Picks of the Week: March 20 - 26, 2011

Website of the Week – Google for Nonprofits Program

Google has launched the Google for Nonprofits program that provides access to exclusive products and resources to help nonprofit tax exempt organizations expand their impact. By joining Google for Nonprofits, a nonprofit organization will be approved to enroll in exclusive nonprofit products, which include:

• Google Grants: Free AdWords advertising to promote your website on Google through keyword targeting.
• YouTube for Nonprofits: Premium branding capabilities on YouTube channels, increased uploading capacity, the ability to select custom thumbnail images, and Call-to-action overlay on your videos.
• Google Earth Outreach Grants: Free licensing for Google Earth Pro, Google SketchUp Pro and Maps API Premier.
• Google Apps for Nonprofits: Free version of Google Apps for Nonprofits with fewer than 3,000 users, or a 40% discount ($30/user/year) on Google Apps for Business for organizations which have over 3,000 users.

Nonprofits will also receive the following benefits regardless of whether they enroll in Google's exclusive product programs:

• Monthly Google for Nonprofits newsletter
• Access to other Google for Nonprofits online resources
• Special offers and events
• Access to online training material targeted towards nonprofits

To be eligible for the Google for Nonprofits program, organizations must have current 501(c)(3) status and be headquartered in the United States. To apply for the Google for Nonprofits program, go to: http://www.google.com/nonprofits/index.html.


Publication of the Week -- The Custom-Fit Workplace: Choose When, Where, and How to Work and Boost Your Bottom Line by Joan Blades and Nanette Fondas


From the publisher: In this book, Blades and Fondas offer business professionals an indispensable handbook for transforming the way we work and breaking free from the old, inflexible, 40-hour workweek. The authors show creative ways for individuals to fit work requirements with life obligations, and persuade managers to adopt these custom-fit work strategies to improve their bottom line. Readers will finish the book convinced of the place of custom-fit work arrangements in today’s workplace—and of how honoring employees’ lives outside of work is an effective and innovative strategy for both managers and organizations. Featuring compelling stories of companies like Jet Blue, Ernst & Young, and Best Buy, the book profiles strategies that are gaining traction in workplaces across the country:

• New twists on traditional flexible hours and part-time work strategies
• Virtual workplaces
• Results-Only Work Environments (ROWEs)
• “Babies at Work” programs
• “On ramp and off ramp” opportunities

Practical and engaging, The Custom-Fit Workplace provides individuals and employers the tools they need to be successful and happy both at work and in life. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week -- Causes Women Support


Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University has examined charitable giving by women and released results of their research. The first report of Women Give 2010, released in October, reported differences in giving to charity between male and female single-headed households across income levels. Findings in that report revealed that (1) in every income group from the lowest quintile ($23,509 or less) to the highest quintile ( >$103,000), female-headed households were more likely to give to charity than male-headed households; (2) in every income group except for one, women gave more than men (almost twice as much); (3) when comparing females to males by single-status, women were more likely to give and give more than men—except for widowers who gave more than widows. The second report, Causes Women Support, is a follow-up to the October 2010 report. Using the same data set, methodology, and analysis, we examine the differences between men and women's giving by charitable area. The research question we ask is, "Are there differences between male and female single-headed households across all subsectors of charitable giving? As in the first report, we focus only on male and female households led by the following singles: (1) never marrieds, (2) divorced/separated, and (3) widows/widowers. By focusing only on male and female single-headed households, the conclusions that we draw will be more definitive as to the differences between men's and women's giving. To download the findings, go to: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu.


Resource of the Week – The Coaching and Philanthropy Project’s Online Toolkit


The Coaching and Philanthropy (CAP) Project’s Online Toolkit of free resources and action guides takes you on a deep dive into everything you need to know about coaching and how it can help you in your nonprofit work – to build on your strengths, create a stronger team, increase organizational capacity, and develop future leaders. To access the toolkit, go to: https://groups.compasspoint.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Change Text Case in Word


To change the case of text in Word, try this:

• Select text
• Press Shift + F3 until it changes to the desired case style

Pressing Shift + F3 toggles the text case between sentence case, UPPERCASE, lowercase, and capitalize each word. Be sure to hold down the Shift WHILE you press F3. Also, it works in all versions of Word. However, if you include text with punctuation at the end, it will skip the option to capitalize each word. You can also try this in PowerPoint.