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August 2006
In this issue:
Capacity-Building Technical Assistance
Career Success Institute for Fund-Raising Professionals
August 29, 8:15 - 4:30
Kent State Stark Professional Education and Conference Center
The Association of Fundraising Professionals North Central Ohio Chapter and LEAVE A LEGACY® of Stark County are hosting the Career Success Institute 2006 for nonprofit fund-raising professionals, board members, and volunteers. The agenda includes:
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Jumpstarting Your Major Gift Efforts – Confessions of a Major Gift Fundraiser
John Fay, Vice President, Inova Health System Foundation -
Major Gifts Prospect Research
Dorothy Wiseman, Development Researcher, Akron Children's Hospital -
E-Technology on a Shoestring
Jay Love, CEO and Cofounder, eTapestry -
Stop the “Rolling Stones”: Find (and Keep!) the Job/Staff You Want!
Carole Fay, Founder, Funding Resources, LLC -
Donor Ethics
John LaGuardia, Vice President for Public Affairs and Development, The University of Akron -
Building Donor Relationships Online
Jay Love, CEO and CoFounder, eTapestry -
Planned Giving without Alphabet Soup
Howard Rubin, Jr., Vice President for Development, Stark Community Foundation -
Funder Panel
• Theresa Carter, OMNOVA Solutions Foundation
• Donae Eckert, Akron Community Foundation
• Cindy Lazor, Stark Community Foundation
• Erika May, The Corbin Foundation
• Leslie Goldwater Nelson, GAR Foundation
For more details, visit http://www.afpncoh.org/csi.htm.
Millennium Fund for Children Seeks Grant Proposals
The Millennium Fund for Children of Akron Community Foundation is seeking grant proposals from qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations for programs and projects that work to better the lives of children. The deadline for submitting Millennium Fund grant applications is September 1.
Established in 1999, the Millennium Fund for Children is a permanent endowment that is a partnership between the foundation and the Akron Beacon Journal. Each year it makes grants ranging from $500 to $2,000 to children’s groups throughout the Beacon Journal’s circulation area. The goal is to support grassroots programs where even a small grant can make a difference. An advisory committee, selected from the donors of this fund, will help select the grant recipients. The foundation’s trustees approve grants based on the committee’s recommendations. Last year, 29 grants totaling $42,951 went to support local youth programs.
To receive a grant application and proposal guidelines for the Millennium Fund for Children, contact the foundation office at 330-376-8522 or download an application form at www.akroncommunityfdn.org/millennium.
Community Care Network offers Technical Support for Capacity Building
The Ohio Capital Compassion Project (OCCP) helps faith-based and community organizations increase their effectiveness, enhance their ability to provide social services, expand their organizations, diversify their funding sources, and create collaborations to better serve those need. The Governors Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives implements this project in cooperation with four intermediary partners. The Community Care Network (CCN), a behavioral health and services management non-profit organization in Cleveland Ohio serves Geauga, Lake, Cuyahoga, Summit, Lorain and Medina Counties.
The goal of the OCCP program is to help promising organizations increase their corporate capability and infrastructure and bolster their sustainability. This is accomplished through training and technical assistance events provided at no cost to nonprofit organizations.
In addition, the OCCP provides $500,000 in sub-awards for capacity-building activities of grassroots, faith-based, and community organizations serving distressed communities in Ohio. Organizations must use the funds in one of the five priority areas of need (e.g. at-risk youth, homelessness, healthy marriage, prisoner re-entry or at-risk elderly) toward their organization's capacity building in at least one of five critical areas:
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leadership development,
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organizational development
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program development,
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revenue development strategies, or
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community engagement.
Applicants have the option of submitting a proposal as a single organization for a $3,000-$10,000 sub-award, or as a collaboration for a $20,000-$30,000 sub-award. Applicants will need to attend specific OCCP training sessions based on the type of proposal they plan to submit prior to the application due date.
For further information about the training sessions and technical assistance available, please visit www.ccnworks.org or contact Cheryl Smith at 216-688-4119 or .
OANO Standards for Excellence Fall Clinic Series/Cleveland
September 13, September 27, October 11, October 25
1:00 - 5:00 PM
The 4-part clinic series is for organizations with a strong commitment to strengthening their management and governance by implementing the Standards for Excellence.
During each session, two of the eight major topic areas in the OANO Standards for Excellence ethics and accountability code will be covered in detail with special guest speakers and OANO staff. A facilitated peer-to-peer exchange follows each topic overview.
Participants will be asked to share copies of agency materials appropriate to specific Standards. At the conclusion of the series, participants who are interested in achieving certification should have assembled all portions of their application.
At least one representative from each participating organization should attend each session; clinics are most helpful if the people responsible for specific areas attend relevant sessions. Up to three individuals from a single organization may attend each session.
Fees: $500 for OANO Members; $1000 for Nonmembers (Fee includes $100 non-refundable application deposit)
For more information, visit www.oano.org or contact Jennifer Eschbach at 888-480-6266 or .
