When discussing historic road races in New England, none tops the Boston Marathon. Yet if you want to talk about road race courses with history, none can best the first Old Sandwich Road Race on June [...]]]>

1st Old Sandwich Road Race to Benefit Home for Little Wanderers

Old Sandwich Road Race to Benefit Home for Little Wanderers

When discussing historic road races in New England, none tops the Boston Marathon. Yet if you want to talk about road race courses with history, none can best the first Old Sandwich Road Race on June 6—a half marathon taking place on Old Sandwich Road, the oldest road in America.

Originally a trail used by the Wampanoag Native American tribe, Old Sandwich Road later became the nation’s first true public road and a stagecoach route to ferry passengers and mail back and forth between the Massachusetts towns of Plymouth and Sandwich. Today, the road remains pretty much as the Pilgrims left it–a wide, scenic, dirt road bordered by beautiful tall pine trees and towering oaks.

“In creating this race, we wanted to accomplish many things,” said Craig Valentine Brenner, Old Sandwich Road Race organizer and Plymouth resident. “The first was to create an attractive destination race in Plymouth that would draw local runners and folks from outside the region. There’s really no better road to accomplish that than Old Sandwich Road, the same trail America’s original settlers traveled. But we also wanted this race to benefit local causes and businesses.”

To that end, the profits from the first Old Sandwich Road Race will go to the Home for Little Wanderers’ Baird Center, located at 900 Ship Pond Road in Plymouth. The Baird Center works with boys grades 4 through 11 with social and emotional issues. Much like Old Sandwich Road’s claim to being a first, The Home for Little Wanderers, founded in 1799, is the oldest child welfare services agency in the United States.

The appeal of the course and the cause have already drawn interest from local sponsors with their own rich history, like Plimouth Plantation, The Governor Bradford Inn and Martha Stone Soup, a restaurant in an historic carriage house located along Old Sandwich Road. Other sponsors include: Entergy, Retrofit Technologies, Bayside Runner, King Collision Centers and the Village Racquet & Fitness Club at the Pinehills.

In addition to the half marathon, the Old Sandwich Road Race features a 10k, sponsored by Plimouth Plantation and Entergy and starting at Plimouth Plantation, and a Kids Classic. The Kids Classic features four one-mile kids’ races with age groups from 7 to 14 years of age and a children’s fun sprint of 100 meters. The Kids Classic will take place on the track at Plymouth South High School, which is also the end point for both the half marathon and 10k.

“The Old Sandwich Road Race truly does offer something for everybody. And with a June 6 race date, it’s kind of nice kickoff to the summer,” said Brenner. “We’re thrilled with the number of runners, sponsors and volunteers who have signed on to date and there’s still plenty of time for even more people to get involved with what we anticipate being the first of many annual races.”

For information about the race and registration, please visit http://www.oldsandwichroadrace.com. If you would like to be a sponsor, the minimum sponsorship is $250. You can contact Craig Brenner, craigvbrenner@yahoo.com, 781-419-4207 to inquire about sponsorship and volunteer opportunities.

I know this is just for folks in MA, but the next Non-Profit Toolbox Mini-conference is coming up in less than 2 weeks, and since we had some web server problems, and you might not have be able to access our site, we wanted to extend the early booking [...]]]>

Image by d.j.k. via Flickr

I know this is just for folks in MA, but the next Non-Profit Toolbox Mini-conference is coming up in less than 2 weeks, and since we had some web server problems, and you might not have be able to access our site, we wanted to extend the early booking discount to 3/15!!

Two (2) people can come to our 1/2 day conference for just $99 total!!

Join us for our Mini-Conference – Sign-up NOW!!

Lots of opportunities to learn and network with others!!

Learn about:  Verbal Branding from Stephen Melanson

Then choose

• What is the “New” website?
• How to speak to your Designer
• How to Create Raving Fans of your Organization
• How to Recruit, Qualify Directors
• Getting Grants-Relationships
• Liability Considerations

Thanks to our sponsors:

[Register here]

Jane Ford - The Joy Path

Ask a nonprofit what they need the most and the usual answer will be “more money”. This need [...]]]>

Guest Post by: Jane B. Ford, The Joy Path and Speaker at the February 10th Non-profit Toolbox Mini-Conference, and author of Get Grants Now

Jane Ford - The Joy Path

Does Your Organization need “more money”

Ask a nonprofit what they need the most and the usual answer will be “more money”. This need for money is why so much time and effort goes into preparing grant proposals. Yet, how often does someone submit a proposal telling why the organization needs money? All too often – and most funders don’t really care about why a nonprofit needs money; their concern centers around what do the clients of that nonprofit need and how will a grant help the organization meet that need.

To a busy nonprofit executive this may seem like a minor point but it isn’t. If you can’t clearly and succinctly write a brief statement that addresses the needs of your clients, it is unlikely that a foundation will grant you funding. How do you craft that needs statement? Begin with your mission. How does the program you seek funding for meet the needs of your clients while achieving the organization’s mission.

