Picks of the Week: September 5 - 11, 2010

Website of the Week – Nonprofit Tech 2.0

Nonprofit Tech 2.0 was created and is managed by Heather Mansfield (Bio) (LinkedIn) of DIOSA Communications. She also created and maintains the Nonprofit Organizations Twitter profile, the Nonprofit Organizations Facebook Page, the Nonprofit Organizations YouTube Channel, the Nonprofit Organizations MySpace, and the Web 2.0 for Nonprofit Organizations LinkedIn Group. Fueled by a strong passion for the Internet, Heather spends her days [and some nights] helping nonprofit organizations utilize the Internet as a tool for social change. Go to: http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com.


Publication of the Week -- Nonprofit Law for Religious Organizations: Essential Questions & Answers by Bruce R. Hopkins and David Middlebrook

From the publisher: Nonprofit Law for Religious Organizations: Essential Questions & Answers is a hands-on guide to the most pertinent and critical legal issues facing those who lead and manage religious tax-exempt organizations with an emphasis on tax, employment, property and constitutional law. This timely book is a response to the need for guidance, direction, and clarification of legal and tax laws affecting churches and other religious organizations. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Volunteer Trends in the US

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its report, "Volunteering in the US - 2009." These trends are important because they not only have implications for getting work done, but also because there are major giving implications presented by volunteerism according to Independent Sector (volunteers are more likely to give in dollars too). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most frequent activity performed by volunteers is fundraising. Amongst the ages 20-34, tutoring, teaching, or mentoring is the biggest activity. Men are slightly more likely to volunteer than women. Religious organizations are the largest beneficiaries of volunteerism, followed by youth or educational services volunteering. Interestingly, the higher the level of educational attainment, the less time volunteered for religious organizations - more time was given to sport, hobby, or cultural organizations, but they were also more likely to volunteer than those with lower levels of education. Volunteerism increased among people with full time jobs, but decreased significantly amongst people ages 20-24. Overall volunteerism increased with age, and the largest segment of volunteers was ages 65 or older. However, younger people were less likely to volunteer for religious organizations than those over 65. The largest segment of volunteers does so because someone asked them (44%), while 40% do so because they sought out the opportunity. This study surveyed 60,000 households and tracked civilian volunteerism. for more information, go to: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/volun.pdf.


Resource of the Week – Nonprofit Webinars for September 2010

Wild Apricot, a Canadian based software development company has compiled a list of webinars on a number of nonprofit management topics being offered this month at no charge – useful for fundraisers, board members, administrators, active volunteers and volunteer coordinators. Go to: http://www.wildapricot.com.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Quickly Change Font Size in Word

To quickly increase or decrease the font size of selected text by 1 point, do this:

• Select Text
• Ctrl + ] to increase by 1 point
• Ctrl + [ to decrease by 1 point

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