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Resource Library

Welcome to River Network's Resource Library; a growing compilation of manuals, publications, web pages, articles, videos, presentations and more available to you. You can browse through our resources by scrolling through our list of categories, or use the search filter to type in a specific keyword. If you have a resource to share, please contact us!

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Title & Source	Description
Developing a Board Leadership and Succession Plan River Network	Conducted by the Governance Committee with the help of the Executive Director and the Board Chair or Executive Committee three to six months before the installation of new Board
A Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management Systems Idealware and NTEN	This detailed, impartial report walks through the features that might be useful, summarizes and compares 33 different donor management systems that cost less than $4250 in the first year, and provi
A Nonprofit’s Introduction to FileMaker Pro Chris Peters, techsoup	Does your organization maintain several database systems, each built by a different vendor, consultant, or employee? Do these systems communicate poorly with one another, or not at all?
Administrative Collaborations, Consolidations, and MSOs Bill Coy and Vance Yoshida, La Piana Consulting	This article about strategic restructuring describes three types of nonprofit administrative partnerships-- Administrative Collaborations, Consolidations, and Management Service Organizations--and
An Integrated Strategy for Nonprofit Success and Sustainability Shelli Bischoff-Turner of Conservation Impact	Written by Shelli Bischoff-Turner of Conservation Impact, this brief article outlines the importance of integrating organizational capacity, identity, and constituent outreach in achieving next lev
Assessing Your Organizational Strength Henrietta Jordan, Trailmarker Associates	Board and staff members will learn how to use a structured self-assessment process to measure their organization’s progress in achieving important milestones in organizational development.
Base Fundraising Plan	Click here to download a sample Organizational Fund Raising Plan!
Basic Considerations in Risk Management Carter McNamara, PhD	Carter McNamara's article provides an overview of risk management and what an organization should be looking for in risk management assessments including financial, volunteer, fundraising and resou
Best Value for Association Membership Databases Molly Schar	Small association membership management depends on the right membership software. Nonprofits should consider what they need before they buy.
Board Roles & Responsibilities Wendy Wilson, River Network	Come learn how to increase your success as a board member in a small nonprofit organization. What absolutely has to get done and what can wait?
BoardStar: On Being Board http://www.boardstar.org	Free podcasts of inspiring conversations with nonprofit leaders
Building Alliances with New Constituencies Judy Hatcher, Environmental Support Center; Sherri Norris, California Indian Environmental Alliance; Elizabeth Satler, Alabama Rivers Alliance	If we want to build a more powerful environmental movement, we must be much more thoughtful about working with different communities and non-traditional entities.
Case Studies for the Watershed Support Network: How did capacity building affect individual watershed groups? River Network, MOB Team	The numbers in our report tell only a part of the story – each river or watershed organization uses capacity-building differently.
Catalogue of Federal Funding Sources for Water Protection US EPA	A searchable database of financial assistance sources (grants, loans, cost-sharing) available to fund a variety of watershed protection projects.
Charity Lobbying, Session 1 (of 2): Introduction to Charity Lobbying and the 501(h) Election Terry Miller, River Network's Financial Manager	Date Recorded: Thursday, June 16, 2011
Charity Lobbying, Session 2 (of 2): Advanced Strategies for 501(h) Electing Charities, Funding Realities & Electioneering Edges Terry Miller, River Network's Financial Manager	Date Recorded: Thursday, June 23, 2011
Collaboration: A Guide for Environmental Advocates Wilderness Society; Audubon	This 71-page resource outlines appropriate situations for engaging in collaborative processes and describes best practices and proven strategies for successes in collaborative natural resources dec
Community Tool Box: Action Agenda National Park Service - RTCA	An action agenda, or action plan, is an annotated list of proposed outcomes often presented in a chart form.
Community Tool Box: Active Listening National Park Service - RTCA	Learn the basics of making a conscious effort to hear, analyze, assign meaning to and respond to what another person is saying.
Community Tool Box: Art Projects National Park Service - RTCA	This resources outlines the basics of incorporating art projects into your organization's work.
Community Tool Box: Awards National Park Service - RTCA	Awards are a valuable inspirational and motivational tool and also a way of expressing gratitude to individuals and organizations that have gone above and beyond in their efforts.
Community Tool Box: Brain Storming National Park Service - RTCA	Learn the basics of idea generation and information gathering through a free-flowing, energetic, creative exchange.
Community Tool Box: Break-out Groups National Park Service - RTCA	A breakout group is the result of dividing a large gathering of people into smaller groups.
Community Tool Box: Charettes National Park Service - RTCA	This resource introduces you to how to facilitate a charette--an intensive brainstorming session where participants share their ideas for improving natural and/or cultural resources.
Community Tool Box: Conferences & Symposiums National Park Service - RTCA	This resource provides the basic steps to planning and running a conference, including naming a chairperson and committee, recruiting speakers, and selecting a facility.
Community Tool Box: Defining Issues National Park Service - RTCA	This resource outlines the basics of defining the issues that your group will focus on.
Community Tool Box: Displays National Park Service - RTCA	Displays can be a great outreach tool for your organization.
Community Tool Box: Festivals National Park Service - RTCA	Although organizing it can be labor intensive, a festival can be a way of starting a community tradition and reaching people who are not normally involved with a particular cause or organization.
Community Tool Box: Field Trips National Park Service - RTCA	This resource explains how field trips can be an integral part of your organization's strategy to protect a resource or area, by bringing together a diverse group of people who care or are curious,
Community Tool Box: Flip Charts Natural Resources Conservation Service	The basics of recording people's comments, opinions and ideas for purposes of group discussion.
Community Tool Box: Focus Groups National Park Service - RTCA	This resource will introduce you to focus groups as a means to generate ideas and obtain people's questions and opinions.
Community Tool Box: Goal Setting National Park Service - RTCA	This resource outlines the basic steps of group goal setting--people working together to transform a vision, purpose or desire into discrete statements of direction.
Community Tool Box: Ice Breakers National Park Service - RTCA	The basics of short activities intended to help a group of people become acquainted with one another.
Community Tool Box: Meetings National Park Service - RTCA	This resource will teach you how to organize and facilitate a productive meeting including how to create an agenda, how to assign roles to meeting participants, and how to keep the group on time an
Community Tool Box: Networking Database National Park Service - RTCA	This resource will teach you the basics of starting and maintaining a networking database.
Community Tool Box: Newspaper Questionnaires National Park Service - RTCA	This resource outlines the process for using a newspaper questionnaire to raise awareness about your group or obtain public feedback.
Community Tool Box: Open Space National Park Service - RTCA	This resource will instruct you in how to organize an open space meeting.
Community Tool Box: Partnerships National Park Service - RTCA	Building partnerships is key to the success of any community based project. This resource will guide you through the steps involved with forming and strengthening partnerships.
Community Tool Box: Postcard Mailings National Park Service - RTCA	This resource will provide you with the basics of using postcard mailings as part of your outreach strategy.
Community Tool Box: Presentations National Park Service - RTCA	Many people lack public speaking skills and are intimidated to get up and talk to a group, in spite of the importance of communicating their message to a wider audience.