Picks of the Week: September 21 - 27, 2008

Website of the Week --Hispanics in Philanthropy

Founded in 1983 to promote stronger partnerships between organized philanthropy and Latino communities, Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) has developed into a transnational network of grantmakers committed to strengthening Latino communities across the Americas. As a membership organization, HIP seeks to share with funders the needs of the Latino community. To this end, the organization sponsor regional, national and international conferences and briefings, research and publications, professional development programs, as well as providing referrals for foundations seeking Latino staff and trustees. In addition, HIP seeks to increase resources for the Latino civil sector by leading a funding collaborative, which focuses foundation, corporate, government and individual dollars on supporting Latino nonprofits. Concentrating specifically on building the capacity of Latino nonprofits, the Funders' Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities further serves HIP’s mission of strengthening Latino leadership, while at the same time increasing awareness about Latino issues and stimulating dialogue about how to better serve the Latino community and Latin America. Check out the “Resources” link. Go to: http://www.hiponline.org/home.


Publication of the Week -- First-Time Leaders of Small Groups: How to Create High Performing Committees, Task Forces, Clubs and Boards by Manuel London and Marilyn London

From the publisher: First-Time Leaders of Small Groups offers novice and experienced leaders the information they need to keep their members interested and involved, resolve conflicts and deal with difficult people, and ultimately have their group achieve results . . . quickly. The book includes four steps for preparing to lead (selecting members, setting the groundwork for high performance, planning, and establishing your leadership style) and four steps for taking the lead (starting right, working smart, coaching, and assessing). These steps will help you take the lead with confidence. First-Time Leaders of Small Groups is filled with illustrative examples of a wide range of small groups and provides clear suggestions for action. The book includes:
• Questions and answers based on research on what works well, and what does not
• Diagnostics for determining your group’s strengths and weaknesses
• Leadership challenges—ideas for overcoming common difficulties
• Self-assessments to help build confidence as a group leader
• Examples of approaches for different group situations
• Models for understanding how groups work
• Activities for improving group functions
• Key research findings
• Easy-to-follow suggestions for practice

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- How Children Fare in the Federal Budget

Kids' Share 2008: How Children Fare in the Federal Budget, published by The Urban Institute, looks comprehensively at trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children. Key findings suggest that historically children have not been a budget priority. In 2007, this trend continued, as children's spending did not keep pace with GDP growth. Absent a policy change, children's spending will continue to be squeezed in the next decade. Key findings include:

• Children’s share of domestic federal XX spending—spending that excludes defense, non-defense homeland security, and international affairs—actually declined during this period from 20.2 to 16.2 percent.
• Spending over time on individual children’s programs has tended to fall behind growth in the economy and often inflation. The children’s budget has maintained its share of GDP mainly through the introduction of major new programs every few years.
• The majority of spending on children in 2007 (63 percent) was on 13 major programs enacted since 1960.
• By contrast, the sums spent on elderly entitlement programs tended to outpace both growth in the economy and prices. Growth in entitlement programs is automatic, driven by rising wages, medical costs, and the aging of the American population. Although a number of children’s programs are either entitlements or permanent features of the tax code, they do not tend to have automatic growth built into them.
• Tax programs (specifically, the dependent exemption) and income security programs, which composed 92 percent of federal spending on children in 1960, declined to just 51percent by 2007. During this same period, health, education, and nutrition programs grew from 7.6 percent of federal spending on children to 36 percent.

To download the entire report, go to: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411699_kids_share_08_report.pdf.


Resource of the Week -- Strategic Thinking and Planning: A Resource Bibliography

We have just updated our Strategic Thinking and Planning Resource Bibliography. It contains books, articles and other web based resources. Go to: http://www.createthefuture.com/strat%20plan%20biblio.htm.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Keyboard Shortcuts in Excel 2007

If you are a fan of keyboard shortcuts you will be happy to know that most of the shortcuts we've used for years work exactly the same in Excel 2007. Here's a list of some of my favorites:

• Selects the entire worksheet -- Ctrl + A
• Undoes the last action -- Ctrl + Z
• Redoes the last action -- Ctrl + Y
• Calculates all worksheets in all open workbooks -- F9
• Copy selected cells -- Ctrl + C
• Paste -- Ctrl + V
• Select data range -- Ctrl + Shift + *

For a complete listing of all Excel 2007 keyboard shortcuts, go to Excel shortcut and function keys published on www.office.microsoft.com where you can find lots of other great resources for learning Microsoft Office.