The index looks very thorough, but frankly I don’t know that an encyclopedic reference will ever address the unique needs in all communities and will likely be reinventing the wheel to some degree. Across the system, there are some fundamental differences like membership vs. non, how many board members are needed, whether Staff supports the needs of Friends or the other way around, etc. A much simpler guide to existing nonprofit resources, best practices, and templates could be compiled and made available as an online resource. Many of us live and work in communities that have strong support systems for nonprofits and this level of catering to those who don’t seems interesting. Robert’s Rules, tax implications of lobbying, and audits are three things that do seem like opportunities for Friends and learning, but an expectation that FWS field staff become expert in nonprofit management seems a tiny bit unsustainable in e current climate, just as Friends becoming Biologists would be.

Excellent comments Jim! The more that Friends leverage outside resources, such as you have mentioned with your local TANO, the better. However, many Friends organizations are struggling with life cycle issues and don’t know what to do.

Building a self-sustaining Friends and/or volunteer program for the Refuge System is exactly what we are trying to figure out how to do during this vision implementation process. How can it be done? More over, how can we leverage the wealth of resources within our own Friends organizations to build a self-sustaining Friends program?

So far I like the outline. But I am waiting for the details in the full version. It will be important that everything is clear and concise so as not to lead to confusion and frustration. So far so good.