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Blue Avocado Issue #2: Finding Our Footing
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The bite-sized magazine for nonprofit people - Blue Avocado - presents its second issue! We had a great launch and so many of you sent encouraging and thoughtful feedback. This issue features a Board Cafe column on meaningful acts of appreciation (aren't we all tired of meaningLESS thank you's?), a provocative piece linking a free press to a free nonprofit sector, a blogging policy for the nonprofit workplace and more. Don't forget to register (it's free, too) and share your comments with all readers, not just with us editors. -- Jan Masaoka
Board Cafe: Meaningful Acts of Appreciation for Boards and Staff - 7 Do's and 2 Don't's
"We [board members] do this huge amount of work, and we're volunteers,
but the staff never seems to have any response but criticism for us not doing more!"
"I'm the executive director, and the board just seems to focus on what we haven't accomplished, instead of giving me credit for all the things I have accomplished!"
How many times have we heard (or thought) something similar? Despite admonishments to "give positive feedback," it often seems that efforts between board and staff of appreciation feel trivial at best, and even hypocritical or enraging at worst. What are some ways to express authentic appreciation that are meaningful to the recipient, and send the right message about values? Seven quick ideas:
> Read moreWorld Press Freedom Day: A Free Press and a Free Nonprofit Sector
Maggie, Lisa, Bart, Marge and Homer: the five members of the Simpson family. One in every five Americans knows who they are. But what are the five freedoms of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Only one in 34 of us know! Do you?
You probably remembered freedom of speech and freedom of the press. In addition to freedom of religion, two lesser known freedoms define a free nonprofit sector: the freedom to assemble, and the freedom to petition.
> Read moreWhat Should We Do About an Employee's Outrageous Blog?
Dear Rita,
An employee googled our nonprofit's name and came across a coworker's blog. The blog contains some outrageous material, including some unflattering comments about working at our organization. What can our nonprofit do? -- Blog-Burned
Dear Blog-Burned:
> Read moreTake a 3-Minute Vacation Right Now: Check Out Today's Front Pages
Instead of heading to your favorite coffee place, why not take a 3-minute vacation by reading the front page of the Pensacola News-Journal, Today's Zaman (Istanbul), Asahi Shimbun English Edition (Tokyo), the GlosSzcecinski (Poland), the Telegraph (Calcutta), or any one of today's front pages from 500 newspapers from more than 50 countries? And our thanks to the nonprofit Newseum in Washington, D.C. for this great resource, and for being a champion of freedom of the press.
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Word on the Street About . . .Bicycle Parking
The technology! There are these new bike parking machines that are bike carousels, 3 - 4 stories tall. You swipe your pass; the pass corresponds to a parking space. The machine turrets you and your bike up this concrete structure - which is really secure; no one's going to get through that! - and stops at your space. A door opens. You put your bike in, the door closes behind it, and it takes you back to the ground. We don't have them yet in the U.S., but they're coming.
Steve Mathis, Facilities Manager
bikestation
Long Beach, California
Bikestation is a nonprofit that develops and operates bicycle parking stations and related services with local partners.
