Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Picks of the Week: October 28 - November 3, 2012

Website of the Week -- PerformWell
PerformWell is a collaborative effort initiated by Urban Institute, Child Trends, and Social Solutions. PerformWell provides measurement tools and practical knowledge that human services professionals can use to manage their programs’ day-to-day performance. Information in PerformWell leverages research-based findings that have been synthesized and simplified by experts in the field. By providing information and tools to measure program quality and outcomes, PerformWell helps human services practitioners deliver more effective social programs. Go to: http://www.performwell.org.

Publication of the Week --  Leading the Way to Successful Volunteer Involvement: Practical Tools for Busy Executives by Susan J. Ellis
From the publisher:  Lay the foundation for achieving impact with volunteer engagement! Move forward from thinking "volunteers are nice to have" to initiating strategic plans for engaging community members as key ingredients in accomplishing your organization's mission. Hit the ground running with step-by-step worksheets, checklists, idea stimulators, real life examples, self-inquiry assessments, and other practical how-to tools to: * Develop a philosophy statement about volunteers and make it a mantra for everyone in the organization * Create a budget for volunteer involvement * Secure funding for volunteer engagement * Write a position description (and pick the right title, salary, and placement) for a director of volunteer involvement * Integrate support for volunteers into every unit and department of your organization * Ask the right questions of your legal counsel and risk manager * Discover how the right volunteer can help you, the executive! * Assess staff training needs for working with volunteers * and much more.
Click to preview this book onAmazon.com.

 
Trend of the Week – How Social Media Influences Giving
This infographic at the website of Inspiring Generosity highlights some of the causes and campaigns that have succeeded and the growth social good has seen in recent years. While each campaign utilized online communication differently, they provide a great look into how non-profits can harness social media and use it for widespread change. Here are some key stats from the infographic that highlight the evolution of charitable giving and how online activism is changing the non-profit industry:

  • 80% of Gen Yers have donated financially or with goods/services in past 12 months.
  • Nearly 50% of web users surveyed by the Red Cross said they would use social media in an emergency.
  • 1 in 5 adults have donated to charity online.
  • Prior to 2010, $1 million had been donated to causes through mobile devices. After the earthquake in Haiti, that number jumped to $50 million.
To learn more about the impact social media has had on giving back and the evolution of “social good” since the Haiti Earthquake, check out the infographic at: http://social.razoo.com/2012/10/infographic-how-social-media-influences-giving/

Resource of the Week – Tutorials on Social Media
SocialBrite has prepared a collection of online guides on how to use blogs, Facebook, Twitter & more. The tutorials help show nonprofits, cause organizations, businesses and individuals how to effectively use social media, divided by subject area: • Social media, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Video & multimedia, Fundraising, Mobile, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Pinterest and more. Also  see the Sharing Center listing of posts on resources, tools and video interviews. Go to: http://www.socialbrite.org/sharing-center/tutorials.

Tech Tip of the Week -- Using Excel 2010 Sparklines

A new feature in Excel 2010 called Sparklines can help you spot trends in your data. Sparklines are tiny charts that sit on top of a cell. Here’s how to create them:
·         Select an empty cell or group of empty cells where you want to insert Sparklines
·         Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon
·         In the Sparklines group, click the type of Sparkline you want to create 
·         In the Data box, enter the range of cells that contain the data to base the Sparklines on

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