Picks of the Week: July 12 - 18, 2009

Website of the Week -- Craigslist Foundation

Founded in 2000 by Craig Newmark and others, Craigslist Foundation is a publicly supported, non-endowed 501(c)3 operating foundation. The Foundation’s programs are designed to help strengthen communities and spark community engagement. Since 2004, the Craigslist Foundation has hosted Craigslist Foundation's Boot Camp, an in-person event that focuses on skills for connecting, motivating and inspiring greater community involvement and impact. Boot Camp has drawn more than 10,000 people since its inception. Over the past few years, the foundation has recorded the workshops at Nonprofit Boot Camp and released them as a free podcast series. You can subscribe via itunes, subscribe to the rss feed, or download directly from the website at no charge. Go to: http://www.craigslistfoundation.org/index.html.


Publication of the Week -- Managing Executive Transitions: A Guide for Nonprofits by Tim Wolfred

From the publisher: A leadership transition can be a time of high vulnerability for a nonprofit organization. On the other hand, an executive turnover offers unique opportunities for renewal and fresh thinking. Managing Executive Transitions shows how this state of transition can give board and staff members a chance to put things back together in new and creative ways to discard some old pieces and to bring in fresh elements. Nonprofit boards and executive directors will find practical advice on how to manage leadership turnovers in ways that can heighten mission impact while avoiding potential downsides. Author Tim Wolfred recommends a transformational process of three phases: Prepare, Pivot, and Thrive. Engaging case studies and hands-on tools such as planning agendas, timelines, sample letters, and communication tips will smooth the transition to new executive leadership. Tim Wolfred is a Senior Projects Director at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. He inaugurated in 1998 CompassPoint's Executive Transitions program, which has now worked with over 300 nonprofit agencies. Tim is the author of Interim Executive Directors: The Power in the Middle, which is one in a series of monographs on best practices for executive transitions published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. He is also co-author of two seminal studies of executive director tenure and experience, Leadership Lost and Daring to Lead, which were published by CompassPoint. Click here to preview the book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Wisconsin Nonprofits Coping with Economic Crisis

In May 2009, Forward Community Investments released the report “Wisconsin Nonprofits: Coping with Economic Crisis”. The report contains the results of a survey of 245 nonprofits from all over the state of Wisconsin, diverse in geographic location, staffing size, budget, and mission. The commonality is that all these nonprofits are providing important services and strengthening the livelihood in our statewide communities. Key findings of the survey results are:

• Organizations are tapping cash reserves to meet budget shortfalls.
• Uncertainty about future financial health is creating anxiety.
• Demand for services is increasing while donations are decreasing.
• Commitment to fulfilling missions remains strong.

To download a copy of the report, go to: http://www.forwardci.org/capacity/workshops.html.


Resource of the Week -- Crisis Management Plan Templates

Holly Hart, a Wisconsin based consultant, has completed crisis management, pandemic and continuity of operations plan documents for non-profits, small businesses and schools. They are available for download at no charge. The materials are in word documents so that people can take sections of the documents to add to what they already have or so that they can take the entire document and customize it to fit their organization’s needs. Also included are training manuals in PDF form to explain the reasoning behind the contents of the crisis response plan documents. Go to: http://www.hollyhartconsulting.com/Resources/index.html.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Freeze a Formula into its Current Value in Excel

To freeze a formula into its current value:

• Select the formula
• Press F2 (Edit)
• Press F9 (Calc)
• Press Enter

Now you can copy or move the value anywhere you need it. This trick works in all versions of Excel, even 2007!