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How to Eat a Blue Avocado. Obama: Nonprofits' Favorite Son? 18th Century Music. Board Meetings by Phone. Yum! - July 1, 2008
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Thanks to so many Blue Avocado readers for your notes
letting us know that you're finding this magazine useful, refreshing
and uniquely right for community organizations. And thanks, too, for
your questions! Here are some ways to get the most out of Blue Avocado:
How do people read Blue Avocado? It's short enough to read over a cup of coffee or an avocado and bacon sandwich. Scroll through the issue when it comes into your inbox, then speed on back to your job or computer solitaire!
How can I get Blue Avocado? You can get our magazine in your email inbox twice a month, catch up on your Blue Avocado reading via an RSS feed, or just come visit us on the web.
Can I reprint a Blue Avocado article? All Blue Avocado content is reprintable free by nonprofits, as long we've granted written permission to reprint. In fact, we think of ourselves as the Blue Avocado Wire Service, and > Read moreObama: the Nonprofit Sector's Favorite Son?
As never before in recent memory, all eyes are on the presidential election.
And for Blue Avocado readers,
part of the reason is that one of the candidates - Barack Obama - comes
from the nonprofit sector. While presidential candidates typically
begin their careers at private law firms or in government, Obama chose
to begin his as an organizer and antipoverty advocate for a
community-based nonprofit. His wife Michelle is a former nonprofit
executive director. Other presidential candidates have shared
Obama's commitment to civil rights, community empowerment and economic
justice. But Obama is the first major candidate to have come from
on-the-ground nonprofit work.
Veteran journalist Deborah Bolling spoke with antipoverty nonprofit folk to learn how they are reacting to a fellow nonprofiteer running for president.
When Senator Barack Obama rose to occupy center stage during his appearance at the Democratic National Convention four years ago, most Americans never imagined the spotlight he commanded then would shine even brighter now.
After a protracted primary battle with perhaps a remarkably formidable candidate, Obama has emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president of the United States.
Obama's unexpected ascension is marked by at least three historical > Read moreWord on the Street About: The Mortgage Crisis and Transitional Housing
With the mortgage crisis and all the foreclosures, most people expected us to have a lot more families coming in. But instead, the issue has been that it's harder to get people out [of transitional housing] into [permanent] housing. People that are getting foreclosures are moving into rentals. Rental rates have gone up, vacancies have gone down and landlords can be as selective as they want to be. So we can't find affordable places for our families. You know, when people think about a homeless person, they think of a grizzled man on the street. But homeless people work at Target, work at Starbucks, have families; the husband in one of our families is in the National Guard.
Cate Steane, Executive Director, FESCO Family Shelter, Hayward, California
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Board Meetings by Phone: Legal? A Good Idea?
With gas prices rising and everyone
getting busier, more and more board members want to participate in
board meetings by telephone. The advantage: more people participate.
The disadvantage: there’s a lot lost in human interaction for both the
board member and the board-as-a-whole when the meetings aren’t
face-to-face. Consider this policy a member can attend by phone only
twice per year, and new board members can attend by phone only after
they’ve been to at least three meetings in person. Some boards don’t
permit participation by phone at all. If you do decide to have some
people phoning in to meetings, don’t just use the speakerphone option
on a
regular phone.Invest in a dedicated speaker phone with “duplex
features” so that sound can travel both directions simultaneously and
everyone can actually hear.
What are the laws on board meetings by conference call?
Such matters are regulated by states (not the federal government) but > Read moreTake a 3-Minute Vacation Right Now: Chamber Music!
Spirit yourself to an intimate chamber music concert, played on historical
instruments: Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #2, iii, performed energetically by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. http://youtube.com/watch?v=6jtk4ETAx8g
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Queries and Help Wanted July 1
Wow! Thanks for the great responses to this new section of Blue Avocado
where we seek help on future articles. This issue's requests:
- 3-minute vacations: let us know what your 3-minute vacations are, or nominate an enjoyable part of your own site for this popular feature
- Website optimization: we're still looking for a couple of volunteers to help us get the Blue Avocado into the hands of folks looking for us: Click here to send an email to editor.
- For an upcoming article on the differences between building a movement and building a collaboration or consortium, please Click here to send an email to editor with your views and specific experiences.
- For an upcoming story on retirement and nonprofit staff, we're seeking life-long nonprofit staff in their 50's or older who are willing to share their stories about their financial situations and perspectives on retirement (with absolute confidentiality), please email Blue Avocado's columnist on Personal Finance, Steve Zimmerman.
- For an upcoming story on nonprofit employment of undocumented workers, we're looking for people willing to share their experiences and perspectives. Click here to send an email to editor.
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