Monday, June 06, 2005

No posts were made to the AFP Blogs on June 6 or 7. Posting resumed June 8th.

No posts were made to the AFP Blogs on June 6 or 7. Posting resumed June 8th.Thanks for your continued readership.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Bigger NGO role in environmental protection

Bigger NGO role in environmental protection: "Bigger NGO role in environmental protection
(Xinhuanet)
Updated: 2005-06-03 14:39
Chinese non-government organizations (NGOs) have long pledged to play a bigger role in environmental protection, but faced with various challenges and needed more supportive hands, according to some Chinese NGOs. "

Heiress Is Identified as Victim in Case Against Arts Patron - New York Times

Heiress Is Identified as Victim in Case Against Arts Patron - New York Times: "Heiress Is Identified as Victim in Case Against Arts Patron
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: June 3, 2005
The investor whose money prosecutors say was stolen by Alberto W. Vilar, the philanthropist and investment adviser, has been identified as the 67-year-old widow of a California millionaire.
The investor, generally identified in a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint as 'L. C.,' but on two occasions as 'Cates,' is Lily Cates, 67, of Manhattan, supporters of Mr. Vilar said, clearing up one of the mysteries surrounding his arrest. The original charges, unsealed on May 27, gave no details about his accuser, who has been identified in unrelated court cases also as Lily Cates Naify.

The Charitable Side Of NASCAR Drivers

The Charitable Side Of NASCAR Drivers: "The Charitable Side Of NASCAR Drivers


By Kaycee Nilson
May 31, 2005

One of NASCAR�s favorite charities that most of its drivers are involved in is the �Victory Junction Gang.� This charity is one in the network of Paul Newman�s Hole In The Wall Gang Camps. But the Victory Junction Gang was really started by Kyle and Pattie Petty in honor of their son, Adam, who died in May 2000 during a practice for a NASCAR Busch Grand National Series race in Loudon, New Hampshire.

The purpose of this camp is to give children with life threatening diseases a chance to be kids again and to forget for a small moment in their lives that they are sick and to be just what every other person their age is, a kid. "

The Citizens Voice - Opinion - 06/02/2005 - Our communities need the time and talents of baby boomers

The Citizens Voice - Opinion - 06/02/2005 - Our communities need the time and talents of baby boomers: "Editor:
The first wave of 'baby boomers' - those 77 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 - will soon begin to turn 60.

Advertisement


As they have done many times in the past, boomers are again challenging conventional thinking about what is expected of them. Taking to heart President Kennedy's encouragement to 'Ask what you can do for your country,' maturing boomers now have the opportunity to shape their generation's social legacy.
At the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and PennSERVE: The Governor's Office of Citizen Service, we are actively reaching out to help boomers find their niche in the service movement and raise awareness of what we call 'civic engagement.'"

Chamber aims to draft leaders for nonprofit groups - 06/03/05

Chamber aims to draft leaders for nonprofit groups - 06/03/05: "Chamber aims to draft leaders for nonprofit groups
Partnership calls for recruiting business execs and providing them with training.
By R.J. King / The Detroit News
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MACKINAC ISLAND -- The Detroit Regional Chamber plans to recruit business leaders to help manage nonprofit organizations in Metro Detroit, some of which struggle to find skilled executives to oversee their operations.
BoardConnect SE, a collaboration with Nonprofit Enterprise at Work Inc. in Ann Arbor, which helps civic groups better manage operations, will provide training and recruiting activities for nonprofit board members in Metro Detroit.
The partnership is scheduled to be announced today at the Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, a gathering of some 1,700 business, political and educational leaders that concludes Sunday.
'We find many executives want to be part of a nonprofit board, but they may not know what is involved or where to find the right match,' said Karen Batchelor, the Chamber's senior vice president of regional affairs. "

DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS

DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS
Focus is on politics of nonprofits
The fundraising success of a new James Dobson group spurs debate on the rules.
By Eric Gorski
Denver Post Staff Writer


In only six months of existence, a new affiliate of Focus on the Family was able to raise nearly $9 million for its cause: taking on the politicians and judges whom founder James Dobson blames for taking the country to the brink of moral bankruptcy.

