As the semester ends so do our internships and I have enjoyed my time with Bridging AZ. One of the recurring themes I have heard from them is the same that echoes from class, if you want to get into the non-profit business and there are other groups like yours don't even bother doing your own thing and take your skills to the other group to make a larger impact. To many small nonprofits working on the same mission will get nothing done and that defeats their purpose. I have learned some good skills while working here mainly looking at management of a nonprofit and the what goes on behind the scenes. On top of this I learned the process and helped file paperwork that helped the owner create a for-profit side of his non-profit service.
I would say I met my goals of learning something new in management and how the operations of a nonprofit work. I also learned as I stated how to file tax forms for new businesses and all other relative paperwork. In my time there I went on pickup runs, sat in the office working on tax papers and other legal forms, and I also set up a inventory management system for them. I learned many valuable skills both in how to manage and handle clients and partners and also all the little tedious things that going into running and managing a small non-profit which actually seems like more work than a large non-profit because resources are slimmer for you.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Career Services Writeup
I attended the career service event that was teaching us how to effectively negotiate salary and benefits. In a work force where benefits are dwindling and pensions are almost non-existent setting yourself up for long-term success with a company is becoming harder and harder, especially since employees are less likely to stay with a company through their entire career more than ever before. Before attending I never even really considered about my non-salary benefits, I had been stuck at looking at the salary and seeing how much money can come now. But paychecks do not mean everything.
A high salary is good, everyone knows this. But having great benefits is part of your salary. I was taught this in pretty good detail and learned that benefits go far beyond simply retirement funds and healthcare. Depending on who you work for, there are a multitude of benefits depending on your field such as that same company paying for you to go back to school to get an advanced degree. It is important to get good benefits and compensations from the get go as you can always use that as a bargaining tool and only increase your benefits in the future.
A high salary is good, everyone knows this. But having great benefits is part of your salary. I was taught this in pretty good detail and learned that benefits go far beyond simply retirement funds and healthcare. Depending on who you work for, there are a multitude of benefits depending on your field such as that same company paying for you to go back to school to get an advanced degree. It is important to get good benefits and compensations from the get go as you can always use that as a bargaining tool and only increase your benefits in the future.
Free Write
Another person has died in police custody, apparently after doing nothing at all. Freddie Gray died while in police custody over a week in Baltimore after not committing any crime. The police report they did not have to have any probable cause to detain him as he lives in a high-crime area. According to the story the reasonable suspicion that was used to pull him over was that he was not wearing a seat belt. The issue in the story is that he died while in custody of a spinal injury, something that should never occur while in custody.
This follows a large amount of suits and criticism towards police in the United States as many cases of people being killed by cops is being caught on tape or stories are being publicized in every single news outlet throughout the nation. People fear that the police have to much control and that there are not enough protections in place to ensure their duties are being performed correctly and deadly force is only being used at correct times. This case could be another hallmark case in which drastic changes could occur to the way police operate in Baltimore.
This follows a large amount of suits and criticism towards police in the United States as many cases of people being killed by cops is being caught on tape or stories are being publicized in every single news outlet throughout the nation. People fear that the police have to much control and that there are not enough protections in place to ensure their duties are being performed correctly and deadly force is only being used at correct times. This case could be another hallmark case in which drastic changes could occur to the way police operate in Baltimore.
Organizational Strengths
One of the biggest strengths of this organization is that they are one of a kind in the City of Phoenix so their mission can continue pretty much without any issues. It is also ran by passionate people who truly believe in their mission and completely changed their lifestyle to bring this service to the valley. This has helped them build a strong network with their clients and those who serve their clients. The same goes for the warehouse worker who does all the psychical labor and pickups, without him managing the warehouse this nonprofit would be in some trouble.
Really the only major thing I would change if I was in charge of a similar organization is to market on a much larger scale. With things like Facebook and YouTube in existence now it is not very difficult at all to get your name known at absolutely no cost. Double that with local papers who may waive fees for a nonprofit or charge smaller amounts it would be easy to spread the name through the whole valley. Most of their donations come from those who know past donors, it is a word of mouth type of deal. This works but to really increase donations, especially the most needed ones such as beds, a larger audience needs to be reached. By getting the name out not only may furniture be donated but cash donations would most likely come in larger amounts than before.
