Do you have a slow period during the summer? What will you do with it?
I'm already downloading some mysteries to my iPad for summer reading. It's my favorite genre, and I always have to forego them September through May.
But I also plan to catch up on some professional reading and learn some new skills.
Here are my suggestions for nonprofit folks during the summer months...in between catching up on your fiction list and movies:
Read a book that will teach you something new to bring to your job in the fall. It could be a book specifically about nonprofit work or something a little more general. Here are three that I already have stockpiled for myself plus resources for more:
- Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits, Leslie R. Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant (Jossey-Bass, updated in 2012) - A must-read.
- Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World, Alyse Nelson, with forward by Hillary Clinton (Jossey-Bass, 2012) - Inspirational.
- Philanthropy in America: A History, Olivier Zunz (Princeton Press, 2012) - Historical context.
- Check out the new books in nonprofit at publishers such as Wiley, Emerson and Church, and the Charity Channel Press.
Learn how to use one new social network. My big five are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest. I'm pretty fluent in two of these and working on the others. Just pick one and spiff up your knowledge and skills. Here are some resources (mostly books):
- Twitter for Good, Change the World One Tweet at a Time, Claire Diaz-Ortiz (Jossey-Bass, 2011)
- Facebook Marketing For Dummies, John Haydon, Paul Dunay, Richard Krueger (Wiley, 2012)
- Putting the Power of LinkedIn to Use for Your Nonprofit - Ventureneer
- What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us, Guy Kawasaki (ebook). I just finished this and loved it. Not specific to nonprofit, but a wonderful start-up guide.
- Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your Business with Pinterest, Beth Hayden (Wiley, 2012)
Take a webinar. There are plenty of free, or low-cost ones available. Here are some places where you can find them:
- Network for Good
- Charity How-To
- Wild Apricot's list of monthly free webinars. This is the June list, but sign up for the newsletter for a new list every month.
What are you planning for the summer? Got a good book, resource, or webinar to suggest? Let us know in the comments.
Photo: Getty Images
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