Picks of the Week: September 23 - 29, 2012

Website of the Week -- Millennial Impact Project
The Millennial Impact Project is the starting point for organizations to learn how to best engage the millennial generation to volunteer, donate and get involved in leadership. You will get the latest research and hear from the top leaders, inspiring you to build strong Millennial connections within your organization. For more information, go to: http://themillennialimpact.com/about.

Publication of the Week --  Powered by Pro Bono: The Nonprofits Step-by-Step Guide to Scoping, Securing, Managing, and Scaling Pro Bono Resources by the Taproot Foundation
From the publisher:  Savvy nonprofits use strategic management, marketing, technology, leadership to be competitive. With strapped budgets, many nonprofits cannot afford to pay for these resources. However, businesses are an often overlooked as an effective source of skilled professionals who can supply the needed skills. This book shares the acclaimed Taproot Foundation's pro bono best practices and shows nonprofit managers to apply them to their own unique challenges in a low-to-no-cost way. The author, Taproot's Aaron Hurst, offers keys to identifying opportunities for using pro bono sources, recruiting pro bono resources, and managing pro bono projects effectively.

• Reveals how a nonprofit can partner with a global corporations to further their mission in an effective and low-cost manner
• Aaron Hurst is the president and founder of the Taproot Foundation who pioneered a new field in community investment and continually breaks new ground through its signature, catalytic programs designed for the emerging global pro bono marketplace
• Gives nonprofit managers and staff the keys to identifying opportunities for using pro bono resources

Click to preview this book onAmazon.com.

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Trend of the Week – Nonprofits Need a Strong, Unified Voice to Lobby Government
Beyond the Cause: The Art and Science of Successful Advocacy is a comprehensive study that identifies five essential approaches to successful advocacy and analyzes the effectiveness of advocacy on issues facing the entire nonprofit and philanthropic sector. This study is based on more than 100 interviews, three surveys, three case studies, four coalition profiles, and a detailed examination of the sector’s track record and approach to public policy advocacy on sector-wide issues. The five strategic approaches that emerged as the common ingredients in successful advocacy both for the corporate and nonprofit lobbying groups include: 

·         Sustain a laserlike focus on long-term goals.
·         Prioritize building the elements for successful campaigns.
·         Consider the motivations of public officials.
·         Galvanize coalitions to achieve short-term goals.
·         Ensure strong, high-integrity leadership.

To download the full report and an executive summary, go to: https://www.independentsector.org/beyond_the_cause

Resource of the Week – The Nonprofit Website Project Handbook
An organization’s website should highlight its mission and inspire supporters to take action. But where does one begin in building a website? Is your organization ready for a new website project? Who will work on this team, and what is the time and effort required to build a quality website? Does a website fit into this year’s budget? The Handbook offers an overview of the website design and development process and information helpful to nonprofit staff during a website project. From the organization’s capabilities to design and from launch to post-launch training, this handbook provides essential steps and real-life examples to guide you in what can sometimes be a confusing process. Go to: http://www.smartcausedigital.com/sites/default/files/documents/nonprofit_website_project_handbook.pdf.

Tech Tip of the Week -- Using the Clipboard Pane in Office 2007/2010
Although this feature has been around for many years, most people still copy/paste one item at a time. Using the Clipboard pane you can copy multiple items and paste the one you need. Or even paste them all. Here’s how:

·         Click the Home tab of the Ribbon
·         In the Clipboard group, click the arrow button on the bottom right to open the Clipboard pane
·         Select where you want to paste an item and click it in the Clipboard pane

This tip works in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You can paste items between worksheets, workbooks, pages, documents, slides, or even between different programs. (To view the Clipboard pane in earlier versions, click the Edit pull-down menu and select Office Clipboard.)

