Google Grants Available for Nonprofit Organizations

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• Google Grants Available for Nonprofit Organizations
• 12 Mission Main Street Grant Winners Get Trip to Google Headquarters
• What Makes You Stand Out When Job Hunting?
• After Big Investment, Has Tumblr Stopped Growing?
• Be Honest – Are You Acting Fake?

Google Grants Available for Nonprofit Organizations Posted: 28 Jan 2014 04:00 PM PST Every few months I come across something for marketers that I had absolutely no idea existed.  This time, it's the Google Grants program, an AdWords program for nonprofit organizations that falls into this category. Whether you own a nonprofit or not, it's interesting to see what Google has to offer and what others in your industry might be using in order to advertise. Knowing how it all works could also help you make your decision one way or the other if starting a nonprofit was ever something you considered. Understanding this program is just another way to create well-rounded knowledge about Google. How the Google Grants Program Works The idea is that nonprofits can advertise with Google at no cost. If your organization qualifies for the program, you get $10,000 per month in AdWords to advertise on Google to help accomplish your goals. Sounds great, right? It is an excellent program, but qualifying is strict and takes some time. As expected there is an application process, but you also need to make sure you're following all of the program details to a tee or you could lose the grant money. Google Grants Eligibility In most cases if you're a nonprofit organization you're going to be eligible without having to do any extra work. But it helps to know all of the qualifications before you spend time getting started. Knowing the eligibility requirements, shown below, is also a good place to start if you're still in the planning stages: You must have a current and valid charity status. In the U.S., this means you have a current 501(c)(3) status. You have to agree to the Google Grant requirements. You will be prompted to accept, which is where you can read all of the requirements. How to use the donations, how to receive them, etc.  Remember, you have to agree and follow them. If you don't like one, tough break. You must have a website that is kept up-to-date and has enough information about your nonprofit for visitors to see (and those giving you the grant money). While you have to possess the above to get involved, there are also strict organizations who cannot get involved, which might help you determine where your organization fits into the equation. If you're working with a hospital, medical group, government organization, school and/or academic program, or childcare centers, you are NOT eligible for the grant. Maintaining Your Google Grant Once you've got the grant, step #2 is, of course, keeping it. There are quite a few things you need to do to make sure you don't lose the grant you worked so hard to get: When you go to advertise, you have to link back to the URL that you cited in your application. On that same note, your ad has to be centered around sending people to your website. You have to login to your AdWords account once every few weeks in order to show that you are active (otherwise Google might pause the account). You cannot display ads from Google AdSense. You can sell products, but they cannot be financial products, such as credit cards. You cannot ask for donations in the form of large products, and all proceeds must go to your organization. I recommend checking out this WordStream article that includes some extra restrictions and tips. The official Google Grants webpage also has more details and eligibility information for those wanting to learn. Have you used the Google Grants program in the past? Image: Video Still, Google The post Google Grants Available for Nonprofit Organizations appeared first on Small Business Trends.

12 Mission Main Street Grant Winners Get Trip to Google Headquarters Posted: 28 Jan 2014 01:30 PM PST Twelve U.S. small businesses will be visiting Google headquarters in California. All twelve are part of a program aimed at investment in small community businesses with a plan for growth. The businesses have been awarded a share of $3 million in Mission Main Street Grants. The grants, offered by Chase, are intended to enable them to make huge leaps in their development that would not be possible without additional funding. Recipients include businesses like Edibles Rex, a company dedicated to providing nutritious food for children in Detroit’s charter schools. Learn more about the company in the video below: Each of the 12 businesses received $250,000 from the Main Street Mission Grants program. The funding will allow each business to significantly grow some aspect of their operations over the next two years. In a prepared release on the grants, Chase Business Banking CEO Scott Geller explained: "We hope these twelve exceptional businesses take their innovative products and creative approaches to new heights through their Mission Main Street grant." Businesses were chosen from among 35,000 applicants from all 50 states seeking to be considered for the funding. They were then voted on by the general public and their supporters who were all able to view applicants’ profiles on the Main Street Mission Grants website. A total 1.7 million people online participated in voting for their favorite business and each business needed at least 250 votes to qualify for the final phase of the contest where winners were selected, Chase reports. The trip to Google headquarters is also part of the prize. There business leaders will take part in a marketing workshop designed to help them market their products and services more effectively. The other 11 winners of the Chase Mission Main Street Grants include: ABL Denim, Manufacturing, Los Angeles, CA Axelo Inc., Healthcare, Austin, TX buzzy4painrelief.com, Healthcare, Atlanta, GA Chemo Beanies, Retailers, Covington, LA Curious Jane, Education & Training, Brooklyn, NY Living Design Studios, Inc, Builders & Construction, Lafayette, CO Milagros de México, Retailer, San Francisco, CA Overnight Success Inc., Builders & Construction, Miami, FL Rolling in Dough Pizza, Restaurants/Bars, Greenport, NY Shaktea Kombucha, Manufacturing, Fairfield, IA The Robot Garage, Retailers, Birmingham, MI Image: Mission Main Street Grants The post 12 Mission Main Street Grant Winners Get Trip to Google Headquarters appeared first on Small Business Trends.