Nonprofit experts say raising that much money so quickly - the equivalent of $50,000 a day - is astounding, more evidence of the goodwill the child psychologist has built among supporters over a quarter-century of preaching conservative values.

commercialappeal.com - 21st Century league

commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN: Business: "21st Century league
Group sheds stereotype, ramps up activities, fund-raising
By David Flaum
Contact
June 3, 2005
A six-figure budget, 2,000 members and a headquarters housing everything from a business incubator to wedding receptions -- that's the 21st Century Junior League of Memphis.
Young executive wives sipping tea and doing a little volunteer work -- the Junior League stereotype -- went the way of nylons, rotary telephones and vinyl record albums.
'The perception in the community is that we're a group of women volunteers, which we are,' said Kim MacQueen, 2004-05 president. "

House Panel Inquires Into City Hospital - June 3, 2005 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper

House Panel Inquires Into City Hospital - June 3, 2005 - The New York Sun - NY Newspaper: "House Panel Inquires Into City Hospital
BY LUIZA Ch. SAVAGE - Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 3, 2005

WASHINGTON - Congress is yet again asking New York-Presbyterian Hospital to provide detailed information about its operations. This time, a House panel is scrutinizing how the nation's largest hospitals bill their uninsured patients and people injured in automobile accidents."

TriCities.com | Hospital chains clash over fundraiser for children's charity

TriCities.com | Hospital chains clash over fundraiser for children's charity: "Hospital chains clash over fundraiser for children's charity
BY MATTHEW LAKIN
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Jun 3, 12:00 AM EDT






JOHNSON CITY � A fundraiser for a children�s charity has led to a clash between two area hospital chains.
Wellmont Health System and News Channel 11 will broadcast an annual telethon Saturday for the Children�s Miracle Network, which raises money for children�s health care around the country.
Local funds go mainly to children�s programs at Wellmont facilities around Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
The money won�t go to the Children�s Hospital at Johnson City Medical Center, owned by rival Mountain States Health Alliance."

deepikaglobal.com - Sports News Detail

deepikaglobal.com - Sports News Detail: "Largest charity golf tournament on June 13
New Delhi, June 2 (UNI) The Tier One Christel House Open -- the largest one-day charity golf tournament, involving 26 courses -- will be held in as many as 11 countries in five continents, spanning 20 time zones on June "

Nonprofits balk at $6 million contribution to Pittsburgh coffers (phillyBurbs.com)

Nonprofits balk at $6 million contribution to Pittsburgh coffers (phillyBurbs.com): "Nonprofits balk at $6 million contribution to Pittsburgh coffers
The Associated Press


PITTSBURGH - A consortium of nonprofit groups has yet to contribute $6 million to the city this year as proposed by a state budget oversight board - and some members are reluctant to pay because they're not sure the city needs the money.
The Pittsburgh Public Service Trust Fund was formed as a vehicle to let nonprofits, whose property and payrolls aren't taxed, contribute money for city services. The nonprofit contributions are a key part of a financial recovery plan developed by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, which was appointed by the Legislature to oversee the city's budget."

Thursday, June 02, 2005

DCist: Good Deeds in D.C.

DCist: Good Deeds in D.C.: "ity | San Francisco | Seattle | Toronto | Washington DCJune 02, 2005
Good Deeds in D.C.
Editor's Note: You can't walk down the street in this capitol of nonprofits without tripping over someone trying to make a difference. Today, DCist introduces the first of an occasional feature in which we turn the blogging spotlight on some of the organizations and people who work to give something back. If you know of a good cause that needs a little light, send it this way.
For our first post, we're sticking close to home and featuring The Syrentha Savio Endowment (SSE), an organization 'that provides financial assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford the expense of fighting breast cancer'. (In the interest of full disclosure, this DCist should report that we know the founder, Mark Beemer, well enough to tear it up at his house warming party this Saturday.)
Mark started the organization in February 2002, a month after his "

Lowell Sun Online - Local-State of local charitable giving the main topic at annual forum

Lowell Sun Online - Local: "State of local charitable giving the main topic at annual forum
By MICHAEL LAFLEUR, Sun Staff



LOWELL -- It began with a warning about the dire financial straits in which several local nonprofit organizations, particularly the city's cultural institutions, now find themselves.
But yesterday's ninth annual Philanthropy Day forum at the DoubleTree Riverfront Hotel in Lowell, with the theme Celebrate Giving, ended on a much more uplifting note.
The warning was issued by David Kronberg, executive director of the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, which sponsored yesterday's event. He said government funding cuts,
coupled with private, charitable foundations' stock-market losses, have combined to create a steadily worsening donor climate. "

ThirdSector-Few private sector staff would consider charity financejobs

ThirdSector: "Finance: Few private sector staff would consider charity financejobs
Only 5 per cent of finance professionals in the private sector would like to work for a charity, according to a new survey.

