Picks of the Week: November 28 - December 4, 2010

Website of the Week – Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations
The Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations is located at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1984, the Mandel Center offers the nation's most fully developed program in nonprofit management and was one of the first university-based programs in the country focused on the education of nonprofit leaders and managers. As an academic center that aims to enhance the effectiveness of nonprofit leaders and managers, the Mandel Center offers a variety of services for individuals and organizations who want to learn more about or be active members of the nonprofit sector. Go to: www.case.edu/mandelcenter.


Publication of the Week -- Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire: A Roadmap to a Sustainable Culture of Ingenuity and Purpose by Braden Kelley

From the publisher: Every successful organization began as a nimble, innovative start-up with the ability to course-correct and quickly adapt to the needs of its customers. But along the way, success and growth may have caused changes in the structure, the culture, and sometimes even the vision of the business. Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire equips your organization to identify and remove those barriers to innovation that have prevented it from achieving sustainable growth and change. Filled with case studies and proven guidance, this book evolves leading innovation theories into coherent, practical applications that you can implement in reinvigorating your own organization. In today's fast-paced marketplace, those unwilling to change are often left behind. With an interactive Web site including health checks and an innovation audit, as well as video and text interviews, Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire provides you with the tools you need to reframe your business's innovation strategy and goals and successfully supply the marketplace with revolutionary solutions to your customers' issues. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Giving Circle Trends

Donors in giving circles give more, give more strategically, and are more engaged in their communities, according to a report released by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Giving circles have emerged over the last decade as a growing and significant philanthropic trend among donors of all wealth levels and backgrounds. Past studies have shown that the number of giving circles has exploded across the country and that they are an established philanthropic force. Giving circle members are more likely than other donors to give to organizations serving women and girls, ethnic and minority groups, and for arts, culture and ethnic awareness. They are less likely to give to federated or combined giving funds (such as the United Way) and to religious organizations. For a summary and full report, go to: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu.


Resource of the Week – Board Leader Succession Planning Resource

While much has been written about executive leadership succession in nonprofits, there are not as many resources available to help with board succession planning. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has compiled some useful resources in the article “Succession Planning with Your Board”. There are links to a number of excellent worksheets and tools. Go to: http://www.shrm.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Customize the Ribbon in Office 2010

Office 2010 allows you to customize the Ribbon in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Here's how:

• Click the File tab on the Ribbon
• Click Options to display the Options dialog box
• Click Customize the Ribbon
• Select the command you want to add to the Ribbon
• Click the tab where you want the command added and click new group -- commands can only be added to custom groups (you can even create a new custom tab if you want to)
• Click Add
• Click OK when you are finished adding commands to the Ribbon