For example, you run a homeless shelter with a transitional housing program and your mission to help your clients live independently. These clients generally need job training to help them find work to support themselves. A needs statement for this program could read as follows: because many men and women who come to our shelter lack the work skills needed to find employment, we seek funding to create workforce development program. This statement lets the potential funder know how a grant can help your clients move towards independent living, a goal that they may be interested in funding.

Would you like hands-on training on Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook? Join us at one of our workshops.

Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/northfield_mn/354355317/

Location: Phillips House, South Boston, MA

Start Time: 08:00 am

Date: 2010-03-24

End Time: 12:30 pm

2nd person FREE use promo code: 2ndperson after 1st one is registered, name of 1st person required to register for special rate.

You can follow The Non-Profit Toolbox on Facebook

Last week facebook changed the default option for privacy settings on your facebook page.  For all of the security conscious facebook users (or those [...]]]>

Written by: Tom Beach, Executive Director & Vice President of The Toolbox, Inc.

You can follow The Non-Profit Toolbox on Facebook

New Facebook Privacy Settings

Last week facebook changed the default option for privacy settings on your facebook page.  For all of the security conscious facebook users (or those that are considering using facebook) this is a non-starter for several reasons, the most important being that all the same options still are there.  You just need to be aware that the new default option is to share everything publicly.

Controlling your Privacy

Here are a couple of things to know with this new default setting:

1. Even if you clicked through the new settings inadvertently and make all your settings public, you can still adjust back to your previous settings.   To do this just go to settings on the top right of the bar, go to adjust your privacy settings.
2. If you don’t want it on your desk at work, don’t post it.

We hope this helps, Facebook is a very powerful tool for businesses and non-profit organizations.  Used strategically it can help with SEO, search engine rankings, communicating with clients and donors, and creating a community around your organization.  If you’d like to read more about the new privacy setting visit Adam Ostrow’s blog on Mashable’s Social Media Guide.

Become a Fan of The Non-Profit Toolbox on Facebook

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Mark C Rogers Esq, The Rogers Law Firm

All too often in the world of non-profit organizations, an individual becomes a member of a board of directors [...]]]>

Guest Post by Mark C Rogers Esq., Attorney for The Rogers Law Firm and sponsors of the October 22 Non-Profit Toolbox Mini-Conference.  See an interview with Mark here.

Mark C Rogers Esq, The Rogers Law Firm

All too often in the world of non-profit organizations, an individual becomes a member of a board of directors (or trustees) and attends their first board meeting with little or no substantive background regarding the organization, its mission, their own role and responsibility, and no understanding of their potential liability exposure from serving as a board member.  The failure of non-profit organizations to appropriately orient new board members can lead to a poorly informed and even dysfunctional board, which can in turn have disastrous consequences for the organization.

A non-profit organization should ensure that every individual who becomes a member of its board receives an appropriate orientation by the organization prior to attending their first board meeting.  The orientation should be a joint effort by both the board and the organization’s management (including counsel) and should, at a minimum, include an overview of the following: the purpose of the organization; its by-laws; the roles and responsibilities of the management team and the board; and a description of the functioning of the various committees of the board.

Ideally, this orientation should include a legal component with particular emphasis on the board’s fiduciary duties to the organization.  It is almost inevitable that at some point during an individual’s term as a member of the board, a question will arise regarding their potential liability exposure as a result of their actions or inactions as a member of the board.  By having a legal component to the orientation, the organization can, at least in general terms, address this concern.  The legal component should include an overview of the statutory protections afforded to board members of non-profit organizations who serve without compensation and should also address the subject of director and officer liability (D & O) insurance.

The orientation should be held separate and apart from the organization’s usual board meetings and all existing board members should be encouraged to attend.

The current economic downturn presents significant challenges to non-profit organizations.  A well-planned orientation can be of material benefit in preparing the board to face these challenges.

Become a Fan of The Non-Profit Toolbox on Facebook

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Non-Profit Toolbox 10/22/2009 Mini-Conference

The feedback from the first mini-conference was overwhelmingly positive and over a quarter of the attendees said they wanted to attend the next one, so here it [...]]]>

Written by: Tom Beach, Executive Director & Vice President of The Toolbox, Inc. and Video Director at the October 22 Non-profit Toolbox event.

Non-Profit Toolbox 10/22/2009 Mini-Conference

Save the Date!

The feedback from the first mini-conference was overwhelmingly positive and over a quarter of the attendees said they wanted to attend the next one, so here it is.

Here is what attendees said:

“I found the conference to be very educational. The Q & A period was very important and speakers were well-prepared.  Overall, a wonderful event!”

“Well done! It is a welcome resource for those in the non-profit industry.”

When: February 10, 2009

Where: The Philips House, 780 Morrissey Blvd.,Boston, MA 02122

Who: Anyone interested in

• Growing your non-profit organization,
• Learning strategies for making your organization a more successful, effective and efficient business,
• Networking with other non-profit executives, BOD’s, and staff

We will be announcing more details soon.

Become a Fan of The Non-Profit Toolbox on Facebook

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(if we missed some info please email me: reiko@thetoolboxinc.com)