Nonprofit agencies need to spend their money wisely and operate efficiently to get the most out of the limited dollars available to fund their missions, especially in hard times. So it's not surprising that business is brisk at the Jewish Technical Assistance Center, or JTAC, a program designed to help Jewish community nonprofits improve their capabilities.
The center is a program of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, and its launch event in September drew about 70 people, representating nearly every Jewish communal agency and synagogue in the Valley, said Stuart Turgel, president of the foundation.
"Interest has remained high" since then, he said, and about 40 agencies have registered with the center.
Registration entitles the agencies to receive "Principles of Effectiveness for Nonprofit Organizations," a self-assessment tool developed at Arizona State University that will help them see how they are doing and in which areas they need improvement, he said.
In addition, each group's executive director has the opportunity to participate in a "community of practice," or affinity group, that JTAC convenes monthly, to help them complete the self-assessment, share ideas and experiences and other learning opportunities.
It's sheer coincidence that JTAC launched as the economy nose-dived, Turgel said. The foundation began strategic planning in December 2007 to decide whether a technical assistance center modeled on centers run by large, secular community foundations would work here. The decision to launch the "capacity building" center was made last spring.
"It's a natural extension of what the foundation has been doing for 35 years," Turgel said. The foundation's business is to manage its donated assets and make grants to innovative nonprofit programs - both secular and Jewish - and to fund emergency needs in the community (see "Help on the way" on Page 1).
The JTAC lets the foundation take a different, but complementary approach to helping the nonprofits, providing training and other programs that will help Jewish agencies do their jobs better. The foundation's research indicated that Jewish agencies, whether for financial reasons or lack of "cultural comfort," were not taking advantage of secular resources available for that purpose, which ultimately spurred JCF to establish the center.
The JTAC allows the foundation to "leverage" its investment in learning opportunities. For instance, a four-hour workshop on board governance training is being put on March 26 by JTAC's strategic partner, Arizona State University's Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation. JCF secured underwriting from the Lodestar Foundation so that the Jewish agencies could participate at a vastly reduced price. The workshop, open to registered agencies, is sold out, with 30 people to attend, Turgel said.
For a relatively small investment on the foundation's part, the JTAC also is offering a series of "webinars" (online seminars) from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Coming up at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 24, is "Mobilizing Generation 2.0," which deals with how to reach younger donors. These are offered free and open to anyone in the Jewish nonprofit community, regardless of whether the agency is registered with JTAC, Turgel said. Six more webinars are set for this year.
By May 1, the JTAC plans to launch Tzedakah Central, an online site where each participating agency will have a section, Turgel said. The site will offer a searchable database on the local agencies. "It will help the funders vet the various charities," he said.
The object is to strengthen the Valley's Jewish nonprofits, he said. "If there's any self-interest (by the JCF) in doing this, that's it. Nobody wants to make a grant to an organization that is always going to be struggling."
