Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Corporate Social Responsibility and Starbucks

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Corporate Social Responsibility and Starbucks: "The press coverage is a little thin on the gourmet corporate retailer’s philanthropy. Like many corporations in recent years, Starbucks leads with the community service volunteer hours of its employees, counting 191,000 hours through partners such as the HandsOn Network. The corporation also makes “Youth Action Grants” to get young people to devote hundreds of thousands of hours to community service,"

BBC News - Three Cups of Tea: The Pakistan and Afghan side

BBC News - Three Cups of Tea: The Pakistan and Afghan side: "The report dissected the financial affairs of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), the charity he set up, but it also raised serious doubts over whether the organisation really did build all the schools it has taken credit for. Mr Mortenson denies the allegations.

The BBC investigated a few areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan to test some of the central claims made in the programme."

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

'Three Cups' Author Responds to Accusations - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

'Three Cups' Author Responds to Accusations - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Three Cups’ Author Responds to Accusations

April 19, 2011, 9:49 am

The author Greg Mortenson said Monday that his nonprofit Central Asia Institute has changed some of the financial practices that have drawn fire from charity watchdogs and former associates, according to Outside magazine and The New York Times."

Sixteen more local authorities seek to regulate chugging - Third Sector

Sixteen more local authorities seek to regulate chugging - Third Sector: "Clampdown on street fundraisers

The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association says site agreements are unlikely to affect charities' income from face to face fundraising

The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association is in talks to establish agreements to regulate street fundraising in 16 more local authority areas across the UK.

Forty areas already have site-management agreements, which say how many fundraisers can work in a particular place, where they can operate and on which days."

Gara LaMarche: Making the Moral Case for Change

Gara LaMarche: Making the Moral Case for Change: "As President of The Atlantic Philanthropies, I have had a growing discomfort about the way foundations--as well as many of the causes we champion--stray too far from talking about their principles when describing what and why they do anything.

My sense is that philanthropy today--whether it's philanthropy on an institutional level or an individual making a donation--is too often driven by metrics often unconnected to core values. And our debates about politics today are too often driven by what message will 'win the day,' and what argument will be effective, rather than what is right."

Want to shave 'stewardess' Branson's legs? Pay $650,000 - The Times of India

Want to shave 'stewardess' Branson's legs? Pay $650,000 - The Times of India: "The winner of a charity auction will pay at least $650,000 for the honour, according to Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia.

The Virgin Atlantic founder will hand the razor to one of 160 passengers on a special charity flight from London to Kuala Lumpur that he will personally serve on May 1 while wearing a female flight attendant's uniform, AirAsia said Monday."

PHILANTHROPY 2173: Tea, lives, and trust

PHILANTHROPY 2173: Tea, lives, and trust: "Tea, lives, and trust

The Greg Mortenson/ 3 cups of Tea fabrication/fact story matters.

It matters because we (try to) trust nonfiction authors, nonprofits, and ratings agencies to be truth tellers."

Monday, April 18, 2011

It is Official: Postage Costs More

It is Official: Postage Costs More: "he average 1.7-percent increase did not affect First Class mail but it did affect standard mail used by nonprofits, including letters, flats, non-flat machineables, as well as library mail retail. The increase was an average 1.7 percent but can vary within classes and subclasses of mail.

Conway said the average increase within classes used by nonprofits is likely to be less, depending on the types of presorts used when mailing. “Nobody likes price increases but these are pretty darn reasonable,” he said."

Australia donates to charity as royal wedding gift

Australia donates to charity as royal wedding gift: "SYDNEY - AUSTRALIA said on Monday it will donate A$25,000 (S$32,800) to the Royal Flying Doctor Service as a wedding gift to Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The couple, who will marry on April 29, have asked that anyone intending to send them presents instead give the money to charity.

'The gift was decided following a request from the happy couple to donate to one of their nominated charities instead of a wedding gift,' said Prime Minister Julia Gillard's office."

NFL OK's contact between Dallas Cowboys coaches, players at charity event - ESPN Dallas

NFL OK's contact between Dallas Cowboys coaches, players at charity event - ESPN Dallas: "Contact between NFL coaches and players is prohibited because of the lockout, but the league made an exception for long-standing charity events."