Feed Editor Lite 18 Sep 2008 14:01:33 GMT http://www.ahvrp.org en If work is not meaningful, do not ask volunteers to do it. Volunteers need to know that their contribution is important. They find time to work on projects that contribute to goals that they support. They are motivated when they gain in some way - a new skill, new relationships, a feeling that what they did made a difference. Volunteers are more likely to complete tasks and do so on time when they know that others are counting on them. 23 Apr 2009 17:09:16 GMT http://www.energizeinc.com/art/avol.html 5DFD0433-6129-494B-84B3-315657A09BBC Once you've put in all the necessary systems to make sure that your organization is ready for virtual volunteering, it's time to set up some internal groundwork to ensure success in your online program. Most of the systems you need to put in place to get your program off the ground and to ensure success revolve around humans: the concerns you will encounter with such a program will primarily revolve around people issues rather than computers, and the use of the technology rather than the technology itself. 23 Apr 2009 17:09:15 GMT http://www.serviceleader.org/new/virtual/2003/04/000098.php F122A8BF-D879-4DFC-B088-40E6FB3CB324 Viral marketing has become a hip, low-cost way to reach a lot of people very quickly -- with little effort. But as marketers, including giants such as Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble, slash ad budgets, "viral" needs to mean more than "free" and "fueled by prayer." Making an idea contagious isn't a mysterious marketing art. It boils down to a couple of simple rules. Rules that can be applied to the non-profit sector. 23 Apr 2009 17:09:15 GMT http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/135/made-to-stick-getting-your-ideas-to-fly.html 81E9FCCE-7F4B-4AFB-92C2-99D01E885D70 Jill Muehrcke, Editor of Nonprofit World, in a recent editorial raised the issue of the effectiveness of training. Bravely, she asserted (using some credible research) that "traditional training often has little or no impact." She further states that the value of training can be enhanced by paying attention to the context of training for the learner. She reports that people return to the workplace excited about what they have learned, but unable to apply it. 23 Apr 2009 17:09:15 GMT http://www.idealist.org/if/idealist/en/FAQ/QuestionViewer/default?section=04&item=27 D86C346E-CAE1-40DD-AD62-4315FA2043A8 Occam’s Razor essentially says that all things being equal, the simplest solution is the best. The principle has implications in virtually every field of science, not to mention philosophy, aesthetics, marketing, economics, and yes, management. If for some reason you don’t buy the word of a 14th-century Franciscan friar, it might interest you to know that Albert Einstein also believed the universe loves simplicity. I don’t know about you, but I’m in no position to argue with the guy. 23 Apr 2009 17:09:15 GMT http://blogs.bnet.com/ceo/?p=2109&tag=homeCar DE80D416-BB05-44A7-BF53-BC8EAC58E476 A lot of folks have moved beyond the "paper vs. plastic" grocery bag debate, having settled on neither. Today, there are so many other bags from which to choose, made from materials both familiar and unusual, at price points both affordable and astronomical. It appears everyone -- from grocery stores to online sellers -- wants in on this eco-friendly game. Should you be giving your customers a feel-good green choice for shopping? 23 Apr 2009 17:09:14 GMT http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090420/LIFESTYLE/904200320 AC0095C4-31FF-4AA4-8039-9E19082C9C27 Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long. Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy - happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers. 23 Apr 2009 17:09:14 GMT http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/customerservice/a/custservrules.htm DC3DD2DD-3CF7-4135-A353-473E1D58FD7E A key survey of leading businesses shows that the nation's economy remained weak in the first quarter, but it also hinted that the decline is slowing. The National Association of Business Economics' April Industry Survey "provides fresh evidence that the U.S. economy's recession is abating," said Sara Johnson, an analyst on the survey and an economist at IHS Global Insight. 23 Apr 2009 17:09:14 GMT http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/20/news/economy/NABE_survey/?postversion=2009042007 B36FA30A-BDC6-4D3D-84A5-DD49BE9AF2D8