This is a very, very good resume book. Just follow the step-by-step instructions to complete a SUPERIOR resume. Painless, Easy, Effective. It includes more than 50 well-written and designed sample resumes to help you create your own superior resume. And this resume book dose even more. It teaches you how to:

1). Identify your key skills and accomplishments

2). Clarify your job objective

3). Use a checklist to avoid common problems

4). Write top-quality cover letters

5). Find jobs in the hidden job market

6). Improve your interview and salary negotiation skills

7). Follow up after the interview

I make it easy and fun to write a superior resume, and then I show you how to USE this resume to get a superior job. And that is the real resume solution.

this book offers a solution to these and other resume problems. In a casual, conversational style, this book gives you practical, no-nonsense resume advice. With my help you can make your resume stand out and be noticed. And READ. More importantly, I teach you how to USE a resume more effectively to help you define skills, identify a meaningful job objective, and get interviews that others overlook. And that is the resume solution. Because if you don’t get a job you want and will enjoy, why bother?

The problem with resumes is that everyone is an expert. Just ask five people for their opinions, and you will get five different responses. Who can figure? Robert Patterson can. After many years of research, I have figured out the four most common resume problems:

1). A job objective that is not clear

2). Skills and accomplishments that are not emphasized

3). Too many words are used – boring

4). Poor design and readability

In 2004, we at Knupp & Watson invented a cool way to give back to nonprofit organizations. We created a 24-hour marketing marathon called Goodstock. The brilliant Erica St. Angel, who is now at Sonic Foundry, had the idea to do a give-back marathon, and suggested we do it in a program with a group of agencies on the East coast. I suggested not doing it within a different group, but to do it on our own. Andrew Courter came up with the incredible name. And viola! Goodstock was born.

What makes Goodstock different from other marathons? Quantity and involvement. We crank our butts off. This year, our fifth, we completed 42 projects in just 24 hours. Videos, media plans, magazine ads, TV spots, a ton of work. We hustle up donated media and printing and help from lots of vendors. Just this year, we gave $355,000 in donated goods and services. Moreover, we really involve the nonprofits along the way, educating and informing them in an attempt to not just give `em fish, but a nice fishing pole as well.

This year, Judi Wax, a former colleague, asked if her agency in Charlotte could do a Goodstock. They did it in October, at the same time we did our Goodstock. Here’s their recap.

Then we were contacted by the awesome Morgan Cartier about the agency he works for in Vancouver doing Goodstock to help nonprofits in his area.

Well on December 4th, Harvey McKinnon Associates will do the big give-back in their Vancouver and Toronto offices.

It’s a very rewarding thing to be a part of helping our community in Wisconsin. But to have it go to Charlotte and now Canada is beyond rewarding. Whatever that is. Good luck folks!

As 2009 comes to a close, I am reflecting on the journey that is entrepreneurship… and am thrilled to tell you that among the many changes we’ve seen this year that proposals we’ve written have now topped $10 million in funding!

In October, I accompanied my son’s class on a fieldtrip to the pumpkin patch. On our way home, I checked my blackberry and had received a great email – a challenge grant that The Grant Plant (fondly referred to in-house as Team TGP) had written was funded. This in itself was exciting, but we had been on pins and needles just waiting to pass the $10 million mark. With this $250,000 award, we made it!

I cried from Moriarty to Albuquerque.

It’s embarrassing to say I was crying because of a grant award. It’s incomplete to say that I was crying just for the grant award. And it’s an understatement to say I was crying because I am so grateful to our clients.

All of these emotions caught up with me as I realized what this milestone represents for The Grant Plant and for me personally. There is no greater privilege than to be part of the work being done around New Mexico. I am the first to applaud the work of our resourceful and strategic neighbors and the last to become jaded. I believe in New Mexicans with all of my heart. I have often said TGP is another “child” of mine—when it wakes me up at night because it’s sick, when it learns to ride a bike or achieves some other such goal, when I’m surprised it still hangs out with me after seven years—I can’t help but love it. And when so many people are interested in it, handing out my business card is like bequeathing a person with a wallet-sized photo of my kid’s school picture.

