Friday, February 21, 2014

Opinion: Corcoran Gallery’s End a Failure of Governance – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Opinion: Corcoran Gallery’s End a Failure of Governance – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: The agreement to effectively dissolve Washington, D.C.’s Corcoran Gallery of Art points up an “emerging crisis in nonprofit governance” that is increasingly engulfing significant cultural institutions, a Wall Street Journal editor writes.

Opinion: Why Catholic U. Will Keep $1-Million Koch Donation – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Opinion: Why Catholic U. Will Keep $1-Million Koch Donation – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: wo top officials at the Catholic University of America defend the school’s acceptance of a $1-million gift from the Charles Koch Foundation in a Wall Street Journal column.

The November 2013 donation to the university’s business school has drawn criticism from some Catholic academics and faith-affiliated progressive groups who contend that Mr. Koch’s financial support for conservative and libertarian causes goes against church teaching on economics and social justice.

As Ted Turner’s $1-Billion Pledge Ends, U.N. Fund Builds New Relationships - Big Gifts - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

As Ted Turner’s $1-Billion Pledge Ends, U.N. Fund Builds New Relationships - Big Gifts - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: This year, the United Nations Foundation will learn that deep pockets are not, in fact, bottomless.

That’s because Ted Turner, who started the foundation with a staggering $1-billion pledge in 1997, is due to make his last payment next summer.

To keep the money flowing in the post-Turner era, the foundation is wooing others with deep pockets in the corporate worl

A Lesson Plan for Partnerships: Insights from STEM Nonprofits | Corporate Citizenship Center

A Lesson Plan for Partnerships: Insights from STEM Nonprofits | Corporate Citizenship Center: A Lesson Plan for Partnerships: Insights From Leading STEM Nonprofits looks to better understand partnerships between corporations and nonprofits. By surveying leading STEM educational programs, the research assessed the relationship between nonprofits and corporate partners and provides a guide for how to build stronger partnerships.

SlideZone | nfpSynergy

SlideZone | nfpSynergy: Attributes of the ideal charity

Looking at the broad traits that the public feel an ideal charity should have, transparency tops the ranking, with 45% selecting at least one attribute related to it. Answers such as honesty and trustworthiness highlight how essential transparency and fairness are in people's ideal charity. Interestingly, this category has seen a steep rise of 12% since 2012. This could potentially be due to negative stories about charity wrongdoing in the media over the last year.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Executive Directors and Fundraising: Not Always a Perfect Match

Executive Directors and Fundraising: Not Always a Perfect Match: Executive Directors of nonprofits are ususally diligent and creative people, but they often don't know the first thing about fundraising. They just don't get the value of a good lunch with a few good people, and may even think it a waste of time.

Line vs Staff - Does it make a difference?

Questions I'm Most Often Asked about Cultivating Donors

Questions I'm Most Often Asked about Cultivating Donors: Questions I'm Most Often Asked about Cultivating Donors

February 2014

For years I've taught fundraising. I've presented scores of fundraising seminars and workshops and taught a class on the subject at Harvard. My students have included both beginners and people who have been in the field for several years. I've been asked many of the same questions over my career. The ones I answer below are also explored more thoroughly in my book, How to Connect with Donors and Double the Money You Raise.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

SOI Tax Stats - Charities & Other Tax-Exempt Organizations Statistics







Historical microdata files based on Forms 990
and Forms 990-EZ sampled for the annual studies of nonprofit charitable and
other tax-exempt organizations are now available. Annual data are available for
organizations exempt from income tax under Internal Revenue Code Section
501(c)(3). Additional data for tax-exempt organizations under IRC Sections
501(c)(4) through 501(c)(9) are available for limited tax years.












SOI Tax Stats - Charities & Other Tax-Exempt Organizations Statistics

Local charities aim to raise $4 million in 24 hours | kvue.com Austin

Local charities aim to raise $4 million in 24 hours | kvue.com Austin: Central Texas has hundreds of nonprofits. Thanks to the Amplify Austin campaign, you have a fun, easy way to help raise money for your favorite charity.

Amplify Austin is a unique, online giving event established by I Live Here, I Give Here.

Lessons From Inside The $800 Million Girl Scout Cookie Selling Empire | Fast Company | Business Innovation

Lessons From Inside The $800 Million Girl Scout Cookie Selling Empire | Fast Company | Business Innovation: According to a recent national study by the Girl Scouts Research Institute (GSRI), only 39% of girls want to be leaders. “Girls are not opting in to leadership roles. They’re putting their hands down earlier and earlier, as early as the age of five,” Parisi says. Another GSRI study on financial literacy found that 90% of girls think managing money is an important skill, but only 12% felt confident making financial decisions. “[The cookie program] allows girls to learn these skills in a safe space,” Parisi says.

Here are five lessons in entrepreneurship girls learn from the cookie program:

Fundraising, Part 3: Higher education cultivates major gifts � Philanthropy North Carolina

Fundraising, Part 3: Higher education cultivates major gifts � Philanthropy North Carolina: This article was written for Blackbaud.]

A rebounding economy and long-term investment in major gift donors paid off for colleges and universities in 2013, says John Lippincott, president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE.

