#BookReview: Ten Steps On The Road To ‘Presentation Zen’
This is a repost of an article that originally appeared on the MKCREATIVE blog in May, 2010.
The business/education/PR presentation got a boost in the ’90s when Microsoft PowerPoint gave us the opportunity to turn the staid lecture (from Lectio, ‘to read’) into a multi-media extravaganza of bullet points and pie charts and popping 15-point stars. And many of us have been suffering through them ever since. Perhaps the greatest problem with Powerpoint or Apple’s Keynote is just how easy it is to bring something together that seems pretty catchy to the person who has to give the presentation. Ease-of-use is hardly a drawback to software, but it can be a drawback to those in your audience 15 rows back who does not share the same enthusiasm for the small yellow print on the blue background.
To be sure, some presenters are masters of the technology – which is to say, masters as presenting their materials, with Keynote or Powerpoint adding enough to keep the mind focused, not flogged. And watching some great presenters is a wonderful way to pick up the skills required to prepare your own materials (Please Note: I have yet to say ‘prepare your Powerpoint/Keynote’). Though, as at least one cheeky academic posted, sometimes seeing the greats present their materials makes us mere mortals too ‘stupid’ to deal with the less-than-stellar business report or academic paper.
Popularity: 9% | Category Book Review, Education: General, Marketing, Reviews, Technology, Web and Print | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Tech: New Book Argues For New Education To Prepare New Economy
Technology IS the classroom
Yesterday we talked about how America’s ‘GI-Generation’ (those 73 and older) were embracing internet and social-media technologies faster than any other segment of the population as a way to stay engaged with family and the larger world. Today want to introduce a new book that argues we are educating our youngest Americans for the nineteenth century, rather than for the twenty first. The book is Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn and the author is Cathy Davidson of Duke University’s English Department.
Her thesis is that we have had the internet for a generation now, and it’s time teach toward its paradigm: interactivity, creative interruption, flexibility of ‘work time’ and ‘play time’, and a stress on collaboration rather than individual hoop-jumping. The response from the tech-minded press is universally favorable. Response from the academic press? So far, the mute button is pressed (which might be relevant as I suggest below).
Popularity: 3% | Category Book Review, Communications, Community, Education: General, Interview, News and Current Affairs, Opinion, Politics, Publications, Reviews, Technology, Web and Print | | 0 Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Fundraising: Susan Emfinger Discusses The Difficulties and Faulty Assumptions of Raising Money
Susan Emfinger of UMBC
In my last blog post, I said that I would spend some time exploring questions that to my mind are important to fundraisers from both the charity and the education sectors. Be careful what you wish for: just this week a former, non-fundraising colleague asked me a question recently that, frankly, I didn’t have the slightest idea how to answer.
The question was, “Isn’t it much more difficult to fundraise in today’s economy?”
My first impulse was to say, “Hold on just a minute: fundraising was never easy! What, you think I’ve been on vacation all these years?” Ever careful with my impulses, however, I ended up saying I’d get back to him on that. As it happens, this blog gives me a good opportunity to mull over his question with my fellow fundraisers:
Is fundraising more difficult now than ever? This week I’d like to tackle some of the difficulties we are facing in ‘today’s economy.’
Popularity: 5% | Category Communications, Development, Donor Acquisition, Education: General, Fundraising, Major Gifts, Marketing, Nonprofit, Report | | 1 Comments
Written by: Susan Emfinger
#Fundraising: Susan Emfinger, Development Guru, Joins the MKCREATIVE Blog as Contributor
Susan Emfinger
When the folks @MKCREATIVE first asked me to contribute to the MKC Blog, I wondered what I might have to share that would be of value to the blog’s readers, many of whom are in the non-profit (charity) sector. After all, the University sector is, in so many ways, very different from the non-profit or charity sector. Or at least, many people seem to think this is the case.
