Website of the Week – FASTEN
The Faith and Service Technical Education Network (FASTEN) offers informational resources and networking opportunities to faith-based practitioners, private philanthropies, and public administrators who seek to collaborate effectively to renew urban communities. An initiative of Pew Charitable Trusts, FASTEN actively identifies best practices in faith-based services and multi-sector collaboration, and produces and disseminates educational materials for practitioners in the public and private sectors. Go to: www.fastennetwork.org.
Publication of the Week -- Fundraising Principles and Practice by Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang
From the publisher: This books offers a definitive text on the vital topic fundraising. It provides students of fundraising and nonprofit professionals access to the most relevant theories and includes concrete examples of modern fundraising practice. The book contains clear learning objectives, recommended readings, case studies, summary self-test questions, and exercises at the end of each chapter. The Principles and Practice of Fundraising comprehensively addresses all the major forms of fundraising and critical topics such as donor behavior and fundraising planning. Adrian Sargeant is the world's foremost fundraising scholar. This text will be invaluable to the beginner, but new research findings mean it should also be a must read for established practitioners. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Charitable Donors Give More When Asked Personally
Donors to charitable organizations give more when they are asked in person and when someone they know makes the request, a new study commissioned by Chicago-based consulting firm Campbell & Company and conducted by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University finds. The study, Significant Gifts: Where Donors Direct Their Largest Gifts and Why confirms what nonprofit organization fundraisers have often observed: people give to people and especially to people they know. Donors who were asked to give in person by someone they knew donated 19 percent more ($987) to secular (non-religious) charities, when compared with telephone, mail or email requests from someone they knew ($799). For religious organizations, when the donor was asked in person by someone he or she knew, the average donation was 42 percent higher ($2,904) than when someone the donor knew made the request using a different tactic ($1,698). For more information, go to: http://www.campbellcompany.com.
Resource of the Week – Leadership Dialogues
The Leader to Leader Institute recently announced the launch of Leadership Dialogues, an online toolbox featuring a growing library of video interviews with inspiring leaders including Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally, and Tony Hsieh, Founder and CEO of Zappos.com.. The site is catalogued by topic and provides current and future leaders with essential leadership wisdom in topics such as diversity, accountability, courage, entrepreneurship, and growth that will help build effective social sector organizations. To access Leadership Dialogues, go to: www.leadertoleader.org/dialogues.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Back up a Microsoft Access 2007 Database
• Open the Database you want to back up
• Click the Microsoft Office Button (top left)
• Point to Manage
• Click Back up Database to open the Save As dialog box
• Choose the name and the location (By default Access 2007 adds the date of the backup to the name of the file.)
• Click the save button
Monday, May 17, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Picks of the Week: May 9, 2010
Website of the Week – Ventureneer
Ventureneer is a web-based education and professional development portal that aims to provide a new approach to learning that blends traditional formal instruction with informal learning derived from problem solving with peers using Web 2.0 technology. Members use Ventureneer to solve problems, request resources or information, seek guidance from others and, most important, how to have the greatest impact. Through Ventureneer, you can:
• Take interactive classes to develop critical thinking skills and heighten your ability to make effective decisions.
• Use a peer rating-and-commenting system similar to Netflix, Amazon and Zagat that organizes content so you know what others think is most relevant.
• Share resources – share your perspectives and, in turn, learn from the experiences of your peers to address your own recurring problems.
• Participate in one-to-one peer partnering.
Go to: http://ventureneer.com.
Publication of the Week -- Designing a Not-for-Profit Compensation System by
JoAnn Senger
From the publisher: Written by recognized not-for-profit human resource specialist JoAnn Senger, Designing a Not-For-Profit Compensation System provides a step-by-step method to help human resource professionals design and manage a successful compensation system for any public or not-for-profit organization. When it comes to compensation systems, the not-for-profit sector is rife with complexities, including legislative approval requirements and the board of directors' direct involvement in compensation matters. Addressing these and other unique obstacles, Designing a Not-For-Profit Compensation System:
• Defines various types of not-for-profit and public organizations
• Identifies current types of compensation structures
• Identifies organizational characteristics influencing the usefulness of each structure, including the organization's budgeting and accounting processes and timetables
• Covers maintenance for all compensation structures and the interaction among organizational units
• Details the usefulness of each compensation structure, including midpoint calculations, rate adjustments, variable pay, and market surveys
Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – CEO Salary Trends
The Council on Foundations just announced the results from its 2009 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Report. The findings are based on responses from an online survey of 779 foundations and corporate grantmakers of which 50 were corporate grant makers (foundations or direct giving programs) and 729 were community, private (family or independent), or public foundations. Key findings from the survey include:
• In 2009, the reported median salary for CEOs/CGOs was $140,250; the median salary for program officers was $78,000. These salaries vary by size and type of grantmaker and by region.
