2012 Week 1 Day 3 Brainstorming

Back at the Forge again...

Talked about starting the evening with checking everyone's GQueues to see what's going on.  Then had everyone choose one of several activities.  The website group had a mini meeting about the website.  A group got together to talk about Chairman's Award and read over the rules. Some did more indepth study of the rules.  A few checked out Chief Delphi.  And the "Field Elements Group" did some planning for what materials they needed to build the field elements.  Afterwards, several students and mentors threw basketballs to check out the trajectory.

About 8:00 everyone got back together for some brainstorming.  5 groups of 3...  Defined 7 different major strategic functions the robot had to do:  shoot balls, pick up balls, drive, balance and go over bridges, defend, go over the bump.  Each team picked one area, and discussed 3 different options to solve that problem.  Each team then presented to the group how their ideas worked.

Lots of great ideas!  Amazing how much things have changed in a year!  Last year very few students had any idea about where to start the process...

2012 Week 1 Day 2 Human Player Game at Glenaire

Went all out with the human player game with just our team.  Modified the entire auditorium at Glenaire Retirement Center to create a field with tape, balance boards, and goals.

Went over the game animation again:

And watched the great videos touring the field -- talking about implications of each section.

Created 2 alliances of 8 people each.  First 2 times through, it was all out human players playing the game.  Found some great basket ball players among our team.  Then the second time through each robot was given some specific characteristics.  Each time through we learned more about strategy.

2012 Week 1 Day 1 Sunday Strategy

Sunday we got together for the afternoon.

Spent the first part debriefing how the Human Player Game went on Sunday and what we could do better next time.  Overall, everyone was really pleased with what we did -- but there were some suggestions for how to improve it for next time.

Results were very positive!

GQueues and task management was the next topic:

What
How long
Exit
Contingency/alternative

Queue Pilot Light

2012 Week 1 Day 0: Kick Off! and Human Player Game!

Kick Off!!!!!  And Human Player Game

What a day!  Photos posted soon...

Pre-Kick Off 2012

The week before Kick-Off 2012 spent by prepping our build space, prepping our lives, and getting organized for a brand new activity at Kick Off -- Team PyroTech led a first time ever Human Player Game at Kick Off available to all NC teams.  It was crazy!

Non-Profit Accounting Critical Issues

Critical Issues in Financial Accounting Regulation for Nonprofit Organizations

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Legal regulations
Published guidelines
Revenue
Revenue from public support
Revenue from exempt-purpose activities
Other revenue (and UBIT)
Expenses
Program services
Fundraising
Operations
Joint costs allocation
Excess benefits transactions (intermediate sanctions)
Other resources

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Although there are few laws or regulations that directly state how nonprofit organizations must operate their finances internally, there are many that have a strong indirect impact. These indirect influences include IRS reporting requirements and the accounting standards most funding agencies require supported organizations to follow. In practical terms, these "recommended" standards all but demand certain accounting and other financial practices be followed by nearly all nonprofit organizations.
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READ!!!

Non-Profit Accounting

All About Financial Management in Nonprofits

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Applies to nonprofits unless otherwise noted.
New nonprofit leaders and managers have to develop at least basic skills in financial management. Expecting others in the organization to manage finances is clearly asking for trouble. Basic skills in financial management start in the critical areas of cash management and bookkeeping, which should be done according to certain financial controls to ensure integrity in the bookkeeping process. New leaders and managers should soon go on to learn how to generate financial statements (from bookkeeping journals) and analyze those statements to really understand the financial condition of the business. Financial analysis shows the "reality" of the situation of a business -- seen as such, financial management is one of the most important practices in management. This topic will help you understand basic practices in financial management, and build the basic systems and practices needed in a healthy business.
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LOTS and LOTS to read here!