Take a look at this great roundup of useful and free tools you can use online to plan your next event.From scheduling to invitations, to marketing and providing presentations, this is a very useful tool to help you plan your next event even more cheaply.

I’ve just learned about this interesting new service that provides professional copy-editing for a very low cost. Take a look at Wordy.com to learn more.

This could be an excellent, inexpensive resource for institute’s who are working to translate their documents into English, or those who need a final set of eyes to ensure that the products they put out are of the highest quality.  Let us know if you use and recommend the service!

I’m always checking out new resources to see how we can improve.  Today, let me share some new things I learned from a new fundraising guide produced by Network for Good.

25 STEPS TO FALL & HOLIDAY FUNDRAISING SUCCESS: Meet (and exceed!) Your Fundraising Goals offers a wealth of information and is free to download from Network for Good, as well as the Atlas Toolkit..

Here are a few interesting tidbits that caught my attention:

Did you know that nonprofits could be leaving as much as 10 percent of their online revenue on the table simply due to two website usability issues: content and design?  That’s a sizeable chunk!  Check the article for specific hints and tips to change up your online contributions.

Have you ever heard of “Jargon breath?” I learned today that it refers to a tendency by communicators, particularly in the nonprofit sector, to rely on a particular vernacular of terms to try to educate others about their mission and programs (”services,” “accessible,” “at risk,” etc.).  Time to check your jargon meter?

The article also offers some good self tests you can do to gauge your communication levels.  Some that attracted my attention include the “grandma test,” the “five second” test….and the “only-ness’ test.

“’Grandma-intern-or- significant-other’ test: Sit someone down in front of your website and watch them navigate around your site. Try to quiz them to find certain areas and probe them for feedback. Whether the person’s a web designer or a teen who spends an hour on Facebook every day, you’ll be sure to glean some important info.

When communicating via email, the recommendation is to “Give your campaign the five-second test. Once you’ve got your draft ready, send it to yourself. When it arrives, pop it open for five seconds and then close it. Then ask yourself: What was this email about?”

I especially enjoyed reading about the concept of ≈ “onliness” (only-ness): “If you can’t say you’re the ‘only,’ go back and start over.”   Stealing the phrase from the book Zag by Marty Neumeier, the recommended test is to:  Complete this phrase: “Our nonprofit is the only _____ that _____.” This gets right to the core of why your organization exists in the first place. What does your animal shelter do that no one else’s does? What niche is your nonprofit filling for human services? What populations are you serving that no one else does, and how are you doing it differently?

As we have previously mentioned, Atlas hosted it’s first Think Tank 101 program last week. Below is the program for the conference, as well as power point presentations from several of the speakers. Many of you, in addition to the TT101 participants will find these presentations quite useful.

The State Policy Network’s regular publication SPN News is an excellent resource for useful think tank management tips, often given by successful think tank leaders. We’ve linked to their articles many times in the past, and their latest issue deserves several links as well.

Take a look at Put First things First, an article by Darcy Olson of the Goldwater Institute offers tips on ensuring that those big projects within your institute get accomplished, in spite of the additional demands on your time.

I’d also suggest Plans make the World go Round by Daniel Erspamer of SPN, which highlights why goals, lists and processes help increase the effectiveness of your organization.

Fundraising Success magazine has some tips for writing a compelling profile that will interest your audience:

When selecting people to profile, ask yourself the following questions:

• Why this person?
• Why now?
• What’s the point from a marketing perspective? What are you trying to achieve by telling this particular story about this person?

The article continues with loads of great tips on how to frame questions and engage your audience.

For instance, this WSJ interview by Steve Moore of John Mackey is a great human interest piece, but for a nonprofit, an interview or profile should be strategic as well as informative and engaging.  The Evergreen Freedom Foundation, Atlas’s state-based think tank friends from Washington state, do a really good job of telling personal stories.  See the intern profiles on page 9 of their recent newsletter or the individuals they feature in their planned giving publication such as this member profile from last year for good examples.

I’ve got two really useful blog posts to point you to today. The first, shows you some basic tools on how to make low cost online videos, using two products I’ve used in the past, a Flip video camera ( if you’ve been to an Atlas event lately, you’ll have seen me running around with this little gadget) and animoto, a great and sometimes free video making site that allows you to import images check out my handiwork with animoto below.

The second post is even more useful, “10 Useful Usability Findings and Guidelines” offers very practical useful pointers on how individuals relate to websites, everything from what kind of images to use to how wide your spacebar should be.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some web editing to do!

h/t: Rebecca Zuniga of Universidad Francisco Marroquin, she often features useful articles like this video one on her twitter feed.

I read this article about a year ago, and I don’t know why I didn’t post it here! How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity, by Pixar president Ed Catmull offers insight into one of the most creative and successful company’s of our time. Yes, they create films, but their work experience and creative process can also be applicable to think tank work.  Aren’t we always looking for new ways to reach the public and have an impact on our world? This article teaches you how to create an environment that is conducive to great work  and success.

Public speaking is one of the key skills a think tank leader or staff member should have, as he ideally will be called upon quite regularly to express the institute’s views on relevent topics.

I’m sure many of you have also sat in on a panel discussion that was incredibly dull. In order to avoid being the dull one, take a look at this article from the blog, Creativity Unbound, “How to Prevent the Pitiful Panel” This article’s not just for speakers either, it gives suggestions to moderators, panelists and the audience so check it out.

In addition, why don’t you leave your public speaking tips in the comments?

The Resource Alliance is hosting an international video competition – the Gold Star Award for Nonprofit Video Advertising – and the finalists will be shown at the International Fundraising Conference this October 20th-23rd.

Competition rules

• All videos should have been premiered within last 18 months
• All videos should be under 3 minutes in length
• All entries must to be accompanied by tangible results i.e. target figures for sign-ups and fundraising income should be stated and performance against these criteria should be shared. For TV entries, figures for total media spend against response value should also be included, but this information will not be shared without prior consent of the organisation.

It would be great to hear that someone from the Atlas Network would be a contender for this.  It is a great opportunity to promote our ideas to a larger audience.  Submit your entries here.  The prize is a free ticket to the 2010 IFC held each year in Holland.