• Between 2005 and 2009, overall CEO salaries increased by 15.9% in nominal terms at private foundations and 25.3% at community foundations.
• The median salary in the Midwest was 10.1% lower than the national median for all positions. Salaries in the Northeast were 9.1% higher.
• Between 2005 and 2009, program officer salaries increased by 13% in nominal terms at private foundations and 21.5% at community foundations.
To download a copy of the report at the Council's website, go to: https://www.cof.org.
Resource of the Week – Nonprofit Webinars
Wild Apricot, a Canadian based software development company has compiled a list of webinars on a number of nonprofit management topics being offered this month at no charge. Go to: http://www.wildapricot.com.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Creating Lines in Word 2007
One of my favorite shortcuts from previous versions of Word still works in Word 2007! To create lines across the page of a Word document:
• Type three consecutive hyphens ( --- ) and press Enter for a normal line
• Type three underscores ( ___ ) and press Enter for a bold line
• Type three equal signs ( === ) and press Enter for a double line
• Type three pound symbols ( ### ) and press Enter for a triple line
• Type three tildes ( ~~~ ) and press Enter for a wavy line
• Type three asterisks ( *** ) and press Enter for a dotted line
These lines extend from the left margin to the right margin and the width of these lines will change if you change the margins of your document or if you change the orientation from Portrait to Landscape.
Ventureneer is a web-based education and professional development portal that aims to provide a new approach to learning that blends traditional formal instruction with informal learning derived from problem solving with peers using Web 2.0 technology. Members use Ventureneer to solve problems, request resources or information, seek guidance from others and, most important, how to have the greatest impact. Through Ventureneer, you can:
• Take interactive classes to develop critical thinking skills and heighten your ability to make effective decisions.
• Use a peer rating-and-commenting system similar to Netflix, Amazon and Zagat that organizes content so you know what others think is most relevant.
• Share resources – share your perspectives and, in turn, learn from the experiences of your peers to address your own recurring problems.
• Participate in one-to-one peer partnering.
Go to: http://ventureneer.com.
Publication of the Week -- Designing a Not-for-Profit Compensation System by
JoAnn Senger
From the publisher: Written by recognized not-for-profit human resource specialist JoAnn Senger, Designing a Not-For-Profit Compensation System provides a step-by-step method to help human resource professionals design and manage a successful compensation system for any public or not-for-profit organization. When it comes to compensation systems, the not-for-profit sector is rife with complexities, including legislative approval requirements and the board of directors' direct involvement in compensation matters. Addressing these and other unique obstacles, Designing a Not-For-Profit Compensation System:
• Defines various types of not-for-profit and public organizations
• Identifies current types of compensation structures
• Identifies organizational characteristics influencing the usefulness of each structure, including the organization's budgeting and accounting processes and timetables
• Covers maintenance for all compensation structures and the interaction among organizational units
• Details the usefulness of each compensation structure, including midpoint calculations, rate adjustments, variable pay, and market surveys
Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – CEO Salary Trends
The Council on Foundations just announced the results from its 2009 Grantmakers Salary and Benefits Report. The findings are based on responses from an online survey of 779 foundations and corporate grantmakers of which 50 were corporate grant makers (foundations or direct giving programs) and 729 were community, private (family or independent), or public foundations. Key findings from the survey include:
• In 2009, the reported median salary for CEOs/CGOs was $140,250; the median salary for program officers was $78,000. These salaries vary by size and type of grantmaker and by region.
• Between 2005 and 2009, overall CEO salaries increased by 15.9% in nominal terms at private foundations and 25.3% at community foundations.
• The median salary in the Midwest was 10.1% lower than the national median for all positions. Salaries in the Northeast were 9.1% higher.
• Between 2005 and 2009, program officer salaries increased by 13% in nominal terms at private foundations and 21.5% at community foundations.
To download a copy of the report at the Council's website, go to: https://www.cof.org.
Resource of the Week – Nonprofit Webinars
Wild Apricot, a Canadian based software development company has compiled a list of webinars on a number of nonprofit management topics being offered this month at no charge. Go to: http://www.wildapricot.com.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Creating Lines in Word 2007
One of my favorite shortcuts from previous versions of Word still works in Word 2007! To create lines across the page of a Word document:
• Type three consecutive hyphens ( --- ) and press Enter for a normal line
• Type three underscores ( ___ ) and press Enter for a bold line
• Type three equal signs ( === ) and press Enter for a double line
• Type three pound symbols ( ### ) and press Enter for a triple line
• Type three tildes ( ~~~ ) and press Enter for a wavy line
• Type three asterisks ( *** ) and press Enter for a dotted line
These lines extend from the left margin to the right margin and the width of these lines will change if you change the margins of your document or if you change the orientation from Portrait to Landscape.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Picks of the Week: May 2 - 8, 2010
Website of the Week – The Urban Institute
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. It provides information and analysis to public and private decision makers to help them address these challenges and strives to raise citizen understanding of the issues and tradeoffs in policy making. Go to: http://www.urban.org/center/cnp/index.cfm.
