Picks of the Week: February 20 - 26, 2011

Website of the Week – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Go to: http://www.gatesfoundation.org.


Publication of the Week -- The Nonprofit Development Companion: A Workbook for Fundraising Success by Brydon M. DeWitt

From the publisher: A comprehensive workbook covering all aspects of successful nonprofit development. One of the most significant factors in the success of any marketing and fundraising program is the ability and willingness of the organization to take the time to develop an integrated development plan with realistic budgets, timelines, and areas of responsibility. The Nonprofit Development Companion examines all aspects of successful development and includes useable templates and examples that can be adapted for application within any nonprofit organization.

• Covers a specific element in each chapter, including mission, strategic planning, case for support, marketing/communications, use of volunteers, fundraising program, recordkeeping system, CEO, governing board, and development staffing
• Includes templates and samples to provide specific examples to use right away
• Offers a new approach to nonprofit fundraising and marketing

Based on sound development principles, this book gives you the step-by-step guidance you need to build and run a successful development program. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Online Giving Grows 35 Percent in 2010

Blackbaud, Inc. has announced the release of its 2010 Online Giving Report, which provides the most comprehensive review of online giving trends currently available in the nonprofit sector. Key findings include:

• Nonprofits of all sizes continue to see growth in online giving. Year-over-year online fundraising grew 34.5% in 2010.
• Online giving accounts for 7.6% of all total fundraising. Large organizations went from raising the lowest percentage of total fundraising online at 5.1% in 2009 to the highest percentage at 7.7% in 2010.
• Haiti-related online giving shaped 2010 giving trends. January 2010 had the largest percentage of online giving for the entire year. This change can almost single handedly be attributed to giving to Haiti relief efforts. International Affairs organizations had their online giving grow 130.8% compared to 2009.
• Year-end giving still accounts for the largest percentage of online donations. October, November, and December of 2010 represented 31.3% of total online giving during the year.
• Donors continue to make significant gifts online. In 2010, 88% of organizations had at least one online gift of $1,000 or more.

The Report is also the first of its kind to provide directions on how organizations can benchmark themselves against the Report data and guidance on how to improve performance based on benchmark results. To download the 2010 Online Giving Report, go to: http://www.blackbaud.com.


Resource of the Week – Free Online Advocacy Tools

The Aspen Institute's Advocacy Planning and Evaluation Program offers advocates with a series of three free online tools: The Advocacy Progress Planner, Domestic Advocacy, and Global Advocacy. CPSS tools enable advocates to:

• Plan better: make realistic predictions about feasible accomplishments
• Evaluate better: record information to make improvements along the way
• Communicate better: craft messages that create lasting, active engagement

Continuous Progress Advocacy Progress Planner is an online "logic model" for advocates who want to start thinking about planning and evaluation. It's designed to provide an at-a-glance look at the ingredients of advocacy efforts. It can guide you to clarify the elements of your own campaign: goals and impacts; audience; what you bring to your campaign; the activities and tactics you're planning for; and benchmarks along the way to your goals. The Continuous Progress Advocacy Tools provide a step-by-step roadmap for planning advocacy efforts and conducting evaluations before, during and after a campaign. Continuous Progress offers both domestic and global issues advocacy tools. To access the tools, go to: http://www.aspeninstitute.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Animation in PowerPoint 2010
Creating animation in PowerPoint is much improved with the 2010 update. TechRepublic's article Five Tips For Creating Animations in PowerPoint 2010 will help you learn how. Check it out.

• Use ready-made animations
• Set triggers
• Use the Animation Painter
• Let the timeline help you out
• See it all in the Animation Pane