Thursday, November 11, 2010

Boston Museum Casts Wide Net for Growth - NYTimes.com

Boston Museum Casts Wide Net for Growth - NYTimes.com: "Mr. Rogers and the museum have charmed a lot of people like the Wornicks lately. In a seven-year campaign that ended in 2008 — for a new wing, the endowment and operating expenses — the museum pulled in $504 million plus $165 million worth of art. After one slow year, it followed that with donations of $57 million, including art, in the year to June 30, and another $40 million, all told, since July 1."

Trustees Fall Short in Fund Raising and Promoting Diversity - Boards - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Trustees Fall Short in Fund Raising and Promoting Diversity - Boards - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Trustees Don’t Do Well in Fund Raising or Promoting Diversity, CEO’s Say

By Eric Frazier

Chief executives of nonprofit organizations gave their boards grades of D in fund raising and C in increasing board diversity, according to a national survey whose results were released on Wednesday.

The 2010 Nonprofit Governance Index, unveiled at the annual BoardSource Leadership Forum, in San Francisco, also shows many organizations are still struggling to recover from the recession: Forty-one percent cut or froze staff salaries, 29 percent laid off staff members, and 28 percent dipped into their reserves or endowments."

11 Holiday Gift Programs That Benefit Nonprofits and Make the World A Better Place :: 2010 Edition � Nonprofit Tech 2.0 :: A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits

11 Holiday Gift Programs That Benefit Nonprofits and Make the World A Better Place :: 2010 Edition � Nonprofit Tech 2.0 :: A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits: "Last year’s list of nonprofit holiday gift programs has been getting a lot traffic over the last two weeks thanks to Google searches. In addition to all those wonderful programs, I wrote up 11 more for 2010."

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | To Be or Not To Be an L3C

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | To Be or Not To Be an L3C: "A half dozen states have authorized the creation of L3Cs, the latest being North Carolina. As many have acknowledged, the aim of L3Cs is to get a sort of blanket approval of eligibility for Program Related Investments (PRIs), which are loans and loan guarantees that foundations can make and that count toward foundations' required qualified distributions or payout. (Note: Foundations can invest from their corpus in for-profit companies through Market Related Investments or MRIs, but they don't count toward payout)."L3c

Rich Americans' philanthropy dropped in 2009, but not for the arts, study finds | Culture Monster | Los Angeles Times

Rich Americans' philanthropy dropped in 2009, but not for the arts, study finds | Culture Monster | Los Angeles Times: "Looking at the four-year arc of the study, the arts feasted on their richest patrons’ donations in 2005, when the average wealthy household gave $17,498 inflation-adjusted dollars; arts groups had to get by on table scraps in 2007, when average giving fell to $4,958, but they enjoyed a more decent meal in 2009, thanks to an 11.6% increase, to $5,531."

Sharing Stream, Real-time Sharing, Trending Shares - ShareThis Stream

Sharing Stream, Real-time Sharing, Trending Shares - ShareThis Stream

Nonprofits Lend to Gulf Coast Businesses - BusinessWeek

Nonprofits Lend to Gulf Coast Businesses - BusinessWeek: "Mary's Floor World is one of the first Gulf Coast businesses to have obtained loan funding through Kiva.org, a microlender that pairs individuals who make interest-free loans with entrepreneurs across the globe. Founded in San Francisco in 2005, Kiva opened a pilot program in the U.S. a year ago. Since its domestic launch, the nonprofit says it has facilitated more than $1 million in loans to American small businesses. Globally, Kiva says, more than 487,000 individuals have gone through the site to extend credit to some 428,000 entrepreneurs in 54 countries."

Giving by the Rich: Altruism or Just a Tax Write-Off? - The Wealth Report - WSJ

Giving by the Rich: Altruism or Just a Tax Write-Off? - The Wealth Report - WSJ: "When asked why they give, a majority of high-net-worth respondents said their main motivations were the following:

• Being moved by how their gift can make a difference (72%).
• Feeling financially secure (71%).
• Giving to an organization that will use their donation efficiently (71%).
• Supporting the same causes or organizations annually (66%)."

Encore Careers | combine purpose, passion and a paycheck.

