interests, growth and involvement.
• Set an example for your organization regarding the importance of regular assessment.
• Identify organizational areas in need of attention and allow the board to examine the broad vision and future direction of the agency.
• Remain accountable to the community, potential funders and stakeholders.

1. Typically, the president of the board will spearhead the self-evaluation. If you cannot engage the president of the board, then you will want to look for someone on the board who can assist with moving the process forward.
2. Schedule a board retreat or workshop that will focus on the self-evaluation process.
3. Design effective pre-retreat or workshop questionnaires and rating sheets. There are many excellent resources available for designing appropriate questionnaires for your board members to fill out, anonymously, in advance of the workshop.
4. Distribute the forms about a month before the scheduled retreat. Ideally, someone external and neutral to the organization should collect the forms, evaluate the results and write a report to be presented at the retreat. The retreat should be planned based upon the results
5. We highly recommend employing the services of an external, neutral consultant with board assessment and training experience. You want someone with expertise who can assist you with preparing appropriate questionnaires and designing a workshop for your board that will be as effective as possible. If issues arise during the self-evaluation process, you may want someone who can remain neutral to guide you through the rough spots.

Effective leadership is the foundation of any successful venture. Much like conducting an ethics audit, as we discussed in a previous issue, the board self-assessment is an invaluable and necessary tool that promotes organizational health and improves operations at all levels of the organization.

As always, the experts at RMA are available to assist you with any of your organizational challenges. Please call us at 303-355-2919 if you have any questions.

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New Grant Opportunities (if you need grant research or grant writing help, please contact us! We have an experienced team of grant writers with a tremendous track record who will be happy to handle your grant research, grant calendars, grant writing, and grant tracking. For more information be sure to contact Nicolle Fogleson at RMA at nicolle@richardmale.com.

Online Course in Project Management RFP

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is seeking proposals to develop, pilot, deploy, and evaluate a packaged instructor-mediated online course to train library and museum personnel to plan and evaluate outcome-based projects. The successful proposal will compare the effectiveness of the online course to an analogous existing workshop and will develop a cost model for developing and offering the course.

For detailed information go to: http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/outcomescourse.htm

Consultation Grants for Museums, Libraries and Special Projects

Consultation grants are designed to help museums, libraries, historical organizations, and community organizations develop a new project or chart a new interpretive direction for an institution. By using a Consultation grant, institutions can confer with a team of advisors to help identify key humanities themes and questions that will guide the early stages of a project's development. Projects should use consultants to incorporate a variety of perspectives, draw on relevant humanities scholarship, and develop possible interpretive approaches. While humanities scholars must be part of the project team, museum curators or educators, librarians, and others with experience and knowledge of the humanities or the project's technical aspects may also participate as consultants. Most competitive proposals have a range of consultants whose expertise is tailored to the particular needs of the project. The expertise of the consultants should complement the staff of the institution applying for the grant.
The project should be based on sound scholarship, examine the subject analytically, and address a broad set of humanities themes. Projects should: convey significant humanities ideas to the public; use formats and programs creatively to engage audiences; examine topics and ideas in a regional or national context; extend their impact by reaching beyond a local level, involving new audiences, or serving as models.

For detailed information go to: http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/public-consult.html

The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation

The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation supports early postdoctoral research training in all basic biomedical sciences. To attain its ultimate goal of increasing the number of imaginative, well-trained and dedicated medical scientists, the Foundation grants financial support of sufficient duration to help further the careers of young men and women engaged in biological or medical research.

For detailed information go to: http://www.hhwf.org/HTMLSrc/ResearchFellowships.html

Native Community Technology Initiative

The fund has created a new program, the Native Community Technology Initiative, to award technology and training grants for education and advocacy projects administered by Native community-based organizations.
Projects supported include work to protect the places vital to cultural practices, such as sacred sites and healthy river systems, as well as the creation of digital cultural curriculum and digital arts. Most importantly, the project must train Native peoples in the use of technology and software in order to guide and sustain these projects.

For detailed information go to: http://www.hafoundation.org/grants/haf_grants/index.html

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Federal Grant Opportunities (if any of the following grants sound appealing, please contact Mourene Tesler to learn more about the application procedure - mtesler@tcg-systems.com)

Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

The purpose of the Technology and Media Services for Individuals With Disabilities--Technology Implementation Center competition is to: (1) Improve results for children with disabilities by promoting the development, demonstration, and use of technology; (2) support educational media activities designed to be of educational value to children with disabilities; (3) provide support for some captioning, and video description; and (4) provide cultural experiences through appropriate nonprofit organizations.

Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education

The purpose of the Jacob K. Javits (JKJ) Fellowship Program is to award fellowships to eligible students of
superior ability, selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement, financial need, and exceptional promise, to undertake graduate study in selected fields in the arts, humanities, and social sciences leading to a doctoral degree or to a master's degree in those fields in which the master's degree is the terminal highest degree awarded in the selected field of study at accredited institutions of higher education. The selected fields in the arts are: creative writing, music performance, music theory, music composition, music literature, studio arts (including photography), television, film, cinematography, theater arts, playwriting, screenwriting, acting, and dance. The selected fields in the humanities are: art history (including architectural history), archeology, area studies, classics, comparative literature, English language and literature, folklore, folk life, foreign languages and literature, history, linguistics, philosophy, religion (excluding study of religious vocation), speech, rhetoric, and debate. The selected fields in the social sciences are: anthropology, communications and media, economics, ethnic and cultural studies, geography, political science, psychology (excluding clinical psychology), public policy and public administration, and sociology (excluding the master's and doctoral degrees in social work).

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Other Announcements

22nd ANNUAL ROCKY MOUNTAIN PHILANTHROPY INSTITUTE
August 12 - 13, 2004 in Denver, CO
Sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Colorado
Chapter (AFP-CC), "Peaks and Valleys: Lessons Learned from a Life in
Philanthropy" will be held at the historic Brown Palace Hotel. Speakers
will include Tim Gill, David Miller, Jim Havey, Joseph Maloney, CFRE,
Lilya Wagner, Ed.D., CFRE and John Whaley. On-line registration at
www.afpcc.org/events.html or www.themeetingedge.com/secure/afprmpi.cfm

ACLU's 4th of July Liberty Run and Festival of Rights!
Join the runners, walkers, and their families on July 4, 2004, for the third annual 4th of July Liberty Run & Festival of Rights.  SIGN UP ONLINE TODAY! See our website, www.aclu-co.org < http://www.aclu-co.org/ > , call 303-777-5482, ext. 100, or email info@aclu-co.org for more information on the event and for volunteer opportunities.

3rd Annual Red Ribbon Golf Tournament
presented by Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center

Saturday, July 10th
6:30 a.m. Registration & Warm-Up
7:30 a.m. Shotgun Start
12:30 p.m. Awards, Luncheon and Silent Auction

Entry Fee:  $150.00 per person
Arrowhead Golf Club
10850 W. Sundown Tr., Littleton, CO
To purchase tickets, call 303.837.0166, ext. 508 or visit us online at www.coloradoaidsproject.org

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