MarinLink University Course to start on February 4th

The fundamentals of nonprofit management for anyone who has ever thought of starting a nonprofit or charitable project

SAN RAFAEL, CA – MarinLink, the Marin County incubator and fiscal sponsor for start-up nonprofit projects, announces its next MarinLink University Course, a ten-module program providing an overview of nonprofit governance, strategies, and tactics. The first class will be held Wednesday, February 4th. Consecutive classes will be held at the Northgate Mall community meeting room every three weeks from 5–7:30 pm, a time convenient for working adults. The course includes a resource binder, contact list, and will culminate with a certificate of completion.

MarinLink University designed this program to provide nonprofit strategic skill sets based specifically on the needs of its over 100 fiscally sponsored projects. The modules include strategic leadership, financial and legal tools, marketing skills, and measurement tools to those new to the nonprofit sector or those looking to hone their expertise.

MarinLink acts as an incubator and fiscal sponsor to a wide array of groups and individuals. Community events such as Bioneers, businesses wishing to start a nonprofit foundation such as Extrafood.org are examples of varied MarinLink projects which also include community gardens, education programs, art organizations, and many others.

“MarinLink is excited to offer this first foundational series of classes for 2016,” says Executive Director Mary O’Mara. “The consultants who helped us develop this program have invested hundreds of hands-on hours helping our projects achieve success.”

Presenters include community experts along with leadership expert Carl Welte. His book Making and Fulfilling your Dreams as a Leader will be included in the curriculum along with a resource binder and list of contacts.

About MarinLink. MarinLink identifies and fulfills unmet community needs, strengthening Marin communities through innovation and collaboration. Nimble and solution-based, MarinLink serves as an incubator and fiscal sponsor to individuals and groups whose inspirations for projects range from homeless services, community gardens, health and transportation initiatives, environmental education, veteran’s programs, arts organizations, and more. www.marinlink.org

DETAILS

WHAT: MarinLinkUniversity, a ten-module program providing an overview of nonprofit governance, strategies, and tactics for individuals starting new nonprofit projects and for those looking to hone their skills.

WHEN: February 4th-June 3rd, ten Thursdays  5–7:30 pm

WHERE: Northgate Mall Community Meeting Room, Northgate Mall, Suite 250, San Rafael 94903

FEES: $295 for MarinLink projects | $395 for general public

INFO: www.marinlink.org | 415-472-0211

The Emerging Status of Nonprofits And the Bystander Effect

On March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was returning home from work as a bar manager in New York. She parked her car and walked towards her apartment, just a 100 feet away. Suddenly she heard footsteps racing behind her. Before she could react, the assailant stabbed her twice. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she cried for help; repeatedly. No one came.  She died two hours later.

As investigators and reporters began piecing the story together, they were shocked by the lack of citizen intervention. At least two dozen people heard the screams over a 30-minute time span. Politicians, psychologists and clergymen were outraged, calling it another example of our apathetic social decay.

But two psychologists weren’t so sure. They wanted to know why Kitty was offered no help. Over the course of the next year, they conducted a series of experiments in crowded and private situations to understand what triggers and doesn’t trigger a response from bystanders. Here’s what they discovered:

Crowds behave like schools of fish – they group think. If there are no reactions to a stimulus, no one in the crowd will act. They found that “no one wants to stands out in a crowd.” This was proven time and time again as experiments were conducted on busy New York streets.

But as they tweaked their experiments, they finally discovered the answer and what instigates a reaction.

In today’s version of the “bystander effect,” one of our most precious socially important industries continue to pattern their future in the same methods as the past. As funds continue to dry up, many nonprofit agencies continue to seek financial help by using a single method of revenue generation: writing grants.

In comparison, a growing legion of innovative nonprofits across the globe are building “social enterprises,” and generating income through their own sales and services. One important result of this type of income is that grant-makers are more inclined to approve funds to organizations that are proving their ability to diversify their resources and gain greater self-sufficiency.

