Picks of the Week: August 19 - 25, 2012

Website of the Week -- DIY Committee Guide
This remarkable website is full of useful resources.. The DIY Committee Guide website is structured around the Code of Good Governance for the Voluntary and Community Sector This site was originally developed in 2005 by the Volunteer Development Agency (now Volunteer Now) in Northern Ireland in partnership with 14 other organizations.  It provides a central point of access to a wide range of practical, user-friendly resources developed by groups across the nonprofit sector in Northern Ireland and beyond. Go to: http://www.diycommitteeguide.org/


Publication of the Week --  From the Top Down: The Executive Role in Successful Volunteer Involvement by Susan J. Ellis
From the publisher:  A bestseller since 1986, this fully revised third edition of FROM THE TOP DOWN has been updated to reflect many changes and trends in the world and in volunteerism. It points the way to success with volunteers by showing how to: *Articulate a vision and strategy for volunteer involvement *Make the most of the connection between money donors and time donors *Avoid tension between volunteers and employees *Tap new community resources, from pro bono service to voluntourism *Budget for and creatively fund volunteer efforts *Find the best person to lead volunteer participation *Manage risk, legal, and insurance issues realistically *Distinguish between the wage replacement cost of volunteer time and its true value *Demonstrate executive commitment on a daily basis Whether an organization is just starting out with a new volunteer initiative or has many years of experience with a well-developed corps of volunteers, FROM THE TOP DOWN provides thought-provoking and thoughtful advice to achieve the maximum impact from the participation of volunteers.

Click topreview this book on Amazon.com.

Trend of the Week – Location of High Performing Nonprofits in America

Where are the most high-performing charities in America? Charity Navigator’s 2012 Metro Market Study reveals the regional differences in the performance of the nation’s largest charities. Not all U.S. cities have equally high performing charities, according to a study by Charity Navigator, America’s largest charity evaluator. The study revealed that large charities in markets such as Portland, Milwaukee and Kansas City have a greater commitment to ethical best practices than those in Detroit, Miami and Atlanta. It is the only comprehensive report on the performance – both financial health and accountability & transparency – of the 30 largest philanthropic marketplaces in America. For more information, go to: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1380

Resource of the Week – Leadership Development Toolkit: Creating Your Nonprofit’s Plan A

The Bridgespan Group has prepared a guide to leadership development at nonprofits, Plan A: How Successful Nonprofits Develop Their Future Leaders. This kit features a growing list of materials through which you can explore the topic. The goal is to help you create a proactive, systematic approach to leadership development that can be considered within your nonprofit’s day-to-day operations. To access the leadership development kit, go to:

http://www.bridgestar.org/Library/LeadershipDevelopmentToolkit.aspx.


Tech Tip of the Week -- PowerPoint 2010: Presentations that Pop
This manual is just one of many excellent resources which can be downloaded for free from Tufts University Information Technology Training and DocumentationDepartment.   Following are the topics covered:

·        Use the Slide Master to manage the different aspects of multiple slides in a single presentation

·        Insert (embed or link) charts into a presentation
·        Add a video to a presentation
·        Embed a video from a web site such as YouTube into a presentation
·        Add a sound file to a presentation
·        Share slides between presentations
·        Use built-in PowerPoint tools to position elements on a slide
·        Create hyperlinks in a presentation
·        Create a custom slide show
·        Apply techniques to enhance your presentation skills
·        Annotate slides during a presentation

To download this document, go to Presentations that Pop.