Publication of the Week -- Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O'Toole, and Patricia Ward Biederman
From the publisher: In Transparency, the authors, a powerhouse trio in the field of leadership, look at what conspires against "a culture of candor" in organizations to create disastrous results, and suggest ways that leaders can achieve healthy and honest openness. They explore the lightning-rod concept of "transparency" which has fast become the buzzword not only in business and corporate settings but in government and the social sector as well. Together Bennis, Goleman, and O'Toole explore why the containment of truth is the dearest held value of far too many organizations and suggest practical ways that organizations, their leaders, their members, and their boards can achieve openness. After years of dedicating themselves to research and theory, at first separately, and now jointly, these three leadership giants reveal the multifaceted importance of candor and show what promotes transparency and what hinders it. They describe how leaders often stymie the flow of information and the structural impediments that keep information from getting where it needs to go. This vital resource is written for any organization, business, government, and nonprofit that must achieve a culture of candor, truth, and transparency. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates, Current Outlook
According to the Foundation Center, the recent economic crisis caused the nation's more than 75,000 grantmaking foundations to cut their 2009 giving by an estimated 8.4 percent-by far the largest decline ever tracked by the Foundation Center. Grant dollars fell from $46.8 billion to $42.9 billion. Yet according to Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates (2010 Edition), released by the Foundation Center, this cutback totaled less than half the 17 percent loss in foundation assets recorded in the prior year. Key estimates for 2009 giving include:
• Independent and family foundations — which represent close to nine out of 10 foundations — reduced their giving 8.9 percent to $30.8 billion in 2009.
• Corporate foundation giving decreased 3.3 percent to $4.4 billion in 2009.
• Community foundation giving declined 9.6 percent to $4.1 billion in 2009, exceeding decreases by independent and corporate foundations.
To download a copy of the Foundation Center’s current outlook, go to: http://foundationcenter.org.
Resource of the Week – RAFFA Resources for Nonprofits
RAFFA, an accounting, technology, and consulting firm serving nonprofits and small businesses, has maintains a comprehensive list of resources addressing the following topics: advocacy, ethics, marketing, governance, financial management, fundraising, human resources, legal issues, tax issues, technology, strategy, and volunteerism. The firm adds new material regularly. Go to: http://www.raffa.com/resource.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Format Cells to Display the Cent Sign in Excel 2007
• Select the range of cells you want to format
• Right click on the selected range and choose Format Cells from the shortcut menu
• Make sure the Number tab is selected in the Format Cells Dialog Box
• Under Category select Custom
• In the Type field enter [<1].00¢;$0.00_¢ (You can copy this format directly from this web page. If you type it yourself you will need to hold down the ALT key and enter 155 (or 0162) on the ten key pad to create the ¢ sign.)
• Click OK
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. It provides information and analysis to public and private decision makers to help them address these challenges and strives to raise citizen understanding of the issues and tradeoffs in policy making. Go to: http://www.urban.org/center/cnp/index.cfm.
Publication of the Week -- Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O'Toole, and Patricia Ward Biederman
From the publisher: In Transparency, the authors, a powerhouse trio in the field of leadership, look at what conspires against "a culture of candor" in organizations to create disastrous results, and suggest ways that leaders can achieve healthy and honest openness. They explore the lightning-rod concept of "transparency" which has fast become the buzzword not only in business and corporate settings but in government and the social sector as well. Together Bennis, Goleman, and O'Toole explore why the containment of truth is the dearest held value of far too many organizations and suggest practical ways that organizations, their leaders, their members, and their boards can achieve openness. After years of dedicating themselves to research and theory, at first separately, and now jointly, these three leadership giants reveal the multifaceted importance of candor and show what promotes transparency and what hinders it. They describe how leaders often stymie the flow of information and the structural impediments that keep information from getting where it needs to go. This vital resource is written for any organization, business, government, and nonprofit that must achieve a culture of candor, truth, and transparency. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates, Current Outlook
According to the Foundation Center, the recent economic crisis caused the nation's more than 75,000 grantmaking foundations to cut their 2009 giving by an estimated 8.4 percent-by far the largest decline ever tracked by the Foundation Center. Grant dollars fell from $46.8 billion to $42.9 billion. Yet according to Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates (2010 Edition), released by the Foundation Center, this cutback totaled less than half the 17 percent loss in foundation assets recorded in the prior year. Key estimates for 2009 giving include:
• Independent and family foundations — which represent close to nine out of 10 foundations — reduced their giving 8.9 percent to $30.8 billion in 2009.
• Corporate foundation giving decreased 3.3 percent to $4.4 billion in 2009.
• Community foundation giving declined 9.6 percent to $4.1 billion in 2009, exceeding decreases by independent and corporate foundations.