So in collaboration between Renaissance Marin and the Marin Community Foundation, we’re launching our best effort to break the bystander effect. Open to the first 20 nonprofits, this is an opportunity for agencies to learn the methods for building their own social enterprises. Think about the alternative: stay steady on your current course and watch your grant dollars diminish. The cost is also exceptionally affordable with some tuitions at $100 - less than seven percent of a popular national training program.

This is the one and only time we’ll be offering this training in 2013. The program is tailored made for nonprofits with little or no experience with business modeling. Not only will you learn all the essentials, you’ll have an opportunity to pitch your concepts to a panel of well accomplished business and social entrepreneurs. For ten groups that finish this two-month program, personal consultation will be provide to help you take your concepts to reality.

In addition, the workshops have been developed to respect your busy schedule. We’ll be meeting once every Thursday morning for three hours during the eight-week program starting January 31.

To get all the information, we urge you to attend the upcoming orientation on Thursday, Dec. 13; 10am at Renaissance Marin, 1115 3^rd Street, San Rafael.

This program is specific to nonprofit agencies in Marin County and highly recommended for organizations receiving their funding through MCF.

For reservations to the orientation, please call us at 415.755.1115.

If you find yourself among of sea of bystanders unwilling to help you, what the researchers found was to target a single individual, get in front and make a plea. They found that tactic was the most effective way to gain help because a single individual when alerted stops group-think and becomes personally responsible. 

 

 

RenCenter event: Increasing Revenues for Your Nonprofit

Renaissance Marin will conduct an orientation on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 10 am for nonprofit agencies who need to supplement their existing revenues by creating a social enterprise. 

This program comes through the sponsorship of the Marin Community Foundation which saw a need to help many of its own grantees to diversify their revenues streams. 

Renaissance Marin will be launching this workshop on January 31 to the first 20 organizations that sign up and pay the low-cost tuition, based on a sliding scale. 

The workshop will provide:  

* Classroom instruction

* Real-world practices

* One-on-one assistance and 

* An opportunity to pitch your concepts to a panel of  experts.  

If you've explored taking a workshop on this very subject, you know the costs are upwards of $1500. 

In this workshop, the tuition costs: 

Annual Revenue                                  Tuition

to $100,000                                            $100

$101,000 to $250,000                              $200

$251,000 to $500,000                              $300

$501,000 to $1,000,000                           $400

Over $1,000,000                                      $500

The training will take place at the Renaissance Center Marin in San Rafael. It will run three hours per session, once a week on Thursdays at 10am for eight weeks. Following the class sessions, a number of hours have been reserved to provide one-on-one assistance to individual agencies to help them launch their enterprises. 

So, if your agency has been searching for new ways to generate revenue, we urge you to attend this orientation, meet the staff and the main instructor. We'll give you the full picture about the program because we all know that many nonprofits continue to operate at less-than adequate financial levels. 

Please RSVP to reserve your seat by calling 415.755.1115. Please note: this workshop is for Marin County Nonprofit Agencies only.  

Renaissance Marin

1115 Third Street
San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 348-6300

http://rencentermarin.org/

Nonprofit Charity, Fiscal Sponsor and Incubator, MarinLink serves Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area

Who is MarinLink? A San Rafael based organization providing fiscal sponsorship to individuals and groups in Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area. An Incubator for community based projects.

MarinLink is Marin County's Community resource. For over a decade MarinLink has helped community-minded people realize their dreams.

About MarinLink

MarinLink finds and fills community needs by connecting resources, ideas, and expertise.
MarinLink helps community-minded people realize their dreams, serving as an incubator, fiscal sponsor, and multi-faceted resource for real solutions:

Homeless services,

Community gardens,

Environmental education projects,

Veterans programs,

Health and transportation initiatives.

Marin Link Projects

There are dozens of nonprofits projects that have benefited from working with MarinLink.
Connecting people to resources and expertise, MarinLink identifies and fulfills unmet community needs, strengthening Marin with nimble, solution-based innovation, and collaboration.

