Visit infolineinc.org/connect/updates.htm to go to our updates page!

Please route to the appropriate persons ...

In this issue:

February 17, 2004

OANO's 10th Annual Conference held May 12th

Identifying Major Donor Prospects

Guide to Ohio Grantmakers on CD-ROM

Verizon Revises Tuition Assistance Program

Research Before You Buy

Did You Know? Our Secrets for Better Computing

Register for Upcoming Classes

Training  Schedule 

return to the top

return to the top

return to the top

return to the top

return to the top

return to the top

return to the top

Effective immediately, organizations that place a Microsoft order through DiscountTech will be eligible to order again after 1 calendar year, instead of the current 2-year waiting period. Qualified organizations can now order up to 6 different products and 50 licenses each (1 license for server products) per calendar year.

Buying software from www.discounttech.org results in significant cost savings. For example, they are able to offer popular office suites like Office Professional 2003 for an admin fee of $20, and Office Standard 2003 for an admin fee of $16. These products, if obtained at retail, would cost your organization $499 and $399, respectively.

The change in the annual restrictions is retroactive, which means that all nonprofits that ordered Microsoft products since March 1, 2003 under the "2-year rule" (one order of Microsoft products per two year period) will be eligible to place a new order one calendar year after their last order. For example, if your organization placed a Microsoft order on March 29, 2003, you will once again be eligible to order on March 29, 2004.

For more information, visit www.discounttech.org.

Strengthening the Sector: Accountability, Advocacy, and Alliances
OANO's Tenth Annual Conference
May 12, 2004 in Columbus, Hyatt Regency

This year's OANO conference, Strengthening the Sector: Accountability, Advocacy, and Alliances, will provide an outstanding opportunity for professional development and peer exchange. Don’t miss the chance to network with more than 400 nonprofit, corporate, and government leaders from across Ohio.

Political consultant James Carville will headline this year's conference with his perspective on American politics and the 2004 presidential election. Currently the co-host of CNN's Crossfire, Mr. Carville is known for his shoot-from-the-hip style, his enthusiasm for political debate, and his undeniable political savvy.

Legislative Reception on May 11: Join your friends and colleagues as we host a legislative reception for Ohio's elected officials the evening before the conference. The reception will be held in the Crypt at the Statehouse from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. The reception is free, but advance registration is required. To RSVP for the legislative reception, contact Beth Kohr, at 614-280-0233.

Registration Information: Early bird registration fees are only $100 for OANO members and $120 for non-members through March 1. To ensure you receive the early bird discount, visit www.oano.org to download a registration form, send an e-mail to to request a registration form, or call OANO at 614-280-0233. Early bird discounts are good for all registrations received by close of business on March 1, 2004.

For more information, including a complete conference schedule and a list of professional development sessions, visit our website at www.ohiononprofits.org.

AFP's March Luncheon:
Prospect Identification Compass: Directions for Identifying Your Major Donor Prospect Constituency
March 8, 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Guy's Party Center, 500 E. Waterloo Road, Akron

Building and sustaining relationships is the key to successful fundraising. And leading nonprofits know the best relationships are built on knowledge that can only be leveraged through effective and proactive prospect research and management. Learn how to identify your major donor prospects from Catherine Smythe Zajc, Principal & Consultant of KnowPro Consulting.

Smythe Zajc has more than 20 years of experience providing research, administrative and consulting services to libraries, for-profit, and not-for-profit institutions. She has been a member of the prospect research profession since 1992, when she joined the Baldwin Wallace College Development Office as Director of Prospect Development and assisted in its successful five-year, $55 million capital campaign. Smythe Zajc has worked for WVIZ, Northeast Ohio's flagship PBS station, National Sports Daily in New York, Time Inc. Sports Library, and the White House Library and Research Center. She is a member of the Association of Prospect Researchers for Advancement/APRA, the Ohio Prospect Research Network/OPRN, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She has presented at national and regional workshops and conferences.

Reservations Are Required - $11 Members/$20 Non-Members. Luncheon includes entrée choice, salad, rolls, dessert and beverage. For more information, send an e-mail to .

Available for the first time on CD-ROM (Windows compatible), this resource features profiles of over 3,400 foundations in Ohio, plus more than 400 funders outside the state that award grants in Ohio.

This comprehensive searchable database file will help you tap into new grant sources with current information on the foundations, corporate givers, and public charities that make grants to Ohio-based nonprofits. Grantmaker entries feature crucial contact information, financial data, names of key officials, and in many cases, application procedures, giving statements, and a list of recent grants.

Guide to Ohio Grantmakers on CD-ROM is produced in collaboration with the Ohio Grantmakers Forum and the Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations and costs $125. To order your copy, go to www.foundationcenter.org/marketplace and click on [Regional] along the left.

OANO members can receive the complete package at a great discount: $96.50.  Call OANO at 614-280-0233 or visit www.oano.org.

Verizon Revises Tuition Assistance Program ... Get it While You Can!
Announcement from the Verizon Foundation

"As 2003 comes to a close, and as the Foundation begins to look ahead, we would like to inform you that we are changing the scope of our ePartners program, because it has exceeded the expectations set for its three-year lifespan. Indeed, Verizon Foundation is proud to have been at the forefront of this innovative method to help bridge the digital divide among nonprofits and the communities they serve. Myriad nonprofits have not only benefited from eTraining, but they are now applying their newly acquired knowledge and expertise to their day-to-day operation.

