Our Favourite Places to Go for NonProfit Resources

Earlier this morning, I searched “Executive Director Evaluation processes nonprofits staff involvement”, expecting my relatively specific search to turn up some useful articles and resources for a community organization I was helping out. Instead, I waded through several pages of general, vague, and unhelpful blog posts. Maybe the fault of the rise of content marketing – but either way, it’s annoying.

On COCo’s own website, we try find the best of those resources and share them with you all, not to mention creating our own quality resources for the groups we work with. That said, many google searches later, we also have a few quality nonprofit websites we regularly visit for ideas, resources, and tools. Why not share them with everyone?

The Social Transformation Project online toolbox. This website is a dream of well organized, practical tools for community groups and social movements. In the past few weeks, we’ve used their tools on time management, creating group alignment, and peer coaching. The founders of the site come from a social movement background, and it shows in the quality and integrity of the resources they have created and adapted.
Joan Garry’s “NonProfits are Messy” website. Joan Garry is probably one of the most well known nonprofit consultants in the US, and for good reason. Her writing is accessible and clear, her resources are concrete, and her questions are pointed. She has particularly helpful resources on Board engagement and staff burnout. There’s also a podcast!
Vu Le’s blog, Nonprofit AF, is another sought- after nonprofit speaker, especially on questions of equity and anti-racism in the nonprofit world – but equally because of his snarky, funny, goofy take on nonprofits. His writing, and the associated Facebook groups (NonProfit Happy Hour, ED Happy Hour, ED’s of Colour) are great places to get quick ideas, feedback on issues your organization is facing, and to connect to other great people (or unicorns, in the NonProfit AF lingo).
The HR Council website doesn’t look like much but is in fact a treasure trove of policies, practices and procedures that are particularly useful to small nonprofits with limited HR resources. We use their tools on hiring, recruitment, and retention all the time.
The Stanford Social Innovation Review takes a more academic and journalistic approach to nonprofit issues. Less practical, maybe, but they ask and investigate important questions for nonprofits and community organizations. We particularly appreciate their work on the role of philanthropy in the community sector, and their critical takes on the nonprofit buzzwords of the day.