Surviving Gloomy Forecasts

Well, we've certainly been having some weather! Whether it's snow, rain, sleet or wind, you've probably been dealing with at least one of those elements in the Pacific Northwest this week. The umbrellas are lining up outside our office door like army ants. And flooding has begun in vulnerable parts of our state. So be careful out there!

By the way, Meyer Memorial Trust's inclement weather policy follows Portland State University's lead. If PSU is closed, MMT is closed. We would also always expect to publish closure information on our own website, of course.

While stuck inside evading the weather and hunkering down to face the gloomy forecasts for the next week at least, we've come across quite a few things to pass on:

• First, tomorrow (Friday, Jan. 20, 2012) at 5 p.m. is the deadline for applying for the Program Officer position that is now open here at MMT READ MORE
• Monday (Jan. 23, 2012) at 5 p.m. is the deadline for applying for the Communications/Administration Assistant at the Willamette River Initiative READ MORE
• We are greatly encouraged by the news that last week, Idealist listed more job openings than ever before...even before the Great Recession began. May this be the beginning of many beautiful relationships! :)
• Communications & Learning Associate MIke Phillips' FC LAMP soccer team won a tournament and a ginormous trophy (as you can see here!)
• We hope arts groups know about Oregon Arts Commission's Capacity Building Grants program that has a February 1, 2012 deadline READ MORE
• Have you seen NTEN's new free digital publication Change that provides guidance and practical consideration necessary for making sound technology investments and decisions that helps nonprofit achieve their missions? READ MORE
• And do you know about Crowdrise, which describes itself as "an innovative, crowd-sourced community of volunteers and online fundraisers that are coming together to answer the call to service, create online fundraising projects for charity, and have the most fun in the world while doing it." READ MORE
• The Nonprofit Finance Fund annual nationwide survey is now live, collecting data that assesses the current state of the nonprofit sector. You can help make the survey more complete by participating. NFF will analyze the results and report back in late March, identifying the most critical areas of need. To take the 2012 survey (deadline is February 15) READ MORE
• Along those lines, you no doubt know there's a lot of talk about nonprofit budget challenges these days, especially in human services that are funded by tax dollars but outsourced to nonprofit organizations for service delivery. You might want to read these three things about this trend:
  • Bridgespan Group just published a report The View from the Cliff: Government-Funded Nonprofits Are Looking Out on Steep Cuts and an Uncertain Future that paints a very sobering portrait of the future. READ MORE
  • Program Officer Jill Fuglister reports on a paper that examines the question The Public Finance Crisis: Can Philanthropy Shoulder the Burden? (Can you guess what the answer is?) READ MORE
  • The Alliance for Children and Families has issued a report – Disruptive Forces: Driving a Human Services Revolution – that identifies "emerging trends human service organizations must embrace to succeed." READ MORE

Given gloomy forecasts (weatherwise and otherwise), it's more important than ever to savor our moments of wonder, this time from Liz Strauss' photostream. With beauty like this around to inspire us, how can we not create the future we really want?

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