Schools that have shown fundraising success also are doing a good job in their stewardship of donors, including younger donors, by engaging them in their institutions in ongoing ways, he says.

Boston Globe Offers Free Ad Space to Mass. Nonprofits

massnonprofit.org ::: Massachusetts nonprofits have until March 1 to rally supporters to their cause in a new promotional effort spearheaded by The Boston Globe that will provide qualifying organizations with up to 10 pages of free advertising space in the publication.

The Boston Globe Readers And Nonprofit Together program—or GRANT—is intended to showcase nonprofits in the community and provide advertising space to organizations that might not otherwise be able to afford it, according to Natalie Bean, circulation manager at the Globe.

50 Fascinating Nonprofit Statistics | npENGAGE

50 Fascinating Nonprofit Statistics | npENGAGE

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Companies pitch new fundraising schemes to cash-strapped schools - Business - CBC News

Companies pitch new fundraising schemes to cash-strapped schools - Business - CBC News: PFE’s president Annie Kidder says she hasn’t seen any numbers regarding a boom in new business ventures related to school fundraising, but she wouldn’t be surprised to hear it’s happening.

“I think there is an increased assumption among the parents that they must raise money, and they must raise more every year,” she tells me in a phone interview. “Fundraising used to be seen as something needed for extras - team shirts, or a special event. Now the question we ask is, ‘What is an extra?’”

CHS Community Post | Seattle University Students Pledge to Raise $50K for Seattle Children’s | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle

CHS Community Post | Seattle University Students Pledge to Raise $50K for Seattle Children’s | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle: Seattle University Dance Marathon (SUDM) has pledged to raise $50,000 for uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, a fund that provides medical care for children, regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

Center for the Future of Museums: Monday Musings: What Price Nonprofit?

Center for the Future of Museums: Monday Musings: What Price Nonprofit?: All of which raises a disturbing prospect of how long theaters can flirt with having their tax-exempt cake and eating it, too. I find this story disturbingly reminiscent of the way in which nonprofit hospitals (among the largest recipients of charitable donations) are increasingly coming into question for behaving in ways indistinguishable from for-profit hospitals. This has led to practical consequences such as the City of Pittsburgh challenging the tax-exempt status of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which in turn prompted legislation currently waiting voter approval that would give Pennsylvania the power to determine tax status, shielding nonpos from cash-strapped municipalities scrambling to find funds.

Ticket Prices Spike as Nonprofit NYC Theaters Face Squeeze – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Ticket Prices Spike as Nonprofit NYC Theaters Face Squeeze – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Major nonprofit theaters in New York City are charging significantly more for seats, with several recently topping the $100 mark for the first time, writes The New York Times.

PBS Station Returns Grant to Avoid ‘Perception’ of Influence – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

PBS Station Returns Grant to Avoid ‘Perception’ of Influence – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: New York public television station WNET said Friday that it will return a $3.5-million grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation that supported an ambitious reporting project on government pensions, an issue on which the foundation and its founder have staked out a highly public position, reports The New York Times.

RSPCA flooded with calls about Neknomination drinking game craze

RSPCA flooded with calls about Neknomination drinking game craze: RSPCA has been hit with a deluge of calls concerning animal cruelty complaints related to the new social media fad Neknomination, and a number of health charities have spoken out about the dangers.

World Records Broken at Walkathon for Philippine Typhoon Survivors - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

World Records Broken at Walkathon for Philippine Typhoon Survivors - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Among the Filipinos worldwide responding to the continuing crisis in their homeland are followers of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), an independent and indigenous Christian group. Members participated in a walkathon staged in the Philippines and 55 other sites in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the United States, and in the process broke a couple of Guinness World Records.

Guinness adjudicator Kirsty Bennett certified that 175,509 congregants marched in Manila on Saturday, breaking the record set 14 years ago in Singapore when 77,500 people walked to promote healthy living. Bennett also confirmed that 519,221 Iglesia ni Cristo members worldwide set a new record for the largest

Controversial “Neutral” Donations Policy from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Controversial “Neutral” Donations Policy from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: n an effort to give its clients a say in how some of its charitable dollars are invested, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has created a program called Thrivent Choice. Eligible members are given Choice Dollars, ranging from $25 to $5,000 of Thrivent’s charitable outreach funds, and can identify which charitable causes will receive the money. Launched in 2010, more than $170 million of Thrivent Choice Dollars has been invested in charities around the world as directed by eligible members. In 2011 alone, St. Jude’s Hospital was awarded over $200,000 through the program.

DonorsChoose Founder Charles Best On The Art Of Asking For Money | Fast Company | Business Innovation

DonorsChoose Founder Charles Best On The Art Of Asking For Money | Fast Company | Business Innovation: The way Best sees it, there are three key principles to asking for money in a way that makes the process easier--and even fun. Together, this triad makes the ask feel more like the thrill of the chase than going hat-in-hand and ingratiating yourself to someone, he says.

A Reminder about Funding Overdependence - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

A Reminder about Funding Overdependence - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: A report from Portland, Maine about the closing of a city-run clinic that provided healthcare for 2300 homeless people each year should remind us that wherever possible, we should guard against overdependence on one source of funding. The clinic’s fate was decided when it lost a federal grant that provided approximately a third of its annual budget of $1.8 million.