Free Library Blog - Posts by Jenn D.

KEYSPOTS and Hot Spots

Jenn D. — 2012-01-26T10:59:59-05:00

Have you seen them around town? On subway concourses, sides of buses and within SEPTA bus shelters, KEYSPOTS ads have premiered. KEYSPOTS is a citywide initiative bringing internet access, training and technology to Philadelphia communities.

KEYSPOTS is powered by Freedom Rings Partnership—a consortium of government, higher education and non-profit entities that includes the Free Library of Philadelphia. Two of the library’s six Hot Spots (www.freelibrary.org/hotspots) are also funded by this federal Broadband grant (BTOP), as is the soon-to-arrive Techmobile.

*The Free Library will continue to promote our BTOP funded computing centers as Hot Spots, because it ties them to our four Knight Foundation funded Hot Spots. We want to alert you to the dual names, because the partnership publicity and the 311 call center will refer to our Hot Spots as KEYSPOTS.*

A new website (www.phillyKEYSPOTS.org) will assist you and your patrons in searching for FREE computer access and trainings at KEYSPOTS throughout the city. Even though the site has just launched and many additional programs and upgrades are still pending, it is the most comprehensive location for information about KEYSPOTS and the Freedom Rings Partnership.

If you have any questions about Free Library Hot Spots, please phone TOPSS at 215.686.5372. If you have questions about KEYSPOTS, please contact 311 or 215.851.1990.

Free Library Hot Spots

Jenn D. — 2011-04-13T08:56:00-05:00

The first Free Library Hot Spot officially opens today! Deputy Mayor Mike DiBerardinis and Free Library President and Director Siobhan Reardon will cut the ribbon on the Hot Spot at Heavenly Hall Annex (4015 Poplar Street) this morning.

Free Library Hot Spots bring computer access, classes, and the internet to neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. Each Hot Spot includes computers, a printer, and all necessary broadband equipment. Hot Spots are staffed by computer assistants trained to provide you with guided instruction as well as open-access computer time.

Collaborating with community partners, the Free Library is helping to bridge the digital divide by bringing internet connectivity and skills training to more people--all for FREE and right in the neighborhood. For a list of current Hot Spots and hours of operation, please look here or phone 215-686-5372. Click here to watch a video about 85 year old Reverend Hawkins and his Hot Spot habit.

Philanthropy In/Sight: Every Picture Tells a Story

Jenn D. — 2011-01-24T08:49:00-05:00

In response to broad audience demand, the Foundation Center has created this spectacular interactive mapping tool. Designed for all persons interested in the impact of philanthropy around the world, Philanthropy In/Sight combines rich data on grantmakers and their grants with familiar Google maps to tell the story of philanthropy.

Choosing from a wide range of customization options, users can quickly create maps that reveal patterns of giving and funding relationships as never before. Plus, users can overlay grant data with their choice of over 150 demographic, socio-economic, and other data sets to create compelling visual portraits showing where philanthropy has made an impact and where opportunities exist to fill critical needs.

Research, identify, plot, map, assess, compare--with unprecedented insight. Philanthropy In/Sight is available at Parkway Central Library; please visit the Regional Foundation Center for assistance.

Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes (and how to ensure they don't happen to yours)

Jenn D. — 2010-10-20T08:53:00-05:00

Presented by Andy Goodman for the Regional Foundation Center of the Free Library of Philadelphia

· Friday, November 12, 3:00-4:00pm

· Montgomery Auditorium, Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street

· This workshop is FREE, but registration at http://tinyurl.com/andygoodman is required.

Nonprofit organizations are accustomed to the good fight. We exist to enliven our communities, not to pad our portfolios, and that requires a spirited drive. However, even savvy pugilists can use some coaching from time to time. The Regional Foundation Center (RFC) has been the educational stomping grounds for charitable groups since 1974. We house Philadelphia’s largest publicly accessible collection of print and electronic resources on fundraising, nonprofit management, general philanthropy, and institutional advancement. And, best of all, it is FREE!

