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February 2005
In this issue:
CNE Training for Nonprofit Leaders
Our Secrets for Better Computing
Help us help you! Project Connect surveying ALL Ohio nonprofits
What help do you and your staff need with your technology? Training? Technical Support? Project Consulting? Email? Databases? Websites? Form Letters?
Project Connect will use your input to design its 2005 programs! Click here to take our survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=19826804133
Using funding from The GAR Foundation and The Cleveland Foundation, Project Connect is surveying nonprofit executives throughout Ohio about their technology capacity and needs. Our goal is to determine the services that will help Ohio nonprofits the most. Your input is critical to designing cost-effective programs that are responsive to the REAL needs of the nonprofit community.
The questions on this survey begin with feedback about Project Connect programs; if you haven’t used specific programs, you will be automatically skipped to questions covering your needs. This survey will take less than 20 minutes to complete, but it is well worth that time because it will result in readily available services that meet your needs.
We encourage you to forward this survey to your nonprofit colleagues. The more data we have, the more accurate the results will be. If you would like me to send this to someone else in your organization, please let me know.
Project Connect will protect the privacy of all survey participants. We will not release, sell, nor divulge any personal or organizational contact information provided herein. Survey results will only be released in aggregate form.
Once we have conducted our analysis, we will post the results of the survey on our website and send you an announcement of their availability.
Please feel free to forward any suggestions, comments, or questions you have by reply e-mail …
Click here to take our survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=19826804133
Ice Cream Entrepreneur, Foundation Founder will Speak at 2005 OANO Conference
Jerry Greenfield, Co-Owner of Ben & Jerry's Ice-Cream, will be the keynote speaker at the 2005 OANO Conference on May 5th. He will present An Afternoon of Entrepreneurial Spirit and Social Responsibility.
Greenfield started his famous business with partner and childhood friend, Ben Cohen in 1977. They had a modest beginning in Vermont, where their ice-cream became known for its unique flavors, and their business was recognized for its community spirit. Eventually they grew to be a multi-million dollar corporation, but along the way the duo never lost their ideas about values, volunteerism and giving. Greenfield serves on several boards of directors and has also established the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation. He is often asked to speak all over the country about values and social responsibility.
Registration, sponsorship, and exhibitor opportunities are available. For more information, contact OANO at 614-280-0233 or email Jennifer Eschbach at jennifereschbach@oano.org.
CNE Training: Risk Management & Board Leadership
Risk Management: Hiring Practices
Date: Thursday, February 10, 2005
Time: 8:00 a.m. - Noon
Location: United Disability Services, 701 S. Main Street, Akron, Ohio, 44311
Fee: $40 per personPeople…People…People!.! ...truly a nonprofit’s most valuable asset and liability. Are your policies and procedures in place to minimize the risks associated with identifying, interviewing, hiring, and managing your professional staff? What does the law say? What are the best practices in the field? Do not put your mission in jeopardy. Come and learn the strategies and policies to best manage your human resources.
Basic Board Leadership Training
Date: Thursday, February 10, 2005
Time: 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Location: Info Line Inc., 703 South Main Street # 211, Akron, Ohio 44311
Fee: $25 per personBoards are made up of people - people who come from different parts of the community and who have different levels of board experience. For some it’s the first and only board experience; for others it’s one of many. While members took different paths to your board table, you’re all in it together now. This workshop offers a quick way to learn the basics of board leadership for people considering board membership, as well as new board members and those who want to test their knowledge of the "facts" of board membership or who feel they need to brush up on the basic roles and responsibilities of membership on a nonprofit board. Topics also include the duties of loyalty, care and obedience, legal responsibilities, and the differences between what board members do and what the board as a whole does. Take this opportunity to learn with your peers, ask those thorny questions, and hear the real-life experiences of a current Board President and Executive Director team.
To register, or for more information:
Go to www.cfnpe.org to register, or for more information call CNE at 330-762-9670. Scholarships for a 50% reduction in the fee are available for nonprofit organizations with budgets under $500,000. Application information and information about the scholarships are also available at www.cfnpe.org under Events and Training.
Hands-on Training for Winning Grant Proposals
Registration is now open for the upcoming workshop, Government Funding & Partnership with Faith and Community-Based Organizations, presented by We Care America and SAMHSA on February 15-16, 2005 in Columbus, Ohio.
This hands on clinic is where grant seekers receive coaching from highly skilled professonals to gain knowledge on Ohio's alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services systems. Presentations will include grantwriting, integrating AoD (alcohol and other drug) and mental health services into faith and community-based organization activities, SAMHSA's funding priorities and Compassion Capital mini-grant opportunities. There is NO COST to trainees.
This event is co-sponsored by the Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. For more information, or to register online, visit http://www.wecareamerica.org/samhsaevents.asp.
Expanding Volunteerism is Focus of March Conference
The Governor's Office on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is also co-sponsoring the 2005 Forging New Links Conference. Scheduled for March 29 - 30, 2005 at the Hilton at Easton in Columbus, Ohio. The conference will provide an opportunity to expand involvement in volunteerism through six programmatic focus areas: Faith-Based Initiatives; Volunteer Administration; National Service; Homeland Security; Corporate Volunteerism; and Service Learning.