What Makes You Stand Out When Job Hunting? Posted: 28 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST “You have to become a premium item in a generic market.” ~ Tom Hopkins This is one of my favorite quotes from world renown motivational speaker Tom Hopkins, that has guided and motivated me over my career. Millions of Americans are currently unemployed, which makes the job environment very competitive. But now is also the most optimistic, opportune time to change or find work since 2010. So how do you become perceived as, and known for, being a premium item in a generic market? Below are some significant statistics that show the importance of developing your in-person networking skills, social media footprint and using social recruitment when job hunting: 21% of full time employees plan to change jobs. 92% of employers are using social media for hiring. 73% of employers have successfully hired a candidate through social media. One of the most interesting statistics is 29% of surveyed hiring managers found something positive on a profile that drove them to offer the candidate a job. So, more proof that your social media platforms are branding opportunities that are being monitored and used to qualify people and do impact being noticed and hired. Here are a few things that can help you stand out when job hunting, that should be obvious and common sense to most job seekers but a reminder is always good. How to Stand Out When Job Hunting Right Job, Right Fit, Right Culture Your best approach and mindset going into your job search should be to go for and find the right job, right fit and right culture. Bring all your relevance and value to the process, employer and workplace. This ensures ultimate job satisfaction and longevity and that you will be a great hire for a company. Update Your Professional Image Make sure you have a current, professional and appropriate headshot. Make sure your professional image conveys who you are and how you want to be perceived. No flip flops, crinkled and tight clothes, low necklines or bad grooming. Tell Your Career Story Create a functional resume that tells your career story, accomplishments and achievements more personally instead of a long list vertical bullet points. Use your first person “I” voice on your LinkedIn profile. Be Mindful of Your Social Media Footprint and Social Recruitment Take your social media footprint, technology savvy and social recruitment very seriously. Presenting both your hard and soft skills is very effective on social media and there are jobs that are posted only on social networks between connections that are not on job boards. If you are not engaging  - you won't see them. Network in Person Blend your online and in-person networking. Get out and meet people through chambers, meet ups, professional organizations and referrals. Nothing replaces face-to-face time with the right people to build your likeability so that you are more memorable. Convey Clearly What You Do Prepare a concise, articulate branding statement, when someone asks you, “What do you do?” Be specific and focus on one or two things you want people to remember about you. This can be a  "door opener." In today's competitive job environment you have to have every advantage you can in your arsenal to stand out and get noticed. So take the initiative and responsibility for your career development, direction and job search. Get prepared, be professional and stay laser focused on moving yourself and your career in the direction you want it to go. Hire Me Photo via Shutterstock The post What Makes You Stand Out When Job Hunting? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

After Big Investment, Has Tumblr Stopped Growing? Posted: 28 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST Has Tumblr, the social blogging site Yahoo acquired for what was reported to be $1.1 billion last year, stopped growing? The social blogging network reached 47.49 active users in May 2013, the month the sale was announced, reports Forbes. The news source is now saying the sale to Yahoo was closer to $990 million. Yahoo acquired Tumblr looking to add some “cool” to its audience since Tumblr’s users are typically younger. At the time of the sale, both companies touted Tumblr as the fastest growing media network on the Web. Since the sale, though, growth has remained fairly flat, only once spiking close to the 50 million user mark in July, Forbes reports. The analysis is based on comScore data of both desktop and mobile users, according to Forbes. Tumblr has disputed Forbes’ read of a plateau in user growth. In a recent email responding to the comScore data, a spokeswoman