Mail Campaign
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A campaign, usually broadly based, conducted by mail, frequently with several mailings over a specified period. |
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Mail Server
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A server that’s only job is storing, and delivering mail.
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Mailing List
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A list of email addresses that a company or individual uses to email a list of interested people.
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Maintenance
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The overall process of repairing bugs or any problems in a network or computer systems.
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Major Gift
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Any significant donation, from an individual to a charitable or voluntary organization. |
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Major Life Activity
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Basic activities that the average person can perform with little or no
difficulty, such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working. |
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Majority Rule
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A majority of the board members present as long as there is quorum; organizational bylaws often stipulate the relationship between quorum and majority rule. |
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Malfeasance
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The commission of an unlawful act.
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Management Accounting
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Reporting designed to assist management in decision-making, planning, and control. Also known as Managerial Accounting. |
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Management Cabinet
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Leadership committee for a fundraising program; also, executive, steering, or campaign committee; responsible for providing leadership direction for a fundraising campaign. Also called a campaign cabinet. |
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Management Control
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The management control environment, management information system, and control policies and procedures established by management to provide reasonable assurance that goals are met, that resources are used in compliance with laws and regulations, and that valid and reliable related information is obtained and reported.
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Management Development
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Grants for salaries, staff support, staff training, strategic and long-range planning, budgeting and accounting. |
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Management Information System (MIS)
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A system designed by an organization to collect and report information on a program, allowing managers to plan, monitor, and evaluate the operations and performance of the whole program. |
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Management Support Organization (MSO)
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An organization that operates to enhance both the operations management of nonprofit organizations and their compliance with the regulatory structure by which they derive their tax-exempt status. |
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Management System(s)
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The formal and visible ways the organization does its work - within governance, human resources, information management and technology, communications, finance, training, planning, evaluation, and so on. |
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Manager
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(1) A person who is in charge of an organization or group of staff. (2) A person who administers and regulates the activities and training of a group. |
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Mandatory Minimum Distribution(s)
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Internal Revenue Code Section 4942 requires private foundations and, in certain cases, charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts, and pooled-income funds to distribute specified minimum amounts to nonprofits. For private foundations, the minimum distribution is 5 percent of net asset value. This private foundation rule has no effect on charitable remainder trusts and pooled-income funds until the rights of the recipients expire. Rather than distributing those assets to nonprofits, the entities continue to hold their assets and make payments to nonprofits. |
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Mandatory Service
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Community service which is required to complete an academic program, such as high school graduation. School or court-mandated community service may set required hours, type of service and/or duration. |
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Mandatory Spending
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Spending (budget authority and outlays) controlled by laws other than annual appropriations acts. |
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Marcom
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Marketing communications. |
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Marital Deduction
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A deduction allowed for estate tax and gift tax for qualifying gifts made to spouses. Outright gifts to spouses always qualify. Certain trusts and other gifts also qualify. Those trusts must be expertly drafted. There is no limit on the marital deduction. |
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Market
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(1) The group of your most likely prospective buyers; the first (and most important) of the three elements of direct marketing. (2) Potential source of funds, members, or clients (individuals and organizations). |
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Market Analysis
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An analysis of technical corporate and market data used to predict movements in the market. |
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Market Niche
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A small segment of a market. |
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Market Orientation
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An approach to business which places the requirements of consumers at the center of the decision-making process. |
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Market Oriented Pricing
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Methods of pricing based upon the pricing conditions in the market at which a product is aimed. |
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Market Positioning
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The process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. It is the position their product occupies in a given market as perceived by the target market.
