Click here to access the 2022 Ottumwa Housing Study

Articles & Resources

When we find resources, data or articles of interest, it is our intention to share them for the benefit of everyone. We also share stories from our donors, scholars, partners, and grantees.We hope you will find them interesting and above all helpful.

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Report to the Community 2017

This first ever Report to the Community outlines our work and the service and work of our incredible partners.

Articles of Interest

We have researched community planning documents over the past 20 years to find commonalities within. This “Common Threads” document highlights those projects that have potential for transformative change within our downtown.

Learn more about how Collective Impact can change a community: Channeling Change

Resource Library

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We have compiled a listing of resources containing information about the City of Ottumwa and Wapello County as well as additional links to provide insight and guidance for our non-profit partners.

Learn about Ottumwa, Iowa and what it has to offer
http://www.ottumwaiowa.com/

Wapello County resources
http://www.wapellocounty.org/

Iowa Council of Foundations
http://www.iowacounciloffoundations.org/

Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center
http://inrc.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/

Iowa Source Link
Resources for Iowa Small Business
http://www.iasourcelink.com/

Board Source
Dedicated to advancing the public good by building exceptional nonprofit boards and inspiring board service.
https://www.boardsource.org/eweb/

CompassPoint
Guiding nonprofits to become better managed, more adaptive, and achieve higher impact.
http://www.compasspoint.org/about-us

Governance Matters
Governance Matters recognizes the pivotal role of the funder in raising the standards of board performance among nonprofits. It has developed this Good Governance Guide to help funders determine what information is needed from nonprofits, how to evaluate data, and how to engage in dialogue aimed at improving board performance and, ultimately, the impact of the donor’s grant.
http://vcg.org/

IHCC Regional Entrepreneurship Center
Assists with business training and incubation.
http://www.indianhills.edu/businessrelations/rec/index.php

Innovation Network
Provides knowledge and expertise to help nonprofits and funders learn from their work to improve their results.
http://www.innonet.org/

SCORE
Mentoring and business tools for those wishing to start or improve their small business
http://www.score.org/

Grants.gov
A source to find and apply for federal government grants.
http://www.grants.gov/

Foundation Center
Foundation and nonprofit searchable database and general information.
http://www.fdncenter.org/

GuideStar
Tax status and other information about nonprofits worldwide.
http://www.guidestar.org/

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Newspaper of the nonprofit world.
http://www.philanthropy.com

Child Trends DataBank
The latest national trends and research on child and youth well-being.
http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/

Institute on Race and Poverty
Research and education.
http://www.umn.edu/irp/

Nonprofit Good Practice Guide
One-stop-shop for preferred practices and pitfalls, glossaries, resources, trends, and website profiles—from accountability and advocacy to fundraising and technology. (Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership)
http://www.npgoodpractice.org

Arts Marketing
In-depth tutorials explain marketing clearly and concisely with examples, exercises, and worksheets geared toward the novice marketer, but also refreshers the more advanced. (Arts & Business Council of Americans for the Arts)
http://www.artsmarketing.org/practical_lessons

The Evaluation Exchange
Harvard Family Research Project’s evaluation periodical, The Evaluation Exchange, addresses current issues facing program evaluators of all levels, and highlights innovative methods and approaches to evaluation. (Harvard University)
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/eval.html

Nonprofit Good Practice Guide—
Provides access to copious information on data collection, legal considerations, outcome evaluation, process, and types of evaluation. (Nonprofit Good Practice Guide)
http://www.npgoodpractice.org/Topics/Evaluation/Default.aspx

Association of Fundraising Professionals Resource Center
Internet transaction and fundraising information and legalities for nonprofits, organized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals — 30,000 members in 206 chapters throughout the world, working to advance philanthropy through advocacy, research, education and certification programs.
www.afpnet.org

The Accidental Techie
Useful nonprofit technology resources and links. Practical information for integrating technology, topics from general tech to security, networking, and web-based services.
http://www.compasspoint.org/content/index.php?pid=140

Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center
Strives to help Iowa’s charitable nonprofit organizations become more effective in building their communities.
http://inrc.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/default.asp

MAP for Nonprofits: Building, Managing and Promoting Your Site
Fantastic, basic information about computer systems, the web, websites, and more.A great place to start learning.
http://www.managementhelp.org/infomgnt/web/web.htm

Nonprofit Technology Network
The national membership organization of nonprofit technology professionals. Members share the common goal of helping nonprofits use all aspects of technology more effectively.
http://www.nten.org

