By Amada Simental
Business and Nonprofit Librarian
The Nonprofit Networking Group community met once again early September at the Harmony Library for a morning of learning and networking. Our guest speaker, Mike Roque, joined the conversation to share his nonprofit expertise. As an experienced nonprofit professional, Mike is passionate about nonprofit operational success. Mike spent over 30 years developing strategic partnerships among nonprofit organizations and collaborative efforts with local government. As an appointee of then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Mike worked to develop and successfully lead the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships.
With an exceptional understanding of nonprofit operations, Mike centered the conversation on understanding how nonprofit organizations can leverage partnerships with other nonprofits to strengthen fundraising efforts and increase grant award success.
While acknowledging the challenges of allocating time to rethinking fundraising strategy, Mike highlighted the value of evaluating new partnerships as a way to share in the “risk and reward” that comes with fundraising and applying for grants. He emphasized the added value of further understanding areas of collaboration that benefit the work and outcomes of organizations. While organizational visions and missions differ, Mike pointed out that joined efforts and maximum efficiency are favorable components for successful fundraising campaigns and a healthy organizational structure.
We are grateful to Mike for taking the time to share with the group and to everyone who attended. It was fantastic to see everyone in person and get to know a bit more about their organizations and the important work being done.
The library is well positioned to support nonprofits through the facilitation of networking events where the nonprofit community can come together to share ideas, perspectives and questions. The library is also a communal point of access to online databases for researching grant opportunities and organizational development learning content. You can contact the Business and Nonprofit Librarian, Amada Simental at asimental@poudrelibraries.org, to discuss how these resources can best support your nonprofit.
The next Networking Group gathering will be at the Harmony Library on Thursday January 25, 2024 at 9:30 am. We look forward to a nice morning of sharing and learning from one another. Look out for more details on the Poudre Libraries Event Calendar and website!
