Mar 11
2
Good Technology Reading
I subscribe to Idealware and I got an excellent email from them that was full of useful links. So I am copying it here for you with the understanding that all credit for this goes to Idealware.
Best of the Web: February 2011The Idealware Best of the Web brings you great resources to help you choose nonprofit software from the Idealware blog,Twitter feed and from around the web. Haven’t checked out the Idealware blog in awhile? Check again! We have new contributors, new topics, and good conversations. Facebook Page redesign: 10 things admins should do RIGHT NOW (The Social Path) Social Media Workflow: What I Do at Idealware (Idealware) Options for eCommerce (Zen and the Art of Nonprofit Technology) The Wonderful World of Wireless (Idealware) Five Ways Nonprofits Can Use a Blog to Achieve Real Goals (Blue State Digital) 6 Steps to Refocus Your Small Org Tech Strategy (NTEN) Another Look at Jumo and Other “Charity Portals” (Idealware) Cloud Security in the Era of WikiLeaks (Idealware) Facebook’s News Feed and “Attention Rationing” (BrandSavant) $100,000 in three days through social outreach: How TeamAutism did it (SocialBrite) A Few Tools of the Data Archeologist: Tips for Preparing Data for Cleanup or Conversion (JCA) Turning Online Advocacy into Real-world Change: 5 Tips (M+R)Five concrete tips on how to maximize your online advocacy program’s real-world impact |
Posted in Nonprofit Communications Uncategorized by .
Feb 11
24
tsk-tsk….
Check out this interesting article from the Texas Asssociation of Nonprofit Organizations (TANO) website about the CEO of an El Paso charity, and one of his board members, who were recently sentenced to serve prison time – and pay millions in restitution – for embezzling public funds and corrupting public officials. They admitted to lying to government officials about the number of disabled people they employed in order to secure no-bid government contracts. A government oversight group and a Virginia non-profit worked together to uncover the fraud. You know, being a nonprofit “exempt” organization does not “exempt” you from the law!
Posted in Nonprofit Legal Issues by .
Feb 11
9
Do You Have Emerging Leaders?
In January, I wrote a post and told you what I was going to try to do more of this year. One of the more frequent activities of mine is going to be blogging. If you look, you will see that I only posted four times in January. Now, one could say that blogging four times does not appear to be frequent activity. While I do agree with that notion, I would like to point out that four times was definitely more frequent than the number of times I blogged in January of 2010 – in January, 2010 I did not have a blog. Hey, you have to look for the positive. Beating myself up doesn’t help anyone.
Today’s blog post is to inform you about an opportunity for a select group of emerging nonprofit leaders. Do you have one in your organization? The Independent Sector announced they are accepting applications for the next cohort of the American Express NGEN (Next Generation) Fellows Program. This is a great opportunity for young (their definition is under 40) emerging leaders to strengthen their skills and develop their networks. If you are not familiar with the Independent Sector’s work, you should check it out. They are an impressive membership organization.
Posted in Nonprofit Professional Development by .
Jan 11
21
Free Webinars
Following up on the learning theme from my last blog post, the Wild Apricot blog has listed 31 free webinars for the month of February. WOW! I am definitely going to take advantage of some of these. There are free seminars about social media, marketing, grant writing, nonprofit leadership and more. Click on the link for Wild Apricot above to see all of the details.
Posted in Something Different by .
Jan 11
18
Never Stop Learning
This morning I had the pleasure of co-facilitating a seminar about evaluation, compensation and leadership development for nonprofit executives. The audience was composed of board members of various nonprofits. You can take a look at the presentation slide deck on the Transition Management Solutions website. I thought the most interesting part of the discussion centered on the assessment of the nonprofit executive.
The strongest leaders I know are those who want to continue to learn, advance and grow professionally. These folks would feel stagnated if they were not progressing in their leadership. How do they know they are advancing if they are not being properly assessed? Analysis of leadership should not be limited to an annual performance review. There are several good assessment tools available. I encourage you to get input on the assessment from more than just one type of group your leader directs. Consider gathering input from many different stakeholders, including employees, funders, community partners and board members. I think it is important to challenge board members and executives to not think of it as a criticism or analysis of weakness, but rather highlighting opportunities for growth. If you start from a place of sincere desire for advancement, then the outcomes will be tremendous.