Sample Projects:

Warm Wishes distributes 5000 “StreetPacks” filled with new warm globes, scarves, hat6s, wool socks, and rain ponchos to homeless men and women throughout the Bay Area every winter. 

GetMoneySmart.Info provides a comprehensive resource for financial education, trainings, and counseling in Marin.

Earth Day Marin is a family-oriented, environmentally centered annual celebration at Marin Civic Center.

Marin Trolleys is working for a demonstration line providing connectivity from SMART to Fairfax. The vision is for six lines connecting Marin’s cities and linking to regional transit. Marin Trolleys is rooted in “Back to the Future.” Marin County was established along rail lines, making Marin unique in that 70% of urban Marin is still within ½ mile of an original rail right-of way.   Most of the original rail routes in Marin still exist. www.marintrolleys.org

Stroke Directory – The Marin County Stroke Directory — Resources that may save your life or someone you love.

Fiscal Sponsorship Program and Projects
Through its Fiscal Sponsorship Program, MarinLink assists individuals and community organizations engaged in projects consistent with its mission by providing administrative support and tax-exempt status.

For more information about MarinLink and their fiscal sponsorship program visit, http://marinlink.org or call (415) 472-0211.

Renaissance Marin is a nonprofit small business development center assisting Marin County small business

Renaissance Marin opened their offices in San Rafael in 2012. Renaissance Marin is a project of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center dedicated to starting & growing local small businesses.

Mission

The mission of Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is to empower and increase the entrepreneurial capacities of socially and economically diverse women and men, and thereby strengthen our communities through the creation of sustainable new businesses, new jobs, and the promotion of financial self-sufficiency.

Launched in partnership with the Marin Community Foundation, Renaissance Marin provides critical access to training, resources and support services designed to help aspiring and established entrepreneurs achieve their dreams of small business success and financial independence.

Whether you are a retailer, designer, manufacturer, contractor or bookkeeper — in the startup or expansion phase — Renaissance Marin will provide you with the training, tools, resources and networks needed to create your own thriving business.

Located at 1115 Third Street in San Rafael, Renaissance Marin provides office space in our small business incubator as well as drop in co-working space.

Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center

Launched in 1985, Renaissance has served tens of thousands of clients in a wide range of industries – from food, fashion and graphic design to education, technology and healthcare.

We offer small business training and resources at four locations:

Renaissance SoMa, San Francisco (headquarters)

Renaissance Bayview, San Francisco

Renaissance Mid-Peninsula, East Palo Alto

Renaissance Marin, San Rafael

SERVICES:

Classes & Workshops

Renaissance’s intensive business planning and introductory business classes will assist business owners in developing the marketing, finance, operations and management skills needed to write a comprehensive business plan and put you on your path to entrepreneurial success.

Advanced classes and workshops will hone your business skills. Both classes and workshops will give the opportunity to learn from successful small business owners, industry experts, graduates and your peers.

Business Incubator

Business Incubator provides both emerging and established small business owners with a vibrant and supportive community of peers and professionals.

They offer low cost office space, professional consultations tailored to business’ needs, conference rooms and building services to support the daily operations and growth.

Renaissance Marin’s building hosts 11 small businesses in a professional and supportive entrepreneurial community designed to help businesses grow and prosper.

Tenants benefit from a full menu of amenities and services.

Consulting

At Renaissance Marin you will meet other business owners and industry experts who will guide, support and inspire entrepreneur in achieving their business goals.

Commercial Kitchen

Open Workspace

The Open Work Space is a collaborative community of entrepreneurs and those seeking a cross pollination of ideas to improve their concepts whether for business startups, community projects or personal development.

 

For more information about classes and business opportunity visit http://rencentermarin.org or call (415) 348-6300.

