Kickin' micro-lending with Kiva

Community development, especially internationally, is a huge interest of mine, and I absolutely love Kiva for letting me participate. From my couch. In my PJs. 

It's a global micro-lending program, run solely through the web, that allows people to set up accounts and give loans to entrepreneurs around the world. Some are small projects, some are bigger, and all of them aim to help communities and families.

The entrepreneur (individual or group) asks for a specific amount of money, say $1000, and multiple Kiva donors lend any amount toward that goal until it's reached. The recipient then has a set term, often one year, to repay the loan - and once they've repaid it, it goes back into the various lenders' accounts so they can either loan that money to another entrepreneur or withdraw it. Some of the recipients even journal about their progress.

There are thousands of people in many sectors all around the globe looking for loans, which are distributed by local partner organizations, and you can search to your heart's content.

For example, I'm a health person. I studied in Uganda. I think women entrepreneurs rock. So I searched for all of those things and currently support a group in Uganda led by 34-year-old Rose, a mother of four, who owns and operates a drug store to raise money for her dream project: a clinic with special maternity section. Rose's group's total loan was $2000; they got their loan in February and have already paid half of it back.

Want to hear about Kiva successes from a different perspective? Check out Kiva Stories from the Field - it's a blog written by the Kiva Fellows around the world, who I won't go into, but if any of you ever become one I will be oh-so-jealous.

Young Social Entrepreneurs

I'm really stuck on social entrepreneurship--from posting about social entrepreneurial courses and institutes at business schools, to the reading list I gave you last week, I'm realizing more and more that there is something really special and unique about the combination of business and social awareness.
This week, take a look at these young people who are changing their world with whatever resources they have available.
Another inspiring story: these women started an upscale club/boutique/craft shop after being inspired during a course in business school!
Providing a service to others based on skills you already have or a hobby you already love is simple and satisfying--how about a local meals-on-wheels or creating a healthful food cookbook if you love to be in the kitchen, starting or participating in a Big Brothers Big Sisters program or gathering the names of reputable babysitters and caregivers, if children are your passion?
What experience have you had participating in, or building, a program for the community?

The Interview: Sink or Swim?

I'll admit they're a little dorky, but check out these YouTube videos about what to do - and, of course, what not to do - in job interviews.

Denham Resources, a random staffing company in Fresno, Calif., puts out a new video each month, and as silly as they are, I think it can be a heckuva lot more helpful (to watch someone else struggle through things...) than a list of do-this-don't-do-this interview tips.

For more tips and advice on how to advance your career in the nonprofit world click HERE

Social Entrepreneurship in East Africa

This week, I've been in the Library of Congress trying to understand the opportunities in East Africa for social entrepreneurship. I have culled my rather extensive list to a few must-reads about social entrepreneurship & changing the world a little more generally (but if you're totally intrigued by the specific programs enacted by the British government between 1840 and 1974, I'd be glad to provide some resources...).

The Power of Unreasonable People
by John Elkington
Sprinkled with amusing but timely quotations from the likes of Charles Bernard Shaw, The Power of Unreasonable People outlines the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

Difference Makers
by Susan Long
Pithy and inspiring 3-6 page columns about people like Charles Schlutz and a woman who has adopted 21 children in NYC.

Creating a World Without Poverty
by Muhammad Yunus
Authored by the founder of Grameen Bank, through case studies & personal experience, Creating a World Without Poverty highlights the keys to success in social entrepreneurship.

Rolling in the dough...or not

In economic times that leave a lot to be desired (to say the least), it's nice to know that, though they're not shooting through the roof, the salaries of people in nonprofit leadership roles are going up. Granted the year's increase was only 2.55 percent, but up is up!

Want to know what you have to look forward to? The average annual salary for a "nonprofit leader" is $148, 972.

Recent controversy over National Night Out executive salary of $300,000 has -- rightfully -- drawn attention to discussion of how much is too much for nonprofit leaders to make, particularly when much of salaries can come from fundraising.

But with the predicted nonprofit leadership crisis that we've talked about here on its way, nonprofit employees are demanding compensation (closer to) on par with their for-profit counterparts. Often they're doing similar jobs that require similar education and skills.

What do you think? How much is too much for nonprofit execs? Should their lower salaries be a personal donation to their causes? Or should they be paid the same amount as a corporate exec doing more or less the same job?