It’s been quite a journey over the past seven years. Externally, there’s the constantly shifting grant seeking field as a whole and the recent unraveling of the economy; internally we’ve added six team members to our original two-person office and “grown up” into a corporation with an office space of our own. Through all of this, it has been the nonprofit sector that has buoyed us—and the state—through various periods of upheaval. The Grant Plant’s growth over the past seven years makes me so grateful.

We—my sister and I—blindly stepped out as a business in early 2003. Along the way we’ve learned a lot… and that’s what I hope to share with you today. In alphabetical order, here’s what I’ve learned over the past seven years… the “ABC’s of The Grant Plant.”

A) Always say thank you.

B) Burnout is a constant threat… treat it carefully. It is a tough lesson.

C) Curiosity fuels the narrative. Ask “why?” to create a great case statement.

D) Don’t be afraid of taking risks or trying new things.

E) Editing is key. We never ever send out anything without an editing round. This article included.

F) Federal grant applications take 1.25 times the “burden” suggested by the Paperwork Reduction Act.

G) Grant writing is a “scientific art:” Technical writing plus storytelling.

H) Home offices are a blessing and a curse.

I) Iff is my favorite mathematical term (if and only if). Iff we get paid on commission is the most frequently asked question we’re asked.

J) Join forces—proposals we submit that have a formal collaboration in place have a much higher rate of being funded.

K) Keep it in perspective.

L) Look for funding in your own backyard first.

M) Money attracts more money.

N) New Mexicans are resourceful and passionate about their work—don’t change!

O) Only hire people who are smarter than you.

P) Policy is an emerging theme you can’t afford to overlook.

Q) Question your founder, your staff, your volunteers, and especially your clients to strengthen your storytelling.

R) Rejection can make you better by showing you what needs work—whether it’s your program design, evaluation, presentation, or your budget. Use it to your advantage.

S) Shine a light on the positive.

T) To plant today is to believe in tomorrow. This is our tagline and I love it just as much today as I did when we first chose it.

U) Understanding and compassion go a long way… they are also the easiest things to overlook… and then the most recognizable when they reappear.

V) Value is emphasized by funders: What’s your cost per client? How will you market their grant award? Can your program be replicated in other areas?

W) Writing is just a smidgeon of grant-seeking. Don’t forget the importance of the budget in the review process.

X) Xeroxing is so 2008. Check out FedEx’s print online option. You can submit a grant proposal anywhere in the nation with a four hour lead time (upload, print, deliver, confirm).

Y) You. Don’t get lost in it. Take some time for yourself, your family, your sense of peace.

Z) Zones are important. Know your comfort and danger zones to make sure you can deliver on the grants you get!

Thank you for being part of The Grant Plant’s history. We are really looking forward to our future! I hope it holds another $10 million and another round of happy tears.

Contact: Tara Gohr, President/CEO tara@thegrantplantnm.com

December 1 marks World AIDS Day, and in honor and recognition of AIDS prevention and treatment worldwide, today’s post will focus on AMREF USA.  Based in New York City, AMREF is the world’s largest African Health organization.  Spending 90% of funding on program expenses, AMREF USA is one of 12 offices worldwide that educate the public and funnel funding into AMREF’s work.

In regards to AIDS work, AMREF works on three levels to combat the virus in Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 60% of the population living with HIV.  They do this by strengthening efforts to educate, manage and treat HIV/AIDS within the existing medical system.

With so many worthwhile and award-winning projects, AMREF should have some wonderful stories to tell.  Yet, the pictorial, video and written accounts are buried and hidden withing pages of  website text.

The story of  George, one of AMREF’s community health workers, is fantastic.  However, it takes some savvy site navigation to find it.  The same goes for George’s corresponding video- a fantastic piece, yet a hidden gem:

Admittedly, my thoughts about the need to promote the stories within an organization come on the heel of a conversation  regarding The Cluetrain Manifesto.  We were discussing the need to incorporate, as the authors assert, the humanistic qualities into marketing approaches.  One might argue that a health relief organization is as humanistic as an organization can be.

