If there was any question whether the folks running Fox Valley-area nonprofits are looking for quick and quality resources to help them do their jobs, the 60-some filled chairs at the Bordini Center the morning of June 25 answered with a resounding “YES.”

As good as the catered breakfast cookies were, this crowd turned out to learn about a new FREE source of tips, tools and templates to make their jobs easier. We were there to unveil NonprofitNext Fox Valley.

I called it a free service. It is free to  nonprofits serving people in our service region of Outagamie, Calumet, Waupaca, Shawano and northern Winnebago counties because the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region is covering the cost as a pilot project. The content was developed by the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits. But soon, Fox Valley-area nonprofits will be contributing their own ideas for doing their jobs more efficiently.

“The Community Foundation has had a long-term commitment to strengthening and supporting nonprofits so they can be even more effective in meeting their missions,” Curt Detjen, president/CEO of the Community Foundation, said. “This new website builds on the past efforts of the Foundation and our partners to give nonprofits the best practices they need to accomplish missions that are important to the whole community.”

Check out the wealth of written materials, forms, checklists, instructional videos and summaries of what nonprofits elsewhere have used to address such issues as recruiting board members, fundraising, marketing or human resources concerns. Contact Heidi Dusek, the lead person from our staff on this project, if you have questions.

If you weren’t there, you missed out on the cool microfiber NonprofitNext Fox Valley computer screen cleaning cloth. But next time you’re at our office, ask for one. We’ll be happy to give you one. Once you’ve got all of that dust, those fingerprints and the remains of working lunches cleaned off of your laptop or tablet screen, use this link to register for a service sure to be of help.