Picks of the Week: October 26 - November 1, 2008

Website of the Week -- Mentoring Canada

Mentoring Canada, a nonprofit informational site that provides resources and training to mentoring organizations and related charities. The site contains on-line interactive training, along with a library of downloadable materials. Mentoring Canada is a program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, made possible only through the support of the Muttart Foundation. Its primary focus is to promote and support mentoring initiatives in communities across Canada. All community organizations, corporations and others interested in mentoring are invited to use this website of resources and training materials to further their efforts in support of our young people through the provision of quality mentoring programs.
Go to: http://www.mentoringcanada.ca/resources/aboutus.html.


Publication of the Week -- The One Page Business Plan for Non-Profit Organizations by James T. Horan Jr.

From the publisher: The edition of the One Page Business Plan Series has been specifically designed for Non-Profits. If you are responsible for founding or managing a non-profit organization, this book was written for you. Now you can easily write a draft plan on a single page in less than two hours. Thousands of non-profits have already successfully written and implemented One Page Plans with this simple and effective planning methodology. This special version of The One Page Business Plan has been called "The One Page Promise" because it helps directors, boards, management and volunteers clearly define and live up to their promises at organizational, departmental, project and program levels, all in fast, easy to communicate and actionable terms. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Year-End/Holiday Giving Trends

Convio commissioned Jupiter Research to help gain insight into the online giving plans of the more than 175 million online consumers in the US. According to the report, “$3 Billion Is A Click Away,” the research results indicate that the silver lining in this economic cloud just may be that nonprofits and consumers are aligning around online giving. Fifty-one percent, more than 89 million, online consumers say that despite the economic situation they plan to donate online during the 2008 holiday season. This level of online planned support shows that nonprofits of all sizes need to make sure their websites and other electronic communications meet consumer expectations. Among those who find online resources helpful in selecting a charity, they are 20 percent more likely to donate than the average online user. It is also important to make sure that traditional appeals such as direct mail, television and events provide people with the option to give online. Some of the research findings include:

• 54% of women plan to donate versus 48 percent of men.
• 64% of people with household income of more than $100K plan to donate online with 9% donating more this holiday season.
• 46% of 18-24 year olds and 50% of 25-34 year olds plan to donate online, with 13% of 18-24 year olds planning to donate more this holiday season than last.
• 53% of 55-64 year olds plan to donate online showing that it is no longer just for the younger age groups.
• 46% of the group who said their financial situation became substantially worse over the past 12 months still plan to donate online this holiday season.

For the full report, go to: http://playbook.convio.com/?&elqPURLPage=280&playbook=media. (Note free registration is required to download the report.)


Resource of the Week -- Urban Institute Outcome Indicators Project

The Urban Institute has developed and applied an Outcome Framework to 14 specific program areas Examples include Transitional Housing, Youth Tutoring and Mentoring, Emergency Shelter, Advocacy, and more. For each program, there is a sample mission statement, an outcome sequence chart, a table of candidate program-specific outcomes, and data collection strategies with suggested data sources for each outcome indicator. Go to: http://www.urban.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Flipping Data in an Excel 2007 Worksheet

Ever create an Excel 2007 table and then wish the columns were rows and the rows were columns? Here's a solution:

• Select the table
• Press Ctrl + c to copy (Or click the copy button on the Home tab of the Ribbon)
• Select the cell where you want the new table to begin (this cell CAN be in the old table)
• Right click to display the shortcut menu and select Paste Special (Or on the Home tab of the Ribbon, click the Paste arrow to display the Paste Special option)
• In the Paste Special dialog box, select Transpose and click OK

Picks of the Week: October 19 - 25, 2008

Website of the Week -- Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development

The purpose of the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development is to connect thinkers and leaders of all ages to develop fresh ideas, forge new partnerships, and design strategies that engage young people and their communities. The Center helps innovative programs become strong, sustainable ventures by offering technical assistance and practical guidance to organizations that want to deepen, expand, and launch new initiatives. Go to: http://www.theinnovationcenter.org/a_mission.shtml.