However, I think that true sucess in web 2.0 can be better attained in conversation and story telling.  Let media pieces shine on the site.  Open platforms for people to join the conversation.  As noted in Cluetrain, and a decade in forethought, organizations need to allow for human and true conversation.

With these musings, I offer my hopes for AMREF and organizations worldwide who strive to combat and treat HIV/ AIDS.  More to the point, I offer my thoughts  to those suffering the virus, and those survived by a loved one with AIDS.

A Few Related Resources:

Directory of AIDS Charities and Support groups worldwide

A great prevention fundraising video by Avert.org:

I’ve worked at enough nonprofits to know that the subheading running through most heads right now is something like, “Without Wasting All Your Time On Something That Doesn’t Bring In Money Or Help Programs.”  With resources stretched tight at many nonprofits– never moreso than lately– it may seem a bit fatuous to expect that on top of a normal 11-hour day, there is an employee hanging about who would like to update the Twitter feed or make a YouTube video.

Now, I’m not going to tell you that developing a Facebook following and an e-newsletter and a YouTube community are going to fill the coffers in the first year.  Or the second year.  Or possibly the fifth.  Short term monetary gain is not a compelling reason to do it.

So why do it at all, then?  Because statistics show that donors who contribute the most money to nonprofits every year are fifty years and older.  Which means that ten years from now, the first huge surge of Facebooking, blogging, Twittering donors will start making big contributions to those organizations that reach out to them effectively.  I am no fortune teller, but I have a feeling that will not be the organizations who exclusively do once a year snail-mail appeals.

Cultivating today what will bear fruit tomorrow– isn’t that what development is all about?  Creating bridges between a donor and a cause is something that social networks are uniquely positioned to do.  Donors are empowered to be ambassadors and activists: asking Facebook friends to check out a new Cause they joined, or submitting a 30-second video to promote universal healthcare, or getting real-time updates out to a group of people who care about a particular legislation.  These are roles that used to be played only by expert nonprofit staff– now, by relinquishing just a bit of control, your nonprofit can gain the power of thousands more voices.

Will this pay for program overhead, necessarily?  No.  But it may just garner you loyal supporters for years to come.

So when you are ready to wiggle those toes in the cool waters of social networking, here are a five top tips on how to successfully start that won’t tax your current budget or require oodles of staff time:

1.Pick The Right Social Networks

Going from zero status updates to 5 different websites, a blog, and a vlog may be setting yourself up for failure at the start.  Instead, be strategic: do you want young people who can volunteer for you and get their friends to help out?  Maybe MySpace is right for you.  Do you have alumni who want to connect, share stories, and create a warm fuzzy feeling that engenders generosity?  Nothing better than Facebook!  Whatever your needs, know what they are and choose 1-3 social networking tools which you believe will help you in tangible ways– even if it’s not monetary at first.

2. Fill Your Networks with Exciting, Viral Content

Is anything more depressing than a Youtube video of a guy behind a desk, giving a jargon-laden speech about why his nonprofit deserves your cash?  Unfathomable program talk will not win your cause friends and supporters, no matter how well-intentioned.  Instead, try pithy, compelling updates and links via Twitter.  Or edgy and provocative videos made by clients instead of staff.  Be aware that people have lots of things to capture their attention at any given moment.  Be fun, be informative, be grass roots– and most of all, be interesting!

3. Provide a Way for Donors to Get News and Give You Money Online

Websites are not social networking per se, but they are still a worthwhile point to touch on.  If your website does nothing else, make sure that it can a) provide pictures and news stories that illustrate the great work your organization does, and b) give visitors a one-click way to support you with donations.  Network for Good is a wonderful resource not only for all things web-related, but also for a free online service that allows nonprofits to receive and track their online donations without the hassle of bank fees.

5. Update Frequently: 7 to 1 Rule Still Applies!

Whether you are using Twitter, Facebook, or e-newsletters, you won’t be very effective if the only time your supporters hear from you is when you want something.  A wise mentor of mine once told me about the magic seven to one ratio: donors should hear from you seven times with something that interests them for every one time you ask for something that interests YOU.  Think of social networking as a great and inexpensive way to keep you and your organization on a donor’s mind with exciting and weekly updates.  That way, when you want to ask for money or volunteers, they will feel more inclined to help you out.