explained: “Comscore does not fully capture mobile traffic, as it does not include in-app traffic (and that number you reference also only accounts for US). For Tumblr, 1 in 2 active users access Tumblr content through the mobile app. In addition, in the past year we've seen a 55% total engagement growth and on mobile this number is 251% growth.” So are the stagnant numbers a sign that Tumblr has stopped growing? It depends on who you ask and what numbers they’re using. For example, a GlobalWebIndex survey of 170,000 Internet users worldwide also reported by Forbes may tell a slightly different story. The number of people in the global survey who described themselves as active users of the site remained flat at 4 percent from the second through the fourth quarter of 2013. Nothing new there. But the number of Internet users who said they had a Tumblr account jumped from six percent in the first quarter to 12 percent in the second quarter of 2013. That number dropped to 11 percent in the third quarter, but rose again to 13 percent to finish the year. So comScore numbers may not tell the whole story since they obviously leave some users out. Also, other numbers suggest that, whether they are all active or not, the number of Tumblr users seems to still be growing. Image: Tumbler The post After Big Investment, Has Tumblr Stopped Growing? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Be Honest – Are You Acting Fake? Posted: 28 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Sponsored Post Many small business owners suffer from the imposter syndrome. They feel that their customers or employees will find out “who they really are” and lose confidence in their ability to run the company. This fear holds many people back from displaying who they really are at work. This becomes a problem in the transparent world of the Internet where “being human” and authentic are highly valued by customers. Customers buy from those who they believe, like and trust. Without being authentic as a leader and a company, this will never happen and it will become impossible to build a profitable company. Here is what to do. Are You Fake? Here’s How to be Authentic 1. Tell the Truth This is more difficult than it first seems in small business. Most owners have good intentions, but sometimes are afraid to disclose to employees and customers what is really happening. How to be authentic: Focus on the companies strengths. Always deliver good and bad news in a timely fashion. Don’t be afraid to be humble and show personal or company warts. Build a culture of openness and frequent communication. 2. Stick to the Brand Many times, companies want to be everything to everybody. This leads to telling the customer that the company can do things that they really can’t. This leads to frustrated employees, disappointed customers and an unprofitable businesses. How to be authentic: Determine the exact customer segment served and the pain solved. Get clear on what the company cares about. Stay focused on delivering outstanding results in this niche area. 3. Hire Employees that Want to be Part of the Company’s Culture Too many times, owners hire a person to fit a particular job. They rush into a decision and don’t understand how that person would work in the overall company culture. How to be authentic: Hire for attitude over skill. Think about how the new employee will complement the rest of the team. Have team members give feedback on prospective employees. 4. Be Consistent Too many times, the company’s brand does not match it’s culture. The friendly company persona contradicts the cut throat office atmosphere. The boss is sometimes an angel and other times an ogre. How to be authentic: Live the company brand. Be the same person inside and outside the office. Be the same in front of managers, staff and customers. Have no hidden agendas. Set an example by practicing whatever is preached. Are you authentic and how do you demonstrate it? This article, provided by Nextiva, is republished through a content distribution agreement. The original can be found here. Authenticity Photo via Shutterstock The post Be Honest – Are You Acting Fake? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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Education in the Age of Student Entrepreneurs

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• Education in the Age of Student Entrepreneurs
• GoDaddy’s Get Found Updates Small Business Information Online
• Go Full Color with HP LaserJet Pro MFP-M177
• “123456″ Replaces “Password” on Annual “Worst Passwords” List
• What Do Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans Look Like?

