Picks of the Week: October 2 - 8, 2011

Website of the Week -- Foundation Center Online Learning Lab

The Foundation Center offers an array of online training courses to help you succeed in your fundraising efforts. You can find these online courses listed in the Center's "Virtual Classroom". Go to: http://www.grantspace.org/Classroom.


Publication of the Week -- The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, 3rd Edition by David O. Renz (Editor) and Robert D. Herman

From the publisher: The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management brings together leading experts in the nonprofit and management fields to describe effective practice in all the important functions, processes, and strategies of nonprofit management. Based on the most current research, theory, and experience, this comprehensive edition offers useful advice for managing nonprofit organizations and addresses key aspects of practice such as board development, strategic planning, lobbying, marketing, fundraising, volunteer management, financial management, risk management, and compensation and benefits. New chapters include information and knowledge in areas that have developed and changed substantially since the second edition was published, including: social entrepreneurship, financial leadership and capital structure, demands for new levels of accountability and transparency, and the changing political and legal climate and context. David O. Renz is the Beth K. Smith/Missouri Chair in Nonprofit Leadership and the Director of the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, a leadership development and research center at the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Childhood Poverty Among Hispanics Sets Record, Leads Nation

The spread of poverty across the United States that began at the onset of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and accelerated last year hit one fast-growing demographic group especially hard: Latino children. More Latino children are living in poverty -- 6.1 million in 2010 -- than children of any other racial or ethnic group. This marks the first time in U.S. history that the single largest group of poor children is not white. In 2010, 37.3% of poor children were Latino, 30.5% were white and 26.6% were black, according to an analysis of new data from the U.S. Census Bureau by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. This negative milestone for Hispanics is a product of their growing numbers, high birth rates and declining economic fortunes. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Hispanics today make up a record 16.3% of the total U.S. population. But they comprise an even larger share (23.1%) of the nation's children, a disparity driven mainly by high birth rates among Hispanic immigrants. Read the full report for discussion of the factors explaining this trend and how the recession reversed a pattern where more white children lived in poverty than Hispanic children prior to 2007. The report also explores the varied impact of the recession on different subgroups of Latino children. Go to: http://pewhispanic.org.


Resource of the Week – Stepping Up, Staying Engaged: Succession Planning and Executive Transition Management for Nonprofit Boards of Directors

Staying Engaged, Stepping Up is the fifth volume of a monograph series on executive transitions and executive transition management, funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Family Fund and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This publication focuses particularly on board leaders. It provides a set of practical perspectives, hands-on tools, brief case studies, and useful resources to help board chairs, officers, and members take a proactive approach to preparing their organizations for a transition. To download a copy, go to: http://www.aecf.org.


Tech Tip of the Week -- Freeze a Formula into its Current Value in Excel

To freeze a formula into its current value:

• Select the formula
• Press F2 (Edit)
• Press F9 (Calc)
• Press Enter

Now you can copy or move the value anywhere you need it. This trick works in all versions of Excel, including 2007 and 2010!