Picks of the Week: May 20 - 26, 2012

Website of the Week -- CatchaFire
Catchafire is that matches professionals who want to give their skills with nonprofits and social enterprises that need their help. Catchafire is a New York City-based, for-profit social mission business (and certified B-Corporation)  service that matches social good organizations with professionals who want to offer their skills and expertise in areas such as marketing, public relations, communications, design, multimedia, social media, fundraising, strategy, finance, human resources, and technology through pro bono service. Currently Catchafire has almost 2,000 organizations registered and 10,000 professionals in its network. Go to: http://www.catchafire.org.

Publication of the Week --  The Mission Myth: Building Nonprofit Momentum Through Better Business by Deirdre Maloney
From the publisher:  What is the Mission Myth? Most nonprofits believe that to achieve success all they need is passion and heart. The truth? It is only when they integrate The Four Ms: Management Money Marketing Measurement that they will achieve optimal results. Here are strategies, anecdotes, and practical tips for new levels of success - all derived from nonprofits that reached new heights. Offering validation, camaraderie, laughter, and hope, The Mission Myth helps you do good...well.

Click to preview this book onAmazon.com.

Trend of the Week –  Nonprofit Communications Trends 2012

Kivi Leroux Miller  has authored a report that summarizes results of a communications trends survey of 1,288 nonprofits in November 2011conducted at Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com. Key findings include:

• Only ¼ of nonprofits (24%) have a written and approved marketing plan for 2012. 59% have a written plan or informal notes for themselves only, not formally approved by leadership.
• Email marketing and websites will be the most important communications tools for nonprofits in 2012, followed by Facebook; print (newsletters, direct mail); in-person events; and media relations/PR. These are the Big Six of nonprofit communications.
• The importance of social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and blogging held steady between 2011 and 2012, with only video gaining in importance.
• Monthly emailing is the most popular frequency for nonprofits at 43%, followed by every other week at 19% and quarterly at 14%. More than three quarters of nonprofits (78%) plan to email their typical supporters at least monthly.
• Quarterly direct mail is the most popular frequency for nonprofits at 39%, followed by twice a year at 31%.
• Only 12% expect to send direct mail to their typical supporters at least monthly.
• Nonprofit communicators are excited about investing in new websites, having real plans in place for the first time, integrating communications channels to increase effectiveness, and using social media to reach new supporters.

To access the report/infographics, go to: http://nonprofitmarketingguide.com/2012trends

Resource of the Week – Outsourcing Back-Office Services in Small Nonprofits: Pitfalls and Possibilities

The Management Assistance Group (MAG), based in Washington DC, has published a guidebook entitled  Outsourcing Back-Office Services in Small Nonprofits: Pitfalls and Possibilities. Leaders of smaller nonprofits know that attending to their back-office needs is critical but frequently lack the time or expertise to address these needs in addition to their programmatic work.  At the same time, they also have difficulty finding appropriate, affordable, quality outsourced services.  In this study, Mark Leach explores outsourcing as a solution for helping to improve small nonprofits’ back-office functions. To download a copy of the free guide, go to: http://www.managementassistance.org.

Tech Tip of the Week -- Saving your PowerPoint 2010 Presentation as a Video
There are a number of new features in PowerPoint 2010 which allow you to enhance your presentations with video, images and animations. During the coming weeks we will be publishing a series of tips that introduce you to these amazing new tools. Create a Video is one of these new features. Here’s how it works

• Create your presentation
• Save the presentation
• Click the File tab
• Click Save & Send in the left pane
• Under File Types, click Create a video
• Make changes in the right pane, if necessary
• Click the Create Video button

 After you create a video, you can share it with others by:

• Sending it as an e-mail attachment
• Burning it to a DVD disc
• Uploading it to a video sharing Web site such as YouTube
• Posting it on your website or other shared location