Designing Nonprofit Systems to
Build Community Power
A Resource Guide & Toolkit
Shifting Power to Community Leaders
Emergence LLC was founded on the belief that, with the right tools and resources, people and organizations in the social sector can bring powerful, community-driven solutions to life. Our mission is to support leaders, organizations, and movements working to dismantle the systems and barriers that hold communities back.
Founded on the Pine Ridge Reservation, and inspired by centuries of Indigenous activism and resistance, our team partners with nonprofits across the country to help develop the infrastructure, capacity, and knowledge they need to accelerate community change.
About this Guide: Powerful Strategies, Practical Tools
Nonprofit leaders know–it takes a lot more than a powerful vision to drive community change. This guide outlines the step-by-step process we draw on to help organizations emerge as powerful, effective, community-driven changemakers. Each step builds upon the last to support the process of:
Developing a strong mission and clear objectives defined by community members themselves
Building systems, strategies, and tools to take measurable steps toward your long-term vision.
Creating relationships with partners and funders who stand behind you, fully committed to your community-centered solutions.
Each step is accompanied by a downloadable tool or template–to give you the framework you need to realize your mission.
How to use this guide
Real-world case studies plus practical tools and templates to help you get started.
CASE STUDIES
Each section in this guide includes a brief case study detailing how one of our clients - Makoce Agriculture Development - used this process to begin realizing its vision of a local, Indigenous-led food system on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Makoce launched as a brand new organization with a team of one in 2019; just a few years later Makoce is thriving–with a multimillion-dollar budget and over 10 team members. We believe so much can be learned through Makoce’s journey, and in this guide we share exactly how they’ve taken such incredible leaps forward.
TOOLS AND TEMPLATES
Each of the eight steps is accompanied by a practical tool or template to help kickstart your work in that area–and guide you in the months and years to come. They are downloadable and free–because we want all nonprofits to benefit equally.
Dive into the guide below!
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Part One: Drawing Out Your Vision
Getting ideas out of your head
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Part Two: Defining Your Mission
Organizing your ideas into clear goals
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Part Three: Creating Your Roadmap
Developing a basic Theory of Change
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Part Four: Crafting & Telling Your Story
Bringing your vision to life
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Part Five: Identifying Your Champions
Boldly asking for support
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Part Six: Funding Your Vision
Kickstarting growth
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Part Seven: Tracking Your Progress
Managing resources for impact
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Part Eight: Measuring Your Impact
Using evaluation to refine and grow
Want to dig deeper? We’re here to help!
If you’d like additional support with any of these steps, the team at Emergence is available for a limited number of tailored coaching sessions. Coaching can be a great way to access individualized support to overcome challenges and logjams, identify and develop needed skills, engage in strategic visioning work, and much more. Reach out to us to start exploring the possibilities!