To download a copy of the Foundation Center’s current outlook, go to: http://foundationcenter.org.
Resource of the Week – RAFFA Resources for Nonprofits
RAFFA, an accounting, technology, and consulting firm serving nonprofits and small businesses, has maintains a comprehensive list of resources addressing the following topics: advocacy, ethics, marketing, governance, financial management, fundraising, human resources, legal issues, tax issues, technology, strategy, and volunteerism. The firm adds new material regularly. Go to: http://www.raffa.com/resource.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Format Cells to Display the Cent Sign in Excel 2007
• Select the range of cells you want to format
• Right click on the selected range and choose Format Cells from the shortcut menu
• Make sure the Number tab is selected in the Format Cells Dialog Box
• Under Category select Custom
• In the Type field enter [<1].00¢;$0.00_¢ (You can copy this format directly from this web page. If you type it yourself you will need to hold down the ALT key and enter 155 (or 0162) on the ten key pad to create the ¢ sign.)
• Click OK
Monday, April 26, 2010
Picks of the Week: April 25 – May 2, 2010
Website of the Week – MarketingPower.com
The American Marketing Association, one of the largest professional associations for marketers, has 38,000 members worldwide in every area of marketing. For over six decades the AMA has been a leading source for information, knowledge sharing and development in the marketing profession. The AMA's website, MarketingPower.com, supplies marketing professionals and AMA members with the information, products and services required to succeed in their jobs and careers. The site offers a comprehensive collection of articles, reports, webcasts and a newsletter focused on marketing, public relations, advertising, trends and industry news. While some of the resources are available to members of the AMA only, many resources can be accessed through a no cost registration on the website. Go to: www.marketingpower.com.
Publication of the Week -- Volunteers: A Social Profile by Marc A. Musick and John Wilson
From the publisher: Who tends to volunteer and why? What causes attract certain types of volunteers? What motivates people to volunteer? How can volunteers be persuaded to continue their service? Making use of a broad range of survey information to offer a detailed portrait of the volunteer in America, Volunteers provides an important resource for everyone who works with volunteers or is interested in their role in contemporary society. Mark A. Musick and John Wilson address issues of volunteer motivation by focusing on individuals' subjective states, their available resources, and the influence of gender and race. In a section on social context, they reveal how volunteer work is influenced by family relationships and obligations through the impact of schools, churches, and communities. They consider cross-national differences in volunteering and historical trends, and close with consideration of the research on the organization of volunteer work and the consequences of volunteering for the volunteer. Click to preview this link on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Value of Volunteer Time Rises
Independent Sector announced that the estimated dollar value of volunteer time for 2009 is $20.85 per hour which increased from $18.77 per hour in 2006. IS calculates the hourly value of volunteer time based on the average hourly wage for all non-management, nonagricultural workers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The estimate helps acknowledge the millions of individuals who dedicate their time, talents, and energy to making a difference. Charitable organizations can use this estimate to quantify the enormous value volunteers provide. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, about 61.8 million Americans, or 26.4 percent of the adult population, gave 8 billion hours of volunteer service worth $162 billion in 2008. Go to: http://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time.
Resource of the Week -- Resources for Volunteer Managers
Located on the website of ServiceLeader.org, this resource area provides information on all aspects of volunteer management, including getting your organization ready to involve volunteers, volunteer screening, matching, record-keeping and evaluation, legal issues/risk management, volunteer/staff relations, online activism by volunteers, and volunteer management software. ServiceLeader.org is a project of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin. For the resource page, go to: www.serviceleader.org.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Combining Text from Two Fields in Access
In Microsoft Access you can combine the text in two or more fields into a single text string by using “concatenation”. The results can be displayed in a field in a query, or in a control on a form or report.
For example, If you have a table that contains the fields First and Last for the name, use the following expression to create a text string that displays the values of the First and Last fields separated by a space.
=[First] & " " & [Last]
Type this expression in a text box control on a form or report to display the first and last name together. (Be sure to put a space between the double quotes in the expression.)
The American Marketing Association, one of the largest professional associations for marketers, has 38,000 members worldwide in every area of marketing. For over six decades the AMA has been a leading source for information, knowledge sharing and development in the marketing profession. The AMA's website, MarketingPower.com, supplies marketing professionals and AMA members with the information, products and services required to succeed in their jobs and careers. The site offers a comprehensive collection of articles, reports, webcasts and a newsletter focused on marketing, public relations, advertising, trends and industry news. While some of the resources are available to members of the AMA only, many resources can be accessed through a no cost registration on the website. Go to: www.marketingpower.com.
