Business and Management Tools

EzineArticles.com - For those eager to publish articles, this site provides an easy way to get articles circulated widely. They provide authors with very clear submission instructions and strict editorial guidelines, and their turn around time is relatively quick. It’s also a great site to search for short articles on a whole host of topics. The quality of the writing varies substantially from very well written to so-so.

Freeconference.com - This site provides free conference calling on regular telephone lines. There are three different plans, one of which is entirely free and the other two with additional features for a fee. Some of these features include call recording, a toll-free dial in number, and post conference reporting.

GroupSystems - This organization has developed an innovative tool, called ThinkTank, that leverages the power of teams for brainstorming, decision-making, collaboration, and virtual interactive meetings. The site offers a video tour of the tool, which is browser based and enables greater participation during meetings and public forums. This is the wave of the future in community engagement, brainstorming, group participation, and other efforts where collective knowledge and collaborative solutions are critical.

Isnare Articles.com - This is another site for finding or publishing articles. Although it is somewhat easier to use than Ezine, the response time to article submissions is quite slow.

LegalZoom.com - This site offers legal services such as copyrights and trademark registration for a very reasonable fee. It’s a great site for any straightforward legal services, and their representatives are more than happy to walk you through the online process.

MeetingWizard.com - This is one of the more well known online scheduling tools. It is a free service that helps anyone trying to schedule a meeting with people who have complicated schedules and/or work in different locations. It is very easy to use, both for setting up the meeting, confirming the time and location, and sending reminders.

Software995.com - This site offers many different free software options, ranging from creating PDF documents to photo editing.

SurveyMonkey.com - This is probably the most well known of the online survey sites. This service can help anyone design a survey, collect responses, and analyze results. The basic service is free, and there are other more extensive services for a fee.

ULiveandLearn - This site offers some great online professional development programs, some of which are free and some that come with a fee. The technology they use is impressive, although the various activities taking place (slide show, scrolling chat, on-screen real time surveys) can be distracting if you’re not accustomed to them. The programs they offer are too vast to even categorize here. Like so many websites, you can set up a free account that offers an e-newsletter.

Wiggio - This site provides a number of tools to help organizations communicate and work in groups. Some of those tools include group emails, web meetings, conference calls, shared calendars, and file sharing and storage.

Community Engagement/Dialouge Top

Abundant Community - This site showcases the community engagement work of Peter Block and John McKnight. Sections include resources and tools and case studies of successful community engagement work. You can also follow Peter’s and John’s blog posts.

Dialogue: A Virtual Workshop - This is a link to a series of free online workshops sponsored by the Public Conversations Project. It is a series of 12 videos that shares the basics of the Public Conversations Project’s approach to dialogue.From understanding the importance of participant preparation to developing the right questions to ask in a dialogue, this series illustrates PCP’s approach—and the principles behind it—via an in-depth resource that combines videos, guides, and interactive links.

Everyday Democracy (Formerly the Study Circles Resource Center) - Everyday Democracy is a national organization that helps local communities develop their own ability to organize large-scale and diverse participation in dialogue structured to support and strengthen measurable community change. They have a great resource room worth exploring.

Everyday Democracy Issue Guide Exchange - This site is a free, online resource available to anyone who is interested in broad-based, inclusive dialogue leading to community action. It is a place for people to share, create, and discuss dialogue materials. The Issue Guide Exchange was created and is maintained by Everyday Democracy and has three parts: 1) an exchange – a place for people to upload issue guides of their own, search for and review others’ guides, and download and adapt them, 2) 1 forum – a place for people to discuss specific guides or dialogue in general, and 3) a how-to – for people interested in creating their own issue guide.

Future Search - Future Search is a planning meeting that helps people transform their capability for action into a desired future for a community, organization, or issue. This site details what the model is and how it works. There is also an online network that anyone interested in Future Search can join.

Heart & Soul Handbook - This handbook is located on the Orton Family Foundation website, and although it is still in production, there are many completed sections that are extremely useful. The focus of the handbook is on community planning, but many of the sections are helpful to anyone planning some type of community engagement event. Sections include Outreach and Communications, Building Partnerships, Engaging Youth, and Storytelling, to name a few.

Institute for Local Government - Although this site is specifically for those who work with or in government for the state of California, the Publications tab is particularly useful for those interested in the areas of collaborative governance/public engagement, ethics and public confidence, fiscal stewardship, intergovernmental conflict resolution, and land use and the environment. ILG is the research and education affiliate of the California State Association of Counties and the League of California Cities.

