Tools, Thoughts and Things one can Do with a little Time and Hardly any Resources

The founders of Google aren't known for their modesty - but then again, neither are their results so maybe we shouldn't scoff too much when Sergey Brin & Larry Page ambitiously say this about the Google Foundation:

We hope that someday this institution will eclipse Google itself in overall world impact by ambitiously applying innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world's problems.

Now, how are they going to achieve that? Well, in the short term it seems that whilst they have supported a few organisations, there's still a lot to be worked out. In the meantime it is worthwhile looking at their "In-kind advertising for non-profit organizations" - which is currently in beta. As of writing it is available in: in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK – select your country link for details and to apply. Here's the blurb for the UK programme for your convenience:

"The Google Grants UK beta programme supports organisations sharing Google’s philosophy of community service to help the world in areas such as science and technology, education, global public health, the environment, youth advocacy, and the arts. Designed for registered charities, Google Grants provides free advertising on Google AdWords, to charities seeking to inform and engage their constituents online. Google Grants has given free AdWords advertising to hundreds of charitable groups whose missions range from animal welfare to literacy, from supporting homeless children to promoting HIV education. As a result of this free advertising many charities have experienced an increase in the recruitment of volunteers and sponsorship. Applications to the programme can be made at any time". - http://www.google.com/grants

Now, that's not all - Google also has a stack of useful resources that you won't have to fill out a grant application to use... Yet, they can yield cost savings and increased collaboration.

Works like Word and Excel – You can either create one from scratch or upload an existing (up to 500kb). Then share with colleagues and collaborate in real-time. It rocks.

http://docs.google.com

Tool to keep your various bits of update-able software up-to-date… Includes Google Earth, Picasa, Google Desktop etc. and a third-party Spyware scanner etc. Worth it.

http://pack.google.com/

In their own words: “Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.”

http://www.google.com/alerts

Also see the bit about Google Reader in the section about RSS feeds above.

Just like Google on the net, except it searches all of your hard disk. And it is FAST.

Once installed and indexed, try Ctrl+Ctrl and plug in any word in the search box and it’ll be clear how powerful it is.

http://desktop.google.com/

Go to http://www.google.com/advanced_search and you can find this any much more:

Google Book Search - Search the full text of books
Google Scholar - Search scholarly papers
Google News archive search - Search historical news

Also, learn how to refine your searches: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/refinesearch.html

Last but not least – there are stacks of shortcuts. Try for example to type ‘define:’ in front of a word.

But don't just take my word for it - here's an example of how the indefatigable Tom Ball from Cognac uses it to improve his working day - in his own words:

"There are loads of new internet based "widgets" which are free, simple, easy - and make work / communication / remote working much easier.  Because they are internet based, they are independent of the computer you are using.  I work from home, from the office, on the road, a library, an internet cafe... and everything I need is wherever I am."

And how does he do this? He went to www.google.co.uk/ig and simply customised the page. Again, in his own words:

"It doesn't sound that exciting - but it allows you to add links, widgets etc to your home page - which you can then access from any computer.  My home page includes: 

1. A search bar for Wikipedia (As well as Google above)
2. A list of current documents on Google Docs (Like Recent Documents in windows)
3. My favourite links - links to edit my blog, to key sites I use etc
4. The latest headlines from a few blogs I keep up with - which means I can instantly see what's been said without having to go to that site..."

Do check out the Cognac blog - http://www.cognac.co.uk/blog - especially their website if you need to figure out how to explain something complex in ten minutes (Tom once taught me how to convey the importance of managing insurance premium tax payments and compliance ... Not interested in that? I wasn't either - yet I got it - so imagine what they can do for something a bit less complex, say ... your project?

Posted by Michael at 04:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2)

Having a good board is essential for good governance. That's stating the obvious. But how about finding good trustees? Here's are some ways of reaching beyond your phone book to top talent:

NCVO Trustee Board is good gateway to brokerages – see the full list here: http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/askncvo/index.asp?id=725

Out of those mentioned, here are some favourites:

Reach - 'matches the skills of experienced people to the needs of voluntary organisations' - a reliable source for board members but also positions that need to be filled in a limited capacity. I have used them for more than ten years and I have found them worthwhile.

