MHCCIM: Beddow Internship

Describe the computer workstation/operating system or equipment you work with:

Is this different equipment than you’ve been trained on at school?

We are on a PC Format with CS3, so the interface is a bit different. We use MS Word and Excel often. We use Constant Contact to create our e-communications, and our website is Drupal-based.

How did you learn to operate it? Was it hard or easy to learn?

There’s not a lot of formal training. With Constant Contact I was trained by previous staff and frequently visit their online help forum. The e-mail templates were already created so for the most part all I just plug in content and upload images. Same goes for the website; other staff have provided some training and I mostly create content and add images. In both cases, I have some control over formatting but don’t delve deeply into style sheets or other coding.

What do you like best about the workstation/equipment you are using?

I like being able to easily add content and update information on the website. Constant Contact is quite user friendly in this way.

What skills have you developed from using this workstation/equipment?
I have learned the importance of file management and working systematically—which doesn’t always happen and can result in a bit of chaos, frustration, and a lot of unnecessary storage space!

What skills do you need to improve? How can you make those improvements?
I’d like to learn more about web design, specifically style sheets. And Flash as well to create more interesting web pages. There are a lot of online resources I could tap into, and a few courses I could look into. Mostly I need to carve out time to practice what we’ve learned in our coursework already. We’re creating a new website so I’m hoping there will be opportunities for input on design, navigability, and interactivity.

Hours worked and tasks completed:

Whew, what a week. We had some additional staffing changes which impacted the work week, so I ended up doing some work for the internship at home this week.

2 hours, 1-25
Web updates, create page for census information. Involved research and compilation of information.

1 hours, 1-26
Identify stock photo to accompany newsletter article and format with standard 3 pt. border and rounded corners. The image is placed in InDesign and exported to .jpeg. It seems weird to start with InDesign to create an image for the web, but the stroke effect in Photoshop results in a less crisp border.

1 hour, 1-29
Finalize program one-pager using InDesign.

6 hours, 1-30
Format staff photos for website. I’ll be loading them later this week, will link at that time. Draft 1-page style sheet and outline for the Graphic Standards & Style Guide. Both are based on a template that a co-worker had provided—one that was used by her former employer. Much of it is very applicable to our work. Initially we discussed developing one for our current logos, but at this point I’m afraid that may not be the best use of my time as we are going to be rolling out a new logo and identity within the next four-five months. I think this well serve as a nice template to plug this identity into; some pieces can be determined without having the graphic elements.

Here’s a snapshot of the newsletter:

Who are the customers? To what sectors of the public do they market products or services?

TACS markets services to the staff, board members, and other volunteers of nonprofit organizations, as well as individual consultants, foundations, and individual donors/supporters.

How are employees trained to improve their abilities or to prepare for promotion?

This varies, and is pretty informal. There’s not much in the budget for professional development these days. However TACS is a ‘go-to’ source for many questions/issues in the nonprofit sector, and hosts over 100 trainings (from financial management to technology solutions) each year, so there’s a lot of on-the-job training. In my own situation, TACS has been quite accommodating of my school schedule and allowed me to run my internship through my current position–which I find encouraging and supportive. In addition, we partner with a few technology training providers which provide sporadic training opportunities.

How is productivity measured?

At a team level, mostly by income generated through program-specific services. Our (organizational development & technology) consultants charge for their services at an hourly or flat fee, so their productivity is measured through their billables. Our training team’s productivity is measured by the income they generate through registrations. Our association’s productivity is measured by number of memberships, and therefore by value of benefits (better value=more memberships).

(Note to self: include business model here)

Describe what you observe as the overall morale of the employees.

It’s been a really hard year. The executive transition coupled with the economy has meant lots of uncertainty. Up until very recently, there’s been little clarity about the organizational direction, and with budget realities there have been several lay-offs. I think morale is up and down. Things are changing–there’s much more leadership at the board level and our direction is becoming more clear–my sense is that we are all trying to figure out where, if, and how we’ll all fit into the new model.

What suggestions could you offer for improvement?

Hmm. That’s really tough, as we’re in such transition it’s hard to say what to improve on. There are a lot of issues currently being addressed (e.g. at a macro level the clarification of direction so that we can define goals and work to meet them, and at a micro level our frustrating content management systems), and it feels kind of wait and see and contribute what you can to find a good solution. I think as a whole we could definitely use some team building. And maybe a quick blast of afternoon yoga in the conference room.

Hours worked/tasks performed:

4 hours, 1-20
To prep for the style guide, I am organizing our logo files. Wow, there were lots in several places. Many with different characteristics. Archived several and tried to get a handle on color management and which file formats performed in which situations.

4 hours, 1-21
Updates on membership forms. Address print quality of logo. Logo, when inserted into MS Word doc and printed on laser printer, was blurry and had a bit of a shadow. Tested .eps, .jpeg, .pdf, .tif, and .png files. PNG was the winner. Still not sure though if it has to do with preparation of logo file, the MS platform,  or print settings.

