Picks of the Week: April 26 - May 2, 2009

Website of the Week -- Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement

CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) conducts research on the civic and political engagement of Americans between the ages of 15 and 25. CIRCLE was founded in 2001 with a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and is now also funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and several others. It is based at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. CIRCLE has a reputation for reliable, independent, timely research. CIRCLE has begun to change public discourse and press coverage about young people as citizens. CIRCLE is doing this by providing a stream of reliable data and analysis that helps Americans to understand the strengths and weaknesses of civic education, broadly defined. Go to: http://www.civicyouth.org.


Publication of the Week -- Stanford Social Innovation Review

From the publisher: Stanford Social Innovation Review is an award-winning magazine covering best strategies for nonprofits, foundations, and socially responsible businesses. The Stanford Graduate School of Business launched the Review in 2003, the first publication by a leading school of management to promote innovative solutions to social problems. Each issue advances strategy and leadership in nonprofit management, corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. Click here to preview this publication on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Nonprofits Overlook Pro Bono and Skilled Volunteer Support

According to the 2009 Deloitte Volunteer IMPACT Survey, both nonprofits and corporations are overlooking a high-impact opportunity to leverage pro bono and skilled volunteer support to offset a decline in corporate giving dollars. Despite the challenging economic backdrop, nearly 40 percent of nonprofit executives say they will spend between $50,000 and $250,000 or more of "hard-won" cash on outside contractors and consultants this year. Yet nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of nonprofit respondents have no plans to use skilled volunteers or pro bono support in any capacity in 2009. According to the study, overwhelmingly, corporate grant makers (77 percent) and nonprofits (75 percent) place a high value on employee skills. Further, 95 percent of nonprofits agree they are in greater need of pro bono or skilled volunteer support. However, these statements are inconsistent with corporations' efforts to contribute skilled volunteers and nonprofits' efforts to seek them. Approximately one-third (35 percent) of nonprofits do not have the appropriate infrastructure needed to successfully deploy volunteers. Further, nearly one quarter (24 percent) of nonprofits surveyed have no one in charge of volunteer management or have someone in charge with less than three years of experience (23 percent). Similarly, more than one-in-four (26 percent) corporations have no one to oversee an employee volunteer program. Moreover, 17 percent of corporations have no employee volunteer program at all. To download the report, go to: http://www.deloitte.com.


Resource of the Week -- Alliance Resource Center

The Alliance Resource Center is a searchable database of resources for nonprofits. The database has been complied by the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. It includes information on organizations, websites, books, newsletters and other products and services for nonprofit organizations. You can search the database by entering a search terms, by selecting a “Resource Type” or by “Resource Category”. Go to: http://www.allianceonline.org/ARC.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Quickly Change Font Size in Word

To quickly increase or decrease the font size of selected text by 1 point, do this:

• Select Text
• Ctrl + ] to increase by 1 point.
• Ctrl + [ to decrease by 1 point.

This trick works in Word 2007 as well as earlier versions.