Nonprofit Utopia Podcast

Nonprofit Utopia hosted a CARES Act forum for nonprofits, churches, performance arts organizations and small businesses on March 6, 2021, from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM. The live streamed event was facilitated by Congressman Danny K. Davis, and included an update on the COVID-19 Stimulus Package. Mark Ferguson, Illinois Deputy District Director for the SBA, shared an overview of the Economic Injury Di...

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, passed in December, 2020, extends many relief programs from the CARES Act. It also creates several new programs and provides clarity around some of the questions brought about under the CARES Act passed last spring.  We will look at some of the major provisions of the legislation and how it impacts nonprofits, small busines...

Using examples from rural and urban communities, we will talk about how local networks may be used to develop plans and strategies to address environmental justice and sustainability issues. Featured Guests:  Romona Taylor Williams, Executive Director, Montgomery Citizens United for Prosperity (MCUP) Robert Fishkin, Executive Volunteer Match, Sharon "Sy" Lewis, Executive Director, Meadows Eastside...

The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges, the likes of which we have never seen before.  Schools, churches, restaurants, nonprofits, local businesses, and nonessential government and health services are closing temporarily. The need for health and human services is increasing. We are practicing social distancing.  We are conducting business and hosting public forums online. In short, our econo...

Partnerships can take on any number of forms, including co-locating, sharing back office or fundraising staff, permanent joint programming, and mission-based mergers.  Whatever form your partnership takes, there is always more to it than meets the eye.  While no two collaborations are the same, there are always financial, legal, cultural and other relational issues to consider. Forefront’s Mission...

If you are a nonprofit practitioner, you should be very interested in the innerworkings of the Illinois Supreme Court—particularly if you work in the areas of family services or social, criminal and/or restorative justice.  The rules and practices surrounding evidence; access to competent counsel; sentencing guidelines and diversity, equity and inclusion determine the degree to which justice is tr...

Lever for Change is a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Affiliate, whose mission is to unlock philanthropic capital and accelerate positive change around the world’s biggest challenges. Consistent with this mission, the Foundation recently launched the Economic Opportunity Challenge to award $10 million to scale a game-changing solution aimed to improve the economic health of low-incom...

With average annual earnings from art projects of around $5,000, the term “starving artist” is closer to reality than cliche. As a result, it is not uncommon for artists to live in marginalized communities. Most arts organizations that create new work have annual operating budgets of less than $50,000; the artists themselves subsidize the bulk of community culture. Grants from government and corpo...

Since 1993, Woods Fund Chicago has awarded more than $65 million to nearly 500 nonprofit organizations in the Chicago region. Central to its grant-making approach is a belief that systemic change is the only way to eradicate poverty and structural racism, and that people most affected by poverty and racial inequity should lead and participate in the process of addressing issues that directly affec...

When Shelby Parchman, Founder of InUrban Strategies, LLC, started coaching small businesses for a local entrepreneurship program, he noticed that many of the businesses with whom he worked were also in urban food deserts--communities with limited access to grocery stores and fresh fruits and vegetables.  Shelby also noticed that the multi-billion local Good Food industry is expanding rapidly, and...

What are some innovative methods that educators and activists are using to learn from activists from around the world, and engage in cross-border information exchanges? Join us as Dr. Nassim Abdi, PhD, CEO and Co-founder of Docademia/StoryBolt, talks about how she uses on-demand short documentaries and live video conferences with filmmaker-activists to take their organization’s commitment to DEI t...

Last year, CIVICUS’ global SPEAK! campaign connected over 200 organizations from nearly 50 countries, allowing them to “speak” to one another  across lines of division, reversing the trend of increasing social and political polarization. Some of the results were truly amazing. Urgent peace agreements were signed, old prejudices were confronted and new relationships established.  This year promises...

Benefit Chicago is mobilizing $100 million in impact investments to finance the growth of impact enterprises throughout Chicagoland to: 1) build wealth in or for communities; 2) create jobs that are accessible to community residents; and 3) enhance job readiness and skills for those seeking to find, maintain, and advance in employment. Join us as Benefit Chicago’s Executive Director, William W. To...

We have often heard people complain that government should stay out of business and let the markets run their course. What if, instead, we focused on how the power of government may be harnessed to facilitate business growth and promote equitable community development? Join us as Attorney Marc J. Lane, President of The Law Offices of Marc J. Lane, PLC, shares case studies of how the Cook County Co...

Have you ever experienced deep conflict or trauma and wished you could re-write a chapter in your life? For your community? For your organization?  Improv for Peace helps organizations, communities and professionals actively resolve miscommunication by facilitating guided improvisations workshops to help participants re-script their past  and provide opportunities for participatory community recon...

Having launched its first 100&Change Competition in 2016, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced the launch of a second round, through which a grant of $100 million will be awarded to help address one of the world’s critical social challenges. Building on the momentum from 100&Change, MacArthur launched Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate committed to helping donors pu...

“No man (or organization) is an island”, as they say.  We need partners to help us accomplish our goals with maximum impact.  However, establishing partnerships are not without risks, landmines and pitfalls. The best partnerships can have rewards that far outweigh the risks, and can be sustained over the long haul, if structured and managed correctly. Join us as Willie C. Cole, Director of STARS T...

You have just been asked to join the board of directors of an organization, and you are weighing the opportunity to share your skills, time, talents and networks.  What should you do before you join? Join us as host Valerie F. Leonard, shares an overview of the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards; the questions you should ask before joining any nonprofit board of directors; some of the...

Have you ever experienced deep conflict or trauma and wished you could re-write a chapter in your life? For your community? For your organization?  Improv for Peace helps organizations, communities and professionals actively resolve miscommunication by facilitating guided improvisations workshops to help participants re-script their past  and provide opportunities for participatory community recon...

Before I started Nonprofit Utopia, LLC, I was very engaged in North Lawndale, the Chicago community in which I was born and raised. As Co-Founder of the Lawndale Alliance, I worked with my neighbors to advocate for tax increment financing district (TIF) policies that would make the program more transparent and be of better benefit to local residents, whose property taxes financed TIF projects.  On...

Every living organism has vital signs, or key indicators of health.  For us humans, these include blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature. Likewise, organizations have key indicators of health. Depending on the organization, its goals and objectives, these key performance indicators may vary.  However, regardless of where your organization is in its development, or what it doe...

When Angelique Power was named President of the Field Foundation of Illinois, three questions guided their grant making: Is racial equity in philanthropy even possible? Can the fallacy of philanthropic expertise fall away to create room for the nonprofit visionary to lead? Can we ask more of ourselves in philanthropy, listen more, talk less, focus on areas that have been disinvested in and lift th...

Forensic nursing is the intersection of medicine, law enforcement, policy and advocacy.  Forensic nurses work with victims of sexual assault, human trafficking and other violent crimes to document their injuries  and provide evidence and expert testimony in court cases. They may also provide expert testimony and advocate for victims rights for the creation of more just laws and public policies. Ka...

The Economic Innovation Group estimated that U.S. investors, collectively, had over $6.1 trillion unrealized capital gains by the end of 2017. What if these funds could be funneled to economically struggling areas? The recently passed Tax Reform Act included a potential tax break for investors, in which they may defer capital gains taxes on the sale of any asset by investing those gains through a...

While there is no such thing as perfection,  the    7-year process that brought the Foundation Center and GuideStar together to become Candid, is pretty close, as mergers go.  The completion of the merger has not only resulted in the creation of Candid as a sustainable organization; it has also led to the consolidation of the most comprehensive array of tools for research, collaboration, grants an...