Photo by cmpalmer

Olympic News for Everyone

The Friday-morning interview with Michael Phelps kicked off the Olympic games (for me). Friday night, the drums and dancing of the opening ceremonies left me awestruck.

But what about people who can't see the tight choreography of 2008 men moving to the music or perceive the growing and lagging distances between competitors in the pools in Beijing?

A non-profit in Beijing, which usually uses a movie theater to narrate popular films, has been broadcasting and narrating the Olympics this weekend instead!

This way, everyone gets a little taste of the Olympic spirit.

Book Reviews

You'd think these were easy problems to fix: children are starving in Africa--give them food. People are dying from malaria--give them mosquito nets to protect themselves from bites while they're sleeping. So why are there STILL children starving and STILL people dying from Malaria?

William Easterly asks this exact question in his book, The White Man's Burden.

His answer? There are too many "planners" in charge of the resources and not enough "searchers." He uses the release of the fifth Harry Potter book as an example. The crux of his argument: if the world-wide release of this high-demand commodity can be synchronized to the day, surely providing food to children in Africa is doable. It's just that the right people are working on the problem.
"Planners," the ones with the money heading up the foundations, are busy planning to solve the "big" problems, they're tackling poverty, hunger, dirty water, joblessness and disease all at once, and not accomplishing anything. "Searchers," of which there are few in non-profit situations (at least world-wide), instead look for a piecemeal way to solve ONE problem.
The malaria nets, when given out for free, are used as decorations or storage, or as toys--not as a covering for one's sleeping area. But in Malawi, a different tactic was used: everyone is charged for mosquito nets through a particular program. The poor are charged about 50 cents, the rich are charged five dollars. Since the nets each cost a dollar to produce, the program pays for itself by selling to both rich and poor people. And this way, because people are putting a VALUE on the item, they are much more likely to use the malaria nets for shelter, not for recreation (pgs. 13-14).

B-I-N-G-O

OK, so it may not involve a dobber. Sorry in advance.

But if you're sick of all the buzzwords ("buzzword" being a culprit itself, at least in my organization) in the nonprofit world like I am, a game of Nonprofit Buzzword Bingo might be just what you need. 

And don't feel bad: It was developed by a nonprofiteer who was sick of the lingo and wanted to spice up some staff meetings. 

Need a distraction? Want in? Get your own card, courtesy of NonprofitMarketing Guide.com.

Photo by ann-dabney

Bingo card by NonprofitMarketingGuide.com

The way forward is through...the stomach?

The other day my groggy boyfriend stumbled into Fresh Grounds Coffee (photo, left, from freshgrounds coffee.com) for a little pick-me-up on his way to work. In his caffeine-deprived state, it took him a few minutes to realize that it wasn't your average coffee shop. It looks like a regular coffee shop. It smells like a regular coffee shop. And for all practical purposes, it is.

But Fresh Grounds is also a nonprofit job training program for young adults who live in a supported housing project in the same building as the shop. The social venture gives young people job skills and employment experience and of course brings the community an ever-appreciated coffee buzz -- with a lot more character than Starbucks.

Now I admit I'm a fan of the occasional frappuccino, but in my world, the more sugar, the better. So Cookie Cart (photo, left, from cookiecart.org) gets bonus points for me. A similar model, the nonprofit is an employment training program that gives young people professional experience. With jobs in a bakery with a retail front, Cookie Cart aims to put that ever-important first job on the resumes of low-income youth, which they can back up with job, leadership and life skills.

And I must say they make a mean cookie. :)

Gas Prices + non-profits

Volunteers in Richmond, Virginia are struggling to cover their transportation costs (isn't everyone?). A local businessman, Peter Kaufman, decided to help: he challenged "every ad agency, public relations firm, Web developer and freelancer in Virginia to donate $100 to a nonprofit needing help."
coverage of the success can be found at www.hooplegroup.com/blog

Minnesota nice -- it's official

Congratulations, Minneapolis-St. Paul!

For the second year in a row, my place of residence (how long do I have to live here before it's my hometown?) ranked No. 1 in the country for its rate of volunteerism--39.3 percent! In the annual report from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Minnesota won the No. 3 state spot, and the Midwest topped the region contest.

OK, enough bragging. Here are some other highlights:

• 6o.8 million people (26.2 percent of people over age 16) volunteered
  
• 8.1 billion hours of service
• Worth $158 billion
• 35.6 percent of volunteers gave more than 100 hours last year
• The highest volunteer rate goes to...working mothers!

