Picks of the Week: August 28 - September 10, 2011

Website of the Week – Capaciteria

Capaciteria is a comprehensive, searchable database directory of capacity-building resources for nonprofits. It promotes peer review because members can comment on and rate individual resource links, as well as add useful new links. Capaciteria was developed by Jonathan Peizer, Chief Technology Officer of the Open Society Institute. Go to: http://capaciteria.org.


Publication of the Week -- Social Media for Social Good: A How-to Guide for Nonprofits by Heather Mansfield

From the publisher: Based on more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit communications and 15,000+ hours spent utilizing social and mobile media, Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits is a comprehensive 256-page hardcover book packed with more than 100 best practices covering Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 nonprofit communications and fundraising. From building your e-newsletter list to finding your "Twitter voice" to launching a mobile website and texting campaign on a small budget, this guide presents a step-by-step strategic plan for launching and maintaining successful social media and mobile marketing campaigns.

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Latest Volunteer Trends

Volunteers provide a powerful economic and social benefit to communities across the nation, with 62.8 million adults serving almost 8.1 billion hours through organizations in 2010, according to research released today by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The agency’s annual Volunteering in America research finds that America’s volunteers provided services valued at nearly $173 billion to communities and the nation last year, using Independent Sector’s estimate of the dollar value of volunteer time. Notably, Generation X volunteers (born 1965-1981) devoted more time to service in 2010 than they ever have before, giving more than 2.3 billion hours—an increase of almost 110 million hours over 2009. Generation X members more than doubled their volunteer rate between 1989 and the present day, from 12.3 percent in 1989 to 29.2 percent in 2010. This rise demonstrates a shift that researchers are seeing across the “volunteer lifecycle”—the arc of civic involvement that tends to increase as citizens feel a deeper connection to their communities through personal networks, their workplace, and their children’s schools. While the overall national volunteer rate dipped slightly from 26.8 percent in 2009 to 26.3 percent in 2010, the number of hours volunteers served remained approximately the same at 8.1 billion hours, indicating many volunteers committed more hours to service. The proportion of volunteers who serve 100 hours or more appears to have increased between 2009 and 2010 from 33.2 percent to 33.8 percent, and the median number of hours served per volunteer appears to have increased from 50 to 52 per year. For more information, go to: http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov.


Resource of the Week – Finding Your Funding Model: A Practical Approach to Nonprofit Sustainability

Developing a funding strategy that leads to financial sustainability is central to any nonprofit's ability to increase its impact. Building on years of primary research and consulting experience with dozens of nonprofits, The Bridgespan Group has developed an approach to help organizations identify and develop funding models that can best position them to achieve programmatic aspirations. Finding Your Funding Model provides practical guidance for the steps required, and the decisions and tradeoffs to be made, that will confront nonprofit leaders along the way. This detailed guide outlines a six step journey to identify and build the funding model that is right for your organization. Go to: http://www.bridgespan.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Recording Narrations in PowerPoint 2010

In a previous tip we covered recording narrations in PowerPoint 2007. In PowerPoint 2010, here's how:
• Click the Slide show tab on the Ribbon
• In the Set Up group click the Record Slide Show icon
• In the Record Slide Show dialog box, select what you want to record
• Click Start Recording