Nonprofit Organizations, Learn and Serve America

Professional Media Relations

Angelaw — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:45:21 -0600

Participants in this intensive five Friday half-day training designed specifically for nonprofit communicators plan media campaigns around one of their own stories, while learning basic public relations skills. Participants in the course also get the opportunity to develop a story and pitch it to journalists. The course includes one copy per organizations of Spin Works, the nonprofit pR handbook, and one copy of Getting on the Air, Online & into Print 2009, our indispensible directory of area media contacts plus many valuable handouts.

Trainers: Thom Clark and Gordon Mayer

Writing inclusive service descriptions

magdalenam — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:22:31 -0500

An important step in creating an inclusive national service program is to review your program's current service descriptions. Prior to any recruiting outreach efforts, it is critical to clearly define the tasks that need to be accomplished, the environment where the participant will serve, and other important details of the position. This effective practice, provided by the National Service Inclusion Project in March of 2007, outlines this strategy as part of an overall plan for making your program inclusive.

Preparing mentors to work with older foster youth

magdalenam — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:56:12 -0500

Foster youth may have significant needs and issues that can inhibit the successful development of mentoring relationships. Many have experienced separation and loss in their lives, making it difficult for them to form positive relationships with an adult. Mentoring foster youth who are preparing for independence requires long-term commitment from mentors. And mentoring programs serving these youth must provide intensive training and support for mentors to help them develop the lasting relationships foster youth need. This effective practice highlights strategies used by the Powerhouse Mentoring Program — a community-based mentoring program that provides one-on-one mentoring for youth ages 13–21 in the foster care system in Multnomah County, Oregon. The mission of Powerhouse is to provide community-based mentoring to youth in foster care to enhance their successful transitions from adolescence to adulthood.

Facilitating volunteering benefits for people with disabilities

magdalenam — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:49:02 -0500

People with disabilities volunteer for many of the same reasons as those without disabilities — to forge new relationships, gain personal satisfaction and social status, hone marketable skills, and for networking opportunities. This effective practice, excerpted with permission from an article by Angela Novak Amado, and published in the online edition of Impact: Feature Issue on Volunteerism by Persons with Developmental Disabilities, addresses how program directors and supervisors can enhance the volunteer experience for people with disabilities, allowing them to gain the most from their efforts, and subsequently reaping the ultimate benefits for the communities in which they serve. Elesheva Soloff with the National Service Inclusion Project submitted this effective practice in June 2008.

Planning and conducting a pilot test

magdalenam — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:21:00 -0500

Pilot testing involves conducting a preliminary test of data collection tools and procedures to identify and eliminate problems, allowing programs to make corrective changes or adjustments before actually collecting data from the target population. This effective practice describes advantages of pilot testing, lists simple procedures to pilot test instruments, and provides additional resources to help programs conduct their own pilot tests and was submitted by Project STAR in September 2008.

Interviewing potential applicants using an inclusive process

magdalenam — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:34:51 -0500

The interview and selection process for applicants with disabilities has many legal considerations that can be intimidating for program staff. In most cases when an error is made, it is not because of the intent to discriminate, but because the interviewer wants to help, desires more information, or wants to clarify information. This effective practice offers some basic guidelines to help programs conduct successful interviews and was submitted by the National Service Inclusion Project in August 2008.

Engaging at-risk youth in leadership development

magdalenam — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:14:43 -0500

For years, the field of youth development has stressed the benefit of cultivating leadership skills in teens — oftentimes among those that are already excelling. However, with appropriate encouragement and training, many future leaders can be found among so-called “at-risk” youth. Recognizing this reality, former school counselor, Mariam MacGregor, empowered a new breed of teen leaders at an alternative high school in Thornton, Colorado. This effective practice examines her innovative methods and can prove valuable for national service programs seeking to build future leaders, peer mentors, and tutors. Staff of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (LEARNS) submitted this effective practice in September 2008.

