Picks of the Week: March 27 - April 2, 2011

Website of the Week – The Listening Post Project

The Johns Hopkins Listening Post Project, and initiative of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, is monitoring in a systematic and timely way what is happening to nonprofit organizations in the U.S. To do so, project staff have partnered with nonprofit umbrella organizations in several major nonprofit fields and with over 1,000 local nonprofit organizations that have agreed to serve as the Listening Post Project's “eyes and ears” on critical nonprofit challenges and promising responses organizations are making to them. To learn more about the Listening Post Project and access report findings, go to: http://www.ccss.jhu.edu.


Publication of the Week -- Results Now for Nonprofits: Strategic, Operating, and Governance Planning by Mark Light


From the publisher: Using a lightning-fast and inclusive process, Results Now® puts purpose, strategy, operations, and governance into one user-friendly, comprehensive plan that your board can pass in a single vote and your organization can maintain as a regular part of its business throughout the year. Results Now for Nonprofits relies on accountability and performance measurement to increase the level of effective decision-making. This "big picture first, details next" planning process helps you:

• Use the Results Now master plan as a centerpiece of board meetings and as a standard part of board meeting advance information
• Foster a welcome climate for give-and-take strategic thinking
• Clarify the organization's story for the community and keep people on point about what's important
• Develop team cohesion
• Orient newer leadership members and recharge seasoned ones
• Attract new funders who reward nonprofits who plan

A must-have for all nonprofit executives and directors, members of boards and trustees, and nonprofit managers, Results Now for Nonprofits is a results-driven, practical tool that will help your organization achieve its mission, values, and destiny. Click to preview this look on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Trends in International Grantmaking Update by U.S. Foundations


Giving by U.S. foundations for international purposes held virtually steady last year, generating $6.7 billion, down just 4 percent. According to International Grantmaking Update: A Snapshot of U.S. Foundation Trends, a new report prepared by the Foundation Center in cooperation with the Council on Foundations, this decrease was less than half the 8.4 percent estimated decline in foundation giving overall last year. This latest update of the Foundation Center's benchmark series on international grantmaking examines changes in overall giving through 2009 based on a survey of leading funders. It also documents trends in giving through 2008 based on actual grants awarded by over 1,000 of the largest U.S. foundations. To download a free copy of the report, go to: http://foundationcenter.org.


Resource of the Week – Social Innovation Resources


Root Cause, a nonprofit research and consulting firm, has complied resources to help leaders in the nonprofit, government, and business sectors understand the roles they can play in encouraging social innovation at their own organizations or in others—in order to create lasting social impact. You can find practical tools and thought pieces on the following topics:

• Social Innovation and the Emerging Social Impact Market
• Business Planning
• Performance Measurement
• Financial Sustainability
• Social Issue Primers

To access the resources, go to: http://www.rootcause.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Paste with Live Preview in Excel 2010

One of the improvements in Excel 2010 is the ability to preview what you are pasting before you paste it. Here's how:

• Copy what you want to paste
• Position your pointer where you want to begin pasting
• Right click to display the shortcut menu which lists the most common choices
• Pause your pointer over the Paste Options buttons to preview the result before pasting
• Click to select your desired option or click the arrow beside Paste Special for more choices

For more help, watch this short video by Microsoft Paste with Live Preview.