And finally– how about you?  Social networking horror stories?  Great successes?  Extra tips?  Feel free to share in the comments!

FoodCycles inspiration, Will Allen of Growing Power Inc was featured on CNN in the US. Will founded Growing Power in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and now shares his knowledge with people from all over the country (and Canadians too, how else do you think FoodCycles got started). Growing Power is the last city farm in Milwaukee with 14 greenhouses, chickens, goats, turkeys and fish. Will Allen has even been invited to the White House by Michelle Obama.

Get the full video and post at FoodCycles.org.

For me, Christmas always comes early. For three days in early December, Betsy and I give away what will become Christmas for a lot of people less fortunate than ourselves. It is the best three days of the year.

This year, smart little button that she is, Betsy did a survey of all our partner agencies to see what they need the most. And this week, we will sort, sort, sort.

What's in the boxes? We don't know!

We have about 200 boxes to go through, donated by various big-hearted companies that know we can deliver the goods to more nonprofits than any other agency in Tennessee.  We’ll spend all week doing it and we’ll love every minute of it. You just never know what you’ll find in those boxes. We won’t go into the year we got Outhouse Santas.

Then next Monday, Bobbie Cox is coming with homemade Christmas cookies! Bobbie is one of our most loyal partners. She works for a giant human services agency in Middle Tennessee, the South Central Human Resources Agency. She also works a second job to support her nonprofit habit.

She decided to get her coworkers to help her bake cookies for all the giveaway participants because she says  we do so much to help her.  Betsy and I are all about the food so we’re tremendously excited. If we can just get through sorting the boxes in time.

Three committed citizens lend a hand at curbing Richmond’s DUI rate through three very different and unique programs.

By Randy Davis

Last year, almost half of the traffic deaths in Richmond were alcohol-related, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. This year, three concerned citizens are doing their part to lower that statistic.

Jim Porter, founder of To The Bottom and Back, Carter Hill, state coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapters throughout Virginia and Sgt. David Galyon of the Richmond Police Department have all found creative ways to tackle this nationwide problem.
 

2BNB – A New Way to Visit the Shockoe Bottom

In 2007, Porter was driving to his son’s high school graduation in West Virginia when he was hit by an individual driving under the influence of drugs. Porter suffered injuries to both his shoulder and back.

In August 2009, Porter created a shuttle service to provide Richmonders and tourists a safe way to get around the city without the hassle of finding scarce parking spots and having to pay exuberant fees. In the process, he also hopes to curb DUI and DUI-related incidents.

To The Bottom and Back is a free shuttle service that operates Thursdays and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., Saturday from noon to 3 a.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The company is funded through donations and advertising, Porter said.  
 

Its route begins at Ellwood Thompson’s parking lot in Carytown. The shuttle then travels east on Cary Street, makes a loop at the Farmer’s Market in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom and returns west on Main Street back to Ellwood Thompson’s.  

With his company, Porter hopes to accomplish two missions.

“I want people to move around Richmond and enjoy the city,” he said, “I also want people to learn not to drink and drive.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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MADD Encourages DUI Arrests

Hill, 55, is a volunteer for MADD. His 20-year-old son was killed in 1997 while riding with an impaired driver.

Hill said Porter has good intentions but a flawed strategy.

“He’s taking people to the bottom and returning them to a parking lot for them to drive away impaired,” he said
Hill believes that for DUI programs to work, people must not get behind the wheel of their cars intoxicated.

When asked what MADD is doing to curb DUI-related crashes, Hill said that for the month of September, MADD conducted law enforcement award ceremonies across Virginia. MADD gave awards to law enforcement officers for DUI arrests or DUI education. He believes that education is critical to the prevention of DUI-related crashes.

“Education is a big, big factor in this whole equation. Locking people up is one way to educate them because now they have to go thorough a program called ASAP – Alcohol Safety Action Program,” Hill said, “Once they go through that program it tends to education them a little more and make them a little more aware of the whole entire issue.”    

