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!

Title & Source Description
2007 Salary Survey - River & Watershed Conservation Organizations
Katherine Luscher

In October 2001, River Network conducted its first salary survey of its Partner organizations.

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

Community Tool Box: Press Conferences

In this Community toolbox created by the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance program you will learn how to take a positive approach in working with the media and ho

Community Tool Box: Public Surveys
National Park Service - RTCA

This resource provides the basics for conducting public surveys, whether face-to-face, telephone, or by mail.

Community Tool Box: Setting Priorities
National Park Service - RTCA

This resource will help you determine what matters most to individuals, a community or a resource.

Community Tool Box: Speakers' Bureau

A speakers' bureau is when volunteers make presentations about a specific topic, project or resource at regularly scheduled meetings of other groups such as civic and church groups.

Community Tool Box: Stakeholder Analysis

This resource provides the basic steps in identifying and involving stakeholders in a project planning process.

Community Tool Box: Videos
National Park Service - RTCA

This resource explains how and when to use videos as a tool for promoting your organization and projects.

Community Tool Box: Volunteers
National Park Service - RTCA

Enthusiastic volunteers are essential to the efficient functioning of non-profits and community organizations, as they help groups accomplish more.

Community Tool Box: Work Plans
National Park Service - RTCA

A work plan is a list of tasks necessary to complete a project and the projected schedule for task completion.

Community Tool Box: Workshops
National Park Service - RTCA

Learn the basics of workshops: a combination of presentations and interactive sessions that bring people together to work towards a consensus on an issue or topic.