Then, all of a sudden, and with increasing, visceral clarity, I remembered: I had started my fundraising career in the charity sector, and it was in the charity sector that I had really developed my deep, abiding passion for fundraising (Flashbacks to organizing runs and walks, door-to-door campaigns and sponsorship fundraising across a very rural, four-county geographic area, smack dab in the middle of Michigan, come rain, shine or, as was often the case, snow, sleet and hail. Driving a Ford Festiva, a car which, for those who are of the younger set, a mere 4-cylinders strong, and about the size of a mini-Cooper. The last feat being perhaps the most significant, given the fact that I am nearly 6 feet tall. And… don’t forget the sand for the tires, the boots and the snow shovel in the trunk!) (more…)
Popularity: 6% | Category Development, Donor Acquisition, Education: General, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Local/Maryland, Major Gifts, Nonprofit, Nonprofit | | 0 Comments
Written by: Susan Emfinger
Aging: The Business & Strategy of Seniors Housing & Care (Classes)
The Erickson School, at University of Maryland, Baltimore County, is hosting an entrepreneurial seniors housing and care executive education course at the UMBC Technology Center, May 17-20.
Led by Mark Erickson, and featuring a diverse lineup of instructors, Business and Strategy provides 3 1/2 days of intensive education on strategy, positioning and trends, and the unique nature of the seniors housing and care sector.
Popularity: 5% | Category Adult Kids, Aging, Assisted Living, Community, Conference/Congress, Education: General, Grandparents, Independent Living, Nonprofit, Nursing Home, Resource, Retirement Living, Seminar, Seniors Life | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco Kathuria
Fall Prevention Programs in Maryland
- Image by Samuel Mann via Flickr
Falls are a major cause of injury for older adults in Maryland and studies show that one in three people age 65 and over fall each year. Recent data for Maryland showed that falls were the leading cause of emergency room visits and accounted for almost one quarter of the 500,000+ emergency room visits for 2010.
For some people, falls result in serious injuries like hip fractures, which can mean long-term hospital or nursing home stays, or even death. Seniors who fall are two to three times more likely to fall again and seniors who fall once are likely to restrict their activity level for fear of falling again, which can reduce their quality of life.
Safe Steps for Seniors: A Fall Prevention Program for Older Adults is a mini-grant program through which the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene provides funding for county-level fall prevention programs aimed at adults age 65 and older.
Contact Jade Leung, Injury Prevention Coordinator, at 410-767-2919, or email [email protected] for more information about fall prevention programs in Maryland
Popularity: 4% | Category Aging, Community, Education: General, Fundraising, Grants, Resource, Retirement Living | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco Kathuria
Microdonation At Each Transaction?
Make A Purchase, And
A Micro-Donation?
Given the state of the world’s economy, charities have been struggling to keep up a steady flow of donations. Yet, much of the good work of those donations means the difference between survival or failure for millions of people caught in the economic fallout. The mega-donations in 2010 largely went to institutions that both were already viable and were largely designed to perpetuate the economic class that could afford the mega-donations. How might smaller charities keep up? One way is through micro-donations that, thus far, have been made via the millions of mobile devices that folks use every day. Another way might be to offer opportunities to donate pennies or pounds each time we engage in a transaction.
Popularity: 2% | Category Banking & Finance, Design, Education: General, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Marketing, Marketing Skills, Nonprofit, Nonprofit, Politics, Public Relations | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Gift-Giving Champions’ Table Follow-Up
The economic malaise that has gripped the country for the last few years continues to have an impact on charitable giving, according to Maria Di Mento of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The downturn in big-gift giving is striking: “The 10 biggest gifts donated by Americans in 2010 totaled slightly more than $1.3-billion, compared with $2.7-billion in 2009 and $8-billion in 2008.”
The downturn is likely not newsworthy/surprising in itself, but Ms. Di Mento also points out the unsettling fact that the biggest donations are going to well-established institutions, not to those truly needing help to overcome the same economic crisis that has curtailed charitable giving.
Popularity: 2% | Category Education: General, Fundraising, Grants and Funding, Major Gifts, News and Current Affairs, Opinion | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Efforts to Green Up Baltimore Schools From The Ground Down
Building a house on sand can be a disaster. Building a playground on it can be beneficial to Baltimore’s kids and to Baltimore’s urban environment. The premise is simple and ancient: the ground wants to be a sponge that absorbs water and feeds plant life. Humans, their buildings, and their machinery pack down that sponge to the point that it has no spaces to absorb water. The ground grows harder and dryer, which increases the packing effect. From ancient Mesopotamia to the contemporary Midwest the obvious solution has been to plow the soil to break up the packed in slabs and allow air and water back down into the ‘subsoil.’ As Timothy Wheeler reported in The Baltimore Sun at the beginning of this school year, some local school playgrounds are getting the same treatment in an effort to stem runoff and to enrich children’s playing experience.
