Dr. Susan Cramer
College of Education and Human Services
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Welcome to Web Resource Spotlight. Do you ever get overwhelmed with what is available on the internet? Do you wonder where to look for certain materials? Have you found fantastic resources and want to share your finds with the world? This column is a vehicle to do just that, share resources we have found useful. I will start off the sharing with three sites I use in my Program Planning and Evaluation class. The first, TechSoup… By the Cup, focuses on technology issues and includes a weekly soup recipe. The second, Basic Guide to Nonprofit Program Design and Marketing, provides important background reading in program planning while the third site, The Grantsmanship Center Magazine, provides additional readings associated with program planning. Let me know what you think of these sites and what your favorite sites are. I’m always looking for fantastic resources and bet you are too. Email me your top picks at cramer@uwosh.edu.
TechSoup… By the Cup
http://www.techsoup.org/
This free online newsletter from TechSoup.org bills itself as “technology served the way nonprofits need it.” Each newsletter includes nonprofit technology news and events; featured articles on technology issues such as network installation, infection control, or how to register your domain name; featured discussion from the TechSoup Community such as open source fundraising alternatives or how can I fund a new nonprofit organization; resource spotlight; and a soup of the week recipe. While the articles themselves are on the web, a weekly email is sent to subscribers listing article titles and one sentence summaries. I find this weekly email does not take much time to scan but helps keep technology issues in the forefront of my consciousness. I read some but not all the articles. I require my undergraduate students to subscribe to TechSoup to help them become aware of technology issues, ideas, and resources for human service organizations. Look on the top left side of the techsoup webside for subscription links.
Basic Guide to Nonprofit Program Design and Marketing
Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD
http://www.mapnp.org/library/prog_mng/np_progs.htm
Books are great, but online websites that offer similar information are truly a fantastic resources. This website offers introductory information on designing programs for nonprofit organizations. It starts with recommending aligning your program with your organization’s mission and strategic plan. If you are not conversant in strategic plans, click on the link and you will go to a page on this topic. It then talks about working with your board with a link to a page on roles and responsibilities of a board. Discussion on outcomes, goals, strategies, and objectives would not be complete without offering United Way’s website for additional information. Likewise, with the click of a mouse, you can also go to additional materials on program evaluation. I require my undergraduate students taking our Program Planning and Evaluation class to review the materials on this website. They find them quite readable and are overjoyed at the cost of their class text.
The Grantsmanship Center Magazine
http://www.tgci.com/magazine/archives.asp
You are probably familiar with The Grantsmanship Center (TGCI) for information on grant writing. Did you also know they publish a great magazine that focuses on how to plan, manage, staff and fund programs in nonprofit organizations and government agencies? If you work at one of these types of organizations/agencies, you can signup for a free subscription to it from the above website.
If you are like me, there are times when you need information right now. Fortunately TGCI has archived recent articles so you can quickly access them. Categories of information include: agency management, consulting, foundation/corporate funding, fundraising, government funding, international funding, internet issues, nonprofit business ventures, nonprofit law, and proposal writing/grantseeking. A few of these articles are useful to my students when they are planning programs.