Friday, March 25, 2011

10 Tips for Charitable Giving During Retirement

10 Tips for Charitable Giving During Retirement

Chicago Children's Museum spinning its wheels again - chicagotribune.com

Chicago Children's Museum spinning its wheels again - chicagotribune.com: "The Chicago Children's Museum is back in the news, and never in the field of human endeavor have so many adults hidden behind so many children accomplished so little. After putting us through much fanfare to leave Navy Pier and redeploy to Grant Park, the museum recently agreed to enter discussions with Navy Pier to remain there."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Buffett Tells Philanthropists to Fail More

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Buffett Tells Philanthropists to Fail More: "Philanthropists are beginning to embrace failure, or at least they’re beginning to talk about embracing failure. NPQ’s own Rick Cohen asked yesterday, “Is this posturing or is it for real? And to what end?” The latest philanthropist to espouse the failure principal is Billionaire Warren Buffet"

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Changes in Arab Nations Create Opportunities for Charities - Giving - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Changes in Arab Nations Create Opportunities for Charities - Giving - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "While the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa have posed immediate challenges for charities, many nonprofit officials say they are hopeful that philanthropy will soon have new opportunities in the region. The starkest example of a new climate may be in Tunisia, where the mid-January ouster of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the country’s authoritarian president, has meant that nonprofits once repressed by the government are now advising the political transition."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Reframing Governance (Revised)

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Reframing Governance (Revised): "Many members of the nonprofit world have expressed concern that the sector has not developed new forms of governance. We have not, they complain, seen anything more than a minor variation on current designs and practices. For some time, I shared this perspective. But then I realized that this is not exactly true. We have created the “new nonprofit governance” at a new level within our communities. But we have not identified this shift because we’re so focused on the artifact that we know as “the board.”"

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Palo Alto Online : Partners in Education raises $3.4M for Palo Alto schools

Palo Alto Online : Partners in Education raises $3.4M for Palo Alto schools: "Parent volunteers have raised a record-breaking $3.4 million to donate to Palo Alto's 17 public school campuses, the foundation Partners in Education (PiE) announced Tuesday."

Merritt Island High's alumni donation a $3 million surprise | FLORIDA TODAY | floridatoday.com

Merritt Island High's alumni donation a $3 million surprise | FLORIDA TODAY | floridatoday.com: "The 485 students who graduated that year donated at least $3.1 million -- yes that's right, $3.1 million -- to the Brevard Schools Foundation. It was made possible largely thanks to a single donor, who the foundation said insisted on anonymity."

Tight Florida budget strands university projects awaiting matching grants - St. Petersburg Times

Tight Florida budget strands university projects awaiting matching grants - St. Petersburg Times: "TALLAHASSEE — University of South Florida's future polytechnic campus. University of Florida's graduate business studies building. Florida State University's Center for Asian Art."

Nonprofits That Invested in Fundraising Staff, Resources Were More Likely to See Increases in 2010 | eJewish Philanthropy: Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource

Nonprofits That Invested in Fundraising Staff, Resources Were More Likely to See Increases in 2010 | eJewish Philanthropy: Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource: "A majority of charities surveyed saw their fundraising revenue remain stable or increase last year, according to the 2010 Year-End Survey of the Nonprofit Research Collaborative (NRC), a coalition of six fundraising and philanthropic organizations. The survey also showed that strong fundraising results were more likely when organizations invested resources in fundraising staff and infrastructure, including volunteer management."

Secret Admirers Give University $100 Million - WSJ.com

Secret Admirers Give University $100 Million - WSJ.com: "In a twist on a higher-education mystery, anonymous donors once again have bestowed riches on Kalamazoo, Mich.

The city's Western Michigan University said Tuesday that it received $100 million from anonymous donors to establish a medical school. WMU ranked it the seventh-largest cash gift ever to a public university."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Foundations Embrace Failure: Real Lessons Learned

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Foundations Embrace Failure: Real Lessons Learned: "The Hewlett Foundation report (PDF) quoted from above is widely seen as candidly self-critical on the foundation’s $20 million comprehensive community initiative with language in the foundation president’s cover letter describing one of the site’s self-destruction and calling the entire effort a “great disappointment.” More recently, Hewlett held what appears to be an internal competition among its grantmaking departments for each to identify one grant that fell short of expectations and provide an analysis of what went wrong and what the foundation should learn from the experience."

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Daily Collegian

The Daily Collegian: "This year, the class of 2011 voted overwhelmingly in support of the Need and Merit Based Scholarship Fund, according to the Annual Fund. The goal of the Senior Campaign Committee, which is composed of 26 students, is to raise $40,000 for the fund. A deserving student will be awarded a scholarship every year by subsequent Senior Campaign Committees until funds are depleted."

What Recession? Some Charities Are Just Fine- Exempt from The NonProfit Times March 22, 2011

What Recession? Some Charities Are Just Fine- Exempt from The NonProfit Times March 22, 2011: "What Recession? Some Charities Are Just Fine

Some nonprofits bucked the trend of falling revenues and slashing expenses in spite of weathering the worst economic time since the Great Depression. While some charities moved to cut staff to match expenses with lowered revenues, Compassion International raised child sponsorship rates and continued with a major infrastructure initiative to build capacity.

In a continuing look at the NPT 100, a study of the largest nonprofits in the nation that appears annually in the Nov. 1 edition, Compassion International was among the charities that saw expenses rise in Fiscal Year 2009. However, the Colorado Springs, Colo., charity stayed the course and prioritized its long-term, capacity-building plans. Overall, NPT 100 charities had expenses decline about 6 percent in the aggregate but about half of the 100 nonprofits had higher expenses than the previous year."