Education is Key

Galyon is approaching education from a different angle. He is involved in educating police officers not only in Richmond but across the state.

Galyon, a seven-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department, is on the Governor’s task force for DUIs and is the leading DUI instructor for Virginia.

His approach to curbing Richmond’s DUI-related crashes involves educating law enforcement officers.

In Richmond, police recruits go through a one-week, 40-hour training program for DUI enforcement while in the police academy. Veteran officers must attend eight hours of refresher DUI training yearly. And lastly, high-performance DUI officers attend a two day course that qualifies them as DUI technicians, he said.

A DUI technician is on every shift. This officer assists fellow officers with their DUI arrests and acts as a breathalyzer operator.   

“In 2003, Richmond made 85 DUI arrests. This year we made approximately 600 DUI arrests. In each phase of training we put out, within 30 days we see a 10 percent increase in DUI enforcement each month that we send out a new group,” he said.

Experts say prevention, education and enforcement all are important in reducing DUIs in Central Virginia.

DUI Statistics

In 2008, in the 21 cities and counties that make up the Richmond metro area, there were 160 traffic fatalities, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Of the deaths, 74-or 46 percent-were caused by DUI.

In Gloucester County, for example, alcohol was a factor in nine of the 12 traffic fatalities last year (click on chart to enlarge).

Visit Google Docs to view data…

If Porter, Hill and Galyon have their way, the area’s roads and highways will be much safer in years to come.

Themed “Transforming Our Work: From Challenging Times to Hopeful Futures,” the Joint Conference of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Council on Foundations, held Nov. 5 and 6 in St. Paul, featured nearly 50 breakouts, more than 100 speakers, a Nonprofit Mission and Excellence Awards presentation, a CEO/Trustee Dinner, and several plenary sessions.

Now, resources from many of these sessions are available online.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, unable to leave D.C. because of the health care debate, sent her keynote remarks via video. Below, she discusses how these unprecedented times for our country are a call to think and act anew – to meet the challenges head on – to examine every opportunity to bring together government, the private sector, nonprofits and communities to build a better future. She also highlights recent developments in D.C., as well as new initiatives in Minnesota. (Close-captioning for this video will be available in the coming weeks.)

Conference presentations and handouts from many of the breakouts are posted online and accessible on the conference website’s Download Center.

Despite the down economy, the 2009 Joint Conference of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Council on Foundations drew a record 1,700 attendees. MCN and MCF partner to present a joint conference every three years.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

Those who ponder the power and possibilities of social media—and its role in our organizations, lives, and culture are all positing predictions for 2010. But, at the end of the day, the big question on everyone’s lips seems to be, “What is the next big thing”? Will it be about catching the Google Wave, the open source document sharing platform—or will our growing mobile obsession drive the success of location-based applications like Foursquare and Brightkite?

Even the experts are unsure. However, I’m not sure forecasting the next Twitter is really the useful question—particularly for those us who focus on leveraging social media in a business context. Most thoughtful professionals I know—particularly in the educational advancement and alumni space—are looking for ways to harness the tools that are already in play more effectively and strategically. Approaching the social media landscape is a little like trying to take a drink from a fire hose—like organizing chaos. We all see the strength of the tools, but we wonder how it all fits and how it will make a difference in our organizations. With this concept as a backdrop, here is how I interpret my crystal ball:

1. Social Media Will Become Less Social.

First of all, I’d like to revisit the term “social media.” There is something about this nomenclature that sounds almost trivial or lacking in substance. I’d like to coin a new term – “engagement media.” It’s more active and deliberate. David Armano said on his Harvard Business School blog recently, “With groups, lists, and niche networks becoming more popular, networks could begin to feel more ‘exclusive.’ Not everyone can fit on someone’s newly created Twitter list and as networks begin to fill with noise, it’s likely that user behavior such as ‘hiding’ the hyperactive ‘updaters’ that appear in your Facebook news feed may become more common. Perhaps it’s not actually less social, but it might seem that way as we all come to terms with getting value out of our networks—while filtering out the clutter.” And I think David is spot on here. We will be looking for more sophisticated, relevant experiences—greater value and ROE, return on engagement.