Encore Careers | combine purpose, passion and a paycheck.: "ALL WINNERS AND FELLOWS

* Prize

Over the past five years, more than 300 adults over the age of 60 have been named Purpose Prize winners or fellows for their extraordinary contributions in an encore career. All of them are using their talents and experience to come up with new and creative ways to help solve pressing issues in education, the environment, health care, poverty and more.

* Meet the 2010 Prize winners >
* Meet the 2010 Prize fellows >
* See a list of all winners and fellows sortable by name, year, issue and location."

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding Contest

Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding Contest

Author Q&A: Jocelyne Daw, Lead Author of Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding - AFP Marketplace & Bookstore - AFP

Author Q&A: Jocelyne Daw, Lead Author of Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding - AFP Marketplace & Bookstore - AFP

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Announces Its First Live Symphony Performance Series in More Than 450 Movie Theatres Featuring Internationally-Acclaimed Music Director Gustavo Dudamel

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Announces Its First Live Symphony Performance Series in More Than 450 Movie Theatres Featuring Internationally-Acclaimed Music Director Gustavo Dudamel: "OS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - (Marketwire - Nov. 9, 2010) - The LA Phil and NCM Fathom, the entertainment division of National CineMedia, and Cineplex Entertainment (TSX:CGX.UN) announced today an agreement to present a series of three programs exclusively in select movie theatres across the U.S. and Canada, beginning in January and continuing into June of 2011. LA Phil LIVE with Gustavo Dudamel from Walt Disney Concert Hall complements Fathom and Cineplex Entertainment's existing arts and cultural programming, offering many communities the opportunity to experience the finest in orchestral performances from the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time."

Is Your Charitable Giving Getting Results? - Kiplinger

Is Your Charitable Giving Getting Results? - Kiplinger: "Weigh the results. Expect the annual report to lay out how the charity met its mission, including the challenges it faced and the milestones it met. Be sure the goals and results were measurable -- say, number of meals served -- and not just general statements, such as 'fed the hungry.' For instance, SOME (So Others May Eat), in Washington, D.C., reports that it served 288,390 meals in its dining rooms in 2009, an increase of 17,000 meals over the previous year. Those numbers demonstrate impact, says Michael Nilsen, of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. 'People want a sense of the concrete.' If you can't get a handle on the reported results, talk to staff members to get the insiders' take."

Maximizing matching gifts | Philanthropy Journal

Maximizing matching gifts | Philanthropy Journal: "PJ's Ret Boney talked to Carl Pitruzzello, director of advancement services at the University of New Haven, about how nonprofits can maximize the corporate matching gifts their donors are eligible for but may not be taking advantage of."

Charitable giving by wealthy households falls 35% in 2009 - Nov. 9, 2010

Charitable giving by wealthy households falls 35% in 2009 - Nov. 9, 2010: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As the recession whacked the economy, charitable giving by even the wealthiest Americans took a substantial hit, according to a study released Tuesday.

Although 98.2% of high net worth households donated to charity in 2009, they gave substantially less than in the years before, according to a survey for Bank of America Merrill Lynch by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University."

Larkspur philanthropist gives millions for scholarships that honor young lives cut short - Marin Independent Journal

Larkspur philanthropist gives millions for scholarships that honor young lives cut short - Marin Independent Journal: "At the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Mahoney is responsible for a remarkable 24 scholarships collectively valued at more than $9 million.

'Typically, they have been in memory of a young person who has been the victim of violence of some sort,' said Assistant Dean Patricia Hosel. 'We do have students who look at the issue of violence as a public health issue, and how to create interventions to prevent these kinds of things from happening, particularly among young people. Through the students who receive the scholarships and work on these issues, it expands the benefit from just one person to all the people they then serve in their careers and their professions.'"

Art therapy a confidence-booster for AIDS orphans - China.org.cn

Art therapy a confidence-booster for AIDS orphans - China.org.cn: "Hong Kong charity the Chi Heng Foundation is hosting an art exhibition in Beijing to raise public awareness of the problems facing children impacted by HIV/AIDS. The exhibition opened at the Yang Gallery on November 8."

Wade Phillips Attends Charity Event | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

Wade Phillips Attends Charity Event | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth: "Hours after the nation found out the Dallas Cowboys had fired Wade Phillips as head coach, Phillips put on a suit and tie and a smile for a charity event.