Though the national volunteer rate fell slightly, to just over a quarter of Americans, it's still pretty impressive.

What do you do to give back?



Photo: Minneapolis, by Shiny Things

no butts

Big news in the non-profit world: two of the richest men in the US are teaming up to fight nicotine.

I haven't been able to find many details yet, but it was all over the morning news. Here is a snippet I found online.

During lunch, I ran out to find some butts on campus in order to provide you all with a little photo fun. Even on a property that went completely smoke-free on July 4, I found four butts in about three minutes of walking--around the Duke Chapel!

Proof that philanthropy is alive and well--and committed to making others stay alive and well!

Yet another smart and simple nonprofit

Unfortunately kids witness a lot of scary stuff -- but fortunately, the right tools of distraction might make a bad situation a little more positive.

That's the thought behind With Wings and A Halo, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that puts packages of children's books in the back of police squad cars so kids have something to do if their family is dealing with tough stuff.

The program has been a hit; all 72 Wisconsin counties and 12 police departments in Illinois have stocked their squad cars with books.

Photo by kennymatic.

Power to the pooches

Meet Waldo!

My new little addition has obviously put the wellbeing of dogs on my mind--and unfortunately many aren't as lucky as my little man here (waaay too many toys and treats, too much attention).

People aren't the only victims of a crappy economy: When people need to make cuts, pets can often an obvious choice. As the rate of foreclosures climbs, so does the number of dogs and other furry friends being abandoned by their owners.

This obviously overwhelms already busy animal shelters and humane societies, where supplying animals with adequate food is always a challenge.



Good thing Mimi, a young Oregon girl who started volunteering at her local humane society at age 9, is doing something about it. Thinking about the ever-popular FreeRice.com, Mimi launched FreeKibble.com, a site that, with the help of a corporate dog food sponsor, donates 20 pieces of kibble a day to dogs in need. And of course, there's some canine trivia involved.

Online Giving

Yesterday, The Non-Profit Times published the findings of their study concerning charitable giving.

According to their research, when a person is solicited for a donation to an organization through an email, the rate of respondents who sought out more info online has more than doubled in the last three years! (from 35% to 79%) Most of the respondents searched the organization's website (37%), but some respondents even looked through blogs for more information (8%)

I'm impressed both that emails are being used so effectively in advertising non-profits AND that so many people are looking to blogs like this one for answers!

wearing many hats

As is typical of the non-profit world, I will be adding another set of skills to my resume this week: working the front desk of an Institute. The strength (and weakness) of non-profits is that as an employee, you have the opportunity to try a lot of different jobs without actually applying for them--that way, when you eventually *do* move on (like Kate!) you have much more experience in a wider variety of occupations than your for-profit counterparts! Of course, this means that even if you were trained in French literature, you may be called upon to write up an advertisement (or review! of) for Latin dance classes at the community center.
I'm eager to share with you the in's and out's of running a front desk, wish me luck!

Finding a Job

In trying to find a job, I was taught how important networking is. Lots of people are hesitant to "network" because for some reason, it has the mistaken impression of just "using" people. The difference is this: "networking" is to the advantage of both people involved. The pair may not benefit from the relationship in the exact same way, but they both get something they want and need out of the interaction--if I babysit for a professor, they get to go out and not worry about their children, and I get personal currency to trade in for an academic favor later. Of course, one should not enter into such a relationship solely for personal benefit (I happen to love babysitting), but eventually, the networking gods will come back and smile on you.

I was startled by the statistic, as a first-semester senior, that only 30% of jobs are advertised. The other 70%, the large majority, were come upon by who you knew and who you asked, not through eRecruiting or a college career center (this is where internships can come in handy). My boyfriend's job was one of the 30%; I kept telling myself that it would pan out for me too, that I would get one of those 30% jobs, I wouldn't have to pull strings or--as I saw it--"cheat" by massaging my network and working my way into a position by the grace of the network-gods.
And yet, here I am, in a job that was practically created for me, given to me by one of my powerful networkers--the dean of the school for which I work.

It started innocently enough--I went to him to talk about where I could look for jobs. I knew his network was much larger than mine, and would probably know of more resources. He had met me 6 years before when I came to the school for a summer program as a junior in high school. I had run in to him a few times while needing permission papers signed for classes and delivering speeches over the years. He was eager to meet with me and share his resources. Eventually, he decided that perhaps my skills would be well-used at the divinity school. And here I am! I never expected him to offer me a job, my motives for meeting were pure, but once you allow yourself to be open to the opportunities around you, things start falling from the sky (maybe not until after you graduate--like me), but eventually, they do. All because of being desperate enough to call upon my network!

