Picks of the Week: June 15 - 21, 2008

Website of the Week -- CADCA's National Coalition Institute

The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s National Coalition Institute, created by an Act of Congress, helps build more effective community anti-drug coalitions through training, technical assistance and educational materials. The Institute serves as both a vehicle for coalition-specific substance abuse prevention policy development and a center for coalition training, technical assistance, evaluation, research and capacity building. While the focus is anti-drug coalition building, this comprehensive website will be of great value to other nonprofits. Go to: http://www.coalitioninstitute.org. Also be sure to check out the Strengthening Partnerships Toolkit.


Publication of the Week -- Wired for Good: Strategic Technology Planning for Nonprofits by Joni Podolsky

Wired for Good is a nuts-and-bolts guide to strategic technology planning for nonprofit organizations—no matter how large or small. This book leads nonprofits through a planning process that will help them align their technology use with their mission and strategic goals, determine what the appropriate technology tools are to meet those goals, and how the technology will be implemented and supported over time. This essential guide also shows how to win support for a strategic technology plan within an organization, evaluate a plan's effectiveness, and help staff and other stakeholders adapt to the changes new technology will bring about. Wired for Good shows nonprofit professionals how to:

• Get their organization ready for the strategic technology planning process
• Dispel the myths surrounding technology planning
• Understand the benefits of strategic technology planning
• Overcome organizational resistance to strategic technology planning
• Define the roles and responsibilities of staff and other key stakeholders in creating a successful plan
• Make the best use of volunteers and consultants
• Find the funds to support technology implementation

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- High Net Worth Business Owner Giving Trends

For business owners, personal passion -- not personal reward -- drives philanthropic involvement, according to a survey released today by SunTrust Bank Private Wealth Management. The national study surveyed over 200 high net worth business owners, whose companies have at least $10 million in annual revenue, about their philanthropic involvement and motivation. Business owners cite "helps make a positive change" as the top reason for charitable giving. Nearly three-fourths of respondents say satisfying their personal moral beliefs drives their philanthropic impulses. And fewer than half say they give to receive tax credits; to bring positive attention to their business; to network; to establish a legacy; or to gain recognition. Virtually all the business owners surveyed have made a charitable donation personally (96%) and through their business (79%). On average, in 2007 they report having donated over a quarter of a million dollars to charitable causes through their businesses and $78,000 personally or as families.
Seven in 10 agree that "even if there is an economic downturn that moderately affects my business, I plan to keep my current level of nonprofit or charitable giving in the coming year." They are "charity multipliers," in that more than half encourage employees to donate time and/or money to company charities. And one in three say they will match donations made by employees. Their generosity extends beyond simply giving money. Business owners are a critical component of the nonprofit world as members of nonprofit boards. About half (47%) of respondents sit on the board of a philanthropic organization, particularly those that focus on religious concerns (21%), arts/culture (18%), children's needs (18%), and healthcare issues (17%). Click here for more study details.


Resource of the Week -- CharityChannel Re-launched

CharityChannel, one of the oldest and most comprehensive resources for nonprofits has re-launched. CharityChannel was founded in 1992 by Stephen Nill who saw a need for colleagues to connect, share and discuss pertinent challenges and issues. It was started as one email-based discussion forum – CHARITYTALK – which is still one of the more active discussions communities of CharityChannel. As the professional community grew, so did CharityChannel. With well over 100,000 participants, CharityChannel rolled out its new web site in March, 2008. The new site, built atop the CharityChannel framework™, is designed to enable nearly instant creation of features and content sections according to the rapidly expanding needs of the CharityChannel professional community. The site includes articles, book reviews, newsletters, training resources and much more. Go to: http://charitychannel.com/Home/About/tabid/4058/Default.aspx.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Inserting Line Numbers in Word 2007

• Click the Page Layout tab on the Ribbon
• In the Page Setup group, click Line Numbers
• Select options from the menu

You can have line numbers run continuously through your document. You can also have the line numbering restart on each page or following section breaks.