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Aug 17

Managing telecommuters

By Feature, Leadership

By Gabe Duverge, copywriter, Grace College and Theological Seminary

A recent study from the Society for Human Resource Management found 38 percent of employers in the United States allow some of their workers to work from home on a regular basis, up from 23 percent in 2008. This 15 percent increase demonstrates just how quickly telecommuting is taking hold in the work place.

The primary concern for companies when considering telecommuting policies are what the costs and benefits could be. Although high-profile companies like Yahoo are ending the practice in their organization all together, there are still plenty of companies that have found success in remote management. Here are some of the key benefits of telecommuting from employer statistics group.

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Aug 17

Consider telecommuting from Montana

By Feature, Leadership

By Eric Whitney, reporter, Montana Public Radio

Most local economic development schemes focus on creating jobs. Many offer incentives to startup companies, or try to lure existing companies to relocate.

But a campaign in Montana is turning that on its head. It’s not trying to recruit companies but rather employees to come to the sparsely populated state and telecommute.

David Blackburn works for a financial services firm in Jersey City, N.J. He and his wife both have six-figure incomes, but real estate in the New York City area is so expensive that they have to live kind of far from their jobs.

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Aug 10

Community corrections: A modern concept

By Programming

By Robin Sanders and Tim Bosley, editorial, Midland Daily News

The concept of Community Corrections is designed to provide a specific segment of the present Michigan Department of Corrections population, and citizens who have just begun a life of committing crimes, with an alternative to direct incarceration, as a means to prevent them from becoming “institutionalized” and reintegrating them into the community as productive, taxpaying citizens.

At the very least, the program would remove from the state’s prisons inmates who do not pose a security risk to others or the public and reduce the costs of corrections.

At best, the centers would serve to educate, train, reintegrate and ensure the self-sufficiency of those persons deemed eligible through a rigorous and evolving evaluation process.

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Aug 10

Cincy Not-for-profit News now locally owned

By Announcements

By Bryan Orander, president, Charitable Advisor

In 2008, Indianapolis-based Charitable Advisors launched the Cincinnati Not-for-profit News to replicate our success at increasing communication and connection across the Indianapolis nonprofit community.

We knew from our Indy readers that it was filling a void. We chose Cincinnati because of its regional proximity to Indianapolis and because there was no single point of connection for the nonprofit community, and we wanted to help fill that gap.

After three years, Jane Page-Steiner of JPS Nonprofit Strategies in Cincinnati brought her nonprofit background and local connections to further raise the visibility and effectiveness of CA’s nonprofit publication. She took on the publisher title.

Though we have had success in Cincinnati, we have found our primary focus has been on growing Indiana publications. Last week, Jane and JPS Nonprofit Strategies took over the ownership, marketing and production responsibilities of the e-newsletter with a goal of further increasing readership and impact in the Greater Cincinnati area.

This is a win for both organizations as Jane is able to pursue her vision of supporting Cincinnati nonprofits, and Charitable Advisors is able to explore launching a regional nonprofit career-focused publication.

If you are also a Cincy subscriber, expect future newsletters from Jane2@jpsnonprofit.com. To avoid the publication landing in your spam folder, it is advised to add this email address to your contact list.

The Cincinnati e-newsletter will continue as a partner for Indy nonprofits that want to reach the readers of the Greater Cincinnati area publication. It will be “business as usual” for Indy job advertisers who can continue to place their ads in the Cincy newsletter for an additional $25. Just submit your job ads to: Ads@Notforprofitnews.com and indicate that you want to advertise in both Indy and Cincy. If you choose this option, you will receive a single invoice as before.

Aug 03

Taking on controversial issues in the workplace

By Sponsor Insight

By Bryan Brenner, CEO and founder, FirstPerson

When Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act was making headlines, a number of Indiana companies stepped up to make their support or opposition publicly known.

While companies’ taking public positions on pending legislation isn’t a frequent occurrence, it also isn’t unusual. In the past, we’ve seen Indiana firms of all sizes take positions on matters such as gay marriage, education standards, mass transit and even global geopolitics.

The firms’ positions might seem straightforward and logical, and their involvement might be relatively minimal (sometimes it’s nothing more than adding a signature to a group letter), but, if they do it right, their approach to getting involved in such issues is well-planned and transparent to their employees. Otherwise, they run the risk of increasing their standing among peers but losing their standing among their own people.

How do companies manage this balance?

Aug 03

How “prisons without bars” could cut the cost of prison and recidivism

By Feature, Programming

You probably already know the jaw-dropping stats about American prisons: that the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. That we’re home to 5 percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of its prisoners. That more than one in every 10 American men has a felony conviction. That more than 60 percent of people released from prison are back again within three years.