Education in the Age of Student Entrepreneurs Posted: 27 Jan 2014 04:00 PM PST Entrepreneurship has become “cool” over the last 20 years since the Internet came into being. Youth entrepreneurship, especially college students trying their hands at digital start-ups, is now quite a phenomenon. Today, we’re going to look at a team of student entrepreneurs who have launched a product and got it to a revenue generating stage while still at school. Meet Yatit, Drew and Jak Yatit Thakker, the CEO of Omninox, had always loved science. As an engineering student at the University of Florida, he was however, disappointed with the boring textbooks and tools used to teach science. Though there were several online education programs, Yatit felt they were not utilizing the technology to its full potential. Even with powerful platforms like iBooks, the online education programs being created were mere digital reproductions of the textbooks, without much interactivity. The iBooks platform, though, was capable of much more. So, in the summer of 2012, Yatit with Drew Vincent and Jak Yap, his fellow environmental engineering students at the University of Florida, took it upon themselves to make science challenging and fun to learn. The Founding of Omninox The three founded Omninox and created interactive, mobile study guides called Omniguides for high school students using the iBooks platform. They funded the company from their savings accounts, with part-time jobs, and some pre-seed investments from their families. Omninox aims to consolidate the material that students learn for Advanced Placement (AP) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) classes by offering built-in software tools such as a calculator, quizzes and sketchpad with social sharing. Their first interactive guide for Calculus 1 was one of the top listed Calculus 1 guides on the iBookstore. Over the next year, the market became more competitive. Companies like OpenStax, SchoolYourself and Houghton Mifflin had also started using the iBooks platform to create more interactive products. However, Omninox had a first mover advantage and it upped its game as well. It became part of the iBookstore's textbook section. This was a huge challenge for Omninox but had its rewards. A private school in California made the Calculus Omniguide a requirement for all its students. Each AP Omniguide is sold as an integrated software package for $15. In 2013, Omninox released its first commercial product and it is already in the revenue stage. It has had more than 200 paid downloads across the world, with 120 of these in the past six months. Close to 600,000 students are projected to take physics, calculus or statistics in the 2014 AP course. Assuming one-third of this target market has access to an iPad, it translates to a potential market of $3 million per year. The Future of Omninox Yatit says they plan to expand Omniguides to a web-based platform once they have a stronger base of content and customers. The platform will include more general preparatory courses for a subscription fee of $10 a month. This will help provide not only better content but also provide a more continuous revenue stream. They could also consider providing online tutoring for AP STEM courses. One of the challenges that the online education sector faces is that many professors and academicians are not as savvy with Web technologies as their students. They have typically collaborated with eLearning companies and have released products and courses that have stuck to the sage-on-the-stage model. Online education's true potential lies in exploring the guide-on-the-side model. Is it then time to collaborate with student-led ventures like Omninox to bring out the true potential of digital technology in education? More broadly, today's generation of students are digital natives. They have been exposed to the Internet, smartphones, tablets, social media and many other technologies from a very young age. It is not surprising that we're seeing a tremendous surge of entrepreneurship among students these days. Image: Omninox Publishing Team, Omninox The post Education in the Age of Student Entrepreneurs appeared first on Small Business Trends.