The poll, a survey of 300 finance professionals from Hays Accountancy and Finance, found that commercial accountants and finance managers associate voluntary organisations with poor salaries, bureaucracy, low status and limited career opportunities.

In contrast, the private sector was felt to offer good remuneration, variety, security and opportunity. "

Whitman-Walker to End AIDS Service in Suburbs

Whitman-Walker to End AIDS Service in Suburbs: "Whitman-Walker to End AIDS Service in Suburbs
D.C. Clinic's Cash-Flow Squeeze Forces Layoffs, Renewed Focus on Core Programs
By Susan Levine
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 2, 2005; Page A01
The Whitman-Walker Clinic will pull out of the Northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs, lay off nearly one-fourth of its staff of 260 and reduce, consolidate or end a host of other programs to stabilize the organization's finances and future.
The measures will be permanent, interim Executive Director Roberta Geidner-Antoniotti said yesterday, and presage a much-altered future for the region's oldest and largest provider of services to people infected with HIV. They amount to the most severe retrenchment in the 32-year history of the clinic, which began as a gay men's health center and built a national reputation for its AIDS programs.

AP Wire | 06/01/2005 | SEC files lawsuit against New York philanthropist and his company

AP Wire 06/01/2005 SEC files lawsuit against New York philanthropist and his company: "Posted on Wed, Jun. 01, 2005
SEC files lawsuit against New York philanthropist and his company

LARRY NEUMEISTER

Associated Press


NEW YORK - A receiver should be appointed to run the investment company of a wealthy philanthropist charged with using an investor's money to make charitable donations and pay personal expenses, a government regulator said Wednesday.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the Securities and Exchange Commission asked that a receiver be appointed to oversee Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc., a San Francisco-based company that describes itself as a specialist in emerging technology growth stocks.
The SEC said clients have contacted the company to inquire about the safety of their investments in the week after its two principles, Alberto William Vilar "

News from The Roanoke Times - Show them the money

News from The Roanoke Times - Show them the money:
snipsnip>>.
"The Spring 2005 issue of the NACE Salary Survey shows that average salary offers to new college graduates, especially in business and engineering, are climbing at a steady pace.
The salary range for start-up careers in the construction industry is between $46,000 and $60,000, said Kimberly Mitchell, career development coordinator at Virginia Tech's department of building construction.
Other hot jobs include private accounting, management trainee positions, teaching and consulting.
College graduates like to get into management training because they move in and up, quickly, said Toni McLawhorn, director of career services at Roanoke College.
Even nonprofits, a $9 billion industry, have stepped up their hiring and salaries, said Tina Rolen, director of career development at Hollins University. "

The Chronicle: 5/26/2005: Charity Races to Turn 15 Minutes of Fame Into a Long-Term Benefit

The Chronicle: 5/26/2005: Charity Races to Turn 15 Minutes of Fame Into a Long-Term Benefit: "Charity Races to Turn 15 Minutes of Fame Into a Long-Term Benefit
By Alison Stein Wellner
On February 2, Dominic Calabrese had the best commute of his life.
Before Mr. Calabrese boarded the train that morning, he stopped off at the newsstand and picked up The Wall Street Journal. As the public-relations director at the Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired, he takes more than the usual interest in each day's headlines. But that day, he was absolutely riveted by what he found on the Journal's front page: an article about the Chicago Lighthouse."

Douglas County Bank-Audit Rotation Misinformation2005-05-01

Douglas County Bank: "Audit Rotation Misinformation2005-05-01

While auditor rotation has been bandied about in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, there is no requirement for public companies, government entities or nonprofits to change audit firms.
For publicly held companies, SOX Sec. 203 requires that audit partners must rotate off of the audit every five years, but the same audit firm can be used.
For government entities, a November 2003 GAO report found that '... mandatory audit firm rotation may not be the most efficient way to ... improve audit quality considering the ... loss of institutional knowledge of the public company's previous auditor of record.'
Access the report at www.gao.gov/new.items/ d03419sp.pdf.
And a report from the Panel on the Nonprofit sector, convened at the request of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in October 2004, does not recommend the rotation of auditors for charitable organizations.
Access the report at www.nonprofitpanel.org/interim.
Copyright California Society of Certified Public Accountants May 2005 "

BBC NEWS | UK | Saucy face of fundraising

BBC NEWS | UK | Saucy face of fundraising: "Saucy face of fundraising
Six of the original Calendar Girls have been attending a royal reception at Clarence House to celebrate their charity fundraising reaching �1 million.