With the support of our Advisory Council (comprised of local grantmakers), we also offer an extraordinary range of programs designed for the independent sector. The upcoming workshop by Andy Goodman is a great place to begin—or continue—your familiarity with the RFC and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Have you ever wondered why so many presentations fail to engage, educate, or persuade when this is just what they set out to accomplish? Learn how to avoid the most common mistakes and BORE NO MORE. If you have wasted enough time with bad presentations – on either side of the podium – this workshop is for you.

Based on unprecedented research across the public interest sector, this talk can help you avoid the most commonly made mistakes (“The Fatal Five”), structure your information in ways that help audiences absorb it, use PowerPoint more effectively, and deliver your talks with greater confidence.

Presenter extraordinaire Andy Goodman is an author, educator and eponymous founder of 'a goodman'--a public interest communications firm that helps nonprofit organizations and foundations reach more people more effectively. He is a brilliant, witty, engaging orator who will 'teach do-gooders to do better' and will have you grinning and learning with charming ease. Leave work early on a Friday and come to hear A.Good.Man for a very special—and happy—hour.

Starting a Nonprofit Organization

Jenn D. — 2010-04-28T14:46:00-05:00

The Regional Foundation Center of the Free Library of Philadelphia is celebrating our 36th year of informing the nonprofit community.

If you are a new or emerging nonprofit organization, please join us on Tuesday, May 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Montgomery Auditorium of the Parkway Central Library as Sharon Wilson, Esq.--Managing Partner of Wilson and Wilson, LLP and former Director of Temple University's Beasley School of Law's Center for Community Nonprofit Organizations--returns to the Library's main stage for this instructive workshop.

Learn how to start and run a successful nonprofit organization. Tackle incorporation, drafting bylaws, director's responsibilities, applying for 501(c)3 status, and all the additional steps in between. There will be a short break during the workshop, as well as time for Q & A session.

This workshop is FREE, but registration through Idealist.org is required. Please call 215-686-5423 with questions.

The Regional Foundation Center gratefully acknowledges the support of our Advisory Council, which provides financial and human resources in support of the RFC’s mission.

Nonprofit Technical Assistance Day

Jenn D. — 2010-04-15T11:35:00-05:00

The Regional Foundation Center (RFC) of the Free Library of Philadelphia is celebrating our 36th year of informing the nonprofit community. Please join us for our 6th annual Nonprofit Technical Assistance Day on Tuesday, April 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Montgomery Auditorium of the Parkway Central Library.

Did you know that 75 percent of private contributions to nonprofits come from individuals? Learn more about soliciting and sustaining individual gifts at this year's event.

ANDY ROBINSON--author, fundraiser, grantwriter--will present the first workshop of the day:

MORE ASKERS=MORE MONEY: An All-Staff Approach to Engaging Donors

Most organizations work heroically to get their board members engaged in face to face fundraising--with very mixed results. Yet we tend to forget about the other "human resource" available to us: the staff. Using successful case studies, Andy will discuss ways to engage employees in cultivating, asking and thanking donors. (There will be a 20 minute break after Andy's workshop.)

FERNANDO CHANG-MUY, ESQ--former Program Officer at the Philadelphia Foundation, University of Pennsylvania Law Professor, former Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association's International Human Rights Committee (to name but a few appointments)--will present the second workshop of the day:

SECURING GIFTS FROM INDIVIDUALS
(beginning at about 11:00 a.m.)

This workshop will provide a quick overview for a framework for organizational effectiveness and best practices. Then, against this backdrop of four core nonprofit areas, Fernando will discuss how resource development is an aspect of effectiveness and also a way of raising money. He will then hone in on one source of revenue--getting funds, including major gifts, from individuals.

This event is FREE, but registration at Idealist.org is required. Please write erefRFC@freelibrary.org or call 215-686-5423 with questions.

The Regional Foundation Center gratefully acknowledges the support of our Advisory Council, which provides financial and human resources in support of the RFC’s mission.