Inquiry Institute - The Inquiry Institute was founded by Marilee Adams, author of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, a powerful book about the value of inquiry. The site contains a variety of resources, including a free e-newsletter. When you sign up for it, you get a free copy of the Choice Map, a tool she introduces in her book.

National Civic League - The National Civic League (NCL) is America's original advocate for community democracy. It is a non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization dedicated to strengthening citizen democracy by transforming democratic institutions. Their site includes a variety of publications related to communities and civics, some of which are free downloads and some of which must be purchased.

National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation - NCDD is a membership organization representing a loose-knit community of practitioners, researchers, activists, artists, students, and others who are committed to giving people a voice and making sure that voice counts. In addition to providing a variety of resources, such as a comprehensive list of dialogue and deliberation methods, they also host a number of conferences, provide information on the latest tools in the field, and have created a glossary that defines key terms used in the field.

Online Deliberation: Design, Research, and Practice - This is a site for a free download of the book, Online Deliberation: Design, Research, and Practice edited by Todd Davies and Seeta Peña Gangadharan. The book is a compendium of articles by experts in the online deliberation field. You can also order a hard copy of the book with the link provided or just download individual articles that you’re interested in.

Open Space - Open Space Technology is a model of community engagement that establishes a marketplace of inquiry, reflection, and learning, bringing out the best in both individuals and the whole. The site offers information about Open Space Technology, a weblog where you can read or post comments, and opportunities to register for conferences or join a learning community.

PG Exchange - This is a global online platform for knowledge development, sharing and learning on participatory governance (PG). Participatory governance is about empowering citizens to participate in processes of public decision-making that affect their lives. This site provides information on a wide range of participatory governance practices and tools – all aimed at achieving more transparent, responsive, accountable and effective governance, at both the local and national level, through active citizen participation.

Public Conversations Project - The Public Conversations Project (PCP) guides, trains, and inspires individuals, organizations, and communities to constructively address conflicts relating to values and worldviews. Their website provides a host of resources for those in the field of dialogue and deliberation, in particular, a huge list of articles.

Song of a Citizen - This site is a series of innovative Video Op-Eds for the internet that exploring what it really means to be a fully engaged and effective citizen in modern times -- how we, the people, are measuring up -- how we can do better -- and why we must. At the top of the page are numbers from 1 though 11. Click on each of them for a different video clip from people like Michael Sandel, Professor of Government at Harvard, Martha McCoy, Executive Director of Everyday Democracy, and Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Founder and President of AmericaSpeaks. These are very powerful videos.

The World Café - The World Café is a conversational process based on a set of integrated design principles that reveal a deeper living network pattern through which people co-evolve their collective future. The model provides a simple yet powerful conversational process to elicit the thoughts, concerns, and desires of a diverse group of people. They offer this model for free.

Turning to One Another - This site takes its title from Margaret Wheatley’s book of the same title. The site has three main purposes: 1) to provide you with resources and processes for hosting good conversations, 2) to highlight the many places and initiatives that are using conversational processes to do their work, and 3) to find kindred spirits to connect with and to learn from as you share your experiences with one another.

Education Top

EdGateway.net - EdGateway is a growing community of education organizations sharing a common environment of web-based communication, collaboration, and content management solutions. Started by WestEd in 1997, there are over 50 education organizations and 75,000 individual users participating in EdGateway. After setting up an account, users can join or create discussion groups, access the resource library, use online applications to manage conference content, and access tools and services for school improvement planning.

ERIC: Education Resources Information Center - ERIC is an online digital library of education research and information. ERIC is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. It is the place to go for the latest in educational research. The collection includes journal articles, books, research syntheses, conference papers, technical reports, policy papers, and other education-related materials.

McREL: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning - McREL offers practical, research-based solutions for teachers, principals, superintendents and trainers. This site offers a whole host of resources for educators, many of which are free. This site is well worth a visit for anyone involved in education.

Tribes Learning Community - This site is for educators interested in learning more about the Tribes Learning Community program. The program is dedicated to creating a positive learning environment through inclusion, respect, active involvement in learning, and positive expectations. There are a variety of resources on this site, including a newsletter, courses, a calendar, videos, a blog, and teaching tools.

Governance Top

BoardStar - Although this site is set up mainly for the benefit boards in Wisconsin, there is a wealth of resources here for any board. In particular, they offer an online self-assessment tool that can be combined with follow-up consultation, and they have an extensive list of resources for board.

Governance Matters - Governance Matters is a nonprofit organization that educates, convenes and advocates for good governance within New York City's nonprofits. Although the organization is focused on New York City, their site offers a wealth of information for any nonprofit.

