The U.S. National Hurricane Center has named May 27th –June 1st National Hurricane Preparedness Week.

Eastern Pacific hurricane season kicked off on May 15th and Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1st, both lasting through November. As residents in potentially impacted communities and response organizations work diligently to prepare, it is a valuable reminder to ensure that response plans are ready.

Preparedness is key to reducing impacts and increasing resiliency to natural disasters.  Visit the Microsoft Disaster Response page for useful information on technologies available to help prepare, and links to organizations such as FEMA and Ready.gov for tips on how to plan in advance of potential natural disasters.

Throughout the week we will be featuring posts from the National Hurricane Center including preparedness quizzes and information to increase awareness and personal & family preparedness for hurricanes. Check back often!

One of the key things to remember is getting prepared ahead of time.  For example think about the most important documents, forms and information you would need in the event of an unexpected natural event.  One thing you could consider is saving all that information to Microsoft SkyDrive, a free online storage service when you can save documents, files, and photos and make them accessible from any device (including smartphones) and any location with internet access.  Note: If you already have a Hotmail, Messenger or Xbox account, you already have access to SkyDrive. If not, you can easily sign up using your existing email address by logging in at http://SkyDrive.com.

Natural disasters often occur without notice or allow for very little preparation. Get prepared ahead of time.

It can be challenging for nonprofits to manage their many tasks including constituent relationships, donations, pledges, memberships, and volunteer tracking. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an out-of-the box solution that can help with all of that – and more. This week’s Fast Five will show you how.

1. Nonprofit template

We understand that nonprofits have different needs than for-profit corporations. That’s why we created a free, pre-built template specifically for you. It helps improve your interactions with donors and volunteers and better yet, it can be used with the cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online or the on-premise version, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011. You can even import sample data to give you an idea of what’s possible.

(image source)

2. Quick campaign fundraising

In addition to general, fundraising efforts, we know that nonprofits often need to respond to sudden and unexpected events such as natural disasters. Quick campaigns are effective ways to mobilize financial support to accomplish a specific result. This feature allows you to identify a select group of constituents, manage your communications, easily track donations in real-time, and quickly respond to campaign feedback. Here’s how to set up a quick campaign:

1. Select Marketing Lists from the Navigation Panel.

2. Click Quick Campaigns button in the top menu.

3. A wizard will pop up to walk you through the steps.

It’s then quite easy to track the progress of the quick campaign activity:

1. Navigate to Marketing area in Navigation Panel.

2. Click Quick Campaigns.

3. Select Campaign Response section.

3. Microsoft Outlook integration

If you’re like me, you have Microsoft Outlook open pretty much all day. So why not gain access to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM functionality and records from within Outlook? With a simple download and the Quick Start Guide, you can have the two programs seamlessly integrated within minutes. Easily view your e-mails, calendar, contacts, or tasks from within the familiar Microsoft Outlook interface.

(image source)

4. Nonprofit accelerators

We realize that sometimes CRM software doesn’t quite have all the features your organization needs or doesn’t connect easily with other software you use. Luckily, there is a robust and varied supply of nonprofit-focused accelerators available for download as well as a bunch of other accelerators that should also be of use, depending on your need. These accelerators provide specialty features that focus on things like event management, partner management, and more.

(Image Source – The downloadable PDF)

5. Partner ecosystem

Sometimes the out-of-the-box functionality isn’t 100% right for how your organization works. This is one reason why Microsoft Dynamics CRM is customizable. But not all nonprofits have the time or skills to make such customizations. This is where having a strong ecosystem of partners who understand both the technology and the nonprofit industry is super helpful. These partners offer a myriad of services – implementation, training, customization, and other ways to extend the power of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can select the one that has the skills you need and contact them via the information provided at the link above.

Editor’s note: This week Microsoft joined partners at three events dedicated to answering one question: How can enhanced public/private partnerships improve the quality of the education that students receive in the subjects that are crucial for creating the high paying jobs of the future and for bridging the opportunity divide in communities across the country? 

Today Dr. Elizabeth Grossman, of Microsoft’s Technology Policy Group, joined the Global Women’s Innovation Network for a panel on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Education on Capitol Hill. Dr. Grossman described how expanding the availability of computer science education in high school is critical to preparing students for opportunities in the 21^st century economy.

On Tuesday, Microsoft’s Andrea Taylor, Director of North American Community Affairs, spoke at the Atlantic’s Technology in Education Forum for a discussion exploring how technology can prepare students for next wave jobs. 

Jumpstarting the week, Microsoft’s Vice President for Government Affairs Fred Humphries and Education Design Director Alex Games helped launch the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge Youth Winners Celebration.  The multi-year competition aims to motivate interest in STEM among youth.  Reflecting on the event, Games published a piece on this unique video game challenge and why it is so important to incorporate playful learning into STEM education. 

Games writes:

“As any experienced teacher can tell you, one of the best ways to captivate children while teaching them is to make lessons interactive and fun, allowing them to forget they are actually learning.  I saw just how true this was as a judge of student designed video games for the National STEM Video Game Challenge.  The competition promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education by harnessing kids’ natural passion for video games.  Earlier this week, I visited Washington to meet the winners – some of our nation’s most promising future game developers. 

Read the full post here on the Get Game Smart blog.

Editor’s Note: On Thursday, May 24, Microsoft and TechSoup Global will be hosting a free webinar for nonprofits and libraries to share the “tips and tricks” of Microsoft PowerPoint. The following is cross-posted from TechSoup. We hope you can join this informative session!

If you read our recent blog post Does Microsoft Office SmartArt make you smarter?, you are in for a treat. On Thursday, May 24 at 11 a.m. Pacific, we will be holding a live webinar that will be covering SmartArt, Creating Better Presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint.

Register today as space is limited.

During this free webinar, we will hear from TechSoup's Elliot Harmon and Microsoft’s Doug Thomas on ways to enhance the effectiveness of your presentations. First, we will talk about improving the visual aspects of your presentation through tools such as SmartArt. We will then discuss PowerPoint's broadcast function, which allows you to virtually share your presentation with clients or colleagues throughout the world.

Also included in this webinar will be a discussion of Microsoft Web Apps, PowerPoint resources, and information on the TechSoup Microsoft Software Donation Program.

This webinar is appropriate for nonprofits or libraries interested in creating enhanced PowerPoint presentations.

Editor’s note: Today, Dan Bross, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship at Microsoft has published an interesting look at the role of corporate political donations, particularly in the United States following the Citizens United decision.

Bross writes:

“Corporations have responded to the ‘Citizens United’ ruling in a variety of ways. Some have decided to ramp up their independent expenditures. Others, including Microsoft, have decided not to contribute to “527 organizations” – groups formed solely to influence elections, to which there are no upper limits on contributions…. there is growing interest in understanding how corporations are participating in the political process. That’s why Microsoft has adopted the practice of semi-annually posting all our political contributions on our public website.”

You can read the full post on the Microsoft on the Issues blog.