Publication of the Week -- Volunteers: A Social Profile by Marc A. Musick and John Wilson
From the publisher: Who tends to volunteer and why? What causes attract certain types of volunteers? What motivates people to volunteer? How can volunteers be persuaded to continue their service? Making use of a broad range of survey information to offer a detailed portrait of the volunteer in America, Volunteers provides an important resource for everyone who works with volunteers or is interested in their role in contemporary society. Mark A. Musick and John Wilson address issues of volunteer motivation by focusing on individuals' subjective states, their available resources, and the influence of gender and race. In a section on social context, they reveal how volunteer work is influenced by family relationships and obligations through the impact of schools, churches, and communities. They consider cross-national differences in volunteering and historical trends, and close with consideration of the research on the organization of volunteer work and the consequences of volunteering for the volunteer. Click to preview this link on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Value of Volunteer Time Rises
Independent Sector announced that the estimated dollar value of volunteer time for 2009 is $20.85 per hour which increased from $18.77 per hour in 2006. IS calculates the hourly value of volunteer time based on the average hourly wage for all non-management, nonagricultural workers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The estimate helps acknowledge the millions of individuals who dedicate their time, talents, and energy to making a difference. Charitable organizations can use this estimate to quantify the enormous value volunteers provide. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, about 61.8 million Americans, or 26.4 percent of the adult population, gave 8 billion hours of volunteer service worth $162 billion in 2008. Go to: http://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time.
Resource of the Week -- Resources for Volunteer Managers
Located on the website of ServiceLeader.org, this resource area provides information on all aspects of volunteer management, including getting your organization ready to involve volunteers, volunteer screening, matching, record-keeping and evaluation, legal issues/risk management, volunteer/staff relations, online activism by volunteers, and volunteer management software. ServiceLeader.org is a project of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin. For the resource page, go to: www.serviceleader.org.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Combining Text from Two Fields in Access
In Microsoft Access you can combine the text in two or more fields into a single text string by using “concatenation”. The results can be displayed in a field in a query, or in a control on a form or report.
For example, If you have a table that contains the fields First and Last for the name, use the following expression to create a text string that displays the values of the First and Last fields separated by a space.
=[First] & " " & [Last]
Type this expression in a text box control on a form or report to display the first and last name together. (Be sure to put a space between the double quotes in the expression.)
Monday, April 19, 2010
Picks of the Week: April 18 - 24, 2010
Website of the Week – Capable Communities
Capable Communities is a website created by Michigan State University’s Office of University Outreach & Engagement. University Outreach & Engagement (UO&E) offers practical support to local groups and organizations who are working to improve their own communities and the lives of their residents through partnerships based on a model, the Outcome-Asset Impact Model developed by the work of Brown and Reed and elaborated by UO&E, to increase local capacity for building positive change. This website is designed to improve the ability of anyone working to achieve healthy, fundamental, and sustainable change for individuals, families, groups, neighborhoods, and communities. Go to: http://outreach.msu.edu/capablecommunities.
Publication of the Week -- Succeeding at Social Enterprise: Hard-Won Lessons for Nonprofits and Social Entrepreneurs by the Social Enterprise Alliance
From the publisher: From the Social Enterprise Alliance, the organization dedicated to building a robust social enterprise field, comes Succeeding at Social Enterprise. This practical guide is filled with the best practices, tools, guidance, models and successful cases for leaders (and future leaders) of social ventures and enterprises. A groundbreaking work, it brings together the knowledge and experience of social enterprise pioneers in the field and some of today's most successful social entrepreneurs to show what it takes to implement and run an effective social venture or organization. Succeeding at Social Enterprise focuses on real life examples, lessons learned and the core competencies that are needed to run a social venture in a nonprofit, highlighting such skills as managing and leading, business planning, marketing and sales, and accounting. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – America's Nonprofits Brace for Tough 2010
According to a survey released by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) America's nonprofits expect that 2010 will be financially more difficult or as difficult as 2009, as 80% anticipate an increase in demand for services, leading many to seek creative alternatives. Key findings include:
• Nearly 90% expect 2010 to be as difficult or more difficult than 2009; only 12% expect 2010 to be financially easier for their organizations.
• 80% of nonprofits anticipate an increase in demand for services in 2010; 49% expect to be able to fully meet this demand level.
• Only 18% of organizations expect to end 2010 above break-even; 35% of organizations ended 2009 with an operating surplus.
• The majority – 61% – have less than three months of cash available; 12% have none.
For more information on the study, go to: http://www.nonprofitfinancefund.org.
Resource of the Week – Free Excel Spreadsheets
Matt H. Evans maintains a website that offers one of the most extensive collections of financial management resources on the Web – virtually all of it available at no charge. He has gathered collection of free excel files to download from various sources. Go to: www.exinfm.com.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Templates for Microsoft Word
Often the quickest way to create a professional document is to use a template. There are thousands available online. Many are even free. Check out these links for Word templates:
• www.wordtemplates.org
• office.microsoft.com
• desktoppub.about.com
• www.brainybetty.com
Capable Communities is a website created by Michigan State University’s Office of University Outreach & Engagement. University Outreach & Engagement (UO&E) offers practical support to local groups and organizations who are working to improve their own communities and the lives of their residents through partnerships based on a model, the Outcome-Asset Impact Model developed by the work of Brown and Reed and elaborated by UO&E, to increase local capacity for building positive change. This website is designed to improve the ability of anyone working to achieve healthy, fundamental, and sustainable change for individuals, families, groups, neighborhoods, and communities. Go to: http://outreach.msu.edu/capablecommunities.
