‘Social capital’ a lesson at forum

Nonprofits urged to expand focus

The inscrutable fame of Kim Kardashian could be a lesson for local nonprofits, according to Little Rock’s community programs director.

Kardashian, an entrepreneur, reality-television star and social media mogul, is “doing nothing but posting pictures all day,” Dana Dossett, the director, said.

But people pay for that. Or rather, they’re paying for her influence, her connections and the stories she tells about those connections online, an attribute that’s called “social capital,” Dossett said.

Social capital was a one of several values that attendees learned about during the inaugural Arkansas Capital Campaign Conference for Nonprofits. The conference ran from Thursday evening through Saturday and cost about $100 per attendee.

Along with Little Rock, the event was sponsored by the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and the University

of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Center for Nonprofit Organizations.

The seed for the conference was planted in Dossett’s brain about three years ago. She didn’t see any formalized meeting in Arkansas or elsewhere in the United States that drew nonprofit organizations together in a way she thought would be the most helpful.

A lot of times during conferences, Dossett said, “You listen to other people talk about how successful they are.” When booking the presenters, Dossett said she instructed them “to teach people what you did. Not just tell them what you did.”

Charlotte Lewellen Williams, director of the Clinton School’s Center on Community Philanthropy, said “there was a need for advanced learning” for which nonprofit organizations were crying out. How to run a board of directors, budget resources and use social media were all topics on the table.

Nonprofits also want more opportunities to network and collaborate, Williams said. Dossett agreed, saying that often, everyone exists “in their silo doing their work. And they’re not able to meet people who are like-minded.”

Much of the instruction focused on the six types of capital required to build a successful, lasting nonprofit. Too many organizations focus just on money, Dossett said.

In addition to social capital, there’s intellectual capital. That’s basically everyone’s ideas and existing knowledge, Dossett said. People who get involved in nonprofit work can forget how much knowledge they already have, and that it’s worth something, she said.

Next is human capital. These are the actual people — the volunteers and employees — who are integral to the nonprofit.

Then, there’s natural capital. This type of capital is all about sustaining an organization, whether that means having a succession plan for when the founder dies or actually making the buildings and facilities environmentally friendly, Dossett said.

It also means thinking about how to collaborate better, so not to waste resources.

“Everybody wants to build their own nonprofit, and then there are 200 nonprofits doing the same thing,” Dossett said.

Material capital refers to the quality of the actual goods or services that are being provided. Dossett said she encourages people to think, “What are you going to hone in on? How are you going to create your niche?”

And finally, there’s financial capital, though it’s not just about currency. It’s about vehicles, buildings and bartering opportunities, Dossett said.

At a panel discussion Thursday, Mayor Mark Stodola said he first became acquainted with Little Rock nonprofits, like the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, when he was a young lawyer “with no clients.”

Now, more than 14,000 nonprofits exist in Arkansas, conference presenters said. Heifer International, Winrock International and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation are among the most prominent Little Rock organizations.

As mayor, Stodola said he realized pretty quickly that municipalities can use nonprofits to provide certain services. Because when the city actually provides the service, “we don’t necessarily do the job very well,” Stodola said.

When the city ran the Jericho Way Resource Center for homeless people, it did “OK,” the mayor said. “But we’re nowhere near as good as Depaul International,” the organization that currently operates the center, he added.

Plus, nonprofits need to prove the work they’re doing, Stodola said. He paraphrased a common saying: “Trust in God. All others bring data.”

Panelist Ben Goodwin, executive director of the Little Rock shelter Our House, said he started there as a volunteer. With time, he realized “the incredible potential for an organization to do something that no one has ever done before,” which is help people build a permanent pathway out of homelessness and poverty, Goodwin said.

Others find their calling in less altruistic ways, panelist Jay Chesshir joked. Chesshir is president and chief executive officer of the Little Rock Regional Chamber and said he was introduced to nonprofit work years ago through the Miss Arkansas pageant, which he thought might lead to a date.

Instead, Chesshir ended up at the regional chamber, which has more than 100 nonprofits as members, he said. He encouraged the audience to think of the chamber as a thoroughfare to attract the local talent to their organizations.

Reggie Ballard, a graduate of the Clinton School, decided the conference would be his capstone project. He hopes the weekend showcased the good work being done in Little Rock and beyond.

“Nonprofit professionals are just not honored for the work that they do,” Ballard said.

Sometimes, “you need a little bit of sunshine to come through,” he added.

Dossett hopes all the talk on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will turn into action.

“On Monday when they get back to the office,” she said, “they can start making phone calls.”