GoDaddy’s Get Found Updates Small Business Information Online Posted: 27 Jan 2014 01:30 PM PST The popular Web hosting company and platform GoDaddy, is today launching a new service called Get Found. It will allow businesses to update their information simultaneously across multiple online platforms. With a few clicks of the mouse these changes can be made on diverse sites such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Yelp. Get Found was created by a firm called Locu, which GoDaddy acquired last year. It aims to fix the problem of outdated business information, when businesses move location, but their old details remain online. If the new details are not known, that business can lose customers to a competitor. GoDaddy VP/General Manager of Discovery Marketing Products and Locu Co-Founder Rene Reinsberg told Small Business Trends this outdated information is a big problem. An estimated 10 billion dollars is lost in the United States alone each year as a result. So far, Get Found is available only in the United States. It will focus on basic information such as the business’s address, phone number, service that is offered and hours of operation. Get Found will make sure this information is accurate and updated on search engines and social media, as well as any local sites relevant to the business. Sites which will initially become available to Get Found customers will include Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, Foursquare, Yellow Pages, Citysearch, Tripadvisor, Local.com, Judy’s Book, MerchantCircle and MojoPages. Reinsberg explained: “When customers see missing or inaccurate information about your business, they go to a competitor. Businesses miss potential revenue when information is missing or inaccurate. With Get Found, businesses will never miss out on a new customer because they didn’t change their address, phone number or hours of operation.” Although the information is sent to all of the platforms simultaneously, each site will have its own waiting period before the information updates. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing can take up to one month. By comparison, sites such as Yelp, Foursquare and Yellow Pages will update within a few minutes. Still, having the ability to update everywhere from one dedicated platform will reduce the number of clicks needed and the number of different site visits required. CRM industry analyst Brent Leary, a partner at CRM Essentials, told Small Business Trends: “Most small businesses are still trying to figure out how to leverage mobile and social technologies to reach potential customers. Get Found helps them get started in a way that covers the fundamentals, but at a low cost of entry. It gives you feedback on how your business compares to other local businesses, so you can improve. It’s not for advanced marketers but there are millions of small businesses that fall into the beginner category.” Images: GoDaddy The post GoDaddy’s Get Found Updates Small Business Information Online appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Go Full Color with HP LaserJet Pro MFP-M177 Posted: 27 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST Today, if a technology item does not fit in your hand or come with apps you can play, it does not catch much attention. Printers are not often handheld, although I had a tiny portable printer years ago that was amazing until I fried it on a trip to London with the wrong power converter. Ouch. The new HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP-M177 does not fit in one hand. You'll need both hands to move it, but it is worth considering for the small business that wants to make a big impression. I've always been a bit of a printer fan because I got my start in business doing desktop publishing work. I have purchased many HP printers as they first hit the market, including some expensive workhorse laser printers. This new color laser from HP is awesome. I try not to "gush" in my reviews, but if you want crisp print – lasers are the way to go – and the LaserJet Pro MFP-M177 does not disappoint. Let me cut to the chase– street price on this printer is $299. That's in range for almost any small business that needs a high quality printer that will fit on a desk and runs quietly. It is easy to use; many companies promise "plug and play" but HP really does it. I plugged it into one of my desktops and it quickly set itself up, no driver install/setup needed on Windows.  I don't own an Apple computer, but the specs show you can print with Apple AirPrint, too. What I Really Like: It's fast. Seventeen pages per minute in black and white; 4 pages in color. It has crisp 600 x 600 B&W resolution. For color, you get the ImageREt 2400 resolution (which, as I understand it – means you get the four primary colors in 600 dpi each. 600 times 4). MFP stands for multi-function printer. So, print, scan, fax, copy. Big copier functions so you can even copy both sides of an ID card onto one side of a page. Wireless capabilities so you can print from just about any mobile device. Easy to print envelopes or on smaller photo paper or postcards, one at a time. Yes, lots of printers also can do this. You can scan directly to email. What I'd Like to See: The cool touchscreen display didn't offer a button/icon to scan documents. I did the full CD install later and could scan from the desktop software itself. Load the doc, click scan and it worked. But I never had the scan icon show up on the touchscreen. One of the big concerns on color lasers, not unlike inkjets, is the cost to replace cartridges. The evaluation unit HP loaned me for this review came with a "starter" cartridge set, but the full cartridges run about $57 each and you need three (cyan, yellow, and magenta), plus black. In the specs it shows you get approximately 1,000 pages per color cartridge and 1,300 for the black one. That might be pricey for you or it might be cheap – to produce short run, custom documents for your marketing and sales efforts. You may be able to get a combo pack from Costco, Sam's Club or Amazon. For the HP Color LaserJet MFP- 177fw printer technical specs, head to the official HP page. But you may decide to buy it from one of their many retailers, such as, Staples, Office Depot or Amazon.  I have purchased and tested a number of printers and truly found this new LaserJet to be a winner at $299. The post Go Full Color with HP LaserJet Pro MFP-M177 appeared first on Small Business Trends.