Publication of the Week -- Succeeding at Social Enterprise: Hard-Won Lessons for Nonprofits and Social Entrepreneurs by the Social Enterprise Alliance
From the publisher: From the Social Enterprise Alliance, the organization dedicated to building a robust social enterprise field, comes Succeeding at Social Enterprise. This practical guide is filled with the best practices, tools, guidance, models and successful cases for leaders (and future leaders) of social ventures and enterprises. A groundbreaking work, it brings together the knowledge and experience of social enterprise pioneers in the field and some of today's most successful social entrepreneurs to show what it takes to implement and run an effective social venture or organization. Succeeding at Social Enterprise focuses on real life examples, lessons learned and the core competencies that are needed to run a social venture in a nonprofit, highlighting such skills as managing and leading, business planning, marketing and sales, and accounting. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – America's Nonprofits Brace for Tough 2010
According to a survey released by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) America's nonprofits expect that 2010 will be financially more difficult or as difficult as 2009, as 80% anticipate an increase in demand for services, leading many to seek creative alternatives. Key findings include:
• Nearly 90% expect 2010 to be as difficult or more difficult than 2009; only 12% expect 2010 to be financially easier for their organizations.
• 80% of nonprofits anticipate an increase in demand for services in 2010; 49% expect to be able to fully meet this demand level.
• Only 18% of organizations expect to end 2010 above break-even; 35% of organizations ended 2009 with an operating surplus.
• The majority – 61% – have less than three months of cash available; 12% have none.
For more information on the study, go to: http://www.nonprofitfinancefund.org.
Resource of the Week – Free Excel Spreadsheets
Matt H. Evans maintains a website that offers one of the most extensive collections of financial management resources on the Web – virtually all of it available at no charge. He has gathered collection of free excel files to download from various sources. Go to: www.exinfm.com.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Templates for Microsoft Word
Often the quickest way to create a professional document is to use a template. There are thousands available online. Many are even free. Check out these links for Word templates:
• www.wordtemplates.org
• office.microsoft.com
• desktoppub.about.com
• www.brainybetty.com
Monday, April 12, 2010
Picks of the Week: Week: April 11 - 17, 2010
TechWebsite of the Week – Jim Collins
This website offers resources by management guru and author of "Good to Great", Jim Collins. It provides access to the teaching, writing and ideas of Jim Collins including free access to insights, articles, audio files, answers to the latest questions and more. Go to: http://www.jimcollins.com/index.html.
Publication of the Week -- The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts: How Nonprofits and Donors Work Together to Change the World by Kevin Johnson
From the publisher: The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts provides practical knowledge and tools nonprofits need to connect with loyal donors, resulting in a stream of future income that will sustain and advance their mission. Filled with illustrative real-world examples and cases, as well as worksheets to guide the reader, the book details a simple, multi-stage process for nonprofits to build a pipeline of future bequest income and offers donors perspective on making their gifts in a way that will best accomplish their goals. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Donors Showing More Willingness to Give
Donors are growing more confident in their ability to give to charity as the economy shows signs of stabilizing, according to a new poll of more than 500 donors. Nearly half of the donors questioned said they would give as much as they did in 2009, compared with the 44 percent who predicted they would give the same amount in a poll conducted two months ago by Campbell Rinker, a Valencia Calif. company that regularly questions donors on their confidence levels. Most of the donors said the economy was the main influence on their giving. Donors to religious charities continued to have the most positive outlook, according to the report. To download a copy of the report, go to: http://www.campbellrinker.com.
Resource of the Week – Consensus Building Guide
Robert’s Rules of Order is a fine way to run a formal meeting or a town hall vote, but too rigid for a business meeting where the agenda is to build consensus behind decisions. This is a freely available excerpt from the 1999 book, The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement, by Lawrence Susskind, Sarah McKearnan, and Jennifer Thomas-Larmer, and posted by the Public Disputes Program at Harvard Law School. This chapter, “Short Guide to Consensus Building,” provides a no-frills, step-by-step approach to running a creative, productive meeting, down to the level of how to invite participants who might be assuming a legal liability by attending. Go to: http://web.mit.edu.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Insert a Worksheet Based on a Template in Excel 2007
• Right click a worksheet tab
• Select Insert
• Choose the template
• Click OK
You can choose a custom template which you have created, one of the templates available when you click the Spreadsheet Solutions tab, or click the Templates on Office Online button and choose from hundreds of templates available from Microsoft.
