According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy... As nonprofit groups increasingly compete with business and government employers to attract young workers, many people in their 20s and 30s are pressing charities to improve salaries, offer greater opportunities for career development, and do more to promote the diversity of their work forces. In follow-up conversation to a survey of 1,650 released by the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network last year, which found burnout and low salaries threatening to drive young charity workers away, members of the group held a conference to discuss how they can bring about changes that will reshape nonprofit organizations in ways that make them more inclusive and give greater opportunities to emerging leaders. read the complete article ...

I first met Matt Barr last summer at the opening night event for the inaugural season of the cutting edge Creative Zionism incubator. I admit it; I just could not get my head around his concept of using rap to teach Bible stories. Was I wrong! Almost a year later, Matt has a CD in production, studies at Pardes, works with visiting Birthright Israel groups, is preparing for a tour this summer of Jewish summer camps and produced the Haman's Song video. And now, just in time for Pesach, Matt, together with 12Tribe Films Foundation, introduces a new video titled "Moses Rap". [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzg9yoaW2XY[/youtube] You can find the words here. Creative Zionism II, premiers in about nine weeks. ...

Or, do all organizations with a blog need a policy? How do you determine when a nonprofit blogging policy is needed? How do organizations create policies? Here's a story from behind the firewall of a large nonprofit organization - the names and particulars have been changed - but here's how the blogging process unfolded:

As the organization's blogger, I facilitated creating the policy. There was/is a lot of fear about encouraging the use of social media in our ranks, so it seemed like a doable first step. Laying down rules makes everyone think they have more control and it helped everyone to feel better. My ulterior motive was to send the message that using social ...

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Tags: educate, web 2.0

Which of these situations are all too familiar?

1) People call your organization asking for assistance with issues you don't focus on, because they confuse your nonprofit with another nonprofit.

2) You don’t have an “elevator speech” because it’s just too hard to explain what it is you do in 30 seconds. 3) You have trouble finding your own organization’s table at a community festival, because your banner and materials look just like everyone else’s. 4) When your board members talk to potential donors about the work you do, it seems they're describing a completely different organization than the one you work for. In all of these cases, your organization ...

The signs of an economic downturn continue as a new study shows that donations made in response to direct-marketing appeals are growing at a considerably slower rate than in past years, according to a new study reported on by The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Direct-Marketing Appeals Produced Sluggish Results Last Year By Elizabeth Schwinn

"The signs of an economic downturn continue as a new study shows that donations made in response to direct-marketing appeals are growing at a considerably slower rate than in past years, according to a new study of many of the nation’s biggest charities. Direct-marketing donations to 70 charities grew by a ...

MyJewishLearning.com is proud to announce the creation of its Editorial Fellowship program. The inaugural two-year fellowship will begin in September 2008, concluding in August 2010. The fellowship is open to recent college graduates interested in writing, editing, Jewish life, and new media. MyJewishLearning.com, a transdenominational source of Jewish information, is currently undergoing a major site redesign, ramping up technological capacities and integrating new features, including video and an Ask-the-Expert function. Qualified candidates should have strong writing and editing skills and an in-depth knowledge of Jewish history, culture, and tradition, as well as familiarity with the web and web publications. for more information click here

Compass is a new guide that will highlight the most inspiring, innovative and sustainable Jewish projects in Europe today. Inspired by Slingshot, Compass is a project of the Westbury Group, a network of 25 international Foundations with a shared interest in enhancing Jewish life in Europe. Compass will feature the 50 most inspiring organizations in Europe today in a Zagat-style guide. With Compass, the sponsors hope to create a map of European Jewish activity that will inspire and encourage donors, supporters and innovators across the Jewish world. They are now seeking nominations. This is a great opportunity to gain recognition from a project or organization that you are involved with or know about. The guide aims to identify organizations which ...

Most of our readers — and possibly you reading this — don’t have children, let alone grandchildren…and that means we have time, and obligation, to build the world we’d like them to live in. As such, PresenTense ran an amazing event last night in Jerusalem, focused on the future of education in the Jewish State. And you didn’t have to be in Jerusalem to participate (I’m in New York at the moment): all you had to have is a connection to the internet. Here’s one example of a remote-participant, Gabby Schoenfeld: (Gaby is an an informal Jewish educator who is trying to enable young Jews to have life-changing experiences through service and social justice programs ...

Herzl famously wrote, "If you will it, it is no fable." This quote, made into a cliche over the long century since it was uttered, succinctly expresses the fundamental credo of a pioneer:

pioneers will the future into reality.

The first course: Last night, the PresenTense organization sponsored an evening in Jerusalem with three special pioneers, visionaries, as they hosted a conversation around the future of Israeli Education. All three (Sarah Kass, Beverly Gribetz and David Moatty) have already led the way in willing dreams to become tangible facts on the ground. The visionaries have been asked:

• What is your vision; why is it transformative?
• Why this path rather than others?
• What will change if your vision becomes reality?
• What will it take ...
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  Tags: connect, creativezionism, educate, innovate, Jewish Incubators, web 2.0

A selection of recent articles and postings around the nonprofit world you may find of interest... About the Economy What does this uncertain and difficult economy mean for fundraising and philanthropy? Changing Our World President Chris Watson offers a sector briefing. Are Tech-Savvy Millennials the New Voice of Philanthropy? There are many broad generalizations made when it comes to speaking of whole generations, but young people today are certainly showing an interest, and a tech-driven level of sophistication in their volunteering and charitable support, that might make fundraisers take a second look at these young donors of time and resources. From the Association of Fundraising professionals Blogging the NTEN Conference There was no shortage of cyber chatter surrounding last ...