Management Tips

Many board members feel uncomfortable asking for money; however, fundraising is a key leadership role of all board members. This includes deciding fundraising campaigns and setting fundraising goals. The organization's board leadership and staff leaders work together with the full board to define and delineate their role so they are equipped and confident. Start with the basics to help members build their abilities to solicit donations for the agency and tell the story of the good work being…

The Office of Crime Victims Advocacy (OCVA) funding has a new condition that requires that all staff who are likely to have contact with minors must have fingerprint background checks completed. This requirement stems from new federal requirements impacting pass-through funding sources VOCA and VAWA. Agencies/programs must have the fingerprint background checks completed before any staff or volunteers can provide direct services in which they are likely to interact with minors.

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As managers of Community Sexual Assault Programs (CSAPs) you are aware of the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy accreditation standard (#AC1) that requires: “The agency ensures the cultural competency of its service delivery.”

This standard describes cultural competency as: “the ability of the organization to recognize and respect diverse cultural factors, and the effects of these factors on various communities’ need for and access to its services.”

Something unique to this…

Within our non-profit world there is an underlying burden that we place on our teams as it relates to navigating financial controls in work-related spaces. Our structures almost always emulate, favor and support the structures and professionalism of white supremacy. This is severely problematic in that it does not encompass and champion everyone through an anti-oppressive lens. As a result the following issues often remain unchecked when financial operations are left solely to one individual…

In our industry as Managers, Supervisors and Executive Directors there are a plethora of gifting's that are bestowed to us in how we serve, advocate and add value to our organizations and or coalitions. In order to serve with due diligence we have to be willing to strive towards working as experts on a mission to eliminate any and all forms of oppression that serves to corrode and undermine the work of the anti-sexual violence movement.

The main form of oppression tends to rear its…

Conversations about how to integrate support for advocates that mitigates vicarious trauma have become common within our organizations, but the need to put these conversations into practice is greater than ever. While widespread coverage about the prevalence of sexual violence has gained traction with the #MeToo movement, resources for organizations haven’t seen much of an increase to meet the need. This requires managers and executive directors to find creative, low-cost ways to support…

Recently, WCSAP worked with a facilitator on clarifying our organizational values. It occurred to us that, as an organization, we may have been working under similarly understood implicit values of a Movement but had not, in recent years, explicitly stated our organizational values. Like us, you too, may wish to enrich your agency by identifying, revisiting, and discussing values with your board and staff.

Why identify organizational values?

Organizational values…

Vision and mission statements are often used interchangeably, but differences do exist. A mission statement describes what an organization or business does and a vision statement describes what an organization or business hopes to achieve as a result of specific actions. Mission statements focus on the present and vision statements look into the future.

Recently rape crisis centers nationally and statewide have been tweaking aspects of their mission, vision, branding, and even agency…

As advocates in the Anti-Sexual Violence Movement, we are all too familiar with the term and impacts of vicarious trauma. How then do we relieve ourselves of the imprints that a survivor’s story leaves on us? An important way of coping with the intensity of the work is to first acknowledge that it WILL affect you.

In an organization plagued with policies and procedures sometimes we forget to implement “practices.” A few practices to consider are:

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Washington State has 37 accredited community based advocacy agencies serving each county, as well as many community based by and for community specific advocacy agencies. Some counties also have system based advocacy; many ask why have both and what are the differences? It is crucial for system partners, advocates and communities to understand the importance of the differences, and it is our role as community based sexual assault advocacy agencies to be able to clearly communicate this to…