A “Shout Out” to some of my favorite contractor web-sites…If you have never visited -

Elance, and want to work at home as a contractor – then this is a great place to visit -companies advertise everyday for virtual assistants and all kinds of contractor positions. Elance collects from the companies and then pays the contractors. This website is one of many that is transforming the way businesses will get some of their work done…it is the way of the future. They will send you a notice, via e-mail that tells if any of the type of contractor services you are interested in seeing are soliciting bids.

Free Lance Writing Gigs has a daily listing of opportunities for writing gigs and advice for free lance writers. They have a wealth of information and share tips and advice for landing freelance writing opportunities.

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When I close my eyes and think 2009, I see a panorama of events beginning with the inauguration of our first minority President of the United States of America…then…the transition…like the first rent house I lived in, newly inaugurated President Barack Obama moved into a house full of “stuff “left by the previous owners …and not good stuff.

Today it seems the public is having a hard time remembering pre-Obama…let me remind you – this man inherited this mess – our country has been spiraling out of control for the last 9 years and one more makes it a decade. Our public discourse seems to be taking on a likeness to a major football game…the Democrats versus the Republicans – each side trying to score points by any means possible. And now, only the middle of January and we are starting to have a memory lapse…maybe Obama did start the war…we did not have any terrorists acts under the previous administration…ok stop, when I heard that one you know I screamed…HELLO…remember September 11…2001!!! Come on let’s take a walk down the 2009 memory lane…

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The Ford Foundation has announced a five-year, $80 million initiative to ensure Americans get the support they need to stabilize incomes, cope with unemployment and keep the jobs they have. The initiative will focus on two related areas that will strengthen programs and policies that improve job quality for U.S. workers, especially low-wage employees and help states modernize the delivery of existing public programs to ensure working Americans are able to meet basic needs when their wages are too low to support a family.

Ford Foundation to Improve Economic Stability for Workers

For more information about other grant funding opportunities please click on Grant Resources.

Why Non-profits Need To “Twitter”…

Wowwwww!!!… that is all I could say when I read about a non-profit group called Epic Change. This group is trying to provide education to the non-profit world about marketing and fund-raising concepts utilizing internet tools like Twitter, a free social communication networking service. When you sign up at Twitter you are asked – “What are you doing?”… No Really, that’s it – they have data that says a lot of family, work, partying “peeps”…want to know what their social circles are doing…and Twitter will send them updates – they are called “tweets”. Epic Change made their point about Twitter with a 48 hour fund-raising campaign that happened during Thanksgiving which raised $11,131.00 for a school in Tanzania. Epic Change does give credit for the fund-raising idea to use Twitter to the guys at the Future Now Market Better Group-which raised funds for three non-profits during Halloween in their “Trick or Tweet” project.
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Planning for College should start with a “Reality Check”…

Texas Workforce Commission has a free website program called “Reality Check” which is the coolest tool to add to career classes and summer job training programs – the data is based on Texas occupations and wages but the lesson on budgeting is universal. If the student is going to invest time in additional training after high school they should know what to expect in future income – this tool – Reality Check will help guide them though a financial literacy lesson. It is a great way for students to explore careers based on projected income from different occupations.

Connected to the Reality Check software is “ Socrates“- which gives a lot of information about the occupations – general job descriptions, method of entry, nature of the work, working conditions, employment outlooks in Texas and the Nation, knowledge and skills needed, work activities and training.

Another career planning website is the Department of Education’s College.gov, a new, student-focused web site designed to motivate students to pursue higher education. The site has three main sections: Why go to college, what to do to get there, and how to pay for it.

Attention Non-Profit Shoppers….
Before you buy that software – check out TechSoup. This organization gives great discounts on technology products to non-profits. TechSoup’s on-line store distributes donated and deeply discounted technology products to eligible nonprofits and public libraries. The fees are typically 4 to 20 percent of retail prices. In order to be qualified to receive any donated products, organizations must be able to demonstrate their status as 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, registered Canadian charities, or U.S. or Canadian public libraries.

One of the best website for job listings is Craigslist. This website has all types of job categories listed by city. In addition, Craigslist has categories in housing, stuff for sale, free stuff, services and forums. Craigslist has daily updates and is a great source of information for non-profits and individuals.

The Department of Labor put out a resource book that lists private and corporate foundations that provide funds for workforce and economic development programs. This resource listing can be downloaded very easily.

Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy is another place that has a wealth of information for non-profits that may want to learn more about programs and curriculum enrichment strategies that “ensure that basic personal financial management skills are attained during the K-12 educational experience”. This group has been working to address the many young people “who have failed in the management of their first consumer credit experience due to bad financial management habits”.