Building Better Networks | 20 Resources for Network Leaders, Funders & Evaluators

Building better networks

More and more leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors are turning to networks of partners to reach shared goals. Networks help us leverage and share resources like funding, staff time, information and expertise, data, lived experiences, and more. Here are twenty of our favorite resources to help you build better networks.

Resources for Leading Networks

Leading cross-sector networks requires a special set of skills and knowledge. Here are ten resources to help you lead and build better networks.

1) Lessons Learned & Launching Pad, From The First 2000 Days Network

Click here to read it.

2) Network Strategies for Your Network, From Network Weavers

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3) Three Tips for Better Network Facilitation, From Visible Network Labs

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4) 7 Tips For Managing Virtual Meetings With Care During A Pandemic, from Kiara Nagel

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5) Preventing Collaborative Burnout: Managing the Stress of Network Collaboration, from VisionSynergy

Click here to read it.

6) Defusing and De-escalating conflict in Networks, From Visible Network Labs

Click here to read it.

7) Building Networks for Social Change – Key Takeaways

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8) Creating Culture: Promising Practices of Successful Movement Networks, from Nonprofit Quarterly

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9) What Makes a Great Network Leader?

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10) Three Factors for Successful Collaboration, From Visible Network Labs

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Building Better Networks

Resources for Funding Networks

Many networks make do with little funding, however others depend on it to continue their collaborative work. Here are five resources for funding and building better networks.

1) Money & Networks, from VisionSynergy.

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2) Network Funding: The Five Sources of Money, from Network Impact.

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3) A New Approach to Funding Coalitions, from the Social Justice Fund.

Click here to read it.

4) Funding Collaboration, From Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Click here to read it.

5) Helping Nonprofit Networks Strengthen Their Fundraising Effectiveness

Click here to read it.

Resources for Evaluating Networks

If you don’t evaluate your collaboration, you can’t expect to keep improving. However network evaluations aren’t easy to do on your own. Here are five resources for evaluating and building better networks.

1) Network Health Scorecard, From Network Impact

Click here to read it.

2) Network Mapping & Analysis How-To Guide, from Societal Platform

Click here to read it.

3) Network Evaluation Framework Brief, from Visible Network Labs

Click here to read it.

4) The State of Network Evaluation – A Guide, From Network Impact

Click here to read it.

5) Evaluating Collaboration from the Ground Up Webinar, from Visible Network Labs

Click here to read it.

Building better networks

Building Better Networks - What Are Your Favorite Resources?

We hope you enjoyed our twenty resources for building better networks. Do you have a favorite resource, webinar or article about leading, funding or evaluating networks? Leave a comment and link below to share it with our community.

Alex Derr

About the Author: Alex Derr, M.P.A.

Director of Marketing & Communications

Alex joined VNL in 2017, originally supporting our events. He now helps manages our communications and marketing strategy and content development work. Alex creates blogs, infographics, reports, and other content while managing our web and social media presence. He also runs our email marketing campaigns, tracks analytics, and conducts market research to drive our strategy. He supports our entire team with copywriting, graphic design and research, and helps with events, webinars, demos, and other online learning. When he isn’t at work Alex spends his time climbing 14ers (30 done, 28 to go!) and blogging on his own website, The Next Summit Blog.

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