Shared Back-Offices in the Cloud: Three Models for Organizations to Pool Resources (Findings and Case Studies)
From NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network)

Most nonprofits have at least one thing in common, regardless of their missions: they need to provide a secure, reliable technology infrastructure that allows staff to carry out the day-to-day work. But budget and staff constraints often make it a challenge for organizations to find and provide optimal solutions to technology needs—especially smaller ones. How can they best provide the right software and hardware, the training to help staff understand how to use it effectively, and the technical support to keep it running smoothly?

In an earlier article in this research series, we showed that “outsourcing” traditional Information Technology functions to solutions hosted in the Cloud allowed organizations to better focus limited staff resources on mission-related activities. This is especially true of distributed organizations with multiple offices or staff, where a more traditional IT solution might have historically required support staff in each location.

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New handbook on Intellectual Property for nonprofits is published
From Examiner.com

"Intellectual property (IP), in the form of copyrights, trademarks, lists of members, attendees, exhibitors, and others are often an association’s most valuable property. And in this modern internet era, everything is electronic, so understanding and implementing the rules, best practices, and protections for IP of nonprofit organizations and associations is critical. We thought it was timely to help associations protect their IP by giving them a clear, concrete reference book to turn to," says the co-author of the just published Intellectual Property for Nonprofit Organizations and Associations, Jefferson Glassie.

Jeff and his co-authors Eileen Johnson and Dana Lynch are attorneys with the boutique law firm, Whiteford, Taylor, and Preston, in Washington, DC.

"This book will be a good resource to association execs and lawyers who want to know the law applicable to IP from the nonprofit context," said Jeff. "It’s unfortunately pretty common for association publications to show up on other websites, which takes away sales for the association. Piracy is one big problem. Associations also face issues related to unauthorized uses of trademarks and certification marks, which can adversely affect the association’s brand integrity. And finally, there are all sorts of internet, domain name, and cybersecurity issues that associations and nonprofits have to face like all businesses."

Are there special challenges in protecting intellectual property outside the US that associations face?

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Four Important Lessons from a Nonprofit Board Nomination Process

By Ryan Johnson, Vice President, Publishing and Community for WorldatWork

My term on the board of a national nonprofit professional association recently came to an end after more than 5 years—including a year as the chair of the board, and a year as immediate past board chair. Per the by-laws, the immediate past board chair leads the nominations process for incoming board members. That process concluded in late spring and I have to admit that I learned some lessons along the way. I hope this blog post helps someone who may someday face the same issues that I faced.

Lesson #1. It might be obvious, but: get on it early.

Our by-laws stipulated the precise make-up of the nominations committee: a total of seven people. What was evident immediately is that coordinating the schedules of seven people plus an executive director— even for a phone call— is very difficult. This process will take longer than you think, regardless of how well organized you are.

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Research Friday: Controversial Nonprofit Compensation: Are We Missing the Point?

We often talk about nonprofit executive compensation in skeptical terms: how much is too much? While no one supports wasteful public spending or abuse of power, the cases that grab headlines and provoke legislation are actually far from the norm. At Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), what we see far more often is staff turnover due to burnout and low pay. We routinely work with nonprofits that are struggling to determine if it’s financially possible to make a much-needed new hire, even on a part-time or contractor basis. This week’s installment of Research Friday will examine a range of new data from the field about our sector’s human resources—often, our most powerful but undervalued form of capital.

First up: The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s recent survey of more than 900 young nonprofit professionals. With help from the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network (YNPN), The Chronicle found that many of the sector’s young workers “can’t afford to stay in their positions” because their salaries (often starting out in the $25 to $35,000 range) are no match for their student debt. Over time, low pay has real consequences for the sector in terms of talent. Case in point, YNPN’s 2011 survey of young nonprofit workers found that “commitment to remaining in a nonprofit job weakened as employees got older.” When asked to indicate the reason for leaving, over 90% of respondents cited burnout, although low salary and wages (82%), lack of career advancement (69%), and job related stress (69%) were also major contributors.