Actresses appeared with WI members in a 2004 calendar
The group continued raising cash for the Leukaemia Research Fund long after their near-naked Women's Institute calendar became a phenomenal success and the subject of a hit film.
The success of North Yorkshire's Rylstone and District WI's 1999 calendar also launched a copycat craze which has become an established form of fundraising"

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Charity Donations on Plastic Hit Record

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Charity Donations on Plastic Hit Record: "Charity Donations on Plastic Hit Record

By Nicky Burridge, PA Personal Finance Correspondent


Britons donated a record �374 million to charity using their debit and credit cards during the first four months of the year, figures showed today.
The sum was more than double the �173.3 million people gave to charity during the same period of 2004, according to banking industry body APACS.

The group said the jump was largely due to the huge sums raised by the Disaster Emergency Committee to help people caught up in the Asian tsunami, as well as donations to Comic Relief�s Red Nose Day.
It added that an industry agreement meant all donations made to both appeals using cards were free of the usual charges levied on card payments."

The arts matter - and so does drawing crowds

The arts matter - and so does drawing crowds: "The arts matter - and so does drawing crowds
Steven Winn
Thursday, June 2, 2005

The arts are essential, everyone seems to agree. Seventy percent of Californians say artists make for a better community. The state mandates the arts as a 'core subject' in public schools. San Francisco arts organizations, with an aggregate budget of $350 million, attract more patrons in a year here than all sporting events do. So why is it getting harder and harder to pay the bills?
'Crisis' may be too easy a word to throw around, when it comes to the perennially dicey business of arts funding, but things are at a pretty bad pass now. The once vibrant California Arts Council has all but disappeared during the state's fiscal free fall. Very few public schools can actually afford to meet the state arts-education mandate. Shrinking city and county arts budgets around the country mirror the problems. While federal funding has held its own, the Bush-era National Endowment for the Arts has become centrist and highly risk-aversive in its grants. "

Newsday.com: Two sentenced in illegal Iraqi charity case

Newsday.com: Two sentenced in illegal Iraqi charity case: "Two sentenced in illegal Iraqi charity case
June 1, 2005, 5:33 PM EDT


SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Two people who pleaded guilty in the federal government's case against an Iraqi charity were fined Wednesday and sentenced to two years of probation.

Priscilla Dhafir, who admitted to knowingly making a false statement to Medicare investigators, was fined $10,000 and also will have to pay nearly $63,000 in restitution. William Hatfield, an accountant who pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Dr. Rafil Dhafir in filing a false tax form, was fined $15,000. Both also will undergo three years of supervised release and perform 150 hours of community service. "

Telegraph | Money | Charities urged to get in tune with business

Telegraph | Money | Charities urged to get in tune with business: "Charities urged to get in tune with business
By Roland Gribben (Filed: 02/06/2005)

BT is pioneering a programme that could bring a shake-up in the way business channels charitable donations and so exercises greater control.


The telecoms group is streamlining the way it provides support by encouraging closer links among charities offering similar services and being more specific about what it is willing to support.
One of the first results is a joint venture between two childminding charities, Netmums and the National Childminders' Association, to offer a service to BT employees."

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

NP Times / Direct Mail: Outer Envelopes

NP Times / Direct Mail: Outer Envelopes: "May 15 , 2005
Direct Mail: Outer Envelopes

By Robert Ford
What�s working, what�s new?
One prevailing theory of the direct response envelope is that if you hand write it, or at least make it appear that you did, donor prospects will open it. And whether the envelope is hand-written, in color, with graphics or without, many theories of what works crowd the landscape.
In theory, there are three types of direct response m ail, the A-pile, the B-pile and the C-pile. According to Tom Gaffny, executive vice president of Burlington, Mass.-based Epsilon, a database direct response marketing company, the A-pile is the one that �you know you just have to read,� the B-pile, is the one �you might read while standing over the garbage can� and the C-pile is the one that gets thrown unopened into the garbage can. "

NP Times / Hearts And Eyeballs

NP Times / Hearts And Eyeballs: "May 15 , 2005
Hearts And Eyeballs
By Tim Mills-Groninger
Online communities add valueto fundraising
Humans can't help it. They have to include a little bit of themselves into every exchange. Staff meetings have little asides about weekend adventures. Client meetings might start with questions about each person's family.
People want to communicate as people, and, no matter where and how, they'll self-select into little groups or communities of interest to share insight and ideas and to support each other's ideas.
For the 21st Century nonprofit, that means evaluating both constituent needs and channels of communications and creating the right mix of medium and message to form the kind of community that stakeholders expect. Traditional channels for outreach and fundraising such as publications, direct mail, and telephone continue to be the biggest revenue stream for most agencies, but online channels are gaining ground and offering a way to engage a younger audience as both donors and advocates of the mission. "

Afghan NGOs launch 'code of conduct'. 01/06/2005. ABC News Online

Afghan NGOs launch 'code of conduct'. 01/06/2005. ABC News Online: "Afghan NGOs launch 'code of conduct'
Nearly 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in Afghanistan say they have launched a 'code of conduct' in a bid to boost transparency in financial matters.
The 88 Afghan and international NGOs pledged to do a better job of 'explaining the way in which they work, to inform the population on the way of which they use their funds, and to show the benefit that their actions bring to the Afghan people"

PCWorld.com - Are You Addicted to E-Mail?