Picks of the Week: September 16-22, 2012

Website of the Week -- Financial Management Training Center
The Financial Management Training Center offers free web based courses on a broad range of financial management topics. Courses are downloaded to your computer by clicking on the hyperlinks on the opening webpage. Short Courses come in three formats: Microsoft Word documents, pdf files and exe files (self-extracting file). Finally, you can find Lecture Notes from other financial management courses. Go to www.exinfm.com/training

Publication of the Week --  A Fundraising Guide for Nonprofit Board Members by Julia I. Walker
From the publisher:  Engaging and informative, this practical guide to fundraising contains valuable insights that nonprofit boards need to succeed in raising money in today's dynamic economic environment. While written expressly for board members, this useful handbook also provides advice to executive directors and advancement staff on how to partner with your board to build an unstoppable fundraising team. A Fundraising Guide for Nonprofit Board Members shows you how to raise more money by building board leadership and skills in fundraising. This book covers it all—the board's leadership role in fundraising; how to organize and train your board to raise funds; building a team with board and staff; raising funds for operations, major gifts and capital campaigns; how to ask for gifts; plus a guide for conducting a board retreat that will lead to fundraising success.

·         Demystifies the ask by providing a straightforward guide on how to ask for, and close, gifts

·         Features case studies, real life examples, and checklists in an easy to reference format
·         Offers sample materials for a board retreat on building the successful fundraising team

 Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.

Trend of the Week – Struggling Economy Continued to Affect Nonprofit CEO Compensation
According to GuideStar's 2012 GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report, between 2009 and 2010, increases for incumbent CEO compensation started to creep back up at larger organizations, though still below levels seen before the economic meltdown. At organizations with expenses of $1 million or less, compensation increases were lower than during the period between 2008 and 2009. In total, the compensation of 41 percent of incumbent CEOs remained static or declined. Program areas that had higher median CEO compensation were science and technology research institutes and health, while the median compensation for animal- and religion-related programs tended to be lower. Report’s highlights include: 
·         The economy had a definite effect on compensation. In 2008, median increases in incumbent CEO compensation were generally 4 percent or higher. In 2010, increases were below this level for the second consecutive year.
·         Median compensation of females continued to lag behind that of males when considering comparable positions at similar organizations. The gap ranged from 10.4 percent for CEOs at organizations with budgets of $250 thousand-$500 thousand to 24.8 percent at organizations with budgets of more than $50 million. Since 2000, though, these gaps narrowed for most sizes of organizations. Organizations in the $1 million-$10 million range, where the gap actually increased, were the notable exception.
·         For the seventh straight year, Washington, D.C., had the highest overall median salary of the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas (MSA). Denver-Boulder, Colo., had the lowest. Adjusted for cost of living, New York was the MSA where nonprofit executives had the lowest median buying power, whereas those in St. Louis had the highest

For more information, go to: http://www.cisionwire.com/guidestar/r/new-guidestar-nonprofit-compensation-report-reveals-struggling-economy-continued-to-affect-nonprofit,c9304996

Resource of the Week – Nonprofit Good Practice Guide: Human Resources
The Nonprofit Good Practice Guide is a project of the Philanthropic and Nonprofit Knowledge Management Initiative (PNKM) at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership. The Guide is designed as a one-stop shop for widely-accepted and innovative nonprofit practices offering Preferred Practices and Pitfalls, Glossaries, Resources, Trends and Web site Profiles within the topic area of human resources. Go to: http://www.npgoodpractice.org/category/Human%20Resources

Tech Tip of the Week -- Creating Custom Images in PowerPoint 2010
PowerPoint 2010 has several advanced features that allow you do work with shapes and clip art.  By default, these features are NOT included on the Ribbon.  You can add these tools to the Ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar.  Here’s how:
·         Click the File menu  
·         Select Options 
·         Select Quick Access Toolbar or Ribbon
·         From the Choose commands menu, select Commands Not in the Ribbon
·         Select the Command you want to add and click the Add button
·         Click OK 

For example, the Combine Shapes tool allows you to create new shapes by combining multiple shapes in one of four ways: Union, Combine, Subtract, or Intersect.