The conference will offer over 50 workshops, and the keynote speaker will be Dr. Crystal Kuykendall: Bringing out the Best in Everyone. For more information, visit the program brochure at http://www.serveohio.org/Media/FNL2005brochure.pdf or call 614-888-2568.
AFP Presents: Ethics - What Is Appropriate Information to Keep on File About a Donor?
February 14, 12:00 – 1:30
Guy’s Party Center, Akron
$11 Members / $20 Non-Members
www.afpncoh.org
What level of privacy regarding personal information should a donor/prospective donor have a right to expect from the organization? What information on donors/prospective donors is most useful in customizing “the ask”? What information on donors/prospective donors might be tracked, but actually isn’t strategic for development efforts?
If you have asked yourself these questions - more than once - this is an ethics program you won't want to miss. Join Bobbi O'Malley, Director of Prospect Research for Baldwin-Wallace College, to find out how much information is acceptable before your donor files become top secret!
Bobbi has been a development professional at Baldwin-Wallace College since 1982, specializing in prospect research, annual fund and alumni programs. She is a member of the ICAA (Independent Colleges Advancement Association), APRA (Association of Prospect Researchers for Advancement), and OPRN (Ohio Prospect Researchers Network) where she serves as the Northeast Ohio Regional Chair. She is also listed in the Who's Who Registry, Platinum Edition, and has facilitated at both the state and national level for OCFRE and NSFRE (now AFP). She is also a member of the Northeast Ohio Planned Giving Council and was a speaker at the 2004 annual conference.
To register, or for more information, visit http://www.afpncoh.org/news2005/february.htm.
Women’s Network Presents: Size in the Workplace – the Other Diversity
February 11, 11:45 – 1:30
Peg's Catering, 440 Grant St, Akron
$12 members / $15 non-members
Veronica Cook-Euell, president and chief consultant of Euell Consulting Group in Akron, will present Size in the Workplace – the Other Diversity at the February 11 Second Friday Luncheon sponsored by Women’s Network. The luncheons are held at Peg’s Catering, 440 Grant Street in Akron (parking and entrance off Wheeler St.). Networking begins at 11:45 a.m.
There is strong evidence that body size plays a role in the hiring, termination and promoting practices in the workplace. The result is that many talented and competent individuals – mostly women – are overlooked for positions due solely to their appearance. Cook-Euell’s presentation will focus on developing a better understanding of size as a diversity issue and gaining an awareness of how preoccupation with body image or size can affect work performance, creativity and overall happiness on the job and in life.
Cook-Euell holds a Master’s Degree in Psychology, Diversity Management Specialization, from Cleveland State University, and is a Certified Professional in Human Resources and a Global Career Development Facilitator. Her area of expertise is size acceptance, which she promotes as “the other diversity.” She is also the host of a radio talk show on WCRS Radio in Akron entitled “Size Matters with Veronica.”
The Women’s Network Second Friday Luncheon Series features speakers and panel discussions that address a variety of topics focusing on professional development. The cost is $12 for Women’s Network members, $15 for non-members. Reservations are requested by Wednesday, February 9. For more information or to make a reservation, call the Women’s Network office at 330-253-6131.
Valentine Goodies Support United Disability Services!
Buckeye Baskets™ is offering three sweet gift choices for Valentine’s Day: Pampered Valentine, A Taste of Romance and Hot & Spicy Valentine. Once again, we've found the some of the best and most unique Ohio products for your gift-giving pleasure.
- Pampered Valentine is a romantic collection of scented votives, coordinating lotion, shower gel and sachet with a beautiful sculpted heart soap all nestled in a floral embossed cream-washed tin. $24.95.
- A Taste of Romance takes a lighter look at love with romance novel-inspired favorites that include Surrender Chocolates, Dark Obsession and Sweet Torment flavored coffees, Truth in Romance note cards, vanilla sauce and shortbread cookies in a quality woven dark red basket. $24.95.
- The Hot & Spicy Valentine will put a little fire in your romance with CaBoom! Chili Fixins chili mix, honey sweet BBQ sauce, spicy snack mix, a spicy gourmet nut blend, salsa, tortilla chips and Jammin’ Java coffee with a little chocolate and candy thrown in for sweetness. $29.95.
Visit http://www.buckeyebaskets.com/ to see photos and place orders to be shipped. Baskets can be purchased in the floral departments of four Acme Fresh Markets -- West Akron, Montrose, Hudson and North Canton -- and at the Gift Gallery at 3235 Manchester Road in Akron. Quantities are limited.
The creation of these beautifully wrapped gift baskets provides paid work for people with disabilities and supports the programs of United Disability Services. For more information, contact Carrie Herman at cherman@udsakron.org or 330-762-9755.