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Register your project for Make a Difference Day and you could win a $5,000 grant

The Arizona Republic, 12 News and azcentral.com are partnering with USA Weekend for the Oct. 27 Make A Difference Day. Now in its 22^nd year, Make A Difference Day is the nation’s largest day of volunteering, thanks to the passion of millions of people. And you can be a part of it. During the month of October, The Republic and 12 News will be driving their readers and viewers to the Make A Difference Day website so they can select a volunteer project on Oct. 27. The more Arizona agencies represented the better, and your agency could be eligible for a $10,000 grant from the Gannett Foundation. The online project database for this year’s Make A Difference Day is open and ready for entries. The Make A Difference Day database is the place to share your project plans, recruit volunteers and brag a little about how you’ll help your community on Make A Difference Day. Creating an account is easy. Remember that to be considered for a national award, your project must be registered in the database, so get started today! Go to www.makeadifferenceday.com.

Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation 2013 Community Grants Program

Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation is pleased to announce the start of the 2013 Delta Dental of Arizona Foundation Community Grants Cycle, providing grants to organizations helping to improve the oral health of Arizonans, with proposals for this cycle due November 15, 2012. They will be offering Technical Assistance workshops during the application window. For details, please visit: http://www.deltadentalaz.com/foundation/events/fnd_2012Grants.asp. For questions, contact Megan Vrooman, CNP at: mvrooman@deltadentalaz.com or 602-588-3923.

African-American Leadership Institute (AALI) accepting applications for Class 2012

The African-American Leadership Institute (AALI) promotes the individual development of African-Americans for increased participation in leadership roles and serves as a principal education and networking resource for expertise and advocacy on leadership issues affecting and impacting their communities. For more information, contact Odell Joshua at 623 332-3867 or odelljoshua21@gmail.com. To download an application, visit: http://www.valledelsol.com/?page_id=72.

The Hispanic Leadership Institute-West (HLI-West) promotes the development of individuals for increased participation in leadership roles and serves as a principal education and networking resource for expertise and advocacy on leadership issues affecting the Latino community. For more information, contact (602) 258-6797, ext. 246 or imeldar@valledelsol.com. To download an application, visit: http://www.valledelsol.com/?page_id=95.

Looking for a job in the nonprofit sector? You’ve come to the right place! Click one of the job categories below to get started, or click here to submit a job posting.

Each issue, the Center will highlight an influential nonprofit professional. If you’d like to nominate an individual, click here.

C. Michelle Duenas, Grants Manager for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley, oversees grants management, program management and staff training and development. Michelle has been with the organization for 19 years. She started as a Youth Development Director at the Mesa Branch in 1993, and then worked at the Tempe Branch as a Youth Development Director. In 1997, she became the Branch Executive at the Tempe Branch and served in this role until January 2007, when she was promoted to Area Director, overseeing six branches. In August of 2010, Michelle took on the role of Grants Manager, thus expanding her nonprofit management skills.

C. Michelle Duenas graduated from ASU in 1990 with a degree in Recreation Management and a certification in American Humanics from the ASU Lodestar Center. She began her professional career as a program director at the Waiakea Settlement YMCA in Hilo, Hawaii. Two years later, she returned to Arizona and was hired as the youth development director at the Mesa Branch, Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley. Michelle is a national training associate for Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Program Basics, Formula for Impact, Outcome Driven Club Experience and SMART Moves prevention programs. In 2002, Michelle served as the mentor for the Tempe/East Valley/Arizona/Pacific Region and National Youth of the Year; Donald E. Smith. Michelle was the Training and Professional Development Advisory Committee (T.A.P.D.A.C.) representative for the state of Arizona in the Pacific Region from 2006-2011. In May 2006, Michelle received the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Professional Development Award of Excellence, the highest honor a professional can receive from Training & Professional Development. Michelle was the state chairperson for the State of Arizona Youth of the Year program, 2003-2006. Michelle is very active in her community and is a past commissioner on the Gilbert Parks & Recreation Board, as well as a past president of the Mesa West Rotary Club. Michelle is an active member and a national board member of The Professional Association for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

A recent study on charitable donations published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy indicates that Arizona ranks 20th in the country for itemized household charitable giving. For more information on this study, click here.