International Policy Governance Association (IPGA) - The International Policy Governance® Association creates a forum for the nurturing of responsible governance and of effective, ethical governance consulting. The Association intends to impact the understanding, use and teaching of the Policy Governance system and welcomes into membership boards using Policy Governance, as well as individuals or organizations who use or teach Policy Governance. Although a membership organization, this website contains substantial information for non-members interested in learning more about the Policy Governance model.

National Association of Community Health Centers – Professional Resources - Although this site is designed for the use of community health centers, this particular page is of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about governance. There are nineteen publications listed on this page that are free to download, and topics include board and committee meetings, board self-evaluation, CEO evaluation, conflict of interest, the form 990, and succession planning, to name a few.

PolicyGovernance.com - This is the official Policy Governance site, as developed by John and Miriam Carver. Policy Governance is an integrated set of concepts and principles that describes the job of any governing board. The site gives a brief overview of the model and links for ordering an array of Policy Governance publications. It also lists training events that are intended to assist both consultants and organizations wishing to implement Policy Governance.

The Muttart Foundation - This foundation is based in Canada, and although their main purpose is to fund specific projects, they have a series of workbooks for boards under the Publications tab that is worth checking out.

Non-Profits Top

Alliance for Nonprofit Management - The Alliance for Nonprofit Management is a professional association of individuals and organizations devoted to improving the management and governance capacity of nonprofits. They are a membership organization offering a wide variety of services, including a newsletter, conference, career bank, resource center, and a directory of nonprofit consultants.

BoardnetUSA - This site helps nonprofits find potential board members and helps match potential leaders with the right nonprofit. You must register an account to use this site.

BoardSource - BoardSource strives to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations by strengthening boards of directors through their consulting practice, publications, tools, and membership program. They have a great knowledge center that is open in a more limited way to nonmembers.

Bridgestar - Bridgestar provides talent matching services, content, and tools designed to help organizations build strong leadership teams and help individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. They are a free membership organization and offer a free monthly newsletter focusing on themes designed as a conversation about how to build and sustain effective nonprofit organizations.

Center for Nonprofit Excellence - CNE offers affordable and customized management assistance to help nonprofit organizations achieve mission critical goals and objectives. They have a library of resources, will answer questions, list a calendar of events, offer training to staff and boards, and sell books.

Charity Channel - This organization’s purpose, according to their website, is to foster a place where nonprofit professionals can learn from each other, share information and work together to advance the cause of philanthropy. For a small subscription fee you can gain access to a wealth of articles, discussion forums, job listings, and consultants directory.

Charity Lawyer - This site is a blog that posts on legal topics of interest to nonprofits.

Common Good Vermont - This is a new people and web-based hub that will serve as a cooperative clearinghouse of relevant tools, training and technical assistance for the nonprofit sector in Vermont. CommonGoodVT.org is managed by CCTV's Center for Media & Democracy, a 25 year old free speech and community media organization with experience in network building and using communications tools to promote social change. This organization is the phoenix rising out of the ashes of the old VANPO (Vermont Allicance of Non Profit Organizations).

Community Driven Institute - This organization’s mission is to ensure the social sector has what it needs to create a healthy, compassionate, and vibrant world through convening, engaging, mobilizing, and support the section. This site is particularly useful for its nonprofit library.

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services - CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is a consulting, research, and training organization providing nonprofits with management tools, strategies, and resources to lead change in their communities. They are a good source of articles for nonprofits.

Council on Fund Raising (CONFR) - CONFR is a membership organization whose mission is helping nonprofits raise more money for a better New Hampshire. They offer a variety of educational programs and a spring and fall conference.

GuideStar - GuideStar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. The website provides free access (after registering with them) to a database of over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations. It also offers a handy new users demo to help you learn how to search more effectively. They also provide services for a fee in the areas of charity verification, compensation benchmarking, research, qualification, market analysis, outreach, development, and oversight.

IdeaEncore Network - IdeaEncore is a nonprofit resource center where people can share their experience and knowledge and exchange information. It’s a great place to find articles in various topics of interest to nonprofits. The only catch is that you have to register for a free account, but it’s well worth it.

Idealist - This website is a project of Action Without Borders where nonprofits can list their organizations and search for other organizations. It has one of the best nonprofit career centers on the web, with hundreds of job and internship listing, it offers a variety of resources to plan a successful community action, and it can help you locate a variety of volunteer opportunities around the world.

Independent Sector - Independent Sector is the leadership forum for charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs committed to advancing the common good in America and around the world. They are a membership organization providing information on nonprofit accountability, research, and public policy.

