A list of great articles I’ve read and posted to Twitter between May 23 – June 5, 2010.  This week’s topics include: I.R.S.; Sector Trends; Social Media & Internet; Finance & Economy; and Potpourri.

While it has been two weeks since my last Must-Read, don’t worry about overload. Between my daughter running into a door and needing stitches and my internet being on the fritz for four days, its been a slow couple of weeks.  Well, here’s hoping for a better week that last…

Tizku Lemitzvot,

Shuey

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I.R.S.

New online tax form for small US charities: Good. IRS deadline-extension of new form: Bad.http://ow.ly/1ODte via @philanthropy

The misleading reality created by the IRS 990 & 2 ways to change it (Harvard Business Review)http://ow.ly/1SGhi via @bethsteinberg

Which lines in IRS 990 give snapshot of org’s financial health? http://ow.ly/1SFDt via@NAFund @FollowMCF // G8 resources 4 NPOs/Foundations

Dangerous assumptions of volunteerism by US Gov’ harm volunteers & paid staff of #nonprofitsector http://ow.ly/1Ti4V via @NonprofitSRQ

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Sector Trends

Study shows widespread innovation among NPOs & efforts to measure programs effectiveness, on @eJPhil http://ow.ly/1STDm

RT @Philanthropy: British charities are getting hurt by a real-estate slump: 

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Social Media & Internet

RT @avinashkaushik: [For Bloggers, Twitterers] 5 Ways To Manage Your Critics http://zqi.me/d5oFu6 >> Great advice 4 online & offline critics

Cute (& true) >> RT @bkmacdaddy: Everything You Need to Know About Social Media You Should Have Learned in Pre-school http://bit.ly/cLvHz0

RT @nptechblogs: Six tips for managing an international workforce, on @wiserearthhttp://bit.ly/aVAZyg // Crucial for NPOs operating abroad

RT @GuyKawasaki: 7 tools to back up your social media content http://ow.ly/1Tige

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Finance & Economy

Bank of Israel Governor: #Israel dodged property bubble when government intervened in mortgage sector http://ow.ly/1TETK

#Israel Banks using new rules as excuse to raise mortgage rates http://ow.ly/1RXAs

Good summary of influences on the Shekel with predictions for the future. http://ow.ly/1TfrF#israel #currency

4 accurate ways to quantify the state of jitters in financial markets. http://ow.ly/1RXJ8 // Interesting, fear is quantifable

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Potpourri

RT @davidcorman: Headline of the day: Woman Follows Google Maps “Walking” Directions, Gets Hit, Sues http://selnd.com/92ipOH

In the past I have written about the US dollars tough battle against a downward spiral. In short, the UnitedState’s dollar is fighting an increasingly gargantuan federal deficit and the prospect of continued low interest rates neither of which bode well for the strength of the dollar.

With that said, what happened last week that caused the dollar to soar against the shekel? Friday, October 23rd, saw the dollar close at 3.6972 while a week later on Friday, October 30th, the dollar closed at 3.7545 a jump of 1.5% in only seven days!

One, the Bank of Israel announced that it was not going to increase interest rates for November. Without going into detail and speaking only in broad terms, lower interest rates make a currency less desirable.

Two, reports that the United States economy grew for the first time in over a year. Helping this was another report that found that factory activity in the mid-US had also expanded. These reports help paint a picture that America could be on the road to reducing its debt and on the way to full economic recovery.

Three, and this might be the most important point, the market has been volatile this year (generally, for the good of everyone) and the end of the year is approaching. A financial advisor in Israel explained to me a current phenomenon: this past year has seen investors using the US dollar as a proxy for taking or reducing risk. In other words, when investors want risk, they sell dollars and when they want security they buy in dollars (investing in treasury bills and the like). The increase in dollar-based investment leads to an increase in demand and a shortening of supply hence the US dollar rises. More specifically, people are looking to hold on to whatever profits they have made this year and are buying dollars to secure these investments.

Please note: While this last item could affect the dollar for the next two months, this is in no way a prediction of the future. I have merely commented on the past. For an accurate read on what will/might happen, please visit your locally licensed financial advisor (i.e. not me).

Special thanks to the following periodicals that help me be an educated consumer:

New York Times Global Edition – Business

Globes: Israel’s Business Arena

Daily Forex

Forex Capital Markets

Tizku LeMitzvot [May you continue to merit doing good deeds],

Shuey