Monday, September 8, 2008

Picks of the Week: September 7 - September 13, 2008

Website of the Week -- The Wallace Foundation

The Wallace Foundation, nationally recognized today for its involvement in educational and cultural programs, traces its origins back a half century to the philanthropic impulses of DeWitt and Lila Acheson Wallace, founders of The Reader’s Digest Association. A highlight of the website is the The Wallace Knowledge Center which offers credible, useful knowledge that can help policymakers, practitioners, researchers and concerned citizens make progress in the fields in which they work. It is at the core of Wallace’s effort to share ideas and practices that can help organizations expand opportunities for people. Click on any topic to view or download a variety of documents for free, such as national surveys, summaries of field knowledge, practical guides, and profiles of Wallace partners. Go to:
www.wallacefoundation.org.


Publication of the Week -- Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit by Peter C. Brinckerhoff

Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit, by Peter C. Brinckerhoff was awarded the 2008 Terry McAdam Book Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Nonprofit Management. Congratulations Peter! Though we listed this publication as our pick when it was first published, we are offering it again as this week's pick.

From the publisher: Generational change presents as many opportunities for nonprofits as challenges. In Generations: The Challenge of a Lifetime for Your Nonprofit, nonprofit mission expert Peter Brinckerhoff tells you what to expect and how to plan for it. From iPod policies to recruiting younger board members, Brinckerhoff shows how you can address generational trends, today, to keep your nonprofit organization relevant and able to meet the changing needs of your staff, volunteers, donors, and the community you serve. You’ll come away with an understanding of six key generational trends and how they will impact your nonprofit. Individual chapters provide in-depth information on how to deal with generation issues in each area of your organization—staff, board, volunteers, clients, marketing, technology, and finances. This hands-on guides includes the Generational Self-Assessment Tool. This tool gives you a baseline to measure your success as you bring generations into your planning. Click here to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Time-Use Habits of Volunteers in America

According to new research published by the Corporation for National Service, volunteers and non-volunteers in general tend to spend their time in very similar ways, spending similar amounts of time in work, leisure, and other activities. However, there are some important differences, including the amount of time each of these groups spends watching television. In a typical week, volunteers spend approximately 15 hours watching television compared to 21 hours for former volunteers and 23 hours for those who have never volunteered. On average, those who have never volunteered watch 436 more hours of television than volunteers each year. Another interesting difference is that volunteers are more likely to spend their time in various activities with other people. For instance, volunteers spend about 78 percent their mealtimes, compared to about 70 percent for former volunteers and those who have never volunteered. To access a copy of the research brief containing more findings, go to: http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov.


Resource of the Week -- Thought Leaders Gateway

The Leader to Leader Institute Thought Leaders Gateway includes individuals whose intellectual contributions have furthered the Institute’s work. The gateway includes an alphabetical listing of all of these individuals with links to a short biography of the individual followed by a listing of their publications and any articles appearing in the Leader to Leader Journal. This listing includes hyperlinks to any books and articles available on the leader to leader Institute website. An excellent resource! Go to: http://www.leadertoleader.org/knowledgecenter/leaders.aspx.


Tech Tip of the Week - - Access 2007 Report Layout View

The new Access 2007 Report Layout View is a major improvement over previous versions of Access. This view allows you to see the report as it will print (WYSIWYG) and quickly change controls. New features make it easier to group, filter and sort data. Check out Quickly summarize group data in Access 2007 reports on the TechRepublic Web site for step by step instructions on summarizing group data in Access 2007 reports.

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