La Piana Consulting (formerly Strategic Restructuring) - Strategic restructuring is a continuum of partnerships — including but not limited to mergers, joint ventures, administrative consolidations, and joint programming — through which nonprofits attempt to anticipate or respond to environmental threats and opportunities. This website is dedicated to the idea that nonprofits can maximize their capacity through mergers and joint programming and other such collaborative ventures. For any nonprofit considering some form of collaboration, this site will provide the guidance to help you decide whether or not to pursue a joint venture and if so, how to manage the process.

Lumity (formerly the Nonprofit Financial Center) - This membership organization provides accounting and advisory services, training, and information resources.

National Council of Nonprofits - The National Council of Nonprofits is the network of state and regional nonprofit associations. Their site includes the latest in nonprofit news and resources in the areas of administration and management, communications and marketing, the economy, fundraising, governance, leadership, membership, policy and advocacy, research, technology, and training and events.

NH Center for Nonprofits - The NH Center for Nonprofits is a membership organization that provides several free newsletters, a knowledge center, and information about funding, jobs, and training.

Northshire Nonprofit Network - The Northshire Nonprofit Network is a collaborative group of non-profits in southwest Vermont who meet together on a monthly basis to share ideas on specific topics and network together for the mutual benefit of each organization. The site is used to post minutes and other information of interest. You can subscribe via RSS or email.

Society for Nonprofit Organizations - The Society for Nonprofit Organizations is a membership organization that provides nonprofit staff members, volunteers, and board members with affordable resources and information to work more effectively and efficiently towards accomplishing their mission. They have a wealth of information including job listings, a national directory, training programs, an events calendar, and a fundraising guide.

TCC Group - Formed in 1980, TCC Group provides strategic planning, program development, evaluation and management consulting services to foundations, nonprofit organizations, corporate community involvement programs, and government agencies. This site offers a wealth of free publications in the areas of strategic planning, evaluation, capacity building, grant making assistance, and leadership. They also have a free newsletter and offer podcasts and webinars.

TechSoup - TechSoup.org offers nonprofits a one-stop resource for technology needs by providing free information, resources, and support. In addition to online information and resources, they offer access to donated and discounted technology products, generously provided by corporate and nonprofit technology partners.

The Bridgespan Group - The Bridgespan Group is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps nonprofit and philanthropic leaders in the hard work of developing strategies and building organizations that inspire and accelerate social change. Their emphasis is on strengthening the ability of nonprofit organizations to achieve breakthrough results in addressing society’s most important challenges and opportunities. In addition to the typical information on their newsletter, nonprofit jobs, and news about nonprofits, the site also contains learning centers in the areas of developing strategy, managing performance, funding the mission, advancing philanthropy, building the organization, and recruiting leaders.

The Corporate Fund - The Corporate Fund is comprised of many of New Hampshire’s most generous corporations, which pool a portion of their charitable dollars to focus entirely on improving the overall management and effectiveness of New Hampshire's nonprofits. Although the funds are intended for NH nonprofits, the website offers the following for any nonprofit: a consultant resource bank, a comprehensive downloadable board self-assessment kit, and a listing of both national and local resources for nonprofits.

The Nonprofit Center - One of the primary goals of this website is to provide Associations, Chambers and other organizations with useful, reusable documentation, at no charge. There are several useful links on the left sidebar, which include management tips and templates, strategic planning resources and facilitation, operating frameworks and inventory, tools for nonprofits, and PowerPoint presentations that you can download and adapt.

Third Sector New England - Third Sector New England provides information and services to build the knowledge, power and effectiveness of non-profit organizations that engage people in community and public life. The focus of their work centers around diversity and inclusion and nonprofit capacity-building. The site includes a great section of articles and other resources.

Understanding Vermont - Understanding Vermont is a program of the Vermont Community Foundation that is designed to provide useful information for philanthropists and other grant makers about the issues that shape Vermont. The site also maintains a community events calendar.

Vermont Community Foundation - The Vermont Community Foundation helps build and manage charitable funds created by individuals, families, groups, organizations, and institutions to improve the quality of life in Vermont. Grants from these funds are awarded at the suggestion of our fundholders and through competitive processes managed by the Foundation. The site also includes a section for nonprofit resources and the Vermont Directory of Foundations.

Volunteer Solutions - Volunteer Solutions is a new venture sponsored by the United Way that helps volunteers, nonprofit agencies, corporations, event organizers, and Volunteer Centers get connected. For those looking for volunteer opportunities, just type in your zip code to search. For those recruiting volunteers, you need to set up an account.

