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What’s New?

Congratulations to the winners of the Social Impact Exchange Business Plan Competition!

BWB Solutions Partner Mike Burns served as the consultant to two of the Mezzanine Stage Finalists, ROC USA and The Grameen Foundation.  ROC USA helps manufactured housing residents secure the property their homes sit on while the Grameen Foundation, a pioneer in microenterprise lending, has developed a tool for understanding the impact of microlending.  This business plan competition is about scaling-up great social sector ideas. 

Congratulations to the winners recognizing that all four finalists are committed to achieving the goals stated in the Competition.

John Weiser is working with the Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunies Program to create a one-year Action Plan for AssetPlatform.org. 

This is an innovative web-based portal that brings together in one location unique products, services, and training that assist low income individuals to build assets and financial stability.  The Action Plan will be used to both focus the activities of the AssetPlatform staff over the next year and also assist in raising the funding needed to expand the program.

 

The Charity Channel releases Mike Burn's article, "Theory of Change: A Planning and Team Building Tool"

Most people join a board because of a genuine desire to give back to the community. Sometimes it’s at the invitation of a friend or colleague; other times it’s in response to a community need that closely aligns with an individual’s personal values...... Click here to view full article.

BWB Solutions aids in search for Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs.

BWB is very excited that the Hitachi Foundation has begun searching for its first Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneurs.  As a member of the Advisory Committee for this initiative, Kevin McQueen offered advice and encouragement to help the foundation think through this new direction. It’s a great opportunity for a young entrepreneur – up to six will be honored --who, through their innovative products or practices, help move people out of poverty and into the mainstream of American society.  Click here to check out the new Yoshiyama Program.

Kevin McQueen Live at the Forum on Communities at Risk and Living Cities' Foreclosure Mitigation Initiative.

Kevin McQueen's participation was a success!  Communities at Risk: How the Foreclosure Crisis is Damaging Urban Areas and What is Being Done About It.  For those who wish to listen to an archived copy of the conference call,  Click here a wav file is now available.

Financial management issues for nonprofits during the recession – A Presentation by Kevin McQueen.

In this time of financial challenges, Kevin McQueen developed a presentation for the Washington DC Hunger Network which provides guidance on questions to ask and issues to think about as you plan how your organization will handle a changing environment. The presentation looks at various aspects of organizational management including revenue and expenses, services and staffing, scenario planning, cash management, governance, strategic alliances and leadership. To view the presentation click here.

Coping in Tough Times – Some ideas on how to manage your nonprofit in a world full of challenges.

How can you effectively manage on a day-to-day basis, (much less plan ahead), when your income is down, funders are cutting budgets, and your clients need more services than ever? For some ideas, click here.

Reaching Underserved Markets Effectively - An article by John Weiser in Effective Executive.

Although there are many challenges in entering under served markets, the typical solution requires a company to enhance and adapt to what it is already doing, not to entirely reinvent itself. Business, with its vast resources and know-how, can be an important contributor in opening up a world of opportunity in underserved markets. To read the article from the November 2008 issue of Effective Executive click here.

Mike Burns has moved his blog to typepad.com.

April 15, 2008

Mike has moved his blog on nonprofits to http://www.nonprofitboardcrisis.typepad.com/

Mike Burns in the New York Times and Chronicle of Philanthropy.

December 11, 2007

In the New York Times Annual Special Section on Giving (November 12,2007), Mike Burns offered some thinking on venture philanthropy as well as the role of "prize" philanthropy to achieve change and innovation.Mike said "these prize programs don't serve everyone, nor do they solve social ills. I'm not as excited about these prizes that seem to be nothing more than the pursuit of awards for capitalist happiness."

In the December 13, 2007 Chronicle on Philanthropy on the topic of the Red Cross' firing of its Executive Director, Mike was quoted assaying that "in my experience, boards have a difficult time repairing the relationship when they've lost trust in their chief executive. If Everson was willing to cheat on his wife, who is to say that he wouldn't hide something meaningful from the board? A smart board says it's almost impossible to repair a trust issue, so we might as well separate and find a new person."

John Weiser, NCUF consultant and ACUC&E speaker wins award

June 4, 2007

The book used as the basis for the National Credit Union Foundation's (NCUF) new educational program, authored by an upcoming speaker at America's Credit Union Conference & Expo(ACUC&E) has earned recognition as the best business book among 2,690 entries in the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Untapped: Creating Value in Underserved Markets, won the Gold Award in the Independent Publisher Book Awards' Business Books category.Untapped is co-authored by NCUF consultant John Weiser, who facilitates NCUF's Social Impact Management Institutes.

Weiser will lead a special 'Thought Leader Session' at ACUC&E on Tuesday from 10:30-11:45 a.m. The Untapped session will reveal opportunities to attract new members and new revenue from underserved markets in ways that create benefits for credit unions and their communities. The objective: To help credit unions grow while making asocial impact.

Weiser also will discuss social impact management on Wednesday at NCUF's Credit Union Development Education (DE) Workshop in conjunction with ACUC&E at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The workshop is open to all 700 alumni of NCUF's DE Training program.

The Social Impact Management Institutes grew out of the DE program.While DE makes the philosophical case for serving underserved markets,the institutes make the business case. Institutes are co-hosted by state credit union leagues, corporate credit unions and other partners. From CUNA News Now 06/04/2007

New report on Small Business Development Strategies.

February 2, 2007

A nonprofit organization can increase jobs and income among community residents in many ways. In communities where the challenges of connecting residents to mainstream employment opportunities are sizable, small business development can be an important alternative.

Commissioned by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Small Business Development Strategies: Practices to Promote Success among Low-Income Entrepreneurs explores the proven tools used by non-profit organizations to help entrepreneurs succeed. In this newly published report, BWB Partners Kevin McQueen and John Weiser examine various small business development strategies that address different challenges faced in promoting success among entrepreneurs and their businesses. For organizations involved in the economic development field, this report can be a valuable tool for setting up programs to assist new ventures and their owners. To download a copy of the report click here.