The new nonprofit news

I work (for eight more days!) in nonprofit public relations/communications, so trust me, I know how hard it is to get a newspaper or TV station or radio show or news website to pick up a story about your organization. Really, really hard.

The media has constraints of its own, so it's hard to blame them. But some people are taking matters into their own hands--and opening their own wallets--to ensure that the issues that are important to them get coverage.

We're not talking little nonprofits here; we're talking foundations dedicated to specific topics: health, education, the environment. This article from the American Journalism Review gives some great examples, such as the Kaiser Family Foundation (one of the oldies) which gives a good chunk of change toward quality health reporting and other programs sprouting up to provide reporting on specific topics.

Conflict of interest? Maybe. But these foundations are trying for good, "objective" reporting on the issues that brings them to the forefront of people's minds. Best case scenario, as the article says:

Done right, the journalism-funder relationship benefits both parties as well as
the public they aim to serve. It supplies important news resources, and it
satisfies a grantmaker's mission — maybe even bringing a touch of prestige.

what to do when there's nothing to do:

Kate's post made me laugh, because I'm sitting here in my office with absolutely NOTHING to do. My boss has been gone on vacation for a week, and while she brought her blackberry with her (more than I would do in her situation), it's not as if she's approving my reports & giving me permission to move on without her while she's on the other side of the country.

I finished my boss-invented "to do" list last week and spent Thursday & Monday making documents *extra* pretty and thinking up ways to get ahead of the game (and maybe win a few brownie points--like starting a new grant proposal). But it's not even noon, and here I am blogging instead of trying to focus on anything work-related. I can't even force myself to edit the excel mailing lists.

While this won't help Kate, it might help me, and others who find themselves without enough tasks to fill their inboxes:

(1) Make a list of mindless tasks that aren't urgent and might never get done unless there's downtime--when you find yourself 2 weeks from your last day or boss-less, attack the list. I always feel a significant sense of accomplishment when I complete menial tasks with a visual pay off (stamping 500 letters).

(2) Read. I have 3 books on my desk that I'm supposed to absorb (by osmosis?), and one can never have too much of current world events. Double points if you take notes/write up a report (for yourself) while reading. You could even create a reading list of books, authors and articles that helped you get where you are--not a bad thing to pass on to your successor.

(3) Look around your office--are there filing cabinets that could stand to be organized? Maybe the printer needs more paper. You could deliver the mail. Do your coworkers need help putting together packets or proofreading? Your time can help the work get done faster & help you gain some currency with your coworkers--you never know when one will be called upon to report on your work to a new employer!

Winding down...in style?

The first year out of college was great for that feeling-your-way-into-the-professional-world thing where you have no idea what's appropriate and what's not in a workplace and/or career -- so you base all your professional (or not-so-professional) moves on a) what you observe, b) advice you hear or c) total and complete guesses.

I have two more weeks left in my job (before focusing solely on relaxing and a part-time research assistantship until grad school starts in the fall), and options A-C aren't helping me figure out how to gracefully exit.

I'm not going to start anything new in the bottom of the ninth here. I have to wrap some stuff up, compile stuff that will be helpful for my successor (poor soul) and pack up my belongings. Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm well on my way on most of that. So here's my question:

What do I do for the next two weeks? I don't want to look like I've mentally checked out, but let's face it, recycling papers and taking down tacked-up things aren't exactly thrilling tasks. And I can only do so much of that. But can't really do anything new. And can't quite start online shoe shopping in broad daylight.

Any suggestions? Personal experiences? Anyone want to write The Goodbye Email to my coworkers for me? (I'm really dreading that one...)

Social Entrepreneurship

My boss, a Harvard MBA who has worked @ AOL & USA Today, recently changed her end game. For years, she worked in the for-profit world, spending her days with people whose highest value was the bottom line. Now, as she describes it, working for the div school, the end game is "save the world."
You've probably heard that non-profits can be as profitable as for-profits (though that's not commonly the case).
Recently, business schools have been picking up on the value of letting their graduate students use their skills for "save the world" values instead of "more money" values...

• Duke's Fuqua School of Business has CASE--the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship,

• The Kennedy School of Government @ Harvard has a "rapidly developing" Social Entrepreneurship Initiative, and

• the Stanford-wide cooperative, Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program.