Publication of the Week -- Working Across Generations: Defining the Future of Nonprofit Leadership by Frances Kunreuther, Helen Kim and Robby Rodriguez

From the publisher: The authors provide a range of ideas on how to approach generational shifts in leadership so that the contributions of long-time leaders are valued, new and younger leaders' talent is recognized, and groups are better prepared to work across generational divides. Giving context to these differences, they explore the current assumptions about the upcoming transition between generations in the social sector; introduce new ideas or frames for thinking about generational leadership change; and examine how this change poses individual, organizational, and systemic challenges for those in the social sector. In addition, they provide numerous examples and practical exercises to show how to address these issues. The book concludes with critical advice on how to communicate across generations and key recommendations for future research and action. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Donors of the Future: Key Trends

The Donors of the Future scanning project was undertaken with the joint sponsorship of the New Ventures in Philanthropy Initiative at the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and the Community Foundation Leadership Team at the Council on Foundations. The authors describe the following key trends which emerged from the Donors of the Future Scan:

• Racial and ethnic diversity will increase in almost all communities at large.
• Wealth appreciation in virtually all distinct/different population groups will become significant — e.g., more wealthy African Americans,, Asians, Hispanics, women, gay, young, self-made.
• The concept of endowment will face continuous pressure as new donors – from recent immigrants to self-made high-wealth entrepreneurs – enter the system.
• Interest in giving internationally will increase among all types of donors.
• Sending money home, among foreign born living in the U.S., in income categories from top to bottom, will increase significantly.
• Flash giving– triggered by international conflict, famine, natural disasters, all unfolded instantaneously by the media – has the potential to engage and empower many donors; may be the entry point of primary mode of giving for many donors.
• Donors will be increasingly attracted to self-formed learning and giving communities or gatherings, that foster connectivity and exploration, sponsor events, etc.
• More and more donors will take care of all of their giving – flash and more sustained – with internet giving portals.
• A more mobile population of all ages, combined with out-migration from smaller towns and rural areas, and more frequent “caravanning” among retirement aged adults, may continue to diminish the appeal and incidence of place based giving.
• Giving by faith-based donors, long acknowledged as providing the majority of all giving in the US, will become even more complex to deal with. Polarization around Christian and evangelical giving will increase, as “mainstream” philanthropy institutions tag it all as “evangelical”. In current political context, Muslim giving may also become very hot.
• Donor demand for a streamlined, 24-7, customized interface will push community foundations on the business operations side.
• Peoples’ need to see themselves (i.e., people of their kind), in the leadership of the institutions to whom they give their money, time or allegiance will increase.
• All the trends above are now evident among today’s adult population. All will become more extreme as generations X and Y – and those that follow them -- enter and assume leadership in the system.

For a copy of the report, go to: http://www.givingforum.org.


Resource of the Week -- Three Toolkits from the Kellogg Foundation

The Kellogg Foundation has developed three toolkits for nonprofits. The Communications and Marketing Kit is designed to help non-profit organizations use communications to achieve their social change goals. The Evaluation Toolkit is designed for nonprofits seeking to design an effective, useful evaluation. The Policy Toolkit has been designed to support nonprofits and grassroots organizations in understanding the role of policy at all levels of government - local, state and national, and more importantly, prepare them for engagement in the policy process. This web-based handbook features the policy process and principles, guiding questions to help translate and understand the process and principles, as well as case stories to illustrate key ideas. Go to: http://www.wkkf.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Navigation Pane in Access 2007

In Access 2007, the Navigation Pane has replaced the Database Window as the main way to get around in a database.

• To change the width of the Navigation Pane, Position the pointer over the right edge of the Navigation Pane and then, when it changes to a double-sided arrow drag the edge to increase or decrease the width.
• To expand or collapse the appearance of the Navigation Pane, click the Shutter Bar Open/Close Button, or press F11 to toggle the pane between the open and closed views.