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Market Price
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The price that consumers are prepared to pay. |
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Market Profile
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A summary of the characteristics of a market, including information of typical purchasers and competitors, and often general information on the economy and retailing patterns of an area. |
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Market Research
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The collection, collation and analysis of data relating to the size, nature and scope of the market. The process of gathering, recording, and analyzing information pertaining to the marketing of goods and services. |
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Market Segment
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That part of a market consisting of consumers with similar characteristics. |
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Market Segmentation
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The process of dividing a market into distinct groups that have common needs and will respond similarly to a marketing action. |
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Market Share
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The proportion of total sales in a particular market for which one or more firms are responsible. It is usually expressed as a percentage. |
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Market Structure
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The characteristics a market has which determine the behavior of the organizations who operate within it. |
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Marketing
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A continuous process of understanding. It is the simultaneous activity of a nonprofit understanding its target audiences, while helping these audiences understand the nonprofit organization. |
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Marketing Audit
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An analysis of the internal and external factors which may affect a company's performance. |
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Marketing Campaign/Strategy
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The combination of promotion, distribution and pricing strategies that a company adopts over a period of time. |
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Marketing for Mission
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A decision-making process that applies corporate marketing principles to nonprofit actions so that more mission is achieved. It identifies where the organization’s mission overlaps with the desire of those who must take action to achieve it, and builds strategies, programs and messages up from the overlap. |
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Marketing Mix
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The elements of a firm's marketing strategy designed to meet the needs of its customers. The four main elements are: price, product, promotion and place. |
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Marketing Objective(s)
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Goals to be accomplished by an organization's overall marketing program such as sales, market share, or profitability. A good objective will be measurable, attainable, and socially significant. |
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Marketing Plan
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A written document detailing the actions necessary to achieve a specified marketing objective(s). A marketing plan describes the current situation, specifies objectives, identifies resources and actions needed to achieve the objectives, and devises a method of evaluation. |
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Marking Up a Bill
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Going through the contents of a piece of legislation in committee or subcommittee to consider its provisions and proposed revisions to the language, and insert new sections and phraseology. If the bill is extensively amended, the committee’s version may be introduced as a separate bill, with a new number, before being considered by the full House or Senate. |
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Markup
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The process by which congressional committees and subcommittees debate, amend, and rewrite proposed legislation. |
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Mark-up
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The part of a price which seeks to provide a business with profit as opposed to covering its costs. It is used in cost plus pricing. |
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Mass Marketing
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Mass marketing groups people into large categories based solely on their demographics – age, income, gender, education level, etc. It assumes that all, or at least most, people in the same categorical group will react similarly to one marketing message. Because of this broad sweep approach, mass marketers rely primarily on mass media – television and print media – to reach their target in large numbers. |
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Master Plan Study
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An exceptionally detailed and complex study by fundraising counsel that deals with many aspects of an institution's operations apart from fundraising, such as mission, administration, financial management, and governance. |
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Matching Gift
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A gift contributed on the condition that it be matched, often within a certain time period, in accordance with a specified formula; or, a gift by a corporation matching a gift contributed by one or more of its employees. |
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Matching Gifts Program
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A grant or contributions program that will match employees’ or directors’ gifts made to qualifying educational, arts and cultural, health, or other organizations. |
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Matching Grant
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(1) A grant or gift made with the specification that the amount donated must be matched on a one-for-one basis or according to some other prescribed formula. (2) A grant made in response to a challenge grant. |
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Matching Principle
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A fundamental concept of basic accounting. In any one given accounting period, you should try to match the revenue you are reporting with the expenses it took to generate that revenue in the same time period, or over the periods in which you will be receiving benefits from that expenditure. |
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Matching Support
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Grants made to match funds provided by another donor and grant paid only if the donee is able to raise additional funds from another source. |
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Materiality
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Magnitude of an omission or misstatements of accounting information that, in the light of surrounding circumstances, makes it probable that the judgment of a reasonable person relying on the information would change or be influenced. |
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Mature
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A market research term used in generational marketing. "Mature" describes the segment of the current population born between 1909-1945. |
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Measurable
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Capable of being measured through quantitative means. |
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Measure
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A term used to imply embracing the bill, resolution and other matters on which the Senate takes action. |
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Measurement Error
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The difference between a measured value and a true value. |
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Media
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A means of communication, such as newspapers, magazines, film, telephone, radio, television and the Internet. |
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Media Advisory
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A news release used to announce an upcoming event. |
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Media Advocacy
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The strategic use of news media and sometimes paid advertising to support community development and organizing in order to advance a public policy initiative. |
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Media Broker
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An individual who aggregates advertising space based on demographics, then sells them to advertisers, media planners and their buyers. |
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Media Buyer
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An individual usually employed at an advertising agency designated to allocate resources for an ad campaign among specific print or online media. |
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Media Framing
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The process by which an issue is portrayed in the news media. Media frames provide boundaries around a news story and determine what is and is not newsworthy or notable. |
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Media Kit
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A package of information containing news releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, photographs, positions papers, reprints and other materials given to news media representatives so as to simplify their jobs and maximize the possibility the supplying organization's story will be covered. |
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Media Literacy
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The process of learning specific skills of critical media viewing: learning to analyze and question what is in a media frame, how the media frame is constructed and what may have been left out. Media literacy may include an effort to go beyond media frame analysis to address the social, political, cultural and economic factors that determine how media production occurs. |
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Media Monitoring
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A task by which individuals and organizations pay close and critical attention to how their issues are being reported by various news sources in an effort to more effectively target those news sources. Media monitoring requires the individual or organization to develop a critical eye as a news consumer. |
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Media Plan
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A plan designed to select the proper demographics for an advertising campaign through proper media selection. |