“Prison is horrible for the prisoner and expensive for the state,” write Mark A.R. Kleiman, Angela Hawken and Ross Halperin over at Vox. It doesn’t have to be. Kleiman, Hawken and Halperin study criminal justice policy, and they’ve recently proposed an innovative solution to help cut America’s incarcerated population, and ensure that those who are released don’t come back. It’s called “graduated re-entry.” The idea is to let convicts out of prison early — real early. Three-years-into-a-ten-year-sentence-early.

But here’s the catch. Parolees wouldn’t simply be dumped on the street with 40 bucks in their pocket and no clear path toward re-entering society, the way they are now.

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Aug 03

Can holistic prisoner reentry work

By Feature, Programming

By Matthew Johnson, multimedia manager, Urban Institute

In the dark of night, on the west side of Chicago, a group of young men jumped onto a moving Union Pacific cargo train, pried a door open, and attempted to steal what was inside. But this was not their night. They were detected, police rushed to the scene, and the young men were arrested.

Thus began a long cycle of incarceration, release, and re-offense for then 18-year-old Timothy Smith. Not far from Smith’s childhood home sits Garfield Park, a neighborhood on the west side of Chicago plagued by concentrated poverty, high unemployment, substance abuse, and crime.

Indeed, nearly a third of Garfield Park’s residents have been to prison at one point or another, and some have been more than once. The reason is simple: coming home after serving time in prison is hard.

http://datatools.urban.org/features/safer-return/

This story is based on prisoner reentry research by the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center and exclusive interviews with program participants, administrators, case managers, and mentors from the Safer Return demonstration project.

Jul 29

CFR what? It’s CFRE – Certified Fundraising Executive and you should consider it for yourself.

By Feature, Fundraising

Have you been a fundraising professional for 5 years or more? Are you proud of your career? Are you interested in attaining a professional certification that acknowledges you as a leader in fundraising with a wide breadth of knowledge?

Then consider preparing for the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) exam, the global standard for the fundraising profession. The CFRE exam is a generalist exam designed to test the knowledge and skills you use on the job on a daily basis. It is designed to test mastery of knowledge of best practices and how to apply them. Your AFP Cincinnati Chapter is here to help you prepare for the exam.

Join CFRE Chair and presenter Norah Mock, CFRE, along with other CFRE presenters, will walk you through AFP’s CFRE Review Course. This thorough session offers development professionals an opportunity to review the main components of a complete fundraising program. It is a two-day, intensive program the purpose of which is to provide an overview of skills, techniques, and program components based on fundraising experience at the five-year level.

When:  Thursday, September 17, 2015 (full day), Friday, September 18, 2015 (half day)

Time:  Thursday – 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, Friday – 8:00 am – 12:15 pm

Where:  Shriners Hospitals for Children Cincinnati
3229 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio  45229-3095

Parking:There is no charge for parking at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Cincinnati. You access our garage at the rear of the hospital by turning onto Albert Sabin Way – if going north on Burnet, turn left – if going south on Burnet, turn right.  You will then turn left into the first driveway, and left again into our garage.  When you come to the speaker, let them know you are here to meet with Vanessa
Mosley.  Park in any available space and take the elevator to the first floor and enter the lobby.

Cost:  Members – $390, Non-Members $490

Sign up today at www.afpcincinnati.afpnet.org

Jul 27

Prevention and planning: keys to avoiding and surviving a computer exploit

By Sponsor Insight, Technology

By Chip Heberden, owner and president, Netlink, Inc.

Understanding computer exploits like malware and viruses and how to prevent them, are basic business survival skills these days regardless of your organization’s size.

Just like other technologies, security compromises are getting more innovative.  It pays to be aware of how to prevent infection and if compromised, lessen the risk of damage.

A computer exploit can involve any number of malicious codes that can be designed to capture personal information (name, address, passwords, even financial information), destroy data, or hold your data for ransom!  Exploits such as viruses and malware may use a variety of delivery methods, and cause different types of damage.  The malware designers take advantage of the same technology and processes that we use every day, stealthily working out ways to lure unsuspecting users into executing the code.

Here are two current trends using computer exploits.

Jul 27

Primer on nonprofit sector buzzwords and jargon

By Feature, Governance, Leadership

By Jodie Shupac, writer, Charity Village

Leveraging funds. Capacity-building. Community-driven action. Enabling populations. Collaboration. Participatory action. Anti-oppression.

Just some examples of a multitude of terms regularly thrown around by professionals in the nonprofit sector, these buzzwords can be reasonably categorized as industry speak, or just plain old jargon.

Nonprofit jargon, like the vernacular of any sector or workplace, can provide a sense of unity and belonging to individuals and organizations working within a particular framework, but language of this sort can also prove imprecise, clichéd or alienating.

So why has certain terminology become so prevalent in the nonprofit sphere, and what impact is it having on both those on the frontlines and the fringes of the sector?

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