Encouraging pro bono service with alumni from the business and management sector

magdalenam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:54:25 -0500

As more companies and individuals are volunteering professional skills to assist nonprofit organizations in creating or improving business practices, pro bono has moved from the legal field to encompass many arenas. This effective practice highlights the efforts of Harvard Business School Community Partners to provide alumni the opportunity to offer pro bono services in projects that involve key business issues such as strategic planning, organizational development, marketing, and board governance.

Offering decentralized pro bono service with a management consulting firm

magdalenam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:44:57 -0500

As more companies and individuals are volunteering professional skills to assist nonprofit organizations in creating or improving business practices, pro bono has moved from the legal field to encompass many arenas. This effective practice highlights the efforts of McKinsey & Company, an to offer pro bono services that help a variety of leading institutions address important societal challenges.

Instituting pro bono service with an intermediary organization

magdalenam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:25:57 -0500

As more companies and individuals are volunteering professional skills to assist nonprofit organizations in creating or improving business practices, pro bono has moved from the legal field to encompass many arenas. This effective practice highlights the efforts of Monitor Group in it’s collaboration with New Profit to offer pro bono services in the management and advertising fields — ultimately expanding capital and creating social change.

Establishing pro bono service with a design firm

magdalenam — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:41:47 -0500

As more companies and individuals are volunteering professional skills to assist nonprofit organizations in creating or improving business practices, pro bono has moved from the legal field to encompass many arenas. This effective practice examines how various nonprofits in New York utilized Pentagram Design’s pro bono services to revitalize a park, green space, and public theater.

Establishing pro bono service for nonprofit organizations with corporate counsel

magdalenam — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:28:52 -0500

Although recently broadening in application and scope, pro bono has come to be synonymous with the legal field. This effective practice highlights General Electric’s efforts to stimulate and encourage pro bono service to nonprofit organizations by corporate counsel, and the subsequent successful results.

Establishing pro bono service to deliver marketing and communications assistance to local nonprofit organizations

magdalenam — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:22:03 -0500

As more companies and individuals are volunteering professional skills to assist nonprofit organizations in creating or improving business practices, pro bono has moved from the legal field to encompass many arenas. This effective practice highlights how Time Warner established a pro bono consulting firm to increase the impact of community engagement practices already in place, and offers successful project examples.

Encouraging pro bono service in the advertising and communications industry

magdalenam — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:06:58 -0500

As more companies and individuals are volunteering professional skills to assist nonprofit organizations in creating or improving business practices, pro bono has moved from the legal field to encompass many arenas. This effective practice highlights the Ad Council’s efforts to utilize pro bono services in their advertising campaigns, and the subsequent successful results.

Preventing youth from becoming victims of cyberbullying

magdalenam — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:04:39 -0500

As more and more students spend more time on the Internet, not only in pursuit of academic activities, but as a way to socialize, there are dangers that tutors, mentors, and parents should be aware of. This effective practice, excerpted from materials written by Vanessa Van Petten, examines the issue of cyberbullying and is from the America Learns Network of tutoring and mentoring strategies.

Overcoming barriers and creating opportunities for people with developmental disabilities in national service programs

magdalenam — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:13:57 -0500

People with disabilities are actively engaged in volunteering and providing services in their communities. However, this hasn’t always been the case, and individuals with disabilities have had to overcome historical and cultural barriers to achieve participation. This effective practice is excerpted, with permission, from the article by Bonnie Shoultz and K. Charlie Lakin, “Volunteer and Service Opportunities for People with Developmental Disabilities.” The practice identifies some of the difficulties that may still be encountered as this population pursues a variety of service options, and poses some questions to ask when deciding on the right volunteer “fit.” Submitted by Elesheva Soloff, with the National Service Inclusion Project, in June 2008.

Financial Management

lauran — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:06:59 -0500

Organizations need to handle funds wisely. This may include developing written policies and procedures, internal controls, and budget controls. Corporation grantees will also need to be familiar with documenting in-kind donations, time and activity reporting, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Corporation regulations, and OMB circulars. Following are some of our most relevant resources related to this topic.