Really the only major thing I would change if I was in charge of a similar organization is to market on a much larger scale. With things like Facebook and YouTube in existence now it is not very difficult at all to get your name known at absolutely no cost. Double that with local papers who may waive fees for a nonprofit or charge smaller amounts it would be easy to spread the name through the whole valley. Most of their donations come from those who know past donors, it is a word of mouth type of deal. This works but to really increase donations, especially the most needed ones such as beds, a larger audience needs to be reached. By getting the name out not only may furniture be donated but cash donations would most likely come in larger amounts than before.
Free Write
So today a court has passed judgement on a case revolving around former NFL players and head trauma. Each player who's name was on the class action lawsuit can be looking up to 5 million dollars coming their way in compensation as a part of the judgement. The court found that the NFL had in the past hid the dangers of concussions and their consequences later on in someones life. One of the most notable names is that of junior Seau, a player who after learning about possible debilitating mental issues caused by concussions committed suicide rather than see his life go down a path similar to Alzheimer's disease.
This is an important step into increasing player safety and awareness about head trauma and concussions. These players are taught to play a certain way, and sometimes this training is not in their best interest and can increase these odds of developing an issue or receiving a concussion. It seems like the basics of wrap around the waist that is taught at a younger age dissolves and it has become each player, regardless of who has the ball, trying to make the big play and many times injuring themselves in the process.
This is an important step into increasing player safety and awareness about head trauma and concussions. These players are taught to play a certain way, and sometimes this training is not in their best interest and can increase these odds of developing an issue or receiving a concussion. It seems like the basics of wrap around the waist that is taught at a younger age dissolves and it has become each player, regardless of who has the ball, trying to make the big play and many times injuring themselves in the process.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Free Write
So like I may have stated before, I got a job at Four Peaks Brewery recently and have been loving every minute of it! Fun environment, great staff, and amazing food everywhere. But it has been a very exciting few weeks for the brewery. Just yesterday Four Peaks was named the Best Brewery in America by Thrillist, this is a followup award when they were also named Best Brewery in America by Travel Channel. They have been receiving large amounts of awards not only for their beer, but also for the food which has anything from grilled cheese for kids to snapper burgers.
Four Peaks was also at the head of the Arizona Beer Bill. This bill looked to change the way microbreweries would operate in Arizona. The proposed changes would make it so microbreweries producing over 40,000 barrels a year would not be able to self-distribute, it would limit their amount retail licences (which would have forced Four Peaks to shut down 2 of it's 3 restaurant locations), and also gives more privileges to smaller microbreweries. Luckily these changes did not go through and Four Peaks will continue to be able to grow and expand their business as it should be.
Four Peaks was also at the head of the Arizona Beer Bill. This bill looked to change the way microbreweries would operate in Arizona. The proposed changes would make it so microbreweries producing over 40,000 barrels a year would not be able to self-distribute, it would limit their amount retail licences (which would have forced Four Peaks to shut down 2 of it's 3 restaurant locations), and also gives more privileges to smaller microbreweries. Luckily these changes did not go through and Four Peaks will continue to be able to grow and expand their business as it should be.
Free Write
I was just reading an article about music and arts education in elementary and middle schools. And it was not a positive one. I have read quite a bit and studied what is basically the decline of quality arts and arts education in the United States. As more and more schools are forced to make budget cuts more and more arts programs are seeing themselves fold. This is because we have become a society so obsessed with standardized testing, which only focuses on three subjects, that it has been deemed that arts education is unnecessary. This is a crazy idea to me as studies have been done proving that children, especially those in music, have much higher reading comprehension skills and critical thinking skills as they are essentially learning a different language. Arts classes improve creativity and can actually improve situational awareness.
It is sad to see that these courses are not deemed important or necessary anymore. Even if you do not believe these classes hold any real educational value they simply define our culture. Art, music, and food are three of the largest things that define a group of people and what their values are. By taking away the remaining two from schools, as cooking classes and home ec have basically become obsolete in schools we are going to see a massive decline in the quality. Hopefully people will realize this and help the fight to save our arts programs in schools.
It is sad to see that these courses are not deemed important or necessary anymore. Even if you do not believe these classes hold any real educational value they simply define our culture. Art, music, and food are three of the largest things that define a group of people and what their values are. By taking away the remaining two from schools, as cooking classes and home ec have basically become obsolete in schools we are going to see a massive decline in the quality. Hopefully people will realize this and help the fight to save our arts programs in schools.
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