2. More Enterprise Social Software Platforms Will Emerge.

As an extension of the above development, major software providers, such as IBM, SAP, and Oracle will continue to innovate and launch enterprise-grade social networking and Web 2.0 collaboration applications/suites. Already, Oracle has Beehive; Microsoft enhanced SharePoint with social media functionality, and IBM offers Lotus Connections. Targeted niche solutions, such as ENGAGE by PCI for education institutions will emerge to address industry and stakeholder-specific needs. Currently, many organizations are piecing together solutions with blogs on TypePad/WordPress—or investing significant amounts of time and money in developing in-house communities using tools such as Ruby on Rails.

3. Social Media (“Engagement Media”) Fundraising Will Become More Integrated.

Organizations of all sizes will see the value of fully integrated multi-channel strategies. Using social media channels alone for fundraising will not be as effective as designing coordinated campaigns and communication strategies that include traditional fundraising techniques. This includes email, your website, Google ads, face-to-face events, and managed promotion to the online and mainstream media. Beth Kanter confirms this predication and gives a great example. Just last week, GiveMN, a new online web site that hopes to encourage more Minnesotans to give and help create a stronger nonprofit community for Minnesota, raised over $14 million dollars in 24 hours using a multi-channel campaign.

4. Relevance and Ease Will Become Increasingly Important in Peer-to-Peer Fundraising.

There is no more compelling spokesperson for an organization or school that a passionate supporter. This is the core strength of peer-to-peer fundraising. And there are a range of scenarios—from a class agent soliciting annual fund gifts for his or her school, to a stakeholder requesting donations in lieu of birthday presents or wedding gifts for an organization. In fact, Facebook Causes now offers a birthday wish feature, and we will likely see more peer-to-peer fundraising applications sprouting up in the coming months. In 2010, I suspect donors will demand more meaningful interaction—not so much with organizations, but with recipients and “the mission on the ground.” Epic Change’s TweetsGiving 2009 connects friends around the world with Mama Lucy Kamptoni, who used income from selling chickens to build an innovative school in her village’s community in Tanzania. Last year, TweetsGiving, raised $11,000—with a goal of$100,000 this year.

5. Email as We Know it Will Become Passé.

As Erik Qualman says in his popular Social Media Revolution video, GEN X and Y already view email as passé. And the trend will accelerate—or rather, morph technologically. The New York Times iPhone application recently added functionality which allows a user to easily share an article across networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Many websites already support this functionality, but this next iteration of sharing behavior will gradually replace email list communications—particularly through the exponential expansion of mobile phone adoption. And this will provide renewed opportunities for withering content purveyors, such as traditional newspapers and network television. So, stay tuned. Fasten your seat belt.

It’s likely to be a wild ride! What are your prognostications?

Creation In Common's Nonprofit Branding Model

Six years ago, I wrote Building the Nonprofit Brand from the Inside Out and its time to revise it. Much has changed in the area of nonprofit marketing, communications, and branding.

Before I start my revision, I welcome any thoughts on the topic. Please read the article and send your comments. I will attribute any insights on this blog before relaunching the article.

Thanks,

Carlo
carlo@creationincommon.com

Presents 10 tips for using resumes and cover letters to your best advantage.  Shows you an effective way to respond to blind ads.

Instructs you to adopt “A Philosophy of Job Hunting.”  Suggests that you take a proactive approach to the job search.

Predicts future trends for what you can expect in the 21st century.  Enlightens you about what’s needed to get ahead in the new job market.

Presents an overview of job searching in the ‘2000s.  Reveals advantages and disadvantages of electronic resumes and job banks.  Includes examples of electronic resumes.

Reviews traditional job search avenues and how to approach them: private and state employment services, personnel offices, and applications.  Teaches you how to network to achieve success.  Extensive section guides you on how to negotiate salary profitably.

Reveals how thank-you notes benefit you during the interview process.  Furnishes tips on writing effective thank-you notes, as well as actual samples.  Concluding section stresses the importance of following up after every phase of the job search.

Emphasizes the importance of the cover letter and shows how to write one for maximum results.  Includes sample cover letters.