My viewpoint might be biased, as I've come of age in this turning-eco-friendly world, but it seems as if the socially-acceptable end game is changing as well; there is little pride or respect invested in big corporations or illustrious law firms--the "cool" thing to do these days is worrying about the environment & the "little guy." Non-profits are really coming in to their own--let's ride the wave!

A sea slug named Kate?

[Photo: Christian Science Monitor/Scripps Institution of Oceanography]

It's rough out there for nonprofits -- we need money, and it's getting trickier and trickier to come by. So some people are getting creative.

And by creative, I mean that you can name a sea slug for $15,000.

Apparently it's cool for scientific nonprofits to "sell" naming rights of newly discovered species to raise funds for their programs and research. Naming a species of monkey ran one company $650,000, and a naming auction for sea creatures raked in $2 million. But by far, my personal favorite...

Famous people get their share of names too. For example, a pair of US
entomologists named three slime-mold beetle species after George W. Bush, Dick
Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld, former secretary of defense. It wasn’t a joke: Mr.
Bush called to thank one of the entomologists, who said he wished to honor the
three men.

I will refrain from making any political comments here, but trust me, I'm biting my tongue. Really hard. :)

Shameless (-ful?) plug

If it were totally unrelated to the nonprofit world, I might not shove my other (new!) blogging endeavor into your faces -- but I think there's a good chance the nonprofit crowd and the love-the-earth crowd might overlap a little bit.

So check out the relatively new Experience Green for all kinds of info about turning the earth-lovin' into a career. And yes, there are blogs. And yes, I just might contribute to one of them.

Check out my first post on how the environment and public health are inescapably tied, and No. 2, about my trip to Design for the Other 90% -- very cool exhibit, very relevant to doing good for people and the planet.

Because we love refugees -- and, of course, Angelina

Happy World Refugee Day! Take a second to read about what's going on around the world to celebrate and raise awareness about the world's record 11.4 million refugees.

Tiny tidbit

In case you're ever less-than-enthralled with It's All Good... ;)

Check out Give & Take -- "a roundup of blogs about the nonprofit world," if you will, from the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Make sure you check out the blogroll on the right side of the page for a bunch of blogs into philanthropy (duh), fundraising, charities and technology.

The Power of a Sugar Low

Kate's got a good point--it's difficult to get used to a non-summer kind of summer, but I have a feeling that she and I, as well as most of you, will be experiencing a LOT of those kinds of summers in the next few (or many) years.

I apologize for my sugar low this morning that resulted in such an unhelpful post about the woes of traveling. I know a lot of us in the non-profit world travel and thankfully, now that I have more of a sugar coma going on, hopefully I can add a little help to combating both travel difficulties AND adjusting to a sit-in-your-office-all-day lifestyle (contrasted with our all-too-quickly-over college lifestyle).

A few tips I use to help keep production up and exhaustion down during the dog days of summer at work:

-a handful of raw almonds (I bought a box @ Target for $7)

-tea (hot or cold). Lots of offices have single-serve teas and coffees, if yours doesn't, bring some tea bags, usually tap water can get hot enough to brew a cup (then add a few ice cubes if you're in a hot climate like mine!)

-walk down to your supervisor's office instead of emailing or calling. Movement always helps keep your blood moving!

-take a break from the spreadsheets and read some news--my friend and I are addicted to the Samuel Israel story (hedge fund embezzler on the loose!). You can even read happy news And since this IS a non-profit blog, have you ever checked out The Non-Profit News?

Good luck keeping your cool during the hot months!

Back to the books (for a week)

Hey, isn't it supposed to be summer? Lazy, relaxing summer? Apparently that's not happening for Emily or me -- and probably not for any of you who are job-searching or job-starting. I totally wish I had an answer to the what's-your-pick-me-up question, but as a non-soda- and non-hot-beverage-drinker, I'm afraid I've got nothin' (and, as an always hungry person, not about to try out the new no-eating-to-reset-your-sleep-clock plan...even though I could use a good reset).

So my best bet, I think, is to focus on one thing at a time because when I really think about my overwhelming to-do list, I actually like everything on it!

The Stressor of the Week last week was definitely the courseload I took at the University of Minnesota's Summer Public Health Institute. It was awesome -- as a (quasi) public health professional, I got a sweet scholarship that covered the full cost of two courses, and I'll get to start out grad school in the fall with a 1.5-credit head start. Not bad.