“123456″ Replaces “Password” on Annual “Worst Passwords” List Posted: 27 Jan 2014 08:00 AM PST The number combination “123456″ replaces the only slightly more obvious “Password” at the top of the “Worst Passwords” list compiled annually by password security company SplashData. The list of 25 is compiled from millions of stolen passwords posted online during the previous year. In a release introducing this year’s list, the company explains: “For the first time since SplashData began compiling its annual list, “password” has lost its title as the most common and therefore Worst Password, and two-time runner-up “123456″ took the dubious honor.” SplashData speculates the change in position may have been influenced by the large number of passwords belonging to Abobe users posted online when the company was hacked in October. Early estimates suggested the information of nearly 3 million customers had been affected. Still, the list would seem to include numerous fairly easy to guess passwords like “111111,” “admin” and even “123123″ finishing in the top 25. It’s recommended that when choosing a password you select one with eight characters or more containing mixed characters (numbers and letters if possible.) It’s also important to avoid using the same passwords, no matter how secure, for multiple accounts. Avoid passwords with common substitutions of numbers for letters to spell familiar words or phrases. One example suggested in the SplashData press release would be “dr4mat1c” which substitutes the numbers 4 and 1 for the letters “a” and “i.” If totally random word and number combinations are too difficult to remember, try a short phrase of unrelated words separated by spaces or dashes. One example suggested in the SplashData release is “smiles_light_skip?”. The phrase includes words that might be easier to remember without writing down but would be hard to guess since they are not related and are separated by random dash symbols. Here’s the full list of the top 25 “Worst Passwords” for 2013. Obviously, SplashData is recommending if you are using any of these passwords for your business accounts you change them immediately: 1. 123456 2. password 3. 12345678 4. qwerty 5. abc123 6. 123456789 7. 111111 8. 1234567 9. iloveyou 10. adobe123 11. 123123 12. admin 13. 1234567890 14. letmein 15. photoshop 16. 1234 17. monkey 18. shadow 19. sunshine 20. 12345 21. password1 22. princess 23. azerty 24. trustno1 25. 000000 Image: SplashData The post “123456″ Replaces “Password” on Annual “Worst Passwords” List appeared first on Small Business Trends.

What Do Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans Look Like? Posted: 27 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST Hidden among the large amount of data released regularly by the Federal Reserve is some valuable information about the terms of Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans. I found the numbers intriguing because they show that the average SBA-guaranteed loan is smaller, of shorter duration and carries a lower interest rate than I would have otherwise thought. The data come from the "Survey of Terms of Business Lending," a quarterly questionnaire administered by Federal Reserve Board of Governors to 398 domestic and foreign banks operating in the United States. It asks lenders about the loans they made during the first complete week in the middle month of each quarter. The survey, in general, is a key source of information about terms of loans made to businesses. In 2012, the data releases began to break out separately information about loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), which is what provides the new insights into the government-guaranteed loans. Because the survey asks banks about loans made during a particular week, the responses jump around a bit. To provide a smoother picture of SBA-guaranteed loans, I have averaged the data reported by the Fed for the last four surveys. Here's what the numbers show: The average SBA-guaranteed loan amount was $276,000. The average loan maturity was 172 days. The average annual interest rate on the loans was 3.91 percent. 42.6 percent of the loans were prime-based. 43.5 percent of the loans were subject to pre-payment penalties. 68.2 percent of the loans were secured by collateral. The average loan was slightly more than "moderate risk," averaging 3.22 on a scale where "3" means "moderate risk" and "4" means "acceptable risk." Knowing this information is useful if you are looking for an SBA-guaranteed loan or are seeking to understand what's happening to the guaranteed loan market. However, you would not want to use it to draw inference about the small business credit market in general. SBA-guaranteed loans don't make up a very big fraction of commercial and industrial loans in the United States. The Fed data shows that the average value of SBA-guaranteed loans made during each of the last four survey periods was $973 million. This works out to 1.1 percent of $84.8 billion in commercial and industrial loans made in the average survey period. And 6.6 percent of the $14.8 billion in small (less than $1 million) commercial and industrial loans to business. Loan Photo via Shutterstock The post What Do Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans Look Like? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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