Picks of the Week: October 12 - 18, 2008

Website of the Week -- Leadership Learning Community

The Leadership Learning Community (LLC) is a national organization of people who run, fund, study, and provide services to leadership development programs in the belief that leadership can change our communities, organizations, and the world. The aim of the LLC is to strengthen collective and individual capacity to transform society by connecting the learning, practice and resources of those committed to leadership development. To this end the Leadership Learning Community continuously documents learning and knowledge development to share with the field. LLC also encourages others in the community to do the same and contribute documents to the knowledge and resources available on the website You will find documents in Adobe PDF format that include program materials, evaluations, meeting notes, scans, reports, guidelines, and learning reflections as well as links to videos, images and other websites relevant to the field. You can browse all documents or search by key word, tag, or author below. Go to: http://www.leadershiplearning.org/about#what.


Publication of the Week -- The Charismatic Organization: Eight Ways to Grow a Nonprofit that Builds Buzz, Delights Donors, and Energizes Employees by Shirley Sagawa, Deborah Jospin and Jonathan M. Tisch

From the publisher: The authors offer a framework that allows organizations to go beyond quick fixes and fundraising strategies to a broader paradigm that encompasses community and organization building. What if every person involved with an organization was fully engaged and shared a common goal? What if the efforts of a relatively small ring of staff and board members were amplified by everyone touched by the organization, including current and former volunteers, staff, board members, clients, constituents, funders and supporters? That, the authors show, is the way a charismatic organization operates. The book provides numerous examples of how successful organizations have made this shift, as well as action steps that all organizations can take to perform better. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Younger Prospects for Planned Giving

Recently, The Stelter Company combined forces with the research firm Selzer & Company Inc. to provide new research into who names charities in their wills, when and why. According to the new report, “Discovering the Silent Giver”, fundraisers should be targeting a younger age segment than is traditionally the case for planned giving. The researchers found that 41% of adults prepare a will by the time they reach age 40, and that the percentage bumps up to 84% for those age 40 and younger with average annual incomes over $100,000. Key findings of the report include:

• 7% of Americans have currently made a bequest to charity in their wills. In addition, another 10% are good prospects
• 5% of Americans have wills and say they will definitely or probably make a bequest to a charity.
• 5% of Americans do not have wills but say they will definitely or probably make a bequest to charity when they have this document in place.

To download a summary of the report, go to: http://www.stelter.com. (Note: You will have to register at the website to access the report summary)


Resource of the Week -- Research Summary on Nonprofit Sector Workforce

Workforce Issues in the Nonprofit Sector: Generational leadership change and diversity authored by R. Patrick Halpern and published by American Humanics is a topically organized report that highlights much of the research regarding the nonprofit sector workforce. The paper is intended to serve as a resource for practitioners, researchers, funders, and advocates within the nonprofit sector by providing a point-in-time snapshot of nonprofit sector workforce issues. Research on the sector constantly is revealing new insights and accepted best practices. This study should not be considered a comprehensive overview of workforce issues within the sector. The paper reviews a selection of existing literature covering workforce issues within the nonprofit sector from 1995 to the present. Additionally, considering the enormous diversity within the sector in terms of organizational size, scope, sub-sector, etc., the studies included in this analysis may not be applicable to or representative of all organizations operating within the sector. However, the paper provides relevant, general insights into the current state of the nonprofit workforce, especially insights related to executive turnover, diversity, and the next generation of nonprofit employees. Go to: http://www.humanics.org/site/c.omL2KiN4LvH/b.1537171/ and click on “Literature Review and Bibliography.”


Tech Tip of the Week -- Use Text-to-Speech in Excel 2007

Text-to-speech was not included in the Excel 2007 Ribbon. To use this feature in Excel 2007 you must first add it to the Quick Access Toolbar. Here’s how:

• Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar arrow
• Click More Commands from the drop-down menu
• From the Choose commands from list, select Commands Not in the Ribbon
• Scroll down and select the Speak Cells commands you want to use and click Add
• Click OK when you are finished adding commands to your Quick Access Toolbar