Oh, and I loved the classes:

Risk Communication for Underserved and Limited English Populations - I think it can be a little unimaginable to a native English speaker of the so-called "dominant culture" that a tornado could strike, a hurricane could approach or a bridge could collapse and you wouldn't immediately know what's going on and what you're supposed to do (whether or not you're willing and able to do it is another story). This class was centered around a made-up scenario involving a possible outbreak of bird flu and how to communicate important information across cultures and languages. It was team-taught by four people: the director of Emergency Community Health Outreach (ECHO), a media relations person from the Minnesota Department of Health, an intercultural communication expert and a public health faculty member -- and it was AWESOME.

Culturally Based Community Health Immersion: Focus on African American Communities - Although there was a short lecture, this class revolved around "field trips" to two fantastic organizations that focus on health, heavy on the wellness aspect. The Phillips-Powderhorn Cultural Wellness Center focuses on community togetherness and support to revive cultural health practices, and its staff who led our class discussion were phenomenal. NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, though a medical clinic, is a holistic health campus, where patients can also get dental and optical care and behavioral health services, enroll in the WIC program or access a food shelf and participate in many innovative community programs. I left feeling re-energized about the fact that I'm usually frustrated because I want to do everything at the same time -- because trust me, these people are doing it.

The courses were good for me professionally and also academically -- something I didn't realize (until now!) I missed for the past year. They'll help me in the little time I have left of my job and definitely in grad school in the fall. And maybe even just as a person.

i need help.

And judging from Kate's post, she might need help too...

I just got back from a fabulously refreshing long weekend in Seattle with my college roommate and best friend. We stayed with my aunt & uncle who showed us around the town, took us on a friend's sailboat around the Puget Sound and cooked gourmet meals for us.

The downside of this adventure (aside from the obvious fact that i had to leave Seattle and come back to work) is that I live in North Carolina. This means that while it might be 10:40am according to my watch, my body insists that it is only 7:40am. I have never suffered from jet lag this severe! (even though i spent 3 mos in the UK last summer)

My attempts to combat this issue have been mass amounts of now mediocre-tasting coffee, since i did come from the java mecca, and lots of water. Any other remedies to offer? Even non-jetlag-centric answers are welcome--in a world of high production and high expectations, how do *you* keep your energy up?

Excitement (and other things) overload

Unrelated note: I'm loving Emily's new passion for Excel -- we've gotten pretty tight since graduating from college, too, but nothing compared to what I assume will be the depth of our relationship after my first year of grad school (read: biostatistics). Woohoo! If you really want to learn (the friend who sent this to me said if you make it through these tutorials you'll "know more about Excel than 99 percent of the population"), check out this link in addition to Emily's: http://www.biostat.umn.edu/~susant/FALL07PH6414DESC.html (scroll down a ways; you'll see it)

Frazzled note: I apologize for a lack of coherence here, but if you take anything away from my post, let it be to never, in one week:

• Have a 9-to-5 job
• Be in charge of marketing for a large-scale event that's a week and a half away
• Supervise a 35-hours-a-week intern
• Take 1.5 graduate credits. In 26 classroom hours. With readings. And papers.
• Train in for a research assistant position (that you'll be starting next week, when you'll still have your other fulltime job and upcoming event)
• Drive six hours for a wedding/to introduce The Boyfriend to The Extended Family for the first time

AND, perhaps most importantly...

• Don't try to blog about it while it's happening!

Wow, is it only Wednesday? But really, it's all super-exciting, and I promise to recap next week -- after a nice, long nap (yeah right). Happy Hump Day! For those of you who are counting...

Keeping Track of Profits at a Non-Profit...

Last week, the ancient-Greek-translating Religion major from rural Ohio learned a big lesson:

How to use a spreadsheet.

No wonder I had always switched to my familiar and comfortable Word and inserted a table instead of trying to finagle my way around Excel. No one had ever explained to me all the awesome things Excel can do! No wonder people use this program for budgets! It's brilliant! You can add and subtract, multiply and divide (and i'm sure you can do a lot of other really complicated things that my liberal arts brain would rather not comprehend).

In the world of non-profit, generally (though not always) funds are tight, and keeping track of each and every penny is a necessary evil. Knowing your way around a spreadsheet makes accounting (in non-profit, you also often wear several hats--like events planner, accountant, payroll administrator and spokesperson) a lot easier.