Phillips and his wife Lori attended the kickoff party for One Heart Project at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington Monday night."

Greatest Person Of The Day: Jessica Carso, Who Turned Theatre Dreams Into A Career In Giving

Greatest Person Of The Day: Jessica Carso, Who Turned Theatre Dreams Into A Career In Giving: "Although my work in the arts took a bit of a different turn, I credit my passion for and the study of theatre with leading me to the work I am involved in today. Currently, I serve as the Managing Director of Wesleyan University's Green Street Arts Center. My work at Green Street has taught me many things, one of the most important is being an advocate: an advocate for the arts, arts education, community collaboration, partnership and access to all. Through this discovery, I have had the great honor of extending my work, joining other incredibly important organizations such as The Fund for Women and Girls of the Middlesex County Community Foundation and A Hand Up, Inc. In addition, I serve on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), CT Chapter, as scholarship-chair."

ASU receives grant to fund nonprofit apprenticeships | ASU News

ASU receives grant to fund nonprofit apprenticeships | ASU News: "The ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation has received $580,449 to fund 47 nonprofit apprenticeships, comprising the 2010-2011 class of Public Allies Arizona.

Public Allies is an AmeriCorps national youth leadership organization that places service-minded young people in apprenticeships in nonprofit organizations throughout the community."

Giving by rich Americans fell during recession-study | Reuters

Giving by rich Americans fell during recession-study | Reuters: "Wealthy Americans donated average $54,016 in 2009

* Only 2.5 percent made donations of more than $500,000

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Charitable giving by wealthy Americans dropped by more than a third between 2007 and 2009 as the worst U.S. recession in decades put pressure on the nonprofit sector, according to a study released on Tuesday.

While almost all rich Americans -- more than 98 percent -- donated to nonprofit groups last year, the average amount fell to $54,016 in 2009 from $83,034 in 2007 and $91,928 in 2005, the third biennial Bank of America Merrill Lynch study found."

Study Questions Efficiency of Charity Business Activities - Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Study Questions Efficiency of Charity Business Activities - Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Study Questions Efficiency of Charity Business Activities

By Nicole Wallace

As nonprofit organizations earn more unrelated business income—through such activities as merchandise sales or renting their donor lists—the proportion of their budgets that they spend on programs goes down, according to a new report.

The study analyzed 700 informational tax returns filed by 150 social-service organizations in Manhattan for the years 2000 to 2005. It was conducted by Rebecca Tekula, executive director of the Helene and Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Pace University, in New York."

Latest Ideas About Philanthropy Communication | Philanthropy411 Blog

Latest Ideas About Philanthropy Communication | Philanthropy411 Blog: "Latest Ideas About Philanthropy Communication
Posted on November 8, 2010 by philanthropy411| Leave a comment

Philanthropy411 recently covered the Communications Network 2010 Fall Conference with the help of a blog team. Altogether there were 41 conference attendees who tweeted, blogged and conducted on the spot video interviews about the latest developments and challenges in effective foundation communications. Below is a list of all blog posts published for this event, and you can check out highlights from the video interviews here. A great is example is this video of Daniel Silverman, Director of Communications at one of our favorite clients, The James Irvine Foundation, discussing what he learned about “crowdsourcing” at the conference."

Monday, November 08, 2010

ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTHCARE PHILANTHROPY | With Charitable Pledges Down, and the Expense of Raising Donations on the Rise, Nonprofit Hospitals Strive to Keep Giving Levels Steady During the Recession

ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTHCARE PHILANTHROPY | With Charitable Pledges Down, and the Expense of Raising Donations on the Rise, Nonprofit Hospitals Strive to Keep Giving Levels Steady During the Recession: "With Charitable Pledges Down, and the Expense of Raising Donations on the Rise, Nonprofit Hospitals Strive to Keep Giving Levels Steady During the Recession

Doctors, Hospital Employees Take Up Some Slack by Donating More Money

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With charitable pledges - especially in the Western United States - declining due to the deepening recession, fundraisers were forced to spend significantly more money in fiscal year 2009 than in past years to secure gifts and grants for nonprofit hospitals and health care systems in the United States and Canada, according to benchmarking data released today by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP).

