Picks of the Week: July 8 - 14, 2012

Website of the Week -- Alberta Association of Services for Children and Families
The Alberta Association of Services for Children and Families (AASCF) is a membership association of agencies providing services to children and families in Alberta. The AASCF formed in 1967 as a network of agencies with common interests. The Association has compiled an extensive resource library for non-profit resources applicable to agencies, organizations and associations in the Human Service sector. You can access these resources at www.aascf.com. The link to the resource library is in the left margin.

Publication of the Week --  Do More Than Give: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World by Leslie R. Crutchfield, John V. Kania, and Mark R. Kramer

From the publisher:  How donors change the world through the six catalytic practices of high-impact philanthropy. Do More Than Give provides a blueprint for individuals, philanthropists, and foundation leaders to increase their impact. Based on Forces for Good, this groundbreaking book demonstrates how the six practices of high-impact nonprofits apply to donors aiming to advance social causes. Rather than focus on the mechanics of effective grantmaking, reporting, or evaluation, this book instead proposes that donors can become proactive catalysts for change by rising to meet the challenges of our increasingly interdependent world. Key principles include: going beyond check writing/traditional volunteering; advocating for change; leveraging business; forging peer networks; empowering individuals; leading adaptively; and developing learning organizations.
·         Contains robust case studies depicting every type of philanthropy (corporate, community, operating, specialized, and large private and family foundations)
·         Includes easy to use "Key Takeaways" tailored for donors at the "beginner" and "experienced" levels of catalytic philanthropy
·         Authors are internationally-acclaimed philanthropic, nonprofit, and corporate social responsibility strategy experts who frequently speak and train on high-impact philanthropy

Click topreview this book on Amazon.com.

Trend of the Week – Growth in Giving Slows

American philanthropic giving rose in 2011 to more than $298.4 billion, up from a revised estimate of $286.9 billion in 2010, reflecting gains across the economy, according to Giving USA 2012, the annual report on philanthropy released by the Giving USA Foundation and its research partner, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Key findings include:

·         Individual giving increased by 0.8 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. Personal, disposable income rose 0.7 percent from 2010 compared to a 2 percent increase between 2009 and 2010. Individuals gave an average of 1.9 percent of their disposable income each year over the past two years, indicating that people generally remain committed to philanthropy despite possible fluctuations in personal income.

·        In inflation-adjusted dollars, foundation giving fell 1.3 percent largely due to reduced asset growth resulting from the continuing American housing market weakness, European debt crisis, rising oil prices and other various economic and political factors.

·      Corporate giving remained flat compared to 2010 levels. Corporate pre-tax profits only rose 4.2 percent in 2011, compared to a 25 percent increase in the previous year. The S&P 500 index also experienced a 3 percent decline in real dollars after two consecutive years of growth (10.9 percent in 2010 and 23.8 percent in 2009).

For more information, go to: http://www.givingusareports.org/


Resource of the Week – Continuity Of Operation Plan For Nonprofit Human Services Providers

This document is intended to be a guideline for developing a Continuity Of Operation Plan (COOP) plan for nonprofits. It is strictly a template to guide one through the steps needed to begin the process of developing a comprehensive COOP plan for the organization. Much of this template model can be attributed to Miami-Dade County’s Office of Emergency Management’s Guidelines for Developing an All Hazards Continuity of Operations Plan for Businesses, the Bay Area Emergency Preparedness Coalition for Seniors & People with Disabilities, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Sample Emergency Plan. Go to: http://www.virtualcap.org/downloads/US/IT_Plan_for_Emergencies.pdf


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.  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