This website offers resources by management guru and author of "Good to Great", Jim Collins. It provides access to the teaching, writing and ideas of Jim Collins including free access to insights, articles, audio files, answers to the latest questions and more. Go to: http://www.jimcollins.com/index.html.
Publication of the Week -- The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts: How Nonprofits and Donors Work Together to Change the World by Kevin Johnson
From the publisher: The Power of Legacy and Planned Gifts provides practical knowledge and tools nonprofits need to connect with loyal donors, resulting in a stream of future income that will sustain and advance their mission. Filled with illustrative real-world examples and cases, as well as worksheets to guide the reader, the book details a simple, multi-stage process for nonprofits to build a pipeline of future bequest income and offers donors perspective on making their gifts in a way that will best accomplish their goals. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Donors Showing More Willingness to Give
Donors are growing more confident in their ability to give to charity as the economy shows signs of stabilizing, according to a new poll of more than 500 donors. Nearly half of the donors questioned said they would give as much as they did in 2009, compared with the 44 percent who predicted they would give the same amount in a poll conducted two months ago by Campbell Rinker, a Valencia Calif. company that regularly questions donors on their confidence levels. Most of the donors said the economy was the main influence on their giving. Donors to religious charities continued to have the most positive outlook, according to the report. To download a copy of the report, go to: http://www.campbellrinker.com.
Resource of the Week – Consensus Building Guide
Robert’s Rules of Order is a fine way to run a formal meeting or a town hall vote, but too rigid for a business meeting where the agenda is to build consensus behind decisions. This is a freely available excerpt from the 1999 book, The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement, by Lawrence Susskind, Sarah McKearnan, and Jennifer Thomas-Larmer, and posted by the Public Disputes Program at Harvard Law School. This chapter, “Short Guide to Consensus Building,” provides a no-frills, step-by-step approach to running a creative, productive meeting, down to the level of how to invite participants who might be assuming a legal liability by attending. Go to: http://web.mit.edu.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Insert a Worksheet Based on a Template in Excel 2007
• Right click a worksheet tab
• Select Insert
• Choose the template
• Click OK
You can choose a custom template which you have created, one of the templates available when you click the Spreadsheet Solutions tab, or click the Templates on Office Online button and choose from hundreds of templates available from Microsoft.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Picks of the Week: April 4 - 10, 2010
Website of the Week – Cause Marketing Forum
Cause Marketing Forum (CMF) was founded in 2002 to advance and expand cause marketing in America. Activities of the Forum include:
• The Cause Marketing Forum Conference – an annual summit that attracts business and nonprofit executives to learn, connect and celebrate cause marketing’s best campaigns and outstanding practitioners.
• The Cause Marketing Halo Awards – Judged by an interdisciplinary panel of cause marketing experts, the Halo Awards recognize outstanding cause marketing programs.
• The Cause Marketing Resource Center – case studies, best practices, “Cause Marketing 101” and more to support creation of effective cause marketing programs.
• Cause Marketing Forum Membership - Individuals who join the CMF receive free admission to monthly Cause Marketing Masters teleclasses, 10% off other CMF teleclasses and advance notice of CMF events and more.
• Cause Marketing Forum Workshops and Teleclasses
• Cause Alliance Research Service - Offers specialized background profiles on nonprofit organizations for corporations researching potential partners.
For more information, go to: http://www.causemarketingforum.com/default.asp.
Publication of the Week -- The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for Any Economy by Pamela Mitchell
From the publisher: In The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention, America's Reinvention Coach(r) Pamela Mitchell offers every tool readers need to navigate the full arc of career change. Part I introduces the Reinvention Mindset, with what you need to know to be prepared mentally to get started. In Part II, you read the real-life stories of ten individuals who successfully made the leap to new and unexpected careers, using the 10 laws. Each story is followed by an in-depth lesson that explains how to adapt these laws to your own career goals, and what actions and precautions to take. The lessons answer all your tactical concerns about navigating the roadblocks, getting traction and managing your fears. The final section provides workbook exercises for fine-tuning your reinvention strategies for maximum results. Clear-headed, calming, practical, and thorough, this is the ideal action plan for getting through any career crisis and ending up securely in the lifestyle you've always dreamed of having. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Nonprofit Job Growth during the Recession
According to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies and the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations entitled “Nonprofits and Recessions:New Data from Maryland”, nonprofit organizations are a counter-cyclical force in the economy, actually adding workers in times of economic downturn. Key findings include:
• Despite the recession underway at the time, nonprofit employment in Maryland continued its growth in 2008, increasing by 2.7 percent between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2008.
