Schmoozefest. "Our ratings aren't like other organizations' endorsements," Rebecca Cooper of the Municipal League observed. "If we found a race where we could rate all the candidates 'outstanding,' we would think the community was being very well served."

The Municipal League of King County has been rating candidates for public office in King County for 92 years.  This year, over 150 people running for city councils, school boards, county-wide offices and judicial positions will be rated by four volunteer committees.  Cooper came to the Schmoozefest to encourage people to sign up for these committees.  "You'll be amazed at how your view of politicians changes -- for the better, and sometimes for the worse -- when you see them up close and personal in this candidate evaluation process," she said. To find out more about the League and to learn how to sign up for this and other volunteer activities, Cooper invited people to visit http://www.munileague.org

The Nonprofit Schmoozefest is
Seattle's Nonprofit Networking Event
At the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. Plan to attend next time

Civil Society in Everyday Life. "I remember the first time I remodeled a house," recalled Dwight Gee. "If I'd known what I was getting myself in for, I probably never would have started.  The same could be said for the adventure of working with people in Mongolia to help them set up an Arts Council for their country."

Dwight, the Vice President for Community Affairs of ArtsFund, and Bob Ness, an organizational development consultant, have visited Mongolia three times now on this project, working with the Soros Foundation staff in the country and other leaders to provide increased support for the arts and greater stability for arts organizations in this country that was, until recently, part of the Soviet Union. (The snapshot shows Dwight in the foreground, with Bob to his right; listening are Leonard Garment of MOHAI and fundraising consultant Jean Leed.)

"The infrastructure we expect simply does't exist," Bob Ness reported. "There is no law for nonprofit organizations, no idea of a tax-deduction for charitable contributions, no traditions of transparency or grant-making.  Under the Soviet system, all arts activities were controlled by the government and, all too often, 'success' in the arts meant being good at finding the best way to gain the favor of the bureaucrats in the party apparatus."

The goals for the Arts Council include creating structures for individuals and businesses in Mongolia to give support to the arts plus setting up channels for people who want to help from outside the country to make contributions and experience Mongolian arts.  Progress to date can be viewed on the Arts Council's website at http://www.artscouncil.mn/.

"Civil Society in Everyday Life" is
the topic of discussion at free monthly morning meetings
Plan to attend next time: 3rd Tuesdays in the Student Center at Seattle U

NPower "helps nonprofits use technology to better serve their communities." Erica Mills and John Smith from NPower-Seattle described the way NPower works and described some of the resources available on the website.  The conversation turned to a lively exchange comparing the approaches of different membership management, event registration and donation processing software and online services; John Smith steered people to the discussions of these topics on NPower's website (at http://www.npowerseattle.org/tools/npowertoolsindex.htm) and the other presentations linked from there.

The Nonprofit Schmoozefest is
Seattle's Nonprofit Networking Event
At the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. Plan to attend next time

"Civil Society in Everyday Life" is
the topic of discussion at free monthly morning meetings
Plan to attend next time: 3rd Tuesdays in the Student Center at Seattle U

BrownBag. Rick Lynch impressed upon his listeners that "an effective volunteer program enables a nonprofit organization to escape from financial constraints" by drawing upon resources from the community that would not be available to it in any other form.  He led participants in the seminar through an exercise identifying the unnecessary ways organizations can make volunteers feel like "outsiders" and then brainstormed with the group practical solutions to these barriers to good management practices.  "'Volunteer' is a payrate, not a species" he pointed out.

Rick Lynch is the author (with Steve McCurley) of  Volunteer Management: Mobilizing All the Resources of the Community. You can order this book through this link to Amazon.com; The Evergreen State Society will receive a royalty based on this sale.

BrownBag Seminars
help people widen their horizons and learn about how nonprofits work.
Offered in cooperation with Antioch University Seattle at 2326 Sixth Avenue.

Featured Nonprofit: Delridge Neighborhood Development Association (http://www.DNDA.org) with Jim Diers, the ED (helped create the Department of Neighborhoods and is an internationally recognized authority in community-building), described two of DNDA's current Social Enterprise ventures. One is a housing and economic development project involving a renovation of the Cooper School which will create 37 affordable live/work housing units for artists and an arts and cultural center. The second venture aims to employ at-risk youth in a coffee shop created by DNDA and the school-based group called WIL working with Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle in order to make a measureable impact in crime and violence reduction in that neighborhood.

The Nonprofit Schmoozefest is
Seattle's Nonprofit Networking Event
At the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford. Plan to attend next time

WIN211 is a campaign to establish the number 211 as a direct link to Information and referral agencies throughout Washington state. Tom Page has the assignment of putting the system in place...dealing with the regulators and the potential content providers. Join him for a conversation about this case study on building stronger connections to community resources.

See http://www.win211.org

The Nonprofit Leadership Conference is held each spring in Seattle.
For information about the 2004 conference, check
http://www.evansforum.org/nonprofit early in the year.