do good’s New Resources Section Now Online!

by Laura Huth, President & CEO, do good Consulting

From time to time, we could all use a new idea, a little guidance, or a fresh perspective. With that in mind, do good Consulting has added a new, free service to its offerings: a Resources page on its website: www.dogoodconsulting.org/resources.

Whether you are a board member seeking ways to infuse new energy into meetings or retreats, a new development professional looking for guidance in creating fundraising plans or campaigns, a staff member looking for ways to manage your workload, or an executive director with a staffing issue to solve, do good’s Resources section probably has something to help you.

Getting great advice and finding reliable resources is important to high-functioning, efficient non-profit organizations. In do good Consulting's new Resources section, you will find some great advice, publications, links, and other resources on a wide variety of subjects impacting non-profits.

Written by do good’s expert team of consultants, including Organizational Development Specialist Amber Marks; Group Dynamics & Teambuilding Specialist Elizabeth Simpson; Graphic Communications Specialist Caroline Huth; and do good’s President & CEO, Laura Huth; these free, online resources are sure to give you a leg up in your work for your non-profit organization.

Categories in do good’s new Resources section include:

- Fundraising
- Volunteerism
- Technology & Database
- Graphic Design, Branding & Organizational Image
- Marketing, Communications & Outreach
- Strategic & Program Planning
- Time & Organizational Management
- Group Dynamics & Teambuilding
- Board Development
- Hiring & Staffing
- New Group Start-Up
- Other Resources

While the site is still a work in progress, dozens of resources are already posted for you, including this sampling:

- Components of a Good Annual Fundraising Plan
- Improving Board Effectiveness
- Beat Procrastination: Get 'er Done!
- Volunteers: To Make it Worth Your While, Make it Worth Their While
- Creating Excellent Newsletters
- A Stronger Database = A Stronger Donor Base
- Non-profit = No profit: Dispelling the Myth
- Applying for 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status

Don't see what you're looking for? Let us know! We might have something in our in-house resource library to help you, or we might create something to fill your need. Just email us!

Check back to the Resources section of do good's website often, as our team of associates plans to post new resources on a regular basis.

We hope you find this new, free service from do good Consulting helpful in building stronger non-profits and a healthier community.

Have an idea for a Resource page posting? Email do good Consulting at dogood@dogoodconsulting.org.

Q&A: What's the Difference Between Mission and Vision?

Dear do good,
I'm unclear on the difference between a mission and vision statement. Are they the same thing?
- Cloudy Vision in Urbana

Dear Cloudy Vision,
This is an excellent and important question. Think of the words 'visionary' and 'missionary'. A visionary is someone who imagines possible futures. A missionary is someone who does work under the guidance of a larger objective. Similarly, the vision statement describes how the world will be different because of the existence of the group, while the mission statement provides the 'vehicle' for the vision; it describes the means that will be used to achieve the desired future. Because of their nature, the vision statement generally lasts for the life of the organization, while a mission statement should be revisited every two to three years to make sure that the means being used to attain the vision are still relevant. When crafting these statements for your organization, consider the following questions:

Vision
What is the future you want to create for the community you wish to address?

Mission
What do we do?
For whom do we do it?
What is the impact?

Sample Vision Statements:

• Healthy People in a Healthy World
• Lincoln Trail Libraries System envisions a future where collaboration between libraries and organizations results in easy access to information anytime, anywhere.
• The vision of the ASPCA is that the United States is a humane community in which all animals are treated with respect and kindness.
• The American Red Cross Tsunami Recovery Program envisions an enduring recovery for tsunami-affected people. Communities enjoy rebuilt physical infrastructure, restored social networks, quality health services and vibrant economies, and are prepared for future disasters.
• Critical Resistance's vision is the creation of genuinely safe, healthy communities that respond to harm without relying on prisons and punishment.

• To promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability.
• Crisis Nursery is committed to creating an island of safety dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and neglect through the provision of emergency intervention, respite care and support to families in crisis.
• Because all children deserve excellent teachers, the Golden Apple Foundation advances the teaching profession by recognizing excellent teachers, leveraging their thinking and efforts to improve education, recruiting and preparing prospective teachers with a special emphasis on schools of need, and providing teachers access to innovative resources.
• The mission of LifeQuest Center is to provide educational opportunities which empower individuals to improve the quality of their lives and excel in relationships through personal growth.
• Lincoln Trail Libraries System connects the people of East Central Illinois to information through cooperation.
• The goal of Campus Middle School for Girls is to provide a safe challenging environment where all girls can develop their creative and intellectual powers, a love of learning and a passion for excellence, gain a sense of emotional and physical well-being, celebrate cultural differences, and form enduring friendships. To this end, we aim to promote confident, enthusiastic, and responsible young learners through a combination of small class size and a curriculum emphasizing the development of academic skills.

 - Submitted by Elizabeth Simpson, Group Dynamics & Teambuilding Specialist, do good Consulting

Group Profile: Lincoln Trail Libraries System

by Lori Kingery, Resource Management Coordinator, do good Consulting

Imagine you've come to a land of opportunity, but very few others speak your language. You've chosen to settle in a small town – a great place for your children to grow up. Small-town life is idyllic, but sometimes it is hard to receive basic services when no one speaks your language and your bi-lingual kids are in school. Where is the one place you can go and be understood?

Your public library.

The PolyTalk library interpreters network connects volunteer library staff across the state to your local librarian, in order to accomplish communication of basic service needs in a variety of languages.

PolyTalk is just one example of the great programs and services offered by the Lincoln Trail Libraries System (LTLS) to libraries across central Illinois. Believing that exceptional customer service is vital to quality information services, the staff at Lincoln Trail Libraries System connect people to information, anytime, and anywhere.

I recently spoke with Jan Ison, Executive Director of Lincoln Trail Libraries System. In addition to PolyTalk, she described how her organization provides for interlibrary loans between libraries all across Illinois, helps support a huge shared on-line catalog (LINC), provides education and training for librarians and trustees, and even provides electronic materials through MyMediaMall.net, where you can check out and download books and audiobooks without even leaving your home!

Lincoln Trail Libraries System strives to connect people to information through the cooperation of nine multi-type library systems throughout Illinois. Founded in 1966, LTLS serves 122 academic, public, school, and special libraries across nine East Central Illinois counties. LTLS' shared automated database, LINC (Libraries IN Cooperation), contains over 2.3 million individual items in over 105 individual library buildings. LTLS' core values include democracy, collaboration, confidentiality/privacy, intellectual freedom, and diversity of community. Lincoln Trail envisions a future where collaboration between libraries and organizations results in easy access to information anytime, anywhere.

Where does Ison see the future of libraries and information? We are an Amazon and Google society, a 24-7 society, she says. Expect to see services in some libraries like drive-up windows, overnight pickups, and more interaction between patrons and libraries, such as book reviews and personal recommendations. Libraries will become more attuned to individual needs, as well as furthering their current role as a "third place" beyond home and work, where people can work, play, gather, and feel safe. Ison cites Amazon's new "Kindle" e-ink wireless reading device as a taste of the future that is here today. This sharp, high-resolution screen looks and reads like real paper. Optimistic about great strides in technology we have not yet imagined, Ison points out: "In the short term we overestimate technology; in the long term we underestimate it."

The people that make up Lincoln Trail Libraries System are great believers in freedom of information and the democratic right to know. Ison sums up what she values most about the opportunity to work with this organization: "Having people work together to get information to the public, and knowing that we have the internal resources to make that happen with nearly any question that comes up."

Learn more about Lincoln Trail Libraries System at www.lincolntrail.info