Nonprofit Excellence Program
At The Lumpkin Family Foundation, we believe that well managed, mission-driven nonprofit organizations produce more effective and sustainable programs. When organizations work collaboratively on matters of common concern they accomplish more, give greater voice to their concerns, have a more positive impact on their clients and, ultimately, create stronger, more vibrant communities.
The Nonprofit Excellence Program (NEP) was created in 2004 in response to the relative absence of affordable and appropriate professional and organizational development services in Central Illinois. Since that time, more and more of these services are being provided by other intermediaries in the region, putting the NEP in a unique position. In order to connect the good work of these intermediaries and leverage the networks of nonprofits they support in their local areas, work began in 2008 on the a nonprofit network.
This approach was inspired by the book The Spider & the Starfish- the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. Historically, nonprofit resource centers have been reliant on their host(s)—a very “spider” type approach. In order to make a more “starfish” type approach, a group of nonprofit leaders met in September 2007 to discuss how a more networked approach to a virtual center could be developed.
Working in collaboration with the Steering Committee members listed below, the next phase of the Nonprofit Excellence Program, www.goodWORKSconnect.org - a nonprofit network and a virtual center has been developed. goodWORKSconnect.org launched at the Downstate Illinois Nonprofit Conference in August 2009. Initial funding provided by The Lumpkin Family Foundation supported the building of the site and initial site content population.
What is goodWORKSconnect.org?
There is so much good work being done by nonprofits in east central Illinois, including social services, education, arts & culture, youth development, and much, much more. You are probably doing some of this good work. Do your colleagues (or potential colleagues) in other cities and towns across east central Illinois know what you are up to? Do you know what they are doing? goodWORKSconnect.org is an online community space and virtual resource center created to help nonprofit leaders, staff, and board members from east central Illinois connect with new and old colleagues, share information, and learn from each other. We hope this site will help you:
- Expand your network of relationships and help you find others working on similar issues
- Learn about opportunities happening in the region and beyond
- Ask questions and get answers
- Discuss your good ideas
- Create a group for your organization or cause
- Share success stories and lessons learned
- Share templates and forms to avoid "re-inventing the wheel"
- Discover new websites, articles, books, videos, resources, etc.
- Our vision is to become an online community, where the people doing good work (YOU!) contribute content and help us determine the future.
- All tools and content are free to use.
In order to localize and embed goodWORKSconnect.org in your backyard, the focus region of East Central Illinois has been divided into the following subregions:
goodWORKSconnect.org Team
- Annie Hernandez, Program Officer Organization & Leadership Development, The Lumpkin Family
- Kelsey Holsapple, goodWORKSconnect Intern
- Chris Hoyt, Fat Atom Lead Developer
The Steering Committee is a group of individuals committed to engaging their networks around the region to benefit the community. See the map above for the regions.
REGION 1
Sharon Alpi, MillikinUniversity, Center for Entrepreneurship (Decatur)
Macy Barnett, United Way of Decatur/HSAC (Decatur)
Missy Batman, The Community Foundation of Decatur/Macon County (Decatur)
Brandi Binkley, Macon County Health Department (Decatur)
Chad Clevenger, United Way of Decatur (Decatur)
Jody Cox, Red Carpet Promotions (Decatur)
Bert Gray, Decatur Area Arts Council (Decatur)
Lynne Maisel, MaconCounty Teen Health (Decatur)
Lucy Murphy, The Community Foundation of Decatur/Macon County (Decatur)
Carissa Stengel, United Way of Decatur (Decatur)
REGION 2
Joan Dixon, Community Foundation of East Central Illinois (Champaign)
Sue Grey, Champaign County United Way/Human Services Council/Volunteer Council (Champaign)
Donna Pittman, Champaign Public Library/Assn of Fundraising Professionals (Champaign)
Jan Simon, ParklandCollege (Champaign)
REGION 3
Heather Hampton+Knodle, MontgomeryCounty Economic Development (Litchfield)
Larry Johnson, Sikich LLP (Springfield)
Will Miller, University of Illinois-Springfield (Springfield)
Stacy Reed, SangamonCounty Community Foundation (Springfield)
Pamela Salela, Central Illinois Nonprofit ResourceCenter (Springfield)
John Stremsterfer, The SangamonCounty Community Foundation (Springfield)
REGION 4
Jeanne Dau, BusinessSolutionsCenter, Eastern IllinoisUniversity (Charleston)
Jeanne May Hamilton, Helen Matthes Library (Effingham)
Amanda Standerfer, Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation (Mattoon/Effingham)
Elizabeth Heinzmann, First National Bank/Old Capitol Foundation (Vandalia)
Carolyn Cloyd, Coles County United Way (Mattoon)
Tina Stovall, LakeLandCollege (Mattoon/Regional)
Tiffany Macke, U of IL Extension/Economic Development Council (Marshall)
STATEWIDE
Claudette Baker, Donors Forum (Chicago)
Srilatha Lakkaraju, Donors Forum (Chicago)
Anne Heinze-Silvis, Rural Partners/University of Illinois Extension (Urbana)
Al Zwilling, IllinoisResource.net/University of Illinois Extension (East Moline)
Gordon Mayer, Community Media Workshop at ColumbiaCollege (Chicago)
If you are interested in more details, please contact (This e-mail address is hidden to protect it from spammers) .
We thank these thoughtful leaders! Please visit www.goodWORKSconnect.org/about-us for more information.
goodWORKSconnect is currently comprised of:
- Nonprofit Resources that are pertinent to the area. Click here for more information on these resources.
- Calendar of Events including Training Workshops on topics such as fundraising, board development and marketing. Click here for more information on training programs.
- Peer Networking and Collaboration Opportunities that provide staff and board members the chance to come together on topics of mutual interest. Click here for more information on nonprofit gatherings.
- Micro-Grants to support nonprofit staff and board member training and professional development. The Lumpkin Family Foundation is now partnering with four community foundations in the region to offer these grants. If your organization is not applying for a micro-grant, you are eligible to apply to be on the grant review committee. To learn more and apply, visit www.goodWORKSconnect.org/grants. Micro-grants will be awarded twice a year.
Nonprofit Excellence Program Eligibility
Any nonprofit organization in Central Illinois may participate in NEP programs. The Foundation gives special consideration to smaller (less than $1 million budget) organizations that reach out to rural under-served communities. We are particularly interested in supporting activities that promote staff and board member collaboration.
Please direct inquiries on the NEP to:
Annie Hernandez
annie.hernandez@consolidated.com
217-234-5702