Popularity: 2% | Category Community, Education: General, Environment, Greening | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Resource: Writing Better Headlines
Image via CrunchBase
Network for Good has published an e-book, Big Impact in Small Spaces: 9 Ways To Write Better Email Subject Lines, Headlines, Tweets and Facebook Updates. It’s available as a free download that will take less time than it takes to type the book title.
Guest blogger Don Akchin writes frequently about marketing and philanthropy at donakchin.com.
Popularity: 1% | Category Communications, Education: General, Marketing, Writing | | Comments Off
Written by: Don Akchin
Can An Animation Animate Donors To Help ‘Tarla’ Get An Education?
“A Girl Story is a unique donation-based film that brings to life the experience of many underprivileged girls in India. This particular story is told through the eyes of Tarla, a young girl who simply wants to go to school and receive an education. Our project’s goals are to raise awareness about the challenges that girls like Tarla face, and to drive donations for the nonprofit group Project Nanhi Kali.”
Not only is the effort unique, it has caused a bit of a stir among both the online non-profit and blogging communities, as well as among web/video designers. The idea is that as donations flow to the Nanhi Kali project to encourage education among poor girls of India, the video(s) change to relate the story of the composite character, Tarla. The question at hand is some form of “Will it work?”
Popularity: 2% | Category Education: General, Marketing, Nonprofit, Web and Print | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Baltimore’s ‘Parks And People’ Plans Organizing Efforts for Block Projects
We wanted to remind you of an informative and important meeting sponsored by Baltimore‘s Parks and People Foundation this May 13th. We tweeted the event a day or so ago, but it is worth a posting here as well. The Parks and People Foundation has been hosting a series of meetings and workshops entitled ‘Community Greens Workshop Series’ meant to get folks engaged at the local and neighborhood level to restore and upkeep green areas and small parks. The meeting on the thirteenth concerns the efforts needed to make such engagement practical and profitable for the community. It is being held at Monroe Street United Methodist Church
400 S. Monroe St., Baltimore City .
Want to do more in your neighborhood but don’t know where to begin? Learn tips for organizing your block project, generating volunteers, and building leadership. Come with questions! Please RSVP to Sarah at 410-448-5662 x128
The keynote speaker is Ellen Burke, Partner at City Life Historic Properties, LLC. She is also Vice President for the Baltimore Community Developers Association and honored as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in business and philanthropic concerns. She will be discussing some of the tools of communication and community organizing.
She will be joined by Kate Herrod, Director of Community Greens, who will be discussing the value of such projects as alley gating and greening. Baltimore City has a hidden treasure of small green spaces and urban micro-parks (my term). These tend to be off the city administration’s radar (especially during a recession), but are a life-affirming quality in their neighborhoods. Ms. Herrod will offer advice on keeping them green and the community engaged in their upkeep.
Once inspired by what you learn at the workshop, or if you are already inspired but can not make it on the 13th, be sure to check out their Calendar of Events and follow the Foundation on Twitter. MKCREATIVE already follows their good works, and we hope to see you at one of their May meetings.
Popularity: 5% | Category Community, Education: General, Greening, Local/Maryland, Revitalization | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
#Marketing: Prepare And Refine Your Organization’s ‘Elevator Pitch’
You've got me for 40 seconds...
Economic news runs hot-and-cold. Social media keep us informed with beeps and dings we start to hear in our sleep. Those in need are, unfortunately, growing as the Great Recession has hit different economic sectors differently. Donors still want to give, although perhaps not with the open-ended resources they believed they had. And everyone’s time seems limited. Which is why when you have a chance to pitch your philanthropic organization‘s opportunity or plan to donors, you need to be quick, concise, and clear. Which is why the great ‘Elevator Pitch’ never goes out of style (at least until we build personal pneumatic tubes to whisk us around our business spaces). The good folks at “The Chronicle of Philanthropy” have collected a series of such pitches for us to see what works, what does not, and what we need to do with ours.