GAR Foundation Relocates to Temporary Offices
Effective August 7, 2006, GAR Foundation has relocated to temporary offices on Embassy Parkway in the Montrose area. The executive, program, and administrative staff will work from an Embassy Parkway location while the Foundation explores opportunities for permanent offices in downtown Akron. The Foundation’s application procedures and deadlines are not affected by the move.
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New Address: 3875 Embassy Parkway Akron, OH 44333
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Temporary Phone: 330-643-0201
Note: The main phone number and all direct staff phone numbers will change on September 1, 2006. Old phone numbers will be in effect until then. Visit www.garfdn.org for updates.
Register for Surplus Equipment
Summit County now announces the surplus equipment available for donation at the Summit County website (http://www.co.summit.oh.us/executive/purchaseSurplusEquip.htm). They encourage you to check this on a weekly basis because needed items go quickly. If you could use any equipment at the link for Surplus Inventory for Non-Profits, complete the application form and contact the person listed. For more information, contact the Department of Purchasing at 330-643-2557 or .
Website Showcase: Center for Nonprofit Excellence
If you're looking for ideas for organizing your website, check out www.cfnpe.org, the website for the Center for Nonprofit Excellence.
This is an excellent example of a resource website. Its organization makes it very easy to find what you're looking for. It has some nice movement to keep it interesting (see the rotating pictures and the marquee in the introduction). More importantly, it is rigorously updated with events, hot topics, and resources (check out the Guide to Foundations in the Greater Akron Area: http://www.cfnpe.org/site.cfm/Fdn-Directory.cfm). And the emphasis on "How can we help?" presents a proactive desire to reach out to its target audience.
Ryan's PC TIP:
10 steps to keeping your system fast, stable, and healthy
For more information, contact Ryan at 330-315-1335 or
Please note that Project Connect does not endorse any product or service. It simply provides this information as a public service.
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Set Windows updates to install automatically. Microsoft frequently issues system updates that will improve functionality, security, and stability, and it is important that your system has these.
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Invest in a good anti-virus software and keep it updated. It is often easy to be fooled by a malicious file posing to be something it is not. Up-to-date anti-virus software will detect and remove these instances. Industry leaders include Symantec (www.symantec.com) and McAfee (www.mcafee.com).
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Invest in a good spyware removal tool and schedule regular scanning. Spyware is is set to automatically download from thousands of websites ... many of which you visit. It clogs up your computer and can cause serious operating issues. Using an effective spyware removal tool allows you to delete these threats from your system and to "immunize" it to prevent further instances. “Spybot Search and Destroy” is very popular and free. To download it, go to www.download.com and search for Spybot; make sure you pick Spybot - Search and Destroy 1.4.
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Use Internet Explorer with the newer enhanced security features (go to Tools/Windows Update and make sure you have the latest). An alternate browser that has gained much popularity is Mozilla Firefox. It is an open-source browser that was designed specifically for optimal efficiency for web-browsing, eliminating most spyware threats automatically. For more information, visit http://www.mozilla.com/firefox.
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Don't download files from the internet unless you know what they are!! Always check the size of the file (a lot of times, malicious software will have the same name as what you are looking for, but will be dramatically smaller in file size).
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Defrag your computer once a month. When files are written to a hard-disk, the first available spaces is used. As a result, parts of a file can be located on different sectors of the hard disk. The defrag utility takes the fragmented sectors and moves them together for better operating efficiency.
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Hardware vendors (such as printer and digital camera manufacturers) are frequently issuing new drivers for their products. Check their websites for recent driver updates to make sure you are getting the best out of your hardware.
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Install a personal firewall so that you can have more control over what goes on your computer system. Personal firewalls allow you to manage what applications are permitted to run on your system and what should be blocked.
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Weed out the unnecessary items from your system so that your system resources work efficiently. Go to Start/Settings/Control Panel and double-click on Add or Remove Programs. If you see an application you haven't used in a while, remove it. (Caution: make sure you know what you are deleting BEFORE you delete it!!)
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Invest in canned air! The circulation fans inside the computer are designed to pull dust in. When this dust builds up, fans get clogged and even stop. When internal components are not cooled and reach high temperatures, they fail. Get a screwdriver and open up your computer once every three months so you can use the canned air to get the dust out.
Project Connect now offers classes "on demand": just call or e-mail to have your name added to the list, and as soon as we have enough folks registered, we'll schedule the class. This way, we can run whatever classes you need, when you need them!
Answers for sale!!
You and your staff have more important things to do than fight with your technology! Instead of spending hours of frustration trying to do it yourself, let us help you!
Project Connect offers Live Help for staff of all Ohio nonprofits! If you are having problems with a Microsoft Office or Adobe product, simply go to www.pclivehelp.org and complete the form. Follow the directions, and then we'll be able to see your computer from our office. We can then walk you through the problem.
Cost is $15 per increment of 10 minutes.
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 .
Enjoy!
Be sure to include your fax number!
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