http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html The 'Making Change' blog is about real people with real situations getting involved to help others. It is published in the Washington Times Communities. en-us online leadership tools Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:16:47 GMT Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:16:47 GMT online-leadership-tools.com http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Tough-times:-Volunteer-farm-advisors-deployed Agriculture provides billions of dollars in Minnesota economic activity. Thousands of people directly employed in agriculture are facing tough times. Indirectly, many more are affected by the poor agricultural economy. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:50:46 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Juding-fundamentals-of-great-organizations On the draft winds of the Olympics it is timely to consider rating systems. For example, if a public organization were to be judged, what would the rubric be? How can an organization be a 10? Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:50:46 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Fundraising:-From-Private-Gain-to-Public-Cause After fundraising for tangible goods and groups; how do you transition youth to support intangible public causes? Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:54:06 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Picturesque-Farms:-1850-and-1930 Get a glimpse of historic Minnesota farms by visiting the Farmamerica site. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:52:42 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/Donna-Rae-Scheffert.html Donna-Rae-Scheffert is introduced with professional capacities, employment history, past teaching, education, and more. Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:26:38 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Pentagon-Promises-to-Pay:-Veteran-Invests-in-Inner-Cities The Pentagon just announced that over $10 million dollars due to National Guard members will be paid by March 19, 2010. Among them is my youngest brother Kevin. He came home from war torn Iraq in July, 2007. He invested his military pay in a campaign combating violence in U.S. inner cities. He is unsure about where his back pay may go. Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:01:25 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Philanthropic-Women:-Join-the-Movement Women giving money to create change has grown quickly over the past decade. Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:01:25 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Easy-Grading-System-Makes-Judging-Hard A speech judge ponders how to encourage individual progress with an easy grading system. Sat, 06 Feb 2010 15:59:32 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Innovative-Solutions-for-2010-Problems The Northfield Area Fdn. funded seventeen projectes. Three of those efforts stood out. They seemed to be historical markers that we can point back to 2010 in the United States . They relate to solid waste, affordable housing, and elders connections to nature. Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:18:56 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Insights-from-Third-Generation-Volunteer-at-Homeless-Shelters Caroline is the third generation in her family to volunteer at homeless shelters. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:45:57 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Entreprenuerial-School-Leaders School leaders are activating and mobilizing others to make positive change. Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:45:57 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#MLK-Day:-National-Civil-Rights-Museum Many cities and towns are known by events that occurred there. They are intertwined. Historical connotation to a place can be positive or negative. In the best case scenario, public good can even come out of a tragedy. And, the place serves as a reminder of what is important to those of us who visit there. Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:21:58 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Growing-Crops-in-Haiti-Not-Halted-by-Earthquake Protein is in short supply in poverty stricken Haiti. Volunteers are helping to establish crops to increase the protein supply in Haiti. Tom OMalley noticed the lack of food crops when he first traveled to Haiti on a mission trip in 2004. He thought, Here is a place where my agricultural background is needed. I know about the leaf protein process and they need it here. I have felt the burden ever since to help the people of Haiti. Tom helped establish the Protein For Kids project. Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:10:16 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#High-School-Youth-Takeover-the-Capitol How would you like to serve as a legislator, judge, attorney, lobbyist, cabinet member, media rep, and/or governor for a four day trial period? Nearly 1,400 high school students recently found out what it is like to run the State of Minnesota. Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:10:06 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Unconditional-Hospitality-in-Community A simple way to understand unconditional hospitality is to compare it to the outsider syndrome. | Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:05:04 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Medical-Professionals-and-Students-Volunteer-in-Peru Dentists, physicians, and students travel to Peru to provide dental and medical care for orphanages and remote villages. Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:44:06 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/list-of-online-tools.html List-of-online-tools for leaders to use immediately with their team. Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:59:17 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#2010:-Scrooge-Is-Out-Generosity-Is-In Writing this column has provided me insight into generosity. That surprised me. Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:48:06 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Rising-Costs-of-Public-Burial-or-Cremation At death, will it be cremation or burial for you? If you have personal means to cover your expenses, you have a choice to make. If you are poor, and die in Minnesota, cremation is now your default option. Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:48:06 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#The-Blind-Side:-An-Uncommon-Story A poor young man becomes prosperous. How common is it for poor children to climb the economic ladder? Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:13:36 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Wanted:-The-Next-Generation-of-Leaders Emerging leaders? Is cultivating the next group of leaders worthy of public funding? Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:13:36 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#All-I-Want-For-Christmas-is-Dental-Care Christmas came early for underserved children with dental needs when the the Ronald McDonald van came to town. | Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:37:29 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Board-Members-Make-Lunch-for-NonProfit-Staff This is a time to rethink the rules of engagement of board members and staff members. Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:57:01 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Designate-Your-Host-Gifts-for-Charity Are you hosting a home party? If so, why not ask guests to bring a food item for the food shelf or other local charity? Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:20:01 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Nearly-Nine-Hundred-Children-Benefit-from-Holiday-Sharing Read how one community ensures that low-income families have gifts to give to their children. And grow generosity. Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:29:06 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Is-Your-Leader-A-Director-or-a-Guide Many leaders direct and decide. Some coach or mentor. What do life-changing leader's do to guide others? Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:15:24 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Increasing-Volunteerism-One-Pledge-At-A-Time How a community enhances individual and community life by encouraging the habits of volunteerism and philanthropy. Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:09:01 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Does-Your-Commmunity-Have-a-Foundation? A community foundation can help local organizations with basic necessities or creative projects. Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:14:39 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Try-'Fair-Trade'-for-Holiday-Shopping Find links and information about fair trade opportunities. Use some of your consumer dollars to help others in poverty. Sat, 28 Nov 2009 02:58:49 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Turning-Trash-Into-Cash Looking for a fund raising idea? There are companies who will pay schools and nonprofits to collect their product labels. One school has raised over $15,000. Thu, 26 Nov 2009 01:47:05 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#NonProfits-Net-$14-Million-in-24-hrs November 17 was a good day for Minnesota nonprofits. Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:20:52 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Missing-in-Action-Hunters The Moon family has found hundreds of service personnel formerly on the U.S. missing in action list. Read about their extraordinary volunteer missions. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:49:13 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Can-You-Name-the-Twelve-Socio-Economic-Levels? If you still think about classes as low, middle, and upper class; check out this story about the twelve in the United States today. Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:49:13 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Wanted:-Wise-and-Tech-Savvy-Leaders This is a tale of a board of directors. Thirteen were tech savvy. One was not. How important are tech skills for civic leaders today? Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:49:13 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Focus-on-Veterans-on-November-11th Our armed forces protect and serve. They get involved in both domestic and international peace keeping, emergency response, military action, and more. We are asked by our U.S. government to take a day to remember and honor them on November 11th. If you do not know any veterans, or have children and want to make the day come more alive for them, feel free to read about and "adopt" my family of veterans. Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:54:09 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Holding-On-Tightly-To-Your-Resources When the economy struggles, are you likely to hold on more tightly to your resources or share them with others who are struggling more than you are? Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:48:38 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/Blog-Links.html Blog-links supporting Donna Rae Scheffert 'Making Change' column at the Washington Times Communities. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:36:48 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#Behind-the-Scenes-Scoop Curious about my new role as a writer at the Washington Times Communities? Brad Rourke explains the what, why and who on his blog. Check it out by reading 'Announcing Washington Times Communities' on Nov 3, 2009. Brad is my main contact and he sent me the call for writers. We met working together on a project for the Northwest Area Foundation. Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:10:12 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/BerlinWall.html Read about a first person account days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:46:09 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/online-leadership-tools-blog.html#The-Fall-of-the-Berlin-Wall Check out the first person account of being 'stuck behind the Berlin Wall' just days before the fall of the wall on November 9, 1989. Learn more about this historic time in honor of the 20th anniversary. Where were you when the wall came down? Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:28:09 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/photo-gallery.html Photo-gallery of Donna Rae Scheffert and the Making Change blog from Washington Times Communities. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:18:54 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/ethics-tools.html Ethics-Tools to assist individuals and groups to 'make right or good decisions'. Includes tools for the workplace and businesses, team issues and assessment. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:00:20 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/leadership-quotes.html Leadership-quotes can add a special touch to your presentations or paper. Find quotes about leadership, change, ethics, decision making, team building and ethics. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:39:07 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/ethics-assessment.html Use this online-leadership-tool to do an ethics-assessment and improve workplace ethics. Reap the benefits Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:02:39 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/conflict-tools.html Use these online-leadership-tool conflict-tools to assess where your team is at in the conflict cycle and how to proceed wisely. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:49:51 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/cultural-communication.html Improve your team communication with this online-leadership-tool to identify common sources of cultural-communication tensions. Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:57:19 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/diversity-leadership.html Diversity-Leadership recognizes that cultures and preferences differ. Use this online leadership tool to adapt group processes to honor people across twelve cultural difference areas. Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:28:52 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/team-assessment.html This team-assessment leadership tool is for groups and teams to improve their productivity and interpersonal relationships by assessing the strengths and challenges of the group. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:07:51 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/ethics-quotes.html Ethics-quotes to inform and inspire your decisions. Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:08:03 GMT http://www.online-leadership-tools.com/change-quotes.html Includes change-quotes to inspire, challenge and inform your thinking about change. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:10:15 GMT