Tech Atlas
A free tool designed to assist nonprofit organizations with their technology planning needs, Tech Atlas provides diagnostic tools, a centralized place to manage the planning process, and a framework for evaluating technology needs.
http://techatlas.org/tools/Default.asp

TechSoup.org
Everything about technology, specifically for nonprofits — from tech discussions, to how-to tutorials, products, and links to services.
http://www.techsoup.org/

National Center for Children in Poverty
Promoting strategies that prevent child poverty in the U.S. and that improve lives of low-income children and their families.
http://www.nccp.org/

National Council of Nonprofits
The National Council of Nonprofits is a network of state and regional nonprofit associations serving more than 20,000 member organizations, helping small and midsize nonprofits manage and lead more effectively, collaborate and exchange solutions, engage in critical policy issues affecting the sector, and achieve greater impact in their communities.
http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/

National Center for Education Statistics
A national database of test results and other education indicators.
http://nces.ed.gov/

National Institute for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, Zero to Three
Early childhood development.
http://www.zerotothree.org/

National Youth Development Information Center
A digest of up-to-date research and policy briefs on youth development.
http://www.nydic.org/

Public Education Network
Efforts to improve public education.
http://www.publiceducation.org/

Free Management Library
A wealth of practical information about personal, professional, and organizational development for nonprofit leaders. Check out the series of 13 Learning Modules, tutorials on topics from organizational start-up to evaluation. (MAP for Nonprofits)
http://www.mapnp.org/library/index.html/

Ventureneer.com
Building successful enterprises with heart: small business advice, nonprofit training, free webinars, best practices, social enterprise education, and much more, all targeted toward “social impact” organizations.
http://www.ventureneer.com/

Community Toolbox’s Organizing for Effective Advocacy
Over 6,000 pages of practical information to support nonprofit work in promoting community health and development. (Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development at the University of Kansas)
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/

Planning a Great Meeting
Five main steps of the planning process, format and content tips, planning timeline, sample conference site inspection checklist, sample slide templates, and a glossary. (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
http://www.rwjf.org/grantees/howtotools/meeting.jsp

Interactive Smart Chart
Free, interactive tool to help nonprofits make smart communications choices, by helping to assess strategic decisions during planning, evaluate communications strategies already in progress, and review completed efforts. (SpitfireStrategies)
http://www.smartchart.org/

Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Toolkit
Guides grantees through the entire external or internal evaluation process.Based on Kellogg’s evaluation philosophy and written for their grantees, but useful to anyone seeking to design a productive evaluation. (W.K. Kellogg Foundation)
http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/Resources-Page.aspx

The Foundation Center: Online Fundraising
Introductory information that can act as a starting point for interested organizations. Organized by the Foundation Center, a national nonprofit service established in 1956 and today supported by close to 550 foundations.
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/faqs/html/online_fundraising.html

Nonprofit Guides
Free web-based grant-writing tools designed to assist well established non-profits through the grant-writing process: guidelines, preliminary proposal, full proposal, and sample proposals. Not for start-up organizations. (Seacoast Web Design)
http://www.npguides.org/

Nonprofit Marketing Guide
Training tips for do-it-yourself nonprofit marketers.
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/resources/

Nonprofit Risk Management Center
The Nonprofit Risk Management Center offers services from technical assistance to software to training and consulting on a vast array of risk management topics from employment practices, to insurance purchasing to internal controls and preventing child abuse.
http://www.nonprofitrisk.org/

Online Fundraising and Legal Compliance
Basic information about some of the laws that govern the use of the Internet in nonprofit fundraising. (About.com)
http://nonprofit.about.com/od/webfundraising/a/online_fundr.htm

Short Course on Proposal Writing
Thorough guide to the writing grant proposals, including the process of planning and research that leads to the proposal. Offered in Spanish and French, as well as English. (The Foundation Center)
http://fdncenter.org/learn/shortcourse/prop1.html

Tutorialized.com
Lots of great web design tutorials on everything from ASP, ColdFusion, and Java to HTML, Flash, and PHP.
http://www.tutorialized.com/

Idealist.org
A website that connects volunteer opportunities with those interested in volunteering.
http://www.idealist.org/

IRS Charities Bureau
Tax information for charities and other nonprofits.
http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits

Recruiting volunteers
Provides articles, resources, tools, and success stories about volunteer recruitment. (Network for the Good)
http://www.networkforgood.org/npo/volunteers/