 

 

Contra Costa County Environmental Stewards: Generation Green

 

Since 1990, Generation Green, a 501c3 nonprofit, has sought to inform and encourage environmental action in CCC. Generation Green has hosted dozens of workshops and attended countless events. Their efforts have reached all segments of the community. From local arts and crafts classes to attendance at City Council meetings—their goal is to educate all residents in the county about environmental issues.

Generation Green empowers its citizens to voice their concerns and implement earth saving actions. Through heightened awareness they encourage wise choices that ensure sustainable living and the preservation of the environment.

Programs Supported by Generation Green 

Dumpster Diversion 

Discover the process of creative reuse through arts and crafts with the Dumpster Diversion Project (DDP). This programs promote the principles of conservation, recycling and reuse. Children and adults of all ages can enjoy using unique materials to create amazing works of art! DDP facilitates the construction of trash to treasures: unusual arts/crafts pieces made from found objects. Participants easily learn that it is important to think before you toss anything away! 

The DDP also supply local artists and teachers with discarded materials for various projects. Recipients of DDP materials include the Early Childhood center of Martinez, the Martinez Arts Association, as well as the Boys and Girls Club of Martinez.

Green Rheem 

Periodic Green Rheem film nights are a chance to socialize with friends at the historical Rheem Theatre in Moraga, CA. Participants savor local wine and appetizers before the film and then watch an educational documentary.

Think Global, Eat, Drink and Shop Local. Attendees are introduced to local vendors for food and wine and learn about key issues facing the health of our community.

Contra Costa County Climate Leaders Program 

Local Governments are taking the lead to develop a livable community and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Contra Costa County (CCC). To facilitate, track and measure regional action, 4CL monitors activities, provides free resources and tools, and provides a multimedia communications strategy that ensures best practices are shared and implemented. Elected officials and staff receive a monthly newsletter, attend workshops and share successes on line.

Sustainable Schools Connection 

Sustainable Schools Connection goal is to create and support sustainability with youth by developing environmental stewardship and encouraging individual, campus and community involvement.

Red, White and Blues Celebration

Generation Green holds its annual Red, White and Blues event to help raise money for their non-profit. This event features local food and wine and is held in July each year. For more information or to be a part of the celebration, send an email to info@generationgreen.com

Reduce Reuse Respect

Reduce

The program aims to reduce our impact on earth. Generation Green will cultivate and promote environmental sustainability for a healthy livable planet through education and community outreach. They provide forums, sponsor events, workshops and classes to inform and support the public on the benefit and need for a sustainable, reusable, low impact, healthy lifestyle.

Reuse

Generation Green’s goal is to reuse our materials and to reduce ecological footprint on the planet. They accommodate reuse collection centers and participate/coordinate events for promoting creativity through art and education using recycled and reuse materials.

Respect

The goal is to respect our planet to regain our connection to the planet and to abundance. Generation Green assists education and consultation on healthy living within the community and share the work of other cultures.

These include:

thoughts for working with native traditions, cultures, working for the next seven generations.

work in Ghana - educating and assisting third world countries.

restoration - native plants and habitat restoration, removing invasives.

conservation work - saving teaks, open space lands etc.

herbal medicine folklore and information and materials.

Links to education materials.

 

To get updates about Generation Green events and activities visit the website, http://generationgreen.com/  . Call 925-708-9686 for more inquiries.

 

 

 

Connectics.org serves individuals with any diagnosed disability

Integrated Community Services (ICS) is a distinguished non-profit agency providing solutions to the critical needs of individuals with disabilities..

ICS aims to build specially designed programs that assist self-reliance and address the diverse and unique needs of this population.

We believe that people with disabilities can live rich, independent lives when provided with encouragement and practical support in the areas of employment and independent living skills.

Our executive staff has advanced degrees in the specialized field of rehabilitation counseling.

With over 30 years combined experience, our expertise has been called upon by community, County, and state government agencies.

