The staff here at the Greater Paterson OIC congratulates them on accomplishing their goal of obtaining Microsoft Office Specialist certification for Excel 2010. They both worked extremely hard in pursuit of this goal, taking notes, augmenting their classroom training with web based exercises, and spending extra time reinforcing their understanding in the lab. In the end, the fruit of their labor was passing the certification test in impressive fashion. As part of their larger employment goals, they have now set their sights on Microsoft Access certification.

If past experience is any indication of future expectations, we would not bet against these two achieving anything they set out to do.

Not only are non-profits realizing they are in fact legitimate businesses, but that sound business practices i.e. strategic planning, marketing, and human resources, to name a few, are not the exclusive domain of private corporations, but are the responsibility of all businesses irrespective of sector. What I find even more encouraging is that the non-profit sector, of which I’m proud to be a member of, is starting to hold its head up high, claim its position as a vital part of the American economy, and take pride in the fact that we provide products and services that are as good, and in some cases better than our for-profit counterparts. Simply stated, non-profit organizations provide a great deal of value to our society in a variety of very important ways, that include but are not limited to:

• Assisting federal and local government in serving those in need more efficiently and effectively than government is able to do directly.

• Providing individuals with an opportunity to do meaningful and life changing work, both volunteers and paid staff.

• Providing those with financial means a mechanism by which they can contribute to work that has an impact on the greater good of the society on a larger scale.

• Creating opportunities and environments that enable both individuals and communities to find hope, grow, and, develop.

• Contributing to the economy through employment opportunities, and through the purchase of goods and services required to run programs and grow the organization.

These are just some of the ways in which non-profits have historically and currently play a vital role in American society. Our challenge as a sector is to recognize our value, commit to running our organizations with sound business principles, and tell our stories to the world. We do great work, and we should all be proud of that. It has been said, that the measure of a truly great society is in how they treat their poor. In the times in which we find ourselves, the non-profit sector is in a prime position to provide hope and resources for the less fortunate, and play a critical role in helping this country rebound, live up to, and realize its potential for greatness. I encourage you to find a non-profit organization that is doing good work, and if for some reason you’re unable to volunteer your time and/or talents, make a contribution of whatever amount you can, so that the work can continue, and lives can be changed.

After completing a job-training program that left him a bit disappointed, Plinio (Jose) Duran contacted us at the Greater Paterson OIC to inquire about our Office Administration program. One of the things that immediately stood out to us was his drive and determination to find the kind of training that was in line with his employment goals. That determination was made even more evident when he showed up early for his first day of training at OIC, a habit that continues to this day.

From the start, we were impressed with his work ethic, study habits, and laser-like focus, not to mention his pleasing and positive personality. It came as no surprise to us at OIC when Jose was the first in his class to achieve his Certified Business Professional in Customer Service certification.

We are extremely proud of Jose, who is now studying and preparing to obtain his Microsoft Office Specialist certification, and if past history is any indication, you can expect that this goal will be accomplished in the very near future. Jose has been an inspiration to both the OIC staff and his fellow classmates, and we stand committed to helping him accomplish all of his goals, both personally and professionally.

Both William and Delores set goals to take and pass the customer service certification test before moving on at the end of June. They now celebrate the satisfaction that comes with setting and realizing a goal. While OIC ends another fiscal year, for William and Delores, this is just the beginning of their process of embarking on new careers.

We celebrate their success and wish them all the best as they set new goals and move on to bigger and better things.

While we were not surprised with their accomplishments, we are non-the-less extremely proud of Camisha and Morhani for earning their Business Professional in Customer Service Certification.

They each approached the course and the test with the kind of confidence it takes to succeed when taking on new challenges.

We have no doubt that Camisha and Morhani will accomplish even greater things as they move forward in pursuit of their career goals, and if what we’ve seen here is any indication, they are both going to be outstanding additions to any employer wise enough to hire them.

This certification is issued by the International Business Training Association, and by passing this test candidates demonstrate their understanding of what it takes to provide the highest quality of customer service  both internally with co-workers and externally to those who use a companies products of services.

The management and associates of the Greater Paterson OIC are proud of Jane, Jason, and Amber and are committed to working with them as they pursue their career goals.

Contact the Greater Paterson OIC to find out more about the Customer Service course or any of the other training programs we offer.

In a city where the High School drop-out rate is high and the graduation rate among teens is low, its not uncommon for young adults to succumb to being just another failure to many outside the city.  After all,  history dictates that expectations for Paterson teens, young adults and those older in transition will be low.  Well, those are just expectations of those that are outside the city.

Within Paterson, we have a pool of driven, intellectual and talented people.  We all have the innate ability to learn and grow and be productive members of society.  Just because some of you may have tripped over some hurdles along the way, it doesn’t mean you stop running or finish the race.  Change and growth can began at any time and on any given day for all of us.   So don’t quit; as long as you can stand you will always be in the race.  The finish line is front of you, the question is do you have the commitment and desire to finish.  We believe you do.

Join OIC now.  Lets us help you “Start A Better Future Today.”  We believe in you and we know you can not only finish the race but win it.

When she arrived at OIC in October 2010, Deanna shared, with a great deal of energy and passion I might add, her desire to achieve certification. Her energy and desire was truly infectious. She showed discipline by staying late after class to study further, and set time aside at home to practice additional exercises from the training material. She demonstrated amazing determination wrestling with elements of the application that she didn’t quite understand until she was able to figure it out, before moving on. In the end, it all paid off. Her goal has been reached!

Deanna’s success is proof that with the 3D’s of desire, discipline, and determination you can accomplish goals that you set for yourself. We celebrate her accomplishment and we are here to help her move on to what’s next.

Just like for business ventures that fail to adapt eventually fall, so too is the case for non-profit operations, which leads to main point of this entry. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google, Podcasting, these are words that we encounter through multiple sources of media virtually every day. The phenomenon of social media that has now been weaved into the fabric of everyday life has not escaped the radar of for profit businesses. The not-for-profits, especially the smaller local organizations would be wise to recognize that if they haven’t done so already, or, if they are not in the process of doing so, they need to start developing strategies for implementing a social media component into their operations as well. They need to do so with the same passion and energy that originally fueled the formation of the organization.

This is not to suggest that by implementing a social media strategy that the challenges of long term sustainability that many non-profits face will cease to exist, it’s just to say that by finding and engaging in the right strategy, finding solutions, resources, and new insights to face those challenges can be greatly enhanced by using this tool. The organizations that engage in effective social media strategies open up possibilities to tap into resources that they otherwise may have never known. Those who ignore this paradigm shift run the risk of seeing the span of their impact slowly diminish, and potentially watching the organization slowly fade into obscurity.

The goal of this entry is to encourage non-profit organizations that have yet to begin establishing social networking as a part of their standard operating procedure to get started. It is beyond the scope of this article to tell you how, but there are resources available that help in that area. “Get Connected: The Social Networking Toolkit for Business” by Star Hall and Chad Rosenberg is great place for those new to this arena to start. “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff is another great resource just to name a couple. Whatever resource you choose to get started, the key is that you ignite your passion for developing a strategy and get things going.