Picks of the Week: October 26 - November 1, 2008

Website of the Week -- Mentoring Canada

Mentoring Canada, a nonprofit informational site that provides resources and training to mentoring organizations and related charities. The site contains on-line interactive training, along with a library of downloadable materials. Mentoring Canada is a program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, made possible only through the support of the Muttart Foundation. Its primary focus is to promote and support mentoring initiatives in communities across Canada. All community organizations, corporations and others interested in mentoring are invited to use this website of resources and training materials to further their efforts in support of our young people through the provision of quality mentoring programs.
Go to: http://www.mentoringcanada.ca/resources/aboutus.html.


Publication of the Week -- The One Page Business Plan for Non-Profit Organizations by James T. Horan Jr.

From the publisher: The edition of the One Page Business Plan Series has been specifically designed for Non-Profits. If you are responsible for founding or managing a non-profit organization, this book was written for you. Now you can easily write a draft plan on a single page in less than two hours. Thousands of non-profits have already successfully written and implemented One Page Plans with this simple and effective planning methodology. This special version of The One Page Business Plan has been called "The One Page Promise" because it helps directors, boards, management and volunteers clearly define and live up to their promises at organizational, departmental, project and program levels, all in fast, easy to communicate and actionable terms. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Year-End/Holiday Giving Trends

Convio commissioned Jupiter Research to help gain insight into the online giving plans of the more than 175 million online consumers in the US. According to the report, “$3 Billion Is A Click Away,” the research results indicate that the silver lining in this economic cloud just may be that nonprofits and consumers are aligning around online giving. Fifty-one percent, more than 89 million, online consumers say that despite the economic situation they plan to donate online during the 2008 holiday season. This level of online planned support shows that nonprofits of all sizes need to make sure their websites and other electronic communications meet consumer expectations. Among those who find online resources helpful in selecting a charity, they are 20 percent more likely to donate than the average online user. It is also important to make sure that traditional appeals such as direct mail, television and events provide people with the option to give online. Some of the research findings include:

• 54% of women plan to donate versus 48 percent of men.
• 64% of people with household income of more than $100K plan to donate online with 9% donating more this holiday season.
• 46% of 18-24 year olds and 50% of 25-34 year olds plan to donate online, with 13% of 18-24 year olds planning to donate more this holiday season than last.
• 53% of 55-64 year olds plan to donate online showing that it is no longer just for the younger age groups.
• 46% of the group who said their financial situation became substantially worse over the past 12 months still plan to donate online this holiday season.

For the full report, go to: http://playbook.convio.com/?&elqPURLPage=280&playbook=media. (Note free registration is required to download the report.)


Resource of the Week -- Urban Institute Outcome Indicators Project

The Urban Institute has developed and applied an Outcome Framework to 14 specific program areas Examples include Transitional Housing, Youth Tutoring and Mentoring, Emergency Shelter, Advocacy, and more. For each program, there is a sample mission statement, an outcome sequence chart, a table of candidate program-specific outcomes, and data collection strategies with suggested data sources for each outcome indicator. Go to: http://www.urban.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Flipping Data in an Excel 2007 Worksheet

Ever create an Excel 2007 table and then wish the columns were rows and the rows were columns? Here's a solution:

• Select the table
• Press Ctrl + c to copy (Or click the copy button on the Home tab of the Ribbon)
• Select the cell where you want the new table to begin (this cell CAN be in the old table)
• Right click to display the shortcut menu and select Paste Special (Or on the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the Paste arrow to display the Paste Special option)
• In the Paste Special dialog box, select Transpose and click OK