Nonprofit Resource Guide
The resources below include references to books and articles, tools and templates, videos and other online resources we’ve come across that will assist nonprofit leaders in creating deeper impact. It is organized around key building blocks introduced during the 2014 Sobrato Speaker Series and covered more deeply in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 sessions, including compelling theories of change, aligned performance measurement, and strong business models for sustainability and scale—all supported by leadership focused on creating cultures of continuous learning. As always, if you discover a great resource that is not yet on the list, please send a link to media@sobrato.org.
General Resources
The Giving Code: 2017 Sobrato Speaker Series presentation deck
Presentation, Panel & Interactive Workshop on Silicon Valley Nonprofits & Philanthropy
From:
Open Impact and Sobrato Family Foundation
By:
Culwell, Alexa and McLeod Grant, Heather
Published:
Jan 17, 2017
General Resources
The Giving Code: Executive summary
Executive Summary of The Giving Code: Silicon Valley Nonprofits and Philanthropy
From:
Open Impact
By:
Culwell, Alexa and McLeod Grant, Heather
Published:
Oct 25, 2016
General Resources
The Giving Code: Full report
Full Report: The Giving Code: Silicon Valley Nonprofits and Philanthropy
From:
Open Impact
By:
Culwell, Alexa and McLeod Grant, Heather
Published:
Oct 25, 2016
Financial / Business Plans & Models
Thinking Beyond the Annual Budget
PDF of Financial & Multi-Year Planning presentation deck from 09/15/16 SFF event
From:
FMA: Fiscal Management Associates
By:
Summers, John; Coker, Rebecca
Published:
Sep 15, 2016
Leadership & Culture
Growing our Impact: Nurturing and developing great talent in our nonprofits
PDF of presentation deck from 05/17/16 SFF event
From:
Fresh Lifelines for Youth [FLY]; Braven; Tipping Point Community
By:
Gannon, Christa; McCormick, Michele; Eubanks Davis, Aimée; Wang, Melissa; Crystal Foster, Catherine
Published:
May 17, 2016
Financial / Business Plans & Models
Getting Your Nonprofit Budget Past ‘One Day (or Year) at a Time’
Between the year-by-year budget process and the every-few-years strategic plan, we need some means of considering possible financial changes across multiple years.
From:
FMA: Fiscal Management Associates
By:
Polanco, Hilda
Published:
May 3, 2016
Leadership & Culture
Lack of Training for Young Nonprofit Workers Means Too Few Potential Leaders
Ten years after a study predicted 640,000 empty management positions at nonprofits, experts say the real problem isn’t a lack of talent but of support.
From:
Chronicle of Philanthropy
By:
Koenig, Rebecca
Published:
Apr 19, 2016
Financial / Business Plans & Models
Program Based Budget Builder Demonstration
Video introducing the tool for building a nonprofit organization's budget on a programmatic/functional basis, including allocation of personnel and direct and indirect non-personnel expenses.
From:
Wallace Foundation
By:
Summers, John
Published:
May 12, 2015
Financial / Business Plans & Models
Program Based Budget Builder: Download
Tool for building a nonprofit organization's budget on a programmatic/functional basis, including allocation of personnel and direct and indirect non-personnel expenses.
From:
FMA: Fiscal Management Associates
By:
Summers, John
Published:
May 12, 2015
Leadership & Culture
Peter Drucker’s Five Most Important Questions: Enduring Wisdom for Today’s Leaders
This brief, clear, and accessible guide — peppered with commentary from distinguished management gurus, contemporary entrepreneurs and dynamic millennial leaders —will challenge readers and stimulate spirited discussion and action within any organization, inspiring positive change and new levels of excellence.
By:
Drucker, Peter F.; Snyder Kuhl, Joan; Hesselbein, Frances
Published:
Mar 23, 2015
Financial / Business Plans & Models
NFF 2013 SEGUE Portfolio Performance Report
Performance report of NFF's SEGUE accounting methodologynwhich tracks the ‘burn’ of philanthropic equity dollars separatelynfrom other revenue and capture the growing impact of an organization.
By:
Nonprofit Finance Fund
Published:
Oct 3, 2014
Theory of Change / Strategy
Collective Insights on Collective Impact
This 24-page special supplement features the most recent thinking and learning about how to use the collective impact approach to address large-scale social and environmental problems. Contains 9 key articles from leaders in the field.
