Picks of the Week: October 13 - 19, 2013

Website of the Week -- Working Narratives 

Working Narratives works with social movements to tell great stories that inspire, activate and enliven our democracy. The organization believes that social movements thrive and win when they draw on participants’ personal experiences and local cultures. By telling stories—whether in the form of performance, radio, video, or other media—movements build power, envision new democratic possibilities, and change culture and policy. Working Narratives is located at the intersection of arts, technology, and policy. Working Narratives provides:

• Training in how to tell and deploy stories,
• Technology to produce and disseminate those stories,
• Production of compelling stories to serve as model projects for the grassroots, and
• Networking to build power in and among social justice individuals and groups that use narrative forms.

Go to: http://workingnarratives.org

Publication of the Week --  The Nonprofit Leadership Transition and Development Guide: Proven Paths for Leaders and Organizations by Tom Adams 

From the publisher: In this dynamic resource, Tom Adams, an expert in succession planning who has worked with hundreds of organizations, shows how intentional leadership development and properly managed leadership transitions provide nonprofits with the rare opportunity to change direction, maintain momentum, and strengthen their capacity. This accessible guidebook is filled with illustrative stories, instructive lessons, best practices, and practical tools that can be used to ensure a successful nonprofit leadership transition.

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com

Trend of the Week --  Generational Giving Habits 

A new report from Blackbaud, The Next Generation of American Giving, reveals multichannel preferences and charitable habits of Generation X, Generation Y, Baby Boomers, and Matures. This research will help you learn how differences among the generations affect their charitable behavior, and how understanding those differences is crucial to your fundraising strategy. For example:

• Boomers contribute 43% of all giving. Are you neglecting this lucrative generation in your efforts to woo hot-topic Millennials?
• It’s time to lay to rest the generalization that digital is for young people only. All generations value a mix of online and offline communications and giving channels.
• When it comes to volunteering, Gen Y talks the talk while Matures walk the walk. How do you get your younger supporters out from behind social media to actually take action?
• Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraising are gaining traction, largely with Generations X and Y. But organizations better be prepared to demonstrate the impact of gifts from these younger generations.

To download this report, go to: https://www.blackbaud.com/nonprofit-resources/generational-giving-report?utm_source=tipsheet&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=NextGenReport

Resource of the Week –  Working Better Together: Building Nonprofit Collaborative Capacity 

Collective action is an effective way for nonprofits to increase their impact , but they often lack the key capacities that enable these types of partnerships to thrive. As much as funders would like to encourage more collective action among their grantees, the reality for many nonprofits is that they simply do not have the time or the resources to do collective work. This new publication from Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) lays out insights on what core capacities nonprofits need in order to effectively collaborate — and how grantmakers can play a vital role in building these capacities. To download the publication, go to: http://geofunders.org/geo-publications/704-working-better-together

Tech Tip of the Week -- Keep a Table Row from Breaking in Word 2007/2010

To keep a table row from breaking between pages in Word 2007/2010:

• Select the row you want to keep together on the same page
• Below the Table Tools tab on the Ribbon, click the Layout tab 
• In the Table group, click Properties to open the Table Properties dialog box
• Click the Row tab
• Clear to de-select the Allow row to break across pages check box
• Click OK