'The recession's impact and duration were felt more strongly in the U.S. than in Canada, where health care philanthropy tended to advance slightly or at least hold its own despite lower levels of government support,' said William C. McGinly, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of AHP. 'U.S. nonprofit hospitals, however, often struggled just to keep giving levels steady, and some saw declines.'"

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Nonprofit Ice Age: Struggle for Survival

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Nonprofit Ice Age: Struggle for Survival: "November 8, 2010; Source: Washington Post | How are nonprofits adjusting to the prolonged impacts of the recession? In the metro D.C. area, the Nonprofit Roundtable's Chuck Bean reports that organizations are making 'lasting changes such as shedding nonessential duties, sharing back-office functions, reducing staff size and in some cases merging with other groups.'"

10 Things to Know About Applying for a Nonprofit Job - On Careers (usnews.com)

10 Things to Know About Applying for a Nonprofit Job - On Careers (usnews.com): "Is getting paid to make the world a better place your dream job? Here are 10 things you should know about making the transition to a nonprofit:

1. Nonprofits have all the same types of jobs as the for-profit sector—and then some. Just like businesses, nonprofits need accountants, web designers, managers, editors, and I.T. specialists, so there’s a good chance that whatever you do now has a counterpart in the nonprofit sector. On top of that, nonprofits have additional roles too, like volunteer organizers, fundraisers, and grant writers."

Paulette's Point of View: The Importance of Benchmarking

Paulette's Point of View: The Importance of Benchmarking: "Monday, November 1, 2010
The Importance of Benchmarking
When I’m out visiting chapters, one of the most popular questions I get is, “how is my organization’s fundraising doing compared to the rest of [insert region, state, province, country, world?]”

It’s a natural and logical inquiry. We all want to see how we’re doing compared to others and determine if we need to be doing better, and if so, in what areas. But to be able to tell you how your organization is faring, fundraisers and nonprofits need as accurate and as precise data as possible—as soon as possible."

Tough holiday season has Jacksonville-area charities bracing, but optimistic | jacksonville.com

Tough holiday season has Jacksonville-area charities bracing, but optimistic | jacksonville.com: "Charities around Northeast Florida are preparing for what could be one of the toughest holiday seasons in recent years.

With high unemployment lingering - and the unemployed going jobless for ever-longer stretches - many nonprofit agencies are concerned about donations or changing the way they respond to a growing need."

College leaders work to increase interest in humanities - The Boston Globe

College leaders work to increase interest in humanities - The Boston Globe: "WALTHAM — At college campuses around the world, the humanities are hurting. Students are flocking to majors more closely linked to their career ambitions. Grant money and philanthropy are flowing to the sciences. And university presidents are worried about the future of subjects once at the heart of a liberal arts education."

Opinion: 'Angel Lanes' Could Drive More Donations to Charity

Opinion: 'Angel Lanes' Could Drive More Donations to Charity: "The idea is simple: Commuters who ride the subway or travel along toll roads with electronic payment systems (like the East Coast EZ Pass) would be given the opportunity to have a donation to a designated charity automatically added to the commuting charge. Commuters passing through a subway terminal would be able to donate, say, 5 cents at the same time as they pay the normal fare. The subway authority would merely have to tally the number of swipes and adjust the total charge up by a nickel. Drivers could have a set amount added to their trip and donated to the American Red Cross, for instance, as they whiz through the toll booth."

Good Giving | The Harvard Crimson

Good Giving | The Harvard Crimson: "Senior-gift programs in which soon-to-be alumni are encouraged to give back to their school are quite common. Often, however, these programs rely on peer-pressure tactics and stigmas to solicit further donations from students who have not yet donated—in addition to Dartmouth, Cornell earned well-deserved criticism for the extreme pressure placed on students to give a gift. Indeed, a forced gift at the end of one’s college career is not a constructive way to generate philanthropic trends in alumni. Students should give to their universities because they believe in supporting the causes their money will help, not because their names will otherwise be published on a blog and they will be harassed by their peers."

What are the benefits of nonprofits working collaboratively? � TSNE – Strategic Communications Blog

What are the benefits of nonprofits working collaboratively? � TSNE – Strategic Communications Blog: "What are the benefits of nonprofits working collaboratively?"