From:
Stanford Social Innovation Review
By:
Multiple
Published:
Sep 1, 2014
Theory of Change / Strategy
Defining Quality Collective Impact
To sustain collective impact, we must bring more rigor to the practice by drawing on lessons from a diverse array of communities to define what truly makes this work unique.
From:
StriveTogether
By:
Edmondson, Jeff and Hecht, Ben
Published:
Sep 1, 2014
Leadership & Culture
Pioneers in Justice
Case study about the Levi Strauss Foundation’s groundbreaking five-year effort to help a group of Bay Area social justice leaders scale their impact by investing in capacity building and supporting new ways of working.
From:
Levi Strauss Foundation
By:
McLeod Grant, Heather
Published:
May 15, 2014
Leadership & Culture
TED Talk: Why good leaders make you feel safe
What makes a great leader? Management theorist Simon Sinek suggests, it’s someone who makes their employees feel secure, who draws staffers into a circle of trust. But creating trust and safety — especially in an uneven economy — means taking on big responsibility.
By:
Sinek, Simon
Published:
Mar 1, 2014
Financial / Business Plans & Models
Transformative Scale: The Future of Growing What Works
Exploration of nine approaches that hold real promise for delivering impact while addressing a number of major social problems at a transformative scale.
From:
Bridgespan Group
By:
Bradach, Jeffre; Grindle, Abe
Published:
Feb 20, 2014
Leadership & Culture
What it takes to be a great leader
The world is full of leadership programs, but the best way to learn how to lead might be right under your nose. In this clear, candid talk, Roselinde Torres describes 25 years observing truly great leaders (including nonprofit leaders) at work, and shares the three simple but crucial questions would-be company chiefs need to ask to thrive in the future.
By:
Torres, Roselinde
Published:
Oct 1, 2013
Financial / Business Plans & Models
Generosity Network, New Transformational Tools for Successful Fundraising
Authors show how traditional pre-scripted, money-centered, goal-oriented fund-raising techniques lead to anxiety and failure, while open-spirited, curiosity-driven, person-to-person connections lead to discovery, growth—and often amazing results.
By:
McCrea, Jennifer; Walker, Jeffrey; Weber, Karl
Published:
Sep 24, 2013
Performance Measurement / Evaluation
What Moneyball Didn’t Teach You About Measurement
Three lessons for nonprofits from the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference to help analysts turn data into meaningful insights--helping drive better strategy and increase impact.
By:
Groves, Rick
Published:
Apr 4, 2013
Financial / Business Plans & Models
Under Developed: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising
Many nonprofits are stuck in a vicious cycle that threatens their ability to raise the resources they need to succeed. This report found high levels of turnover and lengthy vacancies in development director positions throughout the sector. More significantly, the study reveals deeper issues that contribute to instability in the development director role.
From:
Compass Point
By:
Bell, Jeanne; Cornelius, Maria
Published:
Jan 20, 2013
General Resources
Working Hard and Working Well
A companion to Leap of Reason: practical guide to developing the discipline and culture of performance management, discussing the capacities that are essential for managing to outcomes, and details a powerful process to help nonprofits deliver what they promise more effectively. (Free download)
By:
Hunter, David
Published:
Jan 1, 2013
Theory of Change / Strategy
The Logic Model Guidebook: Strategies for Great Results
Concrete and clear step-by-step support for creating logic models and the modeling process in a range of contexts. Book describes the structures, processes, and language of logic models as a robust tool to improve the design, development, and implementation of program and organization change efforts.
By:
Wyatt Knowlton, Lisa; Phillips, Cynthia C.
Published:
Aug 24, 2012
Financial / Business Plans & Models
The Nonprofit Business Plan: The Leader’s Guide to Creating a Successful Business Model.
Introduces “Real-Time Strategic Planning,” a fluid, organic process that engages staff and board in a program of systematic readiness and continuous responsiveness. With it, nonprofits will be able to identify, understand, and act on challenges and opportunities as they arise. Links to internet tools
By:
LaPiana, David; Gowdy, Heather; Olmstead-Rose, Lester
Published:
Jul 3, 2012
Leadership & Culture
Forces for Good
Authors employed a rigorous research methodology derived from for-profit books like Built to Last to study 12 nonprofits that have achieved extraordinary levels of impact, and distill six counterintuitive practices that these organizations use to change the world.
By:
McLeod Grant, Heather; Crutchfield, Leslie