4 hours, 1-22
More updates to membership forms. Troubleshoot more printing issues. Argh! Why is font from InDesign printing heavy? One page of form was created as MS Word doc and saved to .pdf; the other created in InDesign and exported to pdf. PDFs were merged; the Word doc side prints fine but the InDesign side prints heavy–like the ink bleeds. But it prints fine directly from InDesign. I spent time with the printer, pdf, and InDesign preference settings–cannot for the life of me figure out what the issue is. Is it color management? Is it the font? Is it an Adobe setting?

How and why was the company started? When? By whom?

TACS was started in 1977 by co-founders Kay Sohl and Jean DeMaster. They recognized that there was a wave of nonprofit organizations sprouting up in the area, organizations which were led by amazing people with great ideas and great intentions. But while their hearts were there, these leaders didn’t necessarily have the skills or experience with the nuts and bolts of day-to-day operations. They recognized that the work of these organizations was important to the community, and that their own financial and management skills could fill a niche by helping to develop and strengthen these organizations.

Who owns the company?

TACS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Board of Directors provides fiduciary responsibility. The executive director is Carrie Hoops.

How is it funded?

TACS’ training and consulting services generate about 45% of the organization’s income. Local foundation support provides about 40% of the organization’s income, individual donations about 5%, and memberships (TACS is home of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon) about 5-10%.

How many employees work for the company?

19, plus two De LaSalle interns

Organizational chart

This is in the works. The organization is undergoing a pretty significant shift in their business model. I’ll post the business model/broad program strokes tomorrow (don’t have the file here), and the org chart as soon as it is available.

What salary ranges exist?

I believe salaries range between $30,000-$70,000

Other pertinent background information

The organization’s founding director of 30 years retired in July of 2008. The new director came on board in June of 2009. The Nonprofit Association of Oregon was launched as a program of TACS in 2007. Recent strategic planning efforts determined a new organizational direction of an association-based business model. There are lots of unanswered questions. The new direction will roll out in the next several months, along with a new name and mission statement.

Hours worked/tasks performed:

1.5 hours, take staff photos for website (used skills developed in IM282, Digital Photography)

2.0 hours, prep/crop/save photo files

4.0 hours, style guide research. Reviewed a few examples from Oregon Council for the Humanities and the Ford Family Foundation. The former was most useful and will provide a framework that I can adapt to meet our needs. Developed lengthy list of relevant instances to include in SG based on familiarity with inconsistencies. (will include these in the outline next week).

3.0 hours, prepare one-pager for Executive Transition Services (ETS) program. This document provides information about the services provided through the ETS program; is set out at training events and taken to meetings. Created in InDesign to print in-house. (Note: this was not in objectives, but I think relevant)

Ok, so I think it is going to be a challenge to stick completely to my learning objectives. I did set aside time to work on them but something more imperative would inevitably arise. This will be a good exercise in setting boundaries, but I’ll also need to keep larger priorities in perspective. Fortunately skills-wise, many of the tasks overlap, i.e., the one-pager mentioned above wasn’t in the objectives but the skills it required were similar to the skills required by the objectives. Does that make sense? If you have any suggestions or concerns, I’d love to hear them!

Here are the learning objectives we’ve defined for my internship. My supervisor needs to do a final review and sign the Training Agreement, but I don’t anticipate significant changes. I’ll be by with the signed Agreement next Wednesday (sorry for the delay).

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

I. Transitional Style guide

What: Prepare style guide with framework to support organizational transition process and new identity. The transitional guide will provide a template for future marketing and communication committees.

How: Build on work of previous efforts and utilize sample guides to inform thinking based on current organizational usages. Work with supervisor and leadership for approval.

Measured by: Delivery of completed guide

Due Date: February 5, 2010

II. Design: Training Catalog

What: Revise and restructure training catalog

How: Update existing InDesign template with input from supervisor and training team

Measured by: Delivery of completed catalog

Due date: February 19, 2010

III. Design: Advertisement

What: Design half-page ad for Oregon Business Magazine

How: Work with leadership to develop content and design based on communication goals

Measured by: Delivery of completed ad

Due date: March 20, 2010 (for publication in April issue)

IV. Design: Membership Forms

What: Redesign of NAO Membership Forms

How: Work with NAO Director to refine content and determine communication goal/needs

Measured by: Delivery of completed forms

Due date: March 20, 2010

V. Website

What: Update current website to increase graphic content and navigability and support thinking about information architecture for new site

How: Work with supervisor to determine priorities, communication goal/needs. Participate in Flash course offered by Kinetic Technology Solutions.

Measured by: Number and type of revisions made

Due date: March 20, 2010

WORK SCHEDULE

My internship hours are:

Wednesdays, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Thursdays, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Fridays, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.