Picks of the Week: July 27 – August 2, 2008

Website of the Week -- Root Cause

Root Cause is a nonprofit organization that accelerates enduring solutions to social and economic problems by supporting social innovators and educating social impact investors. Root Cause accomplishes this through business planning and implementation, leadership development, research, and the creation of professional and funding networks that unite the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Founded in 2004 by Andrew Wolk, Root Cause has raised more than $22 million in investment and produced seven publications in its pursuit of advancing social innovation. Clients address issues like youth development, seniors and aging, and economic development. Over the last several years, Root Cause has developed a network of over 4,500 nonprofit, business, foundation, academic, and government leaders and engaged almost 250 professionally skilled volunteers. Go to: http://www.rootcause.org.


Publication of the Week -- Nonprofit Risk Management & Contingency Planning: Done in a Day Strategies by Peggy M. Jackson

From the publisher: Could your nonprofit stand up to risk assessment from outside authorities? Would it be ready should a key staff member leave? Risk management and business continuity planning have the potential for growing and strengthening the internal structure of your nonprofit, yet, these crucial practices are often deferred--or avoided--because many nonprofits fear the planning process will take forever, step on toes, or gather dust on a shelf once it is completed. With valuable templates, checklists, and worksheets to facilitate planning and preparation, Nonprofit Risk Management & Contingency Planning: Done in a Day Strategies is an uncomplicated way for your nonprofit to get risk management planning done. With some basic preparation--and dedication of a single day--this easy-to-read and easy-to-use tool introduces you to the nuts and bolts of strategic planning and equips you with the structure to engage successfully in a contingency planning process. Preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Growing Impact of Nonprofits in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin nonprofit sector has grown by 70 percent over the past ten years. In 2005, there were over 31,000 Wisconsin nonprofits that employed 8.9 percent of the state’s total workforce, marking a 5.2 percent employment growth rate over 2004 and pushing Wisconsin well above the national trend of nonprofits employing 7 percent of the workforce, according to the Wisconsin Nonprofit Sector Report – More Than Charity, a new report by the Wisconsin Nonprofits Association (WNA). To download a copy of the report, go to: http://www.wisconsinnonprofits.org.


Resource of the Week -- Audio Screencast: Effective Organizations Achieve Superior Results

A few years ago, Bridgespan began surveying clients' senior leadership teams about their organizations' strengths and weaknesses. There are now 30 nonprofits of varying sizes in the Bridgespan database, as well as a comparison set of data for more than 500 for-profits, which was developed at Bain & Company. Analysis of these databases demonstrates that high performing nonprofits think about organizational leadership, they identify the decisions that really matter, they develop the people necessary for success, they pay attention to work processes, and they create a high-performance culture. This presentation summarizes findings, and discusses barriers that commonly prevent many nonprofits from building effective organizations. It also outlines approaches that nonprofits can use to increase the effectiveness of their organizations. To view the audio screencast, go to: http://www.bridgespangroup.org/kno_media_effectiveorgs.html.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Using Paste Link in Excel 2007

Most people know how to Cut, Copy and Paste in Excel 2007 but many don’t use Paste Link, which creates a link between the data or formula in the original cell and the destination cell where it’s pasted. Here’s how:

• Click on a cell to make it the active cell
• Click on the Copy button on the Home tab (or press Ctrl + c)
• Click on the destination cell where you want the results to be displayed
• Click the small arrow at the bottom of the Paste button to open the drop down list
• Click Paste Link

The contents of the original cell now also appear in the destination cell.