Picks of the Week: September 9 - 15, 2012

Website of the Week -- Alliance for Technology Access
The mission of the ATA is to increase the use of technology by children and adults with disabilities and functional limitations. ATA encourages and facilitates the empowerment of people with disabilities to participate fully in their communities. Through public education, information and referral, capacity building in community organizations, and advocacy/policy efforts, the ATA enables millions of people to live, learn, work, define their futures, and achieve their dreams. Go to: http://www.ataccess.org/

Publication of the Week --  Promote Your Business or Cause Using Social Media: A Beginner's Handbook by Dennis J. Smith
From the publisher:  Market and Promote Your Business Using Social Media with this award winning handbook for beginner's interested in using social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ to grow, market and promote a small business or take any cause to the internet. Learn how to create a WordPress blog, start a blog talk radio show, upload videos to YouTube, Tweet on Twitter and build a fan page on Facebook with social apps and even eCommerce. - Learn how to add a shopping cart to your Facebook fan page and sell product right from your fan page. - Learn how to get your own personal Facebook URL. - Updated for Facebook Timeline. - Updated Google+ - How to get started with WordPress and your own blog. - Twitter Tips! - Covers the hot new social media site Pinterest! Now featuring updated Facebook Fan Page creation, Facebook Insights, Google+ and Social Media Tools!

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.

Trend of the Week – Corporate Foundation Giving Trends
Corporate foundation giving grew the fastest across foundation types in 2011, according to Key Facts on Corporate Foundations (2012 Edition). Grant dollars rose 6 percent to $5.2 billion. Despite continued economic volatility, corporate profits have been at record levels, leading corporations to put more resources into their foundations. Looking ahead, just over half (53 percent) of corporate foundations responding to the Foundation Center's annual forecasting survey expect to increase their giving in 2012. To download the free report, go to: http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/pdf/keyfacts_corp2012.pdf

Resource of the Week – Nonprofit Collaboration Database
The Nonprofit Collaboration Database was originally developed by Lodestar as part of its work related to The Collaboration Prize competition, which it launched in 2008. Capitalizing on the wealth of material created through the collaboration prize nomination process, the Nonprofit Collaboration Database provides access to more than 650 entrants including all of the relevant information about and documents from the collaborations. The Foundation Center is now the new home of the Collaboration Database. The database has been organized so that you can search for information from a variety of access points allowing you to customize your search a variety of ways. For example, you can find all mergers among arts and culture organizations, or all administrative consolidations in Ohio and Arizona, or only those joint programming collaborations among state health organizations that were initiated by funders. The ability to search by multiple criteria, including key words, provides the opportunity to explore the database using factors that are most relevant to your needs. To access the Collaboration Database,  go to: http://collaboration.foundationcenter.org/search/searchGenerator.php.

Tech Tip of the Week -- Recording a Slide Show in PowerPoint 2010
Did you know you can record a Slide Show in PowerPoint 2010?  Here's how: 

·         Open the Slide Show you want to record

·         Click the Slide Show tab on the Ribbon
·         In the Set Up group click the Record Slide Show icon
·         In the Record Slide Show dialog box, select what you want to record
·         Click Start Recording

Picks of the Week: September 2 - 8, 2012

Website of the Week -- Coalitions Work
Coalitions Work is a consulting group based in the Hampton Roads region of eastern Virginia that is dedicated to serving public and private clients throughout the world. Coalitions Work offers your organization, partnership or coalition the benefit of 20 years of coalition skill building and change strategies. Coalitions Work offers training and technical assistance in strategic planning and management, health promotion and education, social marketing, advocacy, research, and evaluation. Coalitions Work has the tools and resources needed to mobilize the power of collaboration in your community or organization. The website includes links to an extensive collection of resources. Go to: http://coalitionswork.com.

