Picks of the Week: February 8 - 14, 2009

Website of the Week -- Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation

In 1999, the Arizona Board of Regents approved the Arizona State University (ASU) Lodestar Center to become a comprehensive academic center to enhance the effectiveness of nonprofits-especially those involved in positive youth development and human services. The Center was created after an extensive and inclusive process involving faculty, staff, students, nonprofits, funders, and a major grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Building Bridges initiative. In March 2008, the Center changed its name from the Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management to the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation. The ASU Lodestar Center advances nonprofit leadership practice through the four interdisciplinary areas of focus:

• Research that Matters
• Nonprofit Leadership Education
• Assistance to Nonprofits
• Conferences and Convenings

Go to: http://www.asu.edu/copp/nonprofit/about.htm.


Publication of the Week -- Effective Donor Relations by Janet L. Hedrick

From the publisher: Donors are the heartbeat of your nonprofit, partners in your organization's work, and supporters in its mission to change the world. Keeping them is essential to your nonprofit's survival; losing them means major losses for your organization's annual giving program, capital campaign efforts, and major and planned gifts. Part of the AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series, Nonprofit Essentials: Effective Donor Relations guides in creating and implementing each aspect of a donor relation plan, providing recommended solutions to frequently encountered dilemmas and including sample documents, checklists, and other tools to help shape an effective program. The book covers:

• Why and how donor relations is vital to your nonprofit
• Why being recognized is important to your donors
• Making the most of the Internet for donor relations

Click here to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Foundation Giving Trends

Foundation support for eight of the 10 major giving areas rose in 2007, despite the first signs of an economic downturn in the latter half of the year, according to The Foundation Center’s Foundation Giving Trends (2009 Edition). Funding for the environment and animals rose fastest, up 28.5 percent from the prior year — more than double the 13.2 percent rise in overall grant dollars. Key findings include:

• Foundations awarded a record 188 grants of $10 million or more in 2007. Of the 10 largest, eight were made by the Gates Foundation, mainly for health-related activities and international development.
• International giving — which cuts across all areas and includes grants awarded directly to overseas recipients and to U.S.-based international programs — reached a record 23.4 percent of total grant dollars awarded.
• Among specific populations, the economically disadvantaged benefited from the largest share of grant dollars, rising to a record $5.3 billion.

Click here to download a free summary of the report highlights. Click here to order a copy of the full report.


Resource of the Week -- CensusScope

CensusScope is an easy-to-use tool for investigating U.S. demographic trends. This resource is provided by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan. With eye-catching graphics and exportable trend data, CensusScope is designed for both generalists and specialists. The site includes:

• Charts and trend data for States, Metro Areas, and Counties based on Census 2000 and Trend Data going back to 1990, 1980, and sometimes even further
• State and county-level rankings by population growth, race, educational attainment, language, and gender
• Segregation exposure and dissimilarity measures for 1246 individual US cities with population exceeding 25,000 and for all metropolitan areas, based on single and multiple race populations as identified in Census 2000.

Go to: http://www.censusscope.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Create a Cent Sign in Word

To create a cent sign in Word using a keyboard shortcut:

• Hold down the Ctrl key and press /
• Type the letter c

This tip works in Word 2007 and in older versions as well.