Service Spotlight:
Projector & Laptop Rentals
330-315-1335; hotline@infolineinc.org
No need to purchase $4,000 of equipment for one or two PowerPoint Presentations a month! Project Connect rents its projectors and laptops ... $50 each per 24-hour period for members, $75 for non-members. You can pick up the equipment the day before so we can show you how to use it! For more information, contact Amy Rock at 330-315-1335 or hotline@infolineinc.org.
Amy's PC TIP:
Managing Electronic Image File Sizes, or Low-Carb GraphicsGraphics are great, and can really set the tone for flyers, brochures, web pages, and more. But have you ever noticed, as soon as you start putting images into your files, the file size balloons, making it slow to open or print, and virtually impossible to e-mail as an attachment? The secret is in the image file size.
Choosing the right file type
With all those image file types out there, it’s easy to think they’re interchangeable. They’re not, really. Each file type has its good points and bad points. The best file types for electronic use are .gif and .jpg/.jpeg. (If you’re doing super-high quality stuff for a commercial printer, the .tiff/.tif format provides the intense detail required, but don’t use it for anything else!) These give you the best quality at the most reasonable file size. The general rule of thumb is .jpg for photos and .gif for everything else, although the .gif format has improved to be able to handle photos with some success. When exporting images from your graphics software, play around with the controls to find the best balance between image quality and file size. Remember, it doesn’t matter how pretty it looks if it crashes someone’s computer!What you’ve got is not always what you see
Depending on the final purpose of your document, you may not see as many pixels as are stored in the image. If you have a wonderful 600 dpi (dots per inch) photo of the Volunteer of the Year, and you’re only going to display it on your website, what a waste! No matter how fancy the are, monitors only display at 72 dpi, so those extra 528 dpi have nothing better to do than bog down your computer. Use a graphics program to export the image at 72 dpi, and watch your file size drop!Shrinking the visual size doesn’t shrink the file size
When you scrunch that photo down to fit perfectly in the newsletter, you haven’t done a thing for the file size. In order to shrink the file size, you need to open the image in a graphics editor (such as Photoshop) and resample the image. Resampling adjusts the actual size of the image by removing pixels – it’s like putting your image on a diet.You don't have to have super-fancy image editing software to perform these miracles. There are a variety of inexpensive applications (like the one that comes with your digital camera or scanner) that will allow this sort of manipulation. Once you've tried these methods, check out the before and after sizes of your file - it could be up to a tenth of its original size!
Join us this winter for a cup of cocoa and a refresher course, or learn something entirely new! Call 330-315-1335 or e-mail register@infolineinc.org to register or receive a copy of our winter schedule. Cost is $40 per person for staff and volunteers of member organizations; $60 per person for staff and volunteers of non-member organizations.
Don't know whether your organization is a member? Visit our members page to find out: Project Connect Members
Not a member? Join Project Connect today and save! Visit www.infolineinc.org/connect.htm for more info.
Microsoft Excel
Excel 1: Spreadsheet Basics
2/3/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonExcel 2: Formulas
2/10/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonExcel 3: Advanced Tools
2/17/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonExcel 4: Data Analysis Tools
2/24/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonAdobe PageMaker
PageMaker 1: The Basics
2/8/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonPageMaker 2: Newsletters
2/15/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonMicrosoft Publisher
QuickBooks
Publisher 1: The Basics
2/22/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonPageMaker 2: Newsletters
3/1/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
- Setting Up Your Company
3/15/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon- Statements & Reports
3/22/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon- Beyond the Ledger
3/29/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonIntroductory Courses
Introduction to Computers 1: The Basics
3/17/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonIntroduction to Computers 2: Increasing Your Efficiency
3/24/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonIntroduction to the Internet
3/31/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Database Developers Series Website Development
Access 1: Planning & Set-Up
2/16/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonAccess 2: Tables & Relationships
2/23/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonAccess 3: Queries & Basic Forms
3/2/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonAccess 4: Forms & Reports
3/9/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonAccess 5: Troubleshooting
3/16/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Website Development
4/6/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonFrontPage 1:Themes & Shared Borders
4/13/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonPhotoshop: Graphics for the Web
4/20/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonFrontPage 2: Formatting Your Web Pages
4/27/2005 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonFrontPage 3: Cool Tools
5/4/2005 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 NoonMicrosoft Word
- Document Basics
4/7/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon- Tables, Merges & Macros
4/14/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon- Forms & Advanced Tools
4/21/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon- Graphics & Brochures
4/28/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon- Newsletters
5/5/05 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Visit www.infolineinc.org/connect/training.htm to see our latest training schedule. Or call us at 330-315-1335 and we'll fax you a copy.
Are you getting the best deals for your technology dollar?
Don't buy anything technology-related until you've visited these three websites first!! They offer significant discounts for nonprofits with Microsoft, Dell, CDW, Adobe, and more!
As always, we are interested in hearing from you to learn how we can best meet your technology and connectivity needs. Give us a call at 330-315-1335 or e-mail us at connect@infolineinc.org.
Enjoy!
Be sure to include your fax number!
Want to see previous newsletters? Go to www.infolineinc.org/connect/updates.htm
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