PCWorld.com - Are You Addicted to E-Mail?: "Are You Addicted to E-Mail?

Many of us check for messages in church and while driving the car, new study says.
Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service
Tuesday, May 31, 2005


U.S. residents are so hooked on e-mail that some check for messages in the bathroom, in church, and while driving, a new survey sponsored by America Online has found.
The average e-mail user in the U.S. has two or three e-mail accounts and spends about an hour every day reading, sending, and replying to messages, according to the survey, conducted by Opinion Research"

Fund-Raiser Says Investor Donated Space - New York Times

Fund-Raiser Says Investor Donated Space - New York Times: "Fund-Raiser Says Investor Donated Space
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: June 1, 2005
Alberto W. Vilar, the philanthropist and investor arrested on fraud charges last week, not only gave away tens of millions of dollars to arts institutions, but he also donated office space to at least five of his favorite charities.
Mr. Vilar is in jail after his arrest last week on charges that he defrauded a longtime customer of $5 million. According to the charges, some of that money went to his pet recipients, including $177,000 to the American Academy in Berlin. "

courant.com | Finding The Right Volunteer Situation

courant.com | Finding The Right Volunteer Situation: "Finding The Right Volunteer Situation
June 1, 2005
By KENT S. COLLINS, TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES Where should an older retiree go to find a good volunteer job?

'The healthiest, wealthiest and best-educated generation of Americans in our history is reaching retirement age' says Thomas Endres, who heads the National Council on Aging's RespectAbility program. 'They have tremendous potential to help revitalize our communities if we can only find ways to involve them"

JS Online: Boards slowly opening up to women, minorities

JS Online: Boards slowly opening up to women, minorities: "Boards slowly opening up to women, minorities
Time is right, seasoned executive Jackson says
Posted: May 31, 2005
Opportunities



Tannette Johnson-Elie
E-MAIL | ARCHIVE


Seasoned business executive Gwen Jackson has fought long and hard to help organizations to see beyond tokenism in appointing people of color to their boards, especially as they look to increase diversity now that Sarbanes-Oxley is fueling lots of turnover on corporate boards.
'It's having boards that look like the community that you're trying to represent,' says Jackson, chairman emeritus of the Greater Milwaukee Chapter of the American Red Cross and a retired executive for Brills Inc., a former Wisconsin men's clothing chain. 'I see more boards trying to make that happen. It's slowly coming of age. I'd like to see it go a little faster.'
Jackson has been on numerous non-profit boards over many decades. She has seen the tenor of boardroom diversity change and offers wisdom for women and minorities who hope to step onto boards. Recent corporate scandals and greater oversight, much of it to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, has put pressure on companies to improve corporate governance, which makes diversity increasingly important at the board level."

Telluride Daily Planet: The newspaper choice for the people of Telluride

Telluride Daily Planet: The newspaper choice for the people of Telluride: " few days ago, I was commiserating with a friend about the sad state of environmental affairs. We were talking about the infamous 'death of environmentalism' paper and its call for the environmental movement to connect more to issues involving social justice.

My opinion, I told my friend, is that it's not environmentalism that's dead. There's just no future in regular work. The future lies in capital, connections to it and then wielding that power. I concluded: 'Billionaire philanthropy "

Atlanta Scouts Inflated Numbers

Atlanta Scouts Inflated Numbers: "Atlanta Scouts Inflated Numbers
Leaders Falsified Participation by Inner-City Youth, Audit Finds
By Daniel Yee
Associated Press
Wednesday, June 1, 2005; Page A05
ATLANTA, May 31 -- An independent investigation of the Atlanta area Boy Scouts found that the organization inflated its number of black Boy Scouts by nearly 5,000 in a program for inner-city youth -- including 200 Scout units that did not exist.
The audit led to the resignation Tuesday of the Atlanta Area Council's executive director, David Larkin, who said he took full responsibility for his organization's actions."