Picks of the Week: October 5 - 11, 2008

Website of the Week -- Leading Transitions

Leading Transitions, a consulting firm founded and led by Mindy Lubar Price, strengthens non-profit organizations through assessment, education and empowerment of leadership during periods of transition and change. Leading Transitions uses time-tested, healthy principles to work with executive directors, boards of directors and senior staff to increase their operating capacities. Committed to the future vitality of non profit organizations, Leading Transitions recognizes the inherent challenges in leadership succession, fund development and executive support. The practice has been refined to provide the flexibility necessary to adapt to the intricacies and dynamics of any non-profit organization. At the site, the newest and most exciting resources you will find are the Succession Planning Toolkits presented at the Executive Transition Initiative of the 2008 Greater Milwaukee Foundation Succession Planning Conference. There is a summary booklet that covers all types of nonprofit succession planning and three toolkits on each specific type:

• Departure Defined Succession Planning -- Provides a roadmap through an upcoming and anticipated executive transition in an organization.
• Emergency Succession Planning -- Provides the information and tools needed to create an emergency succession plan that is unique to a specific organization's needs.
• Strategic Leadership Succession Planning -- Provides a road through the ongoing and evolving succession planning and leadership development needs in an organization.

To visit the website and access the toolkits, go to: http://www.leadingtransitions.com/index.html.


Publication of the Week -- Disaster Recovery Planning for Nonprofits by Michael K Robinson

Disaster Recovery Planning for Nonprofits offers advice to help nonprofits plan for natural disasters, equipment failures, terrorist attacks, thefts, scandals, and other emergencies. It explains components of a disaster plan and lays the framework for plan development and is intended to be used as a starting point for organizations that wish to form comprehensive disaster recovery plans. The book also examines current trends identified through a recent nonprofit study. Includes appendices with disaster recovery planning resources and a bibliography. Recommended Peter Brinckerhoff of Corporate Alternatives Incorporated. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Younger Donors Just as Generous as Other Generations

Donors across all generations tend to give roughly the same amount to philanthropic causes, when controlling for other factors such as income, education and frequency of attendance at religious services, according to "Generational Differences in Charitable Giving and in Motivations for Giving," a study conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and sponsored by Campbell & Company. There are some generational difference in giving, mostly between the “Silent” and Great generations and Boomer and later generations. Key findings include:

• Giving differs mostly by factors other than generation – educational attainment, frequency of religious attendance and income. To the extent that these differ by generation, they explain the observed difference in giving by people of different generations.
• Motivations do vary by income, race, education, region of the country and religious attendance but vary little by generation after controls for these other factors.
• Millennial donors are most likely to be motivated by a desire to make the world a better place. They give consistent with their income, education level, frequency of religious attendance and marital status.

To download and executive summary, go to: http://www.campbellcompany.com. To request a copy of the full results, please e-mail study@campbellcompany.com.


Resource of the Week -- Effective Advocacy at All Levels of Government

While federal legislation certainly affects the operations of nonprofits, the funding and policy decisions that most affect locally-based nonprofits and their constituents come from city, county, and state governmental bodies. This timely publication from the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is designed to prepare nonprofits for engagement at the state and local levels - where most nonprofits are likely to have the capacity to engage, and the potential to see quicker results - as well as for opportunities at the federal level. The challenge with a publication of this type is the lack of uniformity among local and state governments across the United States. Capturing the individual practices of 50 state legislatures and thousands of city and county governments would be impossible here. This publication thus focuses on three elements to aid nonprofits in their advocacy at all levels of government:

• Generalized processes and principles of how to influence public policy in our federal system of government. By becoming familiar with general practices in policy development, nonprofits can better adapt to the specific ways of a particular jurisdiction's government.
• Guiding questions that will help translate an understanding of general principles into appropriate strategies for specific issues at specific levels of government.
• Case stories that bring key ideas to life and allow nonprofits to imagine themselves in similar situations.

To download a copy, go to: http://www.wkkf.org/advocacyhandbook/index.html.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Change Heading Styles in Word

To quickly change a heading style in Word, click in the line containing the heading and use these keyboard shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Alt + 1 to apply Heading 1 style to current paragraph
• Ctrl + Alt + 2 to apply Heading 2 style to current paragraph
• Ctrl + Alt + 3 to apply Heading 3 style to current paragraph

This tip works in Word 2007 as well as earlier versions.