What's New

ICS is excited to announce the grand opening of GEM (Growing Excellence in Marin), a vocational horticulture training program. GEM is structured as a three- to nine-month training program to prepare clients referred through the Department of Rehabilitation to become skilled entry-level greenhouse/nursery employees. ICS will provide job preparation, development, placement, and coaching to clients who have completed their GEM training and are deemed employment ready. A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at the site on Friday, July 23rd with some 70 program participants, support staff, and community members in attendance.

About Us

Our Mission is to provide a wide range of community-based services for individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, housing, recreation, information, and referral.

Our Goal is to assist individuals to develop a greater measure of personal autonomy and control in their lives.

Our Belief is that people with disabilities can and do perform to the high standards of employers and the community and live rich, independent lives when provided with encouragement and support.

Our Motto is W.I.T., "Whatever it takes!"

About ICS

ICS works with people with all types of disabilities Regardless of sex, race, religion, national origin, or sexual preference with no age limit (although some government-funded individuals must be 18 years or older).

Who are medically stable

Who are willing and able to benefit from service.

Who possess a manageable behavior in a non-institutional environment, including no threatening behaviors towards self or others.

Who have basic self-help skills, Who are willing to work with ICS on obtaining funds for services through government and private sources

CLIENT SERVICES

ILS Independent Living Skills

Through our Independent Living Skills training program, ICS addresses daily living skills that may include money management, domestic skills training, medical and social assistance, as well as community integration. We also assist students and their families as they transition out of special education programs and into adult life.

An ILS Trainer is appointed to an individual after assessment is completed and will provide focused one-on-one training.

Under ILS services, individuals can access the Movie Club and Bowling groups that are client-run. Employment

ICS provides a special combination of human and community resources that makes rehabilitation successful. Our mission is to create specially designed programs that promote self-sufficiency and address the diverse and unique needs of the populations we serve. ICS assists individuals to land competitive jobs throughout Marin County. To ensure success, we offer vocational counseling, job development, on-the-job training, and follow-up services to both the employee and the employer.

Employment Programs: STAR

The Marin County Support and Treatment after Release program (STAR) was originally implemented through a competitive Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction grant (MIOCRG) awarded by the California Board of Corrections in 2000-01. STAR enrollees receive intensive treatment and services to support functioning and reduce recidivism. Some of the STAR multi-disciplinary specialists include Community Mental Health professionals, County probation, the Sheriff's Department, the San Rafael Police Department, and ICS. Our role consists of vocational/educational assessment and planning. We provide immediate vocational coordination, counseling, placement and job coaching services to enrollees. ICS also facilitates volunteer placement, educational/career planning, and service coordination of agencies such as the Department of Rehabilitation for additional vocational support.

Employment Programs: Odyssey

ICS is an integral part of Community Mental Health's Odyssey Program. This program serves individuals with mental illness who are at risk of homelessness. Odyssey offers intensive case management services addressing housing; medical and psychiatric treatment; and vocational needs. ICS focuses on employment needs by providing volunteer placement, vocational/educational counseling, job placement, and job coaching. We also coordinate services with outside agencies and assist clients with accessing Department of Rehabilitation services.

Employment Programs: Phoenix

This unique workshop was developed by ICS for enrollees of the Odyssey and STAR programs. The Phoenix has long been a symbol of rebirth and re-creation and is linked to the idea that individuals can connect who they are with meaningful work. This workshop incorporates the creative use of songs, personal stories of triumph, the Core Gift Assessment, motivational and vocational exploration exercises, and self-reflection to help individuals define a career path which suits their personal values, beliefs and vision of the future.

Information and Referral

Our staff is exceptional. The executive staff has advanced degrees in the specialized field of rehabilitation counseling. With over 50 years combined experience, our expertise has been called upon by the community, county and state government agencies. Our professional staff consists of Transition and Employment Specialist, Job Coaches, Independent Living Skills trainers, and Resource Specialists. Integrated with ICS' provision of services is our coordination with partner agencies and referral to appropriate resources.

 

 

For more information about Integrated Community Services programs and services of visit, http://connectics.org/ or call 415-455-8481.