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Media Policy
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Organizational directive as to how company representatives will communicate with the media. |
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Media Power
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A term that refers to the media's ability to provide visibility, credibility, and legitimacy to a public policy issue and/or to an organization seeking social change. The media have the power to select some events for coverage and leave out others, which sends a public signal about what's important and what's not important. |
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Media Relations
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The function of gaining positive media attention and coverage. |
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Media Release
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A news release sent out on the day of the event, or on the day you make your announcement. |
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Media Tour
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A method for taking a branding message to a variety of communication outlets at minimal cost to the organization. |
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Mediation
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A method of conflict resolution that is carried out by an intermediary who works with the disputing parties to help them improve their communication and their analysis of the conflict situation, so that the parties can themselves identify and choose an option for resolving the conflict that meets the interests or needs of all of the disputants. |
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Mediator
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A person with whom parties in a dispute meet, in an effort to reach a mutually acceptable decision. The mediator is an active participant in the discussions, but unlike an arbitrator, the mediator does not impose a decision on the disputants; rather, he or she actively attempts to help them find a solution that is acceptable to all parties. |
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Medium
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The means by which a marketing message is communicated to its audience, including advertising, direct mail, publicity, posters, flyers, etc. |
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Meeting Management
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Tools and processes for productive meetings. |
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Meeting Minutes
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The written recording of the events of a meeting. |
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Megabyte (MB)
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A million bytes or one thousand kilobytes. |
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Member Orientation
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Training in an organization's governance structure and policies which helps new board members maximize their service to the organization. |
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Member(s)
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The persons in a nonprofit corporation who enjoy rights pursuant to the articles of incorporation, bylaws and state law. These rights may include election of the board of directors of the nonprofit corporation. |
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Membership(s)
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A means of identifying individuals interested in your organization's missions. |
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Memoranda of Agreement
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After a grant is funded, both parties sign a document stating that they understand their responsibilities.
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Memorandum of understanding (MOU)
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A written agreement that expresses the extent of the working relationship between different organizations, groups, or departments.
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Memorial
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Gift made to perpetuate the memory of an individual. "Memorial" should not be confused with a gift to honor a living person. |
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Memorial Fund
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1)A memorial fund is one established in the name of a deceased individual or group. 2)A fund that is established to remember and honor a lost loved one. |
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Memory
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A device that saves and stores data.
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Mental Ladder
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The evaluation and positioning of a variety of competing offerings by a target market. |
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Mentor
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An experienced professional who provides support to promote the development of new or less experienced persons. |
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Mentoring
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The one-on-one sharing of practical, accumulated knowledge, often between a member of upper management to a person in training in the same department or organization. |
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Merchandising
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A marketing practice in which the brand or image from one product or service is used to sell another. It is most prominently seen in connection with films, usually those in current release. |
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Merge/Purge
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The process of removing duplicate names from mailing lists. Direct mailers hear constant complaints from their customers about receiving duplicate pieces of mail. |
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Merger
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1)A merger is the combining of two or more organizations into a larger one. 2)The combination of two or more entities through a purchase acquisition or a pooling of interests. Differs from a consolidation in that no new entity is created from a merger. |
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Merit Award(s)
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Promotions or financial rewards given to employees in recognition of outstanding performance. |
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Merit Salary Increase
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An increase in salary based on an individual's job performance and merit. |
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Message
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A concise statement that tells a target audience why one organization or product is superior to competitors. |
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Message Development
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Taking the necessary time to formulate a consistent and effective message that enhances fundraising and development, media advocacy and public relations, direct service and outreach efforts.
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Message Promotion
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An alliance between an organization and a company or media outlet promoting a public interest message. |
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Meta Tag
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An element of HTML that often describes the contents of a Web page, and is placed near the beginning of the page's source code. Search engines use information provided in a meta tags to index pages by subject. |
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Meta-ethics
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The philosophical study of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical evaluations and does not provide any ethical evaluations. |
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Meta-evaluation
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The evaluation of a group of evaluations, and the evaluators. It can be done by applying an evaluation checklist or index. |
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Methodology
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The means and logical procedure by which a program plan or approach is implemented. |
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Metropolitan-Area Network (MAN)
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A network of computers that covers a large geographical area.
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Micromanagement
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A management style where the manager over-manages people unnecessarily. Instead of giving people general instructions and then allowing them to do their job, the micromanager monitors and assesses every step. The manager may be motivated by concern for details. The effect, however, may be to de-motivate employees and create resentment.
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Migration Plan
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A determined plan for the technological growth of an organizations network.
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Milestone
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A significant point of achievement or development, which describes progress toward a goal. |
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Mind Mapping
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A graphical technique for drawing out ideas and concepts. |
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Mind Share
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The amount of thinking an individual or group does about a particular product, service, or company. |
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Minimally Acceptable
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A performance level that meets the minimum standards, as defined by its criteria. Any lower level of performance is not acceptable in terms of the purpose of the evaluation. |
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Minimum Guarantee
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A partnership agreeement whereby a partner agrees to pay a specific minimum dollar figure regardless of the actual results the arrangement. |
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Minority Group Status
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Applied to subjugated, powerless, and/or oppressed segments of a society, who are singled out for unequal treatment and discriminated against by the dominant segments of society. |
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Mirror Site
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A site that diverts traffic from the original site to a separate site with all of the same information, allowing more people to view it simultaneously. |
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Mission
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States the overall purpose for an organization.