Using volunteer motivations for effective mentor recruitment and retention

pingv — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:58:06 -0500

Functional volunteer theory is built on the simple premise that individuals volunteer for a reason (or combination of reasons) and that volunteers doing very similar work (such as mentoring) may have come to that experience in an effort to realize rather diverse personal benefits. Functional volunteer theory (as developed by researchers such as E. Gil Clary, Mark Snyder, and their colleagues) attempts to link people’s beliefs and their subsequent behaviors. This effective practice examines how mentoring programs can use this theory, and the Volunteer Functions Inventory tool itself, to create more powerful mentor recruitment messages and frame the volunteer experience to meet mentors’ personal expectations and motivations for getting involved. Submitted by LEARNS at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in April 2008.

Giving winning presentations using PowerPoint slides

pingv — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:44:18 -0500

Successful presentations sometimes include PowerPoint software, and should always include adequate preparation. This effective practice, submitted by Temple University in April 2008, explains how to transform your presentations from mundane to great! Some portions of the practice have been adapted, with permission, from Andy Goodman’s book, Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes, and his monthly newsletter, free range thinking.™

Using storytelling to make a compelling presentation

pingv — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:37:06 -0500

Everyone finds themselves in the position of having to give a presentation now and again, yet many of us are not trained in how to do so. For lots of people, sharing information with colleagues conjures up two thoughts: dread and “PowerPoint.” But according to Andy Goodman, we can use storytelling to vastly improve our presentations. This effective practice, submitted by Temple University in April 2008, shows how to incorporate storytelling to your advantage, and was excerpted with permission from Andy Goodman’s monthly newsletters, free range thinking™.

Providing summertime contact in school-based mentoring programs

pingv — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:04:28 -0500

One of the main challenges for school-based mentoring programs is keeping matches in touch over the summer break when extensive in-person meetings may not be possible. Research indicates that school-based mentoring relationships suffer when summer contact is absent. Luckily, there are several strategies available to school-based mentoring programs to keep matches engaged, minimize the negative impact of the summer break on relationship quality, and get matches ready to build on positive momentum when the school year starts back up. This effective practice was submitted by LEARNS at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in April 2008.

Preparing parents for the mentoring journey

pingv — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:35:36 -0500

Aside from the young person being mentored, parents are the primary stakeholders in the mentoring relationship. Yet sometimes parents do not clearly understand why their child has been referred to a mentoring program, what mentoring is all about, their role, and the roles of the mentor and program. Because parents play such an important function in the mentoring relationship some thought should be given to how we prepare them for the mentoring journey. This effective practice outlines sample language and ideas for preparing parents for the mentoring experience, and was submitted by LEARNS at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in April 2008.

Motivating generational cohorts to civic engagement

pingv — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:43:30 -0500

Each population of potential volunteers is unique in its approach to volunteering. Program alignment activities and outreach ideas for Millenials, Generation X, baby boomers, and Veterans should all differ to create maximum effectiveness. Temple University shared this effective practice in April 2008, which examines values, characteristics, and motivation for volunteering across the generations.

Understanding when substance abuse is a disability

pingv — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:02:28 -0500

During the course of a service year, program directors manage a variety of individuals with unique needs and circumstances. In the case of persons with disabilities, specific laws— such as the Americans with Disability Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act — will dictate administrative decisions. Viewing addiction as a disability may be a new way of thinking about this topic, and requires education about disabilities and substance abuse. This effective practice, submitted by the National Service Inclusion Project in February 2008, will help program directors and volunteer managers deal with members or volunteers with, or recovering from, addictions.

Asking for documentation when reasonable accommodation is requested

pingv — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:07:45 -0600

Some individuals with disabilities who are actively participating in national and community service may request reasonable accommodations in order to fulfill their service positions. Program directors and supervisors may, under certain circumstances, ask for documentation as a matter of good program management practice. This effective practice outlines when and how to do so, and was submitted by Elesheva Soloff, Training Specialist with the National Service Inclusion Project in February 2008. The practice is adapted from material developed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).