• By contrast, for-profit employment in Maryland decreased by 3.3 percent during this same period, eliminating over 61,000 jobs. Demonstrating the nonprofit sector’s role as a critical counter-cyclical force, nonprofits thus accounted for all of the state’s private employment growth between 2007 and 2008
• Despite the continued growth of nonprofit employment in Maryland, nonprofits have actually lost market share in some fields due to the more rapid expansion of for-profits in these fields. Between 1999 and 2008, the nonprofit share of private employment declined by 13 percentage points in educational services; 7 percentage points in nursing and residential care; and 1 percentage point in social assistance organizations.
To download a copy of the report, go to: http://www.ccss.jhu.edu.
Resource of the Week – Free Webinars on Foundation Fundraising
To help you master the world of foundation fundraising, proposal writing, and all that goes into getting the grants you need, the Foundation Center offers a number of short web-based training courses that are free of charge. Go to: http://foundationcenter.org.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Display Tabbed Documents in Access 2007
A new feature in Access 2007 is the option to use a tabbed interface. This allows you to open multiple objects (tables, forms, reports, or queries) at once. Each object is a separate tab so you can easily see the available objects and click on the one you want. To use this feature:
• Click the Office button in the left corner of the screen
• Click the Access Options button at the bottom of the window
• Select the Current Database in the left pane
• Under Document Window Options, select Tabbed Documents
Cause Marketing Forum (CMF) was founded in 2002 to advance and expand cause marketing in America. Activities of the Forum include:
• The Cause Marketing Forum Conference – an annual summit that attracts business and nonprofit executives to learn, connect and celebrate cause marketing’s best campaigns and outstanding practitioners.
• The Cause Marketing Halo Awards – Judged by an interdisciplinary panel of cause marketing experts, the Halo Awards recognize outstanding cause marketing programs.
• The Cause Marketing Resource Center – case studies, best practices, “Cause Marketing 101” and more to support creation of effective cause marketing programs.
• Cause Marketing Forum Membership - Individuals who join the CMF receive free admission to monthly Cause Marketing Masters teleclasses, 10% off other CMF teleclasses and advance notice of CMF events and more.
• Cause Marketing Forum Workshops and Teleclasses
• Cause Alliance Research Service - Offers specialized background profiles on nonprofit organizations for corporations researching potential partners.
For more information, go to: http://www.causemarketingforum.com/default.asp.
Publication of the Week -- The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention: Essential Survival Skills for Any Economy by Pamela Mitchell
From the publisher: In The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention, America's Reinvention Coach(r) Pamela Mitchell offers every tool readers need to navigate the full arc of career change. Part I introduces the Reinvention Mindset, with what you need to know to be prepared mentally to get started. In Part II, you read the real-life stories of ten individuals who successfully made the leap to new and unexpected careers, using the 10 laws. Each story is followed by an in-depth lesson that explains how to adapt these laws to your own career goals, and what actions and precautions to take. The lessons answer all your tactical concerns about navigating the roadblocks, getting traction and managing your fears. The final section provides workbook exercises for fine-tuning your reinvention strategies for maximum results. Clear-headed, calming, practical, and thorough, this is the ideal action plan for getting through any career crisis and ending up securely in the lifestyle you've always dreamed of having. Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.
Trend of the Week – Nonprofit Job Growth during the Recession
According to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies and the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations entitled “Nonprofits and Recessions:New Data from Maryland”, nonprofit organizations are a counter-cyclical force in the economy, actually adding workers in times of economic downturn. Key findings include:
• Despite the recession underway at the time, nonprofit employment in Maryland continued its growth in 2008, increasing by 2.7 percent between the fourth quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2008.
• By contrast, for-profit employment in Maryland decreased by 3.3 percent during this same period, eliminating over 61,000 jobs. Demonstrating the nonprofit sector’s role as a critical counter-cyclical force, nonprofits thus accounted for all of the state’s private employment growth between 2007 and 2008
• Despite the continued growth of nonprofit employment in Maryland, nonprofits have actually lost market share in some fields due to the more rapid expansion of for-profits in these fields. Between 1999 and 2008, the nonprofit share of private employment declined by 13 percentage points in educational services; 7 percentage points in nursing and residential care; and 1 percentage point in social assistance organizations.
To download a copy of the report, go to: http://www.ccss.jhu.edu.
Resource of the Week – Free Webinars on Foundation Fundraising
To help you master the world of foundation fundraising, proposal writing, and all that goes into getting the grants you need, the Foundation Center offers a number of short web-based training courses that are free of charge. Go to: http://foundationcenter.org.
Tech Tip of the Week -- Display Tabbed Documents in Access 2007
A new feature in Access 2007 is the option to use a tabbed interface. This allows you to open multiple objects (tables, forms, reports, or queries) at once. Each object is a separate tab so you can easily see the available objects and click on the one you want. To use this feature:
• Click the Office button in the left corner of the screen
• Click the Access Options button at the bottom of the window
• Select the Current Database in the left pane
• Under Document Window Options, select Tabbed Documents
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