Resource Library Highlights & Navigation Tips

This month’s article is by Melanie Pozuc, a development specialist at Rebuild Upstate in Greenville, South Carolina. She has an MBA with a focus in nonprofit management from Lipscomb University and is the volunteer coordinator of the ReFrame blog.

I hate when I start a project from scratch only to later realize there were extra resources and tools available all along. Remembering all the resources available to us can be difficult when we are focused on day-to-day activities. When I search Google, the quantity of information returned is overwhelming. Sorting through thousands of resources to find something that is high quality and relevant to me takes time, and frankly, not many of us have much time to spare.

The ReFrame Association resource library has documents related to construction, homeowner relations, fundraising, volunteer management, and more. Even better, these resources are already mission-oriented to the work that my nonprofit does. This makes the resources more relevant, and they often provide additional details than a one-size-fits-all article found via a search engine.

As a member of ReFrame Association, your benefits go beyond a conference discount and networking. I searched the resource library to highlight examples of the tools you have access to. Here’s just some of what I found:

Construction Resource - Vinyl Plank Flooring Manual by Rebuilding Together
The brief manual has step by step installation instructions; this knowledge is great for training new staff and passing along to volunteers. Regardless of how experienced your volunteers are, providing additional information helps them feel more prepared—and it makes your nonprofit look prepared and detail-oriented. Volunteers are one of our most valuable resources and something as simple as extra information (that you don't have to create, thanks to Rebuilding Together of the Triangle!) can have a huge impact on their experience. 

Homeowner Relations Resource - Christian Appalachian Project’s Self-Help Responsibilities
Providing an opportunity to homeowners to have “buy-in” to their projects allows them to have dignity and pride in receiving home repairs. Christian Appalachian Project uses a form to communicate options for contribution by the homeowner. A homeowner can provide funds or sweat equity. The form also ensures the homeowner understands time constraints that may arise when working with seasonal volunteers. If your organization is interested in creating or updating a self-help policy, you can save time by borrowing the language used on CAP's form. 

Conference Materials - Fundraising and Annual Giving Presentation by Sierra Service Project
Any conference session titled "Giving Days, The Rest of the Year, and Other Elements of a Kick-Ass Individual Fundraising Program" is a session where I will be front row. In the resource library, you can access Sierra Service Project’s slides from their 2017 conference presentation. The presentation was rich with information and detail, and accessing everything post-conference was important so I could re-visit the slides and compare my personal notes. One of my favorite things in the slideshow is SSP’s table that features their growth by giving program year over year. They had an 84% increase in their total giving over five years, and they share the details of how they accomplished this and why they choose to focus on individual giving.