Nonprofit Finance Fund 2011 Survey: America's Nonprofits Struggle to Meet Fast-Climbing Demand... -- NEW YORK, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Nonprofit Finance Fund 2011 Survey: America's Nonprofits Struggle to Meet Fast-Climbing Demand... -- NEW YORK, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --: "87% of Nonprofits Say, 'The Recession Has Not Ended'

NEW YORK, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- America's nonprofits are expecting 2011 to be another tough year for their organizations, and for the people they serve, according to a survey released today by Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), with support from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. The survey of more than 1,900 nonprofit leaders in markets nationwide found that while there are some signs of hope,"

Case Study: Corporate Social Responsibility in the US

Case Study: Corporate Social Responsibility in the US: "Historically, corporate responsibility activities within a corporation have been led by a single
department responsible for reporting, implementing initiatives and communicating activities within areas such as philanthropy, volunteerism and environmental affairs. Today, responsibility is increasingly embedded into core business functions and decisions, such as supply chain, transportation, engineering and marketing. Corporate responsibility experts are increasingly serving as resources for those functional decision-makers. Cramer says: “Companies are moving beyond philanthropy endeavours to look at corporate responsibility as a driver of innovation and competitiveness.”"

Measuring our giving

Measuring our giving: "The Fraser Institute recently published its Generosity Index which measures private monetary generosity in Canada and the United States. As in previous years, the 2010 index shows the differences in charitable giving which exists within Canada, and also between Canada and the United States."

Value of A Volunteer Hour Jumped 2.3%- The NonProfit Times MAR 17, 2011

Value of A Volunteer Hour Jumped 2.3%- The NonProfit Times MAR 17, 2011

Two-Thirds of Surveyed Charities Report Fundraising Results Held Steady or Improved in 2010 - Business Wire - SunHerald.com

Two-Thirds of Surveyed Charities Report Fundraising Results Held Steady or Improved in 2010 - Business Wire - SunHerald.com: "The study asked about two key measures of fundraising—the percentage of organizations reaching their fundraising goals and the percentage of charities raising more funds in one year compared to the previous year. In the NRC survey about 2010, just 52 percent of organizations reported reaching their fundraising goals that year. In a survey conducted by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP, a member of the NRC) about 2009, 53 percent of charities reported meeting their yearly fundraising goals that year."

Queen Latifah Gives Fund Raisers a High-Profile Pep Talk - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Queen Latifah Gives Fund Raisers a High-Profile Pep Talk - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "And the musician and actor did her best to help fund raisers who gathered here Monday for the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual conference feel good about what they do and the people they serve.

“There is no fear in this game,” she said in a speech to attendees. “There is no room for ego. You have to go into the trenches and do what must be done for your organization."

Monday, March 21, 2011

Brew distribution laws hinder charity beer sales - Herald News

Brew distribution laws hinder charity beer sales - Herald News: "PLAINFIELD — Beer crafters at the Limestone Brewing Company in Plainfield would like to sell kegs of 6450 Red Ale to local restaurants who want to serve it to their customers.

Naming the ale for Plainfield’s Rotary Club Chapter 6450, Limestone donates 50 cents of every draw of the sweet malty ale to the local charity."

GuideStar Announces Plans to Acquire Innovative Startups Philanthropedia and Social Actions

GuideStar Announces Plans to Acquire Innovative Startups Philanthropedia and Social Actions: "2011



GuideStar Announces Plans to Acquire Innovative Startups Philanthropedia and Social Actions
Acquisitions Add Critical Impact Data to GuideStar's Outstanding Knowledge Base and Further the Organization's Long-Term Strategy of Helping Donors, Institutional Funders, and Those Working with the Nonprofit Sector Identify and Engage with High-Impact Nonprofits

Release date: March 17, 2011

Washington, D.C.—GuideStar, the nonprofit industry's leading resource for nonprofit data, today announced plans to acquire two innovative social impact organizations, Philanthropedia and Social Actions. GuideStar's addition of both organizations will strengthen its leading role in the nonprofit industry by adding to its growing knowledge base of tools, data, and information designed to advance transparency within the nonprofit sector."

Nonprofit Finance and Accounting 2011 | Philanthropy Journal

Nonprofit Finance and Accounting 2011 | Philanthropy Journal: "In this special report, PJ looks at ways nonprofits are handling their finances and accounting in the face of the troubled economy."

Google Announces New Service for Nonprofits | Fast Company

Google Announces New Service for Nonprofits | Fast Company: "Google has announced a new program for nonprofits, which they say will include a grant for adwords, exclusive tools, and collaboration forums. 'Instead of applying to each Google product individually,' nonprofits can apply for a suite of tools here, according to Google's blog post.

The user-friendly site, Google.com/nonprofits, looks like it aims to simplify and educate how nonprofits can use the wide array of google products for their organization (like this video below)."

Social services nonprofits consider aligning missions | Mainebiz

Social services nonprofits consider aligning missions | Mainebiz: "People's Regional Opportunity Program, founded in 1965 and based in Portland, has begun deliberating a merger with Youth Alternatives Ingraham, a 44-year-old agency headquartered in South Portland. PROP serves the disadvantaged in southern Maine with programs such as Head Start, heating assistance and housing support. Youth Alternatives Ingraham provides mental health care for children and adults, and also recently went through another merger. In 2007, it joined the Portland mental health agency Ingraham, bringing its budget up from $12 million to $22 million, and roughly doubling its staff."

Increasing Philanthropic Giving |

Increasing Philanthropic Giving |: "Three Steps To Increasing Philanthropic Giving In Today’s Economy

* Step I Update your fund raising plan.
* Step II Follow the money.
* Step III Get face time with prospects."

Museums Pursue Engagement With Social Media - NYTimes.com

Museums Pursue Engagement With Social Media - NYTimes.com