Renton  

Renton  Area  Nonprofits  Unite  to  Share  Resources    

RANU,  a  committee  under  the  umbrella  of  the  Renton  Chamber  of  Commerce,  celebrates  its  first  anniversary  of  networking  and  sharing  community  resources.  

By  SUSAN  BRESSLER  MAY  9,  2011  

Did you know that there are more nonprofit organizations than any other single category of business in the City of Renton? That is a surprising, but accurate statistic, according to Bill Taylor, CEO of the Renton Chamber of Commerce. That means more, by category, than restaurants, car dealers, real-estate brokers, or any other group that you can think of in Renton.

The list of nonprofit agencies here is rather staggering when you look at the groups assembled into a spreadsheet. There are 134 in the 98056 zip code alone.

To help those nonprofit organizations manage productivity, boards, financial and fundraising needs, and do what they do in a better way, the Chamber of Commerce organized a group called Renton Area Nonprofits Unite (RANU). The group recently celebrated its one year anniversary, during which RANU has been an amazing success by all accounts.

Jolene Bernhard, the Director of Development and Community Relations with Renton Area Youth Services and Capt. Terry Masango, from the Renton Salvation Army, co-chaired the group during its first year.

“The last thing we wanted to do when we started this group was reinvent the wheel,” Bernhard summarized. “We were cognizant of the people that were already doing good work out there, and we wanted to plug into where help was needed and eliminate any duplicated efforts.”

 

The Chamber’s connection, Bernhard said, enables nonprofits to share with businesses what they are doing, find individuals who want to help, share resources, and, yes, ask for fundraising assistance. Masango said the group is important for advisory board members and churches, who want to be able to link in to what others are doing. During one RANU meeting, the group recruited Renton Ecumenical Association of Churches (REACH) to network because the members indicated that they wanted to be more involved in the community.

“We couldn't get people out of the building afterward they were so busy sharing information,” Masango smiled. “We had given them a forum to discuss the services they were providing and what they are doing.”

The group has compiled an impressive resource list for nonprofits that want to get involved or need help in things like board training and development, fundraising assistance, and becoming more self-sustaining. It's a one-stop shop and calendar of events on where you can go for more information.

“People come into nonprofits with their hearts,” Bernhard said, “but they also need to come in with their heads on how to best develop their infrastructure.”

“Many organizations don’t know how to develop their board base,” Masango gave as an example. At RANU monthly meetings, nonprofits can hear how to do this, and learn about other topics important to them. One of RANU's objectives is to include service clubs, churches, PTAs and homeowners associations.

Said CEO Taylor, “We found that, for the most part, nonprofits are like individual islands, having little or no connection with each other and in many cases trying to do the same thing in the same way and paying the same expense to get a job done. With cooperation and collaboration, they can get more done, more effectively and at a lower total cost.”

Taylor applauds the committee co-chairs for their efforts this first year.

“Under the outstanding leadership of the Chair and Co-chair,” Taylor said, “we have been able to bring nonprofits together in such a way that synergistic outcomes are achievable.”

Renton has an impressive group of nonprofits in the downtown core alone, including Communities in Schools, WACAP, Harambee, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, Renton Community Foundation, Renton Clothes Bank, and the Piazza, to name a few. Most of these organizations have been active participants at RANU meetings.

RANU meets monthly on the fourth Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. at various locations. The next meeting is Wednesday, May 25 at HealthPoint, 202 S. 2nd Street, 98057. For more information on RANU, contact the Renton Chamber at 425-226-4560.