Publication of the Week --  Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists by Valaida Fullwood and Charles W. Thomas Jr.
From the publisher: Giving Back lifts up seldom-celebrated traditions of giving among Americans of African descent. Rarely acknowledged as philanthropy, these centuries-old cultural customs and beliefs nevertheless continue to have an impact on lives and communities. Images and narratives of more than 200 people commemorate the legacy of black philanthropists - from generous donors of wealth to ingenious givers carving a way out of no way. In Giving Back, Valaida Fullwood poignantly chronicles the African American philanthropy experience. Intimate vignettes and candid reflections reveal a myriad of philanthropic practices grounded in faith, mutuality, and responsibility. Fullwood juxtaposes personal accounts from a cross section of black philanthropists with fascinating quotes from givers and game-changers across cultures to illuminate transcendent truths and elicit new thinking about philanthropy. Photographer Charles W. Thomas Jr. beautifully captures images that portray the joy, aspirations, remembrance, and resilience that characterize black philanthropy. Pairing photographic portraiture and narrative, Thomas and Fullwood give readers over 160 artful page spreads that enliven the soul of philanthropy and honor the legacy of America's black philanthropists. Every book purchased will keep giving, since the proceeds will be invested in philanthropic causes - and since the stories themselves will inspire readers to give.

Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.

Trend of the Week – Women’s Growing Importance As Donors

The new report is the third in a series of research reports by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University that offers deeper insights as to how gender differences affect philanthropy. The Women Give studies complement a growing body of research that affirms women’s growing importance as donors in the nonprofit sector. They also benefit decision-makers and fundraisers seeking to expand their donor base and attract more volunteers by providing key insights to inform their strategic efforts to more deeply engage women. For more information, go to: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/research-by-category/women-give-2012.

Resource of the Week – Online Diagnostic Tool for Leadership Development Bridgespan has released an online diagnostic tool to use as a first step in understanding an organization’s relative strengths and weaknesses in leadership development. As valuable as these Bridgespan resources are, I feel compelled to share some additional perspective that I hope the Bridgespan team will incorporate in future iterations: It’s hard for me to imagine a better path for developing great leaders within an organization than putting those people in positions that move them out of their comfort zone and into situations that require growth; set a clear expectation for what is to be achieved; and ensure there are people (ideally their managers) with the explicit purpose of supporting and stretching their growth. To access the tool go to: http://www.bridgestar.org/Library/LeadershipDiagnostic.aspx.

Tech Tip of the Week -- Keep a file on the Office 2007/2010 Recent Documents List
An excellent new feature in Office 2007/2010 which works in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access, is the ability to keep or “pin” a file in the Recent Documents list, here’s how:

·       In 2007 click the Microsoft Office button  or in 2010 click the File Tab and then click Recent

·       Click the pin icon beside the document you want to keep on the list
·       The pin button changes to a push pin viewed from the top

Picks of the Week: August 26 - September 1, 2012

Website of the Week -- FSG
FSG is a nonprofit consulting firm specializing in strategy, evaluation, and research. We were founded in 2000 as Foundation Strategy Group. Today, FSG’s international teams work across sectors by partnering with foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and governments in every region of the globe to develop more effective solutions to the world’s most challenging social issues. The  goal is to help organizations and companies – individually and collectively – achieve greater and more effective social change.  Working with many of the world’s leading corporations, nonprofit organizations and charitable foundations, FSG has completed more than 400 consulting engagements around the world. FSG regularly publishes research reports and papers, and influential articles in Harvard Business Review and Stanford Social Innovation Review. FSG is also frequently featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist, Financial Times, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, Forbes and NPR, amongst others Be sure to check out the Knowledge Exchange, an interactive hub for ideas, research, and discussions about social impact.  Go to: http://www.fsg.org/Default.aspx.

Publication of the Week --  The Face-to-Face Book: Why Real Relationships Rule in a Digital Marketplace by Ed Keller and Brad Fay