Common Purpose - Now you need to be alumni in order to post opportunities - the reason for including it here is as a reminder to whilst going to the broad field, it is also worthwhile looking at your own private networks.

The Governance Hub, like NCVO, actually refers to other organizations… They have a road in for people wanting to be trustees, but the advertising of vacancies is left to Do-It and the local Volunteer Centres. The Volunteer Centres have to be contacted directly  (and that is also one of the routes referred to by Do-It for local organizations). For national – you need a login and it is chargeable...

The main thing about the last one is the host of resources they have for Good Governance.

Here, from their most recent newsletter are some useful items:

Governance Hub news - May 2007

Chairs Mentoring Pilot
Research by the Governance Hub shows that most Chairs would like to know more about their role and develop their skills. Over half of them would like one-to-one support with a mentor.  In response, the Governance Hub is funding three mentoring scheme pilots using different approaches to mentoring.
The Centre for Charity Effectiveness at CASS Business School is running a co-mentoring programme where Chairs work in pairs to explore possible solutions to practical issues they face in leading and supporting their Boards.
The Charity Trustee Network (CTN) is trialling an e-mentoring scheme and will also be launching an e-bulletin for Chairs this summer.

If you would like to register for the e-mentoring pilot or to receive the e-bulletin when it is launched in June, please email governance.hub@nvco-vol.org.uk 

...and here's one that I'll certainly take a look at:

Launch of advisers tools
The Governance Hub, in partnership with SKiLD, launched Improving Governance Tools at NAVCA's Kit Yourself Out conference on 26 February 07. The conference, attended by 200 advisers, provided an excellent opportunity to showcase Improving Governance Tools as well as a range of other kits for development workers from the Governance, Workforce and Performance Hubs. Improving Governance Tools is a brand new set of good governance learning tools, containing bite-sized creative games and exercises that advisers can use to support the groups and organisations they work with. The resource is available to download for free, and can be adapted and used with groups to enable informal and peer learning.

Also, check out these publications:

The Governance Hub publications are available to download for free from the Hub publications page  on its website at www.governancehub.org.uk:

Starting on the Right Track - A Guide to Recruiting and Inducting a New Chair
The chair is central to the effectiveness of a trustee board and the organisation it serves. However, the vast majority of organisations still recruit their chair through word of mouth and only a minority of new chairs receive even a basic induction into their roles and responsibilities. This short, easy-to-use online resource will help organisations plan and carry out the recruitment and induction of their new chair.

Better Governance - An Introduction to Measuring and Improving Board Effectiveness
This is a new online guide for trustees, staff and volunteers of voluntary and community organisations who want to develop the governance of their organisations. Better Governance provides an overview of the different approaches and resources available to measure the effectiveness of boards and to start improving their performance.

Trustee Standards in Practice - A Guide for Smaller Organisations
This online guide about the National Occupational Standards for Trustees and Management Committee Members provides practical advice for smaller organisations on different approaches to applying the Standards and how to use them to get the most from boards.

Last but certainly not least - here's the standard list of documents I suggest as essential first reading for new trustees:

• The Essential Trustee
  
• The role of the Charity Commission
  
• Operational Guidance from the Charity Commission on charity accounts and reports
  

Posted by Michael at 02:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Soros Foundation has an interesting grant opportunity:

"Traditional media offer limited opportunities for presenting documentary photographs in a way that fosters social change. The Open Society Institute's Documentary Photography Project supports photographers, working in collaboration with a partner organization, to present their work to specific audiences to stimulate positive social change." - Select Research --> Individual etc. on http://www.soros.org/grants

It is available for UK, South Africa and other countries but alas not Brazil where I currently am (otherwise you'd be competing with me for some of those funds).

On a separate note - I previously wrote about the UK Edge UpStarts Awards - They've just announced the winners: http://www.edgeupstarts.org/2007/eu07awardswinners.php

Posted by Michael at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)