Picks of the Week: December 5 - 11, 2010

Website of the Week – Nonprofit Trends

Nonprofit Trends is a blog by Steve MacLaughlin and covers a wide range of topics around the nonprofit sector with a focus on the trends shaping the nonprofit sector. Steve is the Director of Internet Solutions at Blackbaud and is responsible for leading how the company provides online solutions for its clients. Steve has spent more than 14 years building successful online initiatives with a broad range of Fortune 500 firms, government and educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations across the world. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and events including the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Direct Marketing Fundraisers Association (DMFA), Institute of Fundraising, National Association of Independent School (NAIS), Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), and other nonprofit organizations. Go to: http://www.nptrends.com.


Publication of the Week -- The Change Leader's Roadmap: How to Navigate Your Organization's Transformation, 2nd Edition by Linda Ackerman Anderson and Dean Anderson

From the publisher: In these turbulent times, competent change leadership is a most coveted leadership skill, and savvy change consultants are becoming trusted participants at the board table. For both leaders and consultants, knowing how to navigate the complexities of organization transformation is fast becoming the key to a successful career. This second edition of the author s landmark book is the king of all how-to books on change. It provides a strategic overview of the author s proven change process methodology, as well as pragmatic guidance and tools for each key step in a complex transformational change process. The Change Leader s Roadmap is the most comprehensive guide available for building transformational change strategy and designing and implementing successful transformation. This book is specifically written for leaders, project managers, OD practitioners, change practitioners, and consultants seeking greater change results. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Nonprofit Fundraising Trends

The Nonprofit Research Collaborative has released the “November 2010 Fundraising Survey” on the state of nonprofit fundraising. Respondents answered questions comparing their organizations’ total contributions in the first nine months of 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. Nearly the same percentage of organizations reported that giving was up as those that reported giving was down. Of the about 2,500 responses, 36 percent said giving rose and 37 percent said giving fell, while the other 26 percent reported that total giving remained the same. However, there are some differences across organizations according to charity type and budget size. Key findings include:

• Organizations in four of the analyzed subsectors reported an equal percentage of both increases and decreases in contributions. These subsectors include: Arts, Education, Environment/Animals, and Human Services.
• International organizations were the most likely to report an increase in contributions, reflecting donations made for disaster relief.
• The larger the organization’s size based on total annual expenditures, the more likely the organization was to report an increase in charitable receipts in the first nine months of 2010, compared with the same period in 2009.
• Approximately 22 percent of charities used volunteers in positions that were formerly paid positions during the first nine months of 2010. This is up from 15 percent a year ago.
• Most organizations were hopeful about 2011. About 47 percent planned budget increases, 33 percent expected to maintain their current level of expenditures, and only 20 percent anticipated a lower budget for 2011.

To download a copy of the report, go to: http://foundationcenter.org.


Resource of the Week -- Nonprofit Webinars for December 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 -- Using Screenshot in Office 2010

Screenshot -- a new feature in Office 2010 -- allows you to capture images from your screen.

• Click the document that you want to add the screenshot to
• Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon
• In the Illustrations group, click Screenshot
• To add the whole window, click the thumbnail in the Available Windows gallery
• To add part of the window, click Screen Clipping, and when the pointer becomes a cross, press and hold the left mouse button to select the area of your screen that you want to capture
• If you have multiple windows open, click the window you want to clip from before clicking Screen Clipping. When you click Screen Clipping, the program you are working in is minimized and only the window behind it is available for clipping
• After adding a screenshot, you can use the tools on the Picture Tools tab to edit and enhance the screenshot

You can use Screenshot in Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010 and Excel 2010.