From the publisher:  IN 1848 gold was discovered in California, setting off a frenzy that sent men and women from across the American continent flocking to the West Coast in search of fortune. The Gold Rush brought wealth to some, but most left empty-handed. Today, marketing consultants Ed Keller and Brad Fay say social media is unleashing a new kind of frenzy. Blinded by the shiny allure of sites like Facebook and Twitter, companies are spending billions, pinning their hopes on social media marketing without appreciating how social influence truly functions in the marketplace. That’s where Keller and Fay come in. For the past six years, they have undertaken a unique, ongoing study of consumer conversations. The surprising result? Over 90 percent of consumer conversations still take place offline, primarily face to face. The implication is clear: Social media is big and growing, but it is dwarfed by the real world in which people live and interact. Make no mistake. There is a hugely important social wave rolling across the world of business today. New scientific evidence reveals that we humans are fundamentally social beings for whom social influence determines nearly every decision we make. And the greatest impact comes when those conversations happen face to face, as emotions and nonverbal cues are communicated along with words. In The Face-to-Face Book, Keller and Fay offer key insights and recommendations for how businesses, both large and small, can best succeed in today’s socially motivated consumer marketplace by looking at how consumers act in real life as well as online. The authors share their extensive research and the stories of companies—large, such as Apple, General Mills, Kimberly–Clark, and Toyota, as well as innovative small businesses—that have hit pay dirt with a balanced and holistic approach to social marketing.

 

Click topreview this book on Amazon.com.

Trend of the Week – Success Factors in Nonprofit Mergers
New research indicates nonprofit mergers can contribute to the stability of the nonprofit environment and that certain factors, when employed in the merger process, add to the mergers' success. Success Factors in Nonprofit Mergers, a study of 41 direct service organization mergers in Minnesota, is now available from MAP for Nonprofits and Wilder Research. Findings include:

• At least one merger partner in the majority of the mergers studied faced some financial problems pre-merger, however, overall the mergers were pursued for a combination of strategic and survival motives.
• In the short term, the merged organization’s cash position (current ratios) declined, however, the longer-term financial picture (debt ratios) improved.
• Nonprofit executives play a key merger role. Eighty-five percent of the mergers had an executive champion and 80 percent of the mergers had a departing executive (for example, a planned retirement.) This finding, combined with an expected wave of executive retirements in the next decade, points to a timely opportunity.
• Strong working relationships between nonprofit executives prior to merger was found to be a predictor of post-merger outcomes in service preservation, improved image and financial sustainability.
• Strong board involvement prior to merger was another predictor of positive post-merger outcomes, specifically in image or reputation.
• Communicating with and involving line staff in merger planning and preparations was positively associated with merger outcomes like service quality and expansion, financial stability, organizational reputation and alignment of staffing with needs.
• Involving funders in the process was found to result in positive outcomes, such as the preservation of services, financial stability and organizational alignment with client needs.

For more information, go to: http://www.mapfornonprofits.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={ADCB7926-15C8-41E4-A0A7-106880125938}

Resource of the Week – Free Business E-Books from Bookboon.com
Bookboon.com, founded in Denmark in 1988, publishes education related books for business professionals and students. In 2005 the company made a strategic leap and became the first book publishing company in the world to focus 100% on free eBooks. The books are about 50 pages long and they are tailored to be read in two or three hours, which is the available time a reader has on a flight, a train journey, an evening in a hotel or at home after the kids are put to bed. The books have a hands-on approach: you can read them today and use them tomorrow. The books, like many print an online publications, contain some display advertising  To access the 500+ business book collection, go to: http://bookboon.com/en/business-ebooks 

Tech Tip of the Week -- Display the First Name in Excel
Have you ever received an Excel list of names with the first and last name in a single cell?  If you would like to display just the first name, try this:

For example, if your list (for example "NAMES") is in Column A, type this formula in column B (in our example "FIRST NAME"): =LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1)

Copy this formula down to each row containing the names. But remember, the first names in column B are still a formula and can’t easily be moved or copied.  You may want to copy the cells containing this formula back to their original position using Paste Special to convert the formula into a value: 

·         Select the column by clicking the column name  

·         Choose Copy 
·         Right click and choose Paste Special from the short-cut menu 
·         Choose Values and click OK 

This tip works in Excel 2007 and 2010. You can also use Text to Columns  to accomplish this.

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.