Organization Development Top

Applied Systems Thinking - David Goodman and Michael Stroh are the principals of Applied Systems Thinking, a consulting firm that helps organizations apply systems thinking to organizational issues. They are masters at drawing causal loop diagrams, and their website contains a variety of resources for anyone interested in systems thinking.

Free Management Library - Great place to find free articles about all aspects of management. This website caters both to for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership - This is THE source for information on Servant-Leadership. Learn more about Servant-Leadership, conferences, and programs. Become a member and find resources for servant leaders.

Human Capital Institute - HCI is the global association for talent management and new economy leadership, and a clearinghouse for best practices and new ideas. Their website is extensive and includes information about talent management in the areas of strategy, acquisition, development, and leadership. The Center for Excellence tab is rich with information and articles on best practices in these four areas.

isee systems - This company offers two software products designed to help you dynamically visualize complex systems. One product, Stella, focuses on education and research and the other, iThink, on business. They also offer other systems thinking resources.

Leader to Leader Institute - Established in 1990 as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, the Leader to Leader Institute furthers its mission–to strengthen the leadership of the social sector–by providing social sector leaders with essential leadership wisdom, inspiration and resources to lead for innovation and to build vibrant social sector organizations. This website has a knowledge center worth exploring in detail.

The Reina Trust Building Institute - The website for The Reina Trust Building Institute provides a wealth of resources for professionals who are seeking a better understanding of trust in the workplace. Visitors will find THE most valuable tool for building and rebuilding trust in the workplace - the Reina Trust & Betrayal Model® which includes the Seven Steps for Healing™. In addition, there are powerful Stories from the Field, an Online Trust Quiz, and a myriad of pages that help organizations to learn about solutions to trust issues in the business world.

Roger Schwarz & Associates - Roger Schwarz is the author of The Skilled Facilitator and The Skilled Facilitator Fieldbook. He offers free newsletters, teletraining, and webinars, which he personally conducts. He is a wizard at facilitation and group process, and it is worth taking the time to hear him speak. His website lists a variety of resources including workshops, books and other publications, and a host of on-line resources.

Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) - Peter Senge founded SoL as an intentional learning community composed of organizations, individuals, and local SoL communities around the world. SoL is devoted to the interdependent development of people and their institutions in service of inspired performance and meaningful results. They offer a variety of journals, newsletters, and links to other resources, in addition to connecting with those in the field of organizational learning.

The Berkana Institute - The Berkana Institute was co-founded by Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science, A Simpler Way, Turning to One Another, and Finding Our Way. This site contains great articles about leadership and community engagement.

The Spears Center for Servant-Leadership - The mission of The Larry C. Spears Center is to create a more caring and serving world through the understanding and practice of servant-leadership, and with a primary emphasis upon the books and related publications by Robert K. Greenleaf and Larry C. Spears. This site is a great source of information on servant-leadership, including a comprehensive chronology of servant-leadership publications. The Center also offers a free e-newsletter that reviews current publications and includes articles about servant-leadership.

Publications/Professional Journals Top

The Nonprofit Quarterly - This is one of the best publications on nonprofit issues. Their articles are thoughtful, insightful, and timely. It is well worth subscribing to it. They also offer a free e-newsletter.

The NonProfit Times - The NonProfit Times offers a paid subscription to their biweekly magazine (free to qualifying nonprofit executives) and four free eNewsletters covering news, jobs, fundraising, and technology.

Pegasus Communications - Pegasus offers a myriad of resources covering a variety of topics, including systems thinking, organizational learning, leadership, dialogue, and sustainability, to name a few. They also sponsor an annual conference featuring speakers such as Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, and Eamonn Kelly. Visit their website and sign up for their free monthly e-newsletter, Leverage Points, spotlighting innovations in leadership, management, and organizational development.

Stanford Social Innovation Review - This is a publication of the Center for Social Innovation at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. This publication focuses in the areas of social responsibility and social entrepreneurship. According to the website, their mission is to share substantive insights and practical experiences that will help those who do the important work of improving society do it even better. The journal's purpose is to lead in the search for new and better ways of improving the lot of the world, to strike a balance between the pragmatic and the intellectual, to embrace no predefined political ideology, and to champion the interests of no single constituency.

The Systems Thinker - The Systems Thinker, a monthly e-newsletter, is a publication of Pegasus Communications. At this site, you can subscribe to the newsletter, search an author/article database, and learn more about systems thinking. It is a great source for anyone interested in systems thinking.

Updated January 9, 2012