Popularity: 3% | Category Community, Education: General, Marketing, Nonprofit | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Baltimore Hosting A Number of Homeownership & Greening Events
The approach of Tax Day can cloud memories of other opportunities, so we wanted to post reminders of a number of upcoming events for the greening of Our Fair City. First off, please do not forget the fun we will have at Druid Hill Park this Saturday, 17 April, from 12:pm to 6:pm. EcoFest hosted by the Baltimore GreenWorks and a myriad of local vendors and greening organizations. The weather prognosis looks good for the weekend, and what a great way to wash away memories of sweating over your 1040?
Popularity: 1% | Category Affordable Housing, Community, Conference/Congress, Education: General, Greening, Local/Maryland, Politics | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Upcoming Greening Events in Baltimore To Highlight Sustainability Successes
On our entry for 25 March we touted some notable greening projects in New York City, including Annie Novak’s rooftop farm. We also noted opportunities for Baltimore’s citizens to get involved in similar projects. Today we follow on with that call-to-action to draw your attention to a couple of festivals and conferences meant to inspire and educate the Baltimore community to strive for environmental and economic sustainability. We also want to offer kudos to Towson University’s students, staff, and faculty who recycled 140 tons of materials in the fourth annual “RecycleMania” competition held among Maryland’s institutions of higher learning. They far exceeded their goal of 120 tons, itself an expansion over the 114 tons recycled last year. And they did so despite those crippling blizzards in February smack dab in the middle of the competition. (Cue sappy music) Of course, Maryland’s citizenry and environment are the big winners, as schools across the state competed in the 10-week competition.
Popularity: 1% | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Community, Conference/Congress, Education: General, Greening, Local/Maryland, Nonprofit, Politics, Sustainability | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
A Primer on Social Media – Chapter One: Getting Started (And Why)
Getting started with the use of social media can be a daunting task. There are blogs, Twitter accounts, GoogleBuzz!, instant-messaging tools by the dozens, Facebook… The list goes on-and-on, and it will only continue to lengthen for the foreseeable future. All that access to information can be overwhelming. We at MKCREATIVE will post some ideas and suggestions over the next few weeks that might help calm fears and perhaps clarify some misconceptions about social media and online networking. For today’s entry, we wanted to touch on the ‘concepts’ of social networking and how to get involved, as well as why. In later postings we will turn to software and ‘work habits’ that we have found useful, and you might too.
Popularity: 2% | Category Campaigns, Communications, Community, Education: General, Facebook, Marketing, Measurement, Nonprofit, Permission Marketing, Twitter | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD
Education Resources And Analyses In The Context of The Great Recession
Education is a stunningly inefficient human endeavor. A teacher might invest hours of time on a student only to discover that the student’s family situation is too unstable to allow any of the teacher’s influence to stick after the school bell rings. Or the teacher might get dispirited about students’ indifferent reactions to a story, only to discover that a couple of those students recall the story years later and are inspired to write great novels or, better still, become teachers themselves. Or (an irony I have myself experienced) a ‘bad’ teacher might spur a child to believe she could do better if the roles were reversed, so she strives to reverse the roles. Unlike so many other aspects of our economic and social environment, the links of cause-and-effect are tenuous indeed when discussing the ‘value’ or ‘success’ of education.
Nevertheless, we must not give up on the ideal that everyone should have opportunity for a good education to help them strive for what they might choose to strive for. And we must continue to study how better to reform, adjust, and align the educational systems we have. As with environmental and housing issues so important to MKCREATIVE, we are pleased to pass on the word when private and public concerns combine to improve the educational environment of our communities. Today’s example is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation‘s report “PRIMARY SOURCES: America’s Teachers on America’s Schools,” a project done with Scholastic and recently published online.
Popularity: 1% | Category Advocacy, Community, Education: General, Grants and Funding, Low-Income, News and Current Affairs | | Comments Off
Written by: Christopher Gardner, PhD