Picks of the Week: August 5 - 18, 2012

Website of the Week -- LawForChange
LawForChange is a unique legal resource for people and organizations dedicated to improving lives and bringing about positive social change. This site combines in one place a broad menu of legal information prepared by leading law firms and lawyers and specifically tailored to the needs of social sector organizations in the United States. Its intended audience includes social entrepreneurs and innovators, social enterprises, charities, community organizations, philanthropies, faith-based organizations and all manner of nonprofit organizations. Go to: http://www.lawforchange.org/lfc/About_Us.asp

Publication of the Week --  Nonprofit Asset Management: Effective Investment Strategies and Oversight by Matthew Rice, Robert A. DiMeo and Matthew Porter

From the publisher:  Nonprofit Asset Management is a timely guide for managing endowment, foundation, and other nonprofit assets. Taking you through each phase of the process to create an elegant and simple framework for the prudent oversight of assets, this book covers setting investment objectives; investment policy; asset allocation strategies; investment manager selection; alternative asset classes; and how to establish an effective oversight system to ensure the program stays on track.

• Takes you through each phase of the process to create an elegant and simple framework for the prudent oversight of nonprofit assets
• A practical guide for fiduciaries of endowment, foundation, and other nonprofit funds
• Offers step-by-step guidance for the effective investment management of assets

Created as a practical guide for fiduciaries of nonprofit funds—board members and internal business managers—Nonprofit Asset Management is a much-needed, step-by-step guide to the effective investment management of nonprofit assets.

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Click to preview this book on Amazon.com.


Trend of the Week – Major Trends Impacting Nonprofits
In a recent conference presentation in St. Louis, Professor Robert Reich, associate professor of political science at Stanford University, summarized major trends continuing to impact nonprofits. Five macro trends include:

• Local, state and federal deficits, which can lead to decreased support for some organizations dependent on government funding
• Comprehensive tax reform, which may depress individuals' incentive to donate since the deduction for charitable contributions might not mean as much.
• Post-Citizens United world in which some nonprofits are becoming political agents, alienating some donors. Politicized nonprofit organizations can be seen as interest groups, and that can taint the trust of donors.
• Dysfunctional federal political system, which Reich said "needed no explanation."
• Blurring of the boundaries between nonprofits and for-profit organizations as nonprofits act like for-profits, and for-profit organizations adopt social missions like nonprofits.

Reich also discussed five more micro trends he believes might affect nonprofit organizations.

• New modes of giving, especially online giving. Reich said the biggest days for online giving are Dec. 30-31 as the tax year closes.
• Impact investing: By making seed investments in new start up for-profit organizations that support nonprofit causes, nonprofits can attempt to attract investors and donors.
• Focus on measurable outcomes: Organizations should track what they are doing so donors know where their money has made the most impact. This will keep donors because they are promised outcomes from their donations.
• New organizational forms that combine traits from for-profit organizations and nonprofit organizations. An organization uses business tools to create revenue, but it is not required to make a profit for shareholders so it can freely provide social services.
• Inequality can both increase demand for services but also create a potential source of new donors. Reich said more Americans have the resources to become donors..

Go to: https://www.stlbeacon.org/#!/content/26140/changes_in_charitable_giving

Resource of the Week – Basics in Internal Organizational Communications
This section of the Free Management Library is geared to provide practical suggestions for nonprofit leaders and managers to ensure sufficient communications within their nonprofits. Topics include: common causes of problems in internal communications; key principles to effective internal communications; basic structures/policies to support effective internal communications; supervisor and employee communications; develop a basic communications plan. Go to: http://managementhelp.org/organizationalcommunications/internal.htm#anchor465736.

Tech Tip of the Week -- Combining Text from Two Cells in Excel
In Microsoft Excel you can combine the text in two or more cells into a single text string by using “concatenation”.  The result is displayed in the cell where you type the formula.

For example, If you have a worksheet that contains the First name in cell A1 and the Last name in cell B1, enter the following expression in cell C1 to create a text string that displays the values of the First and Last names separated by a space:  =A1&" "&B1

Be sure to put a space between the double quotes in the expression. Copy this formula down to each row containing the names. Then copy the cells containing this formula back to their original position using Paste Special to convert the formula into a value:

·         Select the column by clicking the column name

·         Choose Copy
·         Right click and choose Paste Special from the short-cut menu
·         Choose Values and click OK

This tip works in Excel 2007 and 2010 as well as earlier versions.