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Mission Critical
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Refers to any factor (equipment, process, procedure, software, etc.) which is crucial to the successful completion of an entire project. It may also refer to a project the success of which is vital to the mission of the organization which attempts it.
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Mission Statement
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(1) The major criterion used by states and the IRS to determine if the organization qualifies as a nonprofit. (2) The evaluative measure by which a nonprofit organization measures its success. |
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Mission-based
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Any activity that is guided by or follows logically from an organizational mission. |
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Mission-based Management
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A process
for organizational decision-making that
is mission-driven, ensures internal
accountability, distributes resources in
alignment with organization-wide goals, and is
based on timely, open, and accurate information. |
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Mixed-method Evaluation
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An evaluation for which the design includes the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection and data analysis. |
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Mobilization
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Forward motion requiring all active parties working together.
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Mock up
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An unofficial copy of an amended bill; although the amendments have been adopted the official amended version is not yet back from the printer |
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Model
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A person that acts as a prototype, or mentor for others to look to for direction when learning a task or assuming behaviors.
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Modem
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An external box or internal circuitry that converts computer data into sound that can be transmitted over phone lines. |
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Moderator
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Group leader; often called a facilitator. |
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Money Measurement
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The concept that requires all entries in financial records to be expressed in monetary quantities. |
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Monitoring
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An on-going process or system of reviewing a program's activities through the collection of data and outputs to determine if set standards or requirements are being met. |
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Monitoring System
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An on-going system to collect data on a program's activities and outputs, designed to provide feedback on whether the program is fulfilling its functions, addressing the targeted population, and/or producing intended services. |
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Monopoly
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A market structure in which only one firm supplies the entire output, there is no competition, and barriers to entry exist. |
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Morality
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Concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong. |
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Mortmain Law
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A law which says that charitable bequests are not valid (at least to a certain extent) unless the will or living trust is executed more than a certain number of days before the testator's death. The purpose of the laws was to limit the influence of religion over death-bed gifts. A few states still have mortmain statutes. |
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Motherboard
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The largest printed circuit board in your computer. It generally houses the CPU chip, the controller circuitry, the bus, and sockets for additional boards, which are called daughterboards. Also referred to as a main board. |
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Motion
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In the House or Senate chamber, a request by a member to institute any of a wide array of parliamentary actions. The member "moves" for a certain procedure, such as the consideration of a measure. The precedence of motions, and whether they are debatable, are both set forth in the House and Senate manuals. |
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Motion to Proceed to Consider
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A motion, usually offered by the Majority Leader to bring a bill or other measure up for consideration. The usual way of bringing a measure to the floor when unanimous consent to do so cannot be obtained. For legislative business, the motion is debatable under most circumstances, and therefore may be subject to filibuster. |
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Motion to Table
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A senator may move to table any pending question. The motion is not debatable, and agreement to the motion is equivalent to defeating the question tabled. The motion is used to dispose quickly of questions the Senate does not wish to consider further. |
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Motivation
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What drives or makes a person want to do something.
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Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)
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A standard for compressing sound and movie files into an attractive format for downloading or streaming across the Internet. |
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Mozilla
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An open source Web browser designed for standards compliance, performance, and portability. It was the original version of the Netscape browser. |
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Multiculturalism
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The inclusion of a variety of cultures or ethnic groups. |
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Multidimensional Assessment
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Assessment that gathers information about a broad spectrum of abilities and skills. |
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Multimedia
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A computer-based method of presenting combinations of text, images, graphics, animation, streaming audio or video, and more. |
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Multi-sector Collaboration
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A voluntary, strategic alliance of public, private, and nonprofit organizations that enhances each organization’s capacity to achieve a common purpose by sharing risks, resources, responsibilities, and rewards. |
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Multi-tenant Collaboration
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An arrangement where several nonprofits share the expenses and responsibilities of caring for office and programming facilities. |
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Multi-User
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A term that refers to computer systems that support two or more simultaneous users. |
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Multi-year Grant
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A commitment by a foundation to provide support for more than one year (typically two to five years), contingent upon satisfactory grantee performance. |
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Must Pass Bill
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A vitally important measure that Congress must enact, such as annual money bills to fund operations of the government. |
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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
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An instrument for measuring a person’s preferences, using four basic scales with opposite poles. The four scales are: (1) extraversion/introversion, (2) sensate/intuitive, (3) thinking/feeling, and (4) judging/perceiving. The various combinations of these preferences result in 16 personality types. |
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