Picks of the Week: July 21 - 27, 2013

Website of the Week -- The Association of Black Foundation Executives
The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) holds the distinction of being the first of the Council on Foundations 38 Affinity Groups. ABFE was established in 1971, and since then the organization has grown into an independent membership organization that counts among its members the most influential staff, trustees and donors of grantmaking institutions that promote effective and responsive philanthropy in Black communities. For nearly four decades ABFE has been a trailblazer for championing the interests of Black communities within the philanthropic sector. ABFE also recognizes that Black communities and the philanthropic leaders who serve those communities still face institutional and structural barriers that often hinder efforts to leverage philanthropy's powerful tools for positive, enduring social change. For more information, go to: http://www.abfe.org

Publication of the Week --  Leadership Conversations: Challenging High Potential Managers to Become Great Leaders by Alan S. Berson and Richard G. Stieglitz
From the publisher: Often the very same skills and traits that enable rising stars to achieve success "tenacity, aggressiveness, self-confidence" become liabilities when promoted into a leadership track. While managers' conversations are generally transactional and centered on the task at hand, leaders must focus on people, asking great questions and aligning them with the vision for the future. Leadership mindsets and skills can be developed, and Leadership Conversations provides practical guidance for connecting with others in ways that transform each interaction into an opportunity for organizational and personal growth.
Identifies four types of conversation every leader must master: building relationships, making decisions, taking action, and developing others
Provides an action plan for boosting your personal leadership potential, as well for developing leadership skills in others
Draws on the authors' rich experience coaching and working with leaders at a wide range of organizations

Click  to preview this book on Amazon.com

Trend of the Week -- 2013 Millennial Impact Report

Since 2009, the Millennial Impact Report, published by the marketing firm Achieve, has uncovered comprehensive data that reveals this rising generation is eager to connect, get involved, and give to causes they’re passionate about. And over that time, Achieve has zeroed in on the Millennial behaviors of greatest interest to nonprofits—first their trends in giving, then in service, and now in communication. This year, Achieve gathered information from an online survey distributed to Millennials through 14 research partners.

• The top takeaway: Millennials first support causes they are passionate about (rather than institutions), so it’s up to organizations to inspire them and show them that their support
• can make a tangible difference on the wider issue. Millennials view volunteer opportunities as a way to socially connect with like-minded peers, which moves them beyond technology (social networking) to in-person action. It’s especially helpful when organizations craft marketing messages that highlight the peer involvement -- for example, “Join 20 other people like you at Clean-Up Day this Saturday.”
• Further, volunteer programs that facilitate networking for Millennials maximize this generation’s inherent social connectedness. Designing programming with this benefit in mind will ultimately help retain young professionals and give them opportunities to broaden their skillsets among groups of people invested in the same issue.

The report also shows that offering online training in place of in-person training is attractive to Millennials, with the added benefit of allowing participants to train and serve anywhere. This generation also wants to know upfront what their time will achieve, so sharing positive, direct results signals to Millennials that you value and respect their time. To download the report and related resources, go to: http://www.themillennialimpact.com/2013Research

Resource of the Week –  Organizational Assessment Checklist for Youth Involvement
Where Do You Start? You know you want to involve young people in decision-making, or you know that you can do it better – but you don’t know how to get going! This checklist can help you think about the most important factors in successful youth involvement, and challenge you and your organization/school/club to do more, better.  Also consult YouthonBoard's 15 Points manual for more information on topics addressed in the Organizational Assessment Checklist. This checklist will help give direction, uncover hidden issues, clarify tasks, and guide commitment to involving youth in decision-making. Use it as a tool with your board, your staff, young people, and others. Go to:
https://youthonboard.org/sites/youthonboard.org/files/2011YOBOrganizationalAssessmentChecklist.pdf

Tech Tip of the Week -- Entering the Current Date in Word 2007/2010

• Click the Insert tab on the Ribbon
• In the Text group, click Date and Time
• Choose the desired date format
• If you want the date to be updated every time you open the document, turn on the “update automatically” check box
• Click on OK