Verizon is a company that strongly advocates progress in technology. We will continue to offer one eTraining grant per year to nonprofit organizations interested in technology training."

To apply for this tuition assistance, visit http://foundation.verizon.com/etraining. If you have any questions, please call us at 330-315-1335 or e-mail .

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!

• www.discounttech.org
• www.giftsinkind.org
• www.techfoundation.org

Did you know ...

Google [], one of the foremost Internet search engines, has added a collection of utilities to optimize your searching experience. Among them is the Google Toolbar, a handy little device that keeps Internet searching at your fingertips. Special features include:

Searching: Now, instead of going to Google’s homepage and entering your search terms, you can type them right in the toolbar and go! You can also use the toolbar to search a particular site – just choose Search Site instead of Search Web next to the text entry box. The text entry box also has a drop down feature that lets you jump back to your last 20 searches, so if you got better results with an earlier attempt, or you just need to find that funder’s website again, simply select it from the drop down and click Search Web.

Finding: At the far right of the Toolbar is a highlighter. Click on this, and the words in your search string are automatically highlighted, each one in a different color, so you can scan the page and quickly find the relevant areas, based on which term(s) you think are most important.

Pop Goes the Weasel: Sick of all those annoying pop-ups? If you’re running Internet Explorer 5.5 or later, the Toolbar offers a pop-up blocker that gets rid of those things before they can bug you.

Customizing your Googling Experience: Use the Options button on the Toolbar to set up your Toolbar just the way you want it. You can turn on/off the various tools, set your AutoFill preferences, specify searching preferences, even tell it to open each search in a new window, so you don’t lose the page you’re currently visiting.

PC TIP #19:
Introduction to the Internet

• Go to http://toolbar.google.com/ and follow the directions for downloading the toolbar.
• Once you download the Google toolbar and install it, it should appear underneath your other toolbars, right above the browser window.
• Browse the complete set of Google add-ons at http://www.google.com/options/.
• If you try it and decide you don’t like it, you can always uninstall it using Add/Remove Programs.
• Amy Rock has developed a more extensive handout about Google's uses, called "Are You a Googler?" If you would like her to e-mail or fax you a copy, contact her at or call 330-315-1335.

We're starting something new in 2004: Quickies!! Unlike the regular half-day sessions, these one-to two-hour Quickies are down-and-dirty, learn-the-ropes-then-get-out-of-here-and-do-it-yourself courses.

• Making Data Entry Fun and Easy! Creating Tab-and-Type Forms with Word
  February 25, 2:00-4:00 PM
  
  This course focuses in on making repetitive tasks easier. Learn to create printed forms using lines and tables, or electronic forms with fill-in fields, checkboxes and user prompts.
   
• Collecting Data the Easy Way: Taming the Survey Monkey!
  March 3, 2:00-4:00 PM
  
  Get important feedback from your clients, funders, community members, etc. Survey Monkey helps you gather and evaluate information about your programs, services, website, whatever!
   
• Making Excel Do the Dirty Work: Forms and Other Tasty Tricks
  March 17, 2:00-4:00 PM
  
  Tired of re-entering all the data you've collected in your latest survey? Need a convenient way for your volunteers to record information? Excel forms are the answer! In this Quickie course, we'll make an attractive, easy-to-use form that's as smart as it looks. Using forms tools and macros, we'll make Excel do the dirty work and record our collected data to a single spreadsheet that will make evaluation a snap! This course assumes a comfort level with Excel basics such as cell reference and spreadsheet navigation.

Quickie courses are $20 for Project Connect Members, $35 for non-members.

Register for Upcoming Classes
Attend FREE by applying to the Verizon Foundation:
http://foundation.verizon.com/etraining

Register for upcoming classes as soon as possible. Call 330-315-1335 or e-mail . 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 infolineinc.org/connect.htm for more info.

	Word 1: Document Basics 03/04/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	Word 2: Tables, Merges & Macros 03/11/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	PowerPoint 1: Slideshow Basics 03/09/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	PowerPoint 2: Graphics & Animation 03/16/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	Excel 1: Spreadsheet Basics 03/18/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	Excel 2: Formulas 03/25/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	Excel 3: Advanced Tools 02/24/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	Excel 4: Data Analysis Tools 03/02/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	Intro to Access: Data Entry & Other Basics 02/26/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
	The Database Developers Series 03/03/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon 03/10/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon 03/17/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon 03/24/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon 03/31/04 - 9:00 AM - 12:00 Noon

Visit 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.

If you would like us to mail you a newsletter with the most recent schedule and a list of all our services, please call us at 330-315-1335 or e-mail .

Enjoy!
 

Want to receive this by e-mail instead of fax? Send an e-mail to
Be sure to include your fax number!

Want to see previous newsletters? Go to infolineinc.org/connect/updates.htm  

To subscribe to this list, send an e-mail to  with the word subscribe in the subject line. To unsubscribe from this list, send an e-mail to  with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.