Museums roll out the red carpet for Hollywood - latimes.com

Museums roll out the red carpet for Hollywood - latimes.com: "Welcome to gala season in the art world, the time when L.A.'s leading museums roll out red carpets and stage black-tie parties to raise money — and their public profiles. Last month LACMA grossed nearly $5 million with an event that drew Kardashian, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Teri Hatcher and Christina Aguilera, who also performed. This month the Hammer Museum raised $1.3 million with a festive dinner (minus the red carpet) co-chaired by Will Ferrell, where Jane Fonda introduced honoree Alice Waters. And the Museum of Contemporary Art takes the stage Nov. 13, with artist Doug Aitken choreographing the activities and"

The Foglia YMCA Celebrated 10 Years in Style at the Sanfilippo Estate — Lake Zurich news, photos and events — TribLocal.com

The Foglia YMCA Celebrated 10 Years in Style at the Sanfilippo Estate — Lake Zurich news, photos and events — TribLocal.com: "Foglia YMCA’s first annual Gala was presented at the Sanfilippo Estate to celebrate and raise funds for the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, a scholarship program that allows disadvantaged children and adults the opportunity to participate in YMCA programs, obtain YMCA memberships and be a part of the YMCA's before and after school care program."

Practicing good governance on a nonprofit board

Practicing good governance on a nonprofit board: "Lexington, KY - Susan tapped her foot and her Blackberry as the CEO of the local advocacy agency made his usual quarterly board report. Having been on the board for two years, she knew how the nonprofit works. Or did she? Did she know the CEO gave a no-bid service contract to a company owned by his brother-in-law at higher-than-average rates?"

Face Time: What’s in it for you?

Face Time: What’s in it for you?: "Face Time: What's in it for you?
Elisa Birnbaum By Elisa Birnbaum
October 25, 2010

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Walk the streets of any major Canadian city and you may start humming the My Fair Lady tune I've grown accustomed to your face. I'm talking about street canvassers, ubiquitous mainstays of our streets, particularly when the sun is out and our boots are still buried deep inside our closets. Chances are you've even walked by a canvasser today, with clipboard in hand, a smile on his face and a welcoming offer to chat.

Their ubiquity is easy to understand. 'There's such a strong need for fundraising today,' says Bryan McKinnon, explaining how the economic crisis and other challenges are upping the ante in terms of organizational stability and sustainability. Director of Public Outreach, a professional fundraising agency, the goal of the company — as a self-proclaimed social agent for change — is to raise as much money as possible for charities in the most cost efficient way, toward boosting their long-term return on investment."

Watchdog: Education foundations not doing enough �| ajc.com

Watchdog: Education foundations not doing enough �| ajc.com: "SEATTLE — A philanthropic watchdog group is hoping to light a fire under charitable foundations that support education by releasing a report Wednesday that points out how few of them focus enough attention on helping the most needy students."

Prospecting - Charity Expands Effort to Get College Students to Raise Money

Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Charity Expands Effort to Get College Students to Raise Money

October 22, 2010, 1:09 pm

By Raymund Flandez

National Harbor, Md.
To hear Marc Sirkin tell it, the next online fund-raising concept won’t require more than one staff member and would raise not thousands but millions of dollars.

Mr. Sirkin, chief community officer at Autism Speaks, spoke Thursday in a presentation called “Integrating Social Media, Donor Engagement, and Online Fund Raising” at the Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits. His organization is trying to motivate college students. already loyal donors, into people who regularly seek donations for the charity."

Prospecting - Risky December 31 Deadline for Year-End Fund Raising

Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "December 31, traditionally the single biggest day for online giving, falls on a Friday this year. And for many people—especially those who work in government jobs or private businesses—that’s a holiday. Few people will be near their computers to open that last-minute e-mail appeal.

While “last chance” reminders for procrastinating donors might have worked on December 31 last year, because that date fell on a Thursday, the same reminders could put charities’ fund-raising success at risk of not meeting year-end goals in 2010, according to officials at Convio, an Austin, Tex., fund-raising software company."

U.S. is feeling charitable, just not through churches | The Christian Century

U.S. is feeling charitable, just not through churches | The Christian Century: "Americans are being more generous to religious charities, but why are they skimping on their giving to churches?

A new report from Empty Tomb Inc., an Illinois-based Christian research organization, contains an analysis that found from 2007 to 2008, Protestant churches saw a decrease of $20.02 in per-member annual charitable gifts."

Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Heavy-Handed Fund-Raising Tactics Alienate Some College Students

October 27, 2010, 11:42 am

By Holly Hall

Publicizing the names of college students who don’t give to senior-class fund-raising drives has caused a backlash at both Dartmouth College and Cornell University, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education."

The Nonprofit Financial Model Never Worked; Here's a New Model That Does | Fast Company

The Nonprofit Financial Model Never Worked; Here's a New Model That Does | Fast Company: "The Nonprofit Financial Model Never Worked; Here's a New Model That Does
BY FC Expert Blogger Alice KorngoldTue Oct 26, 2010
This blog is written by a member of our expert blogging community and expresses that expert's views alone.

Imagine if your company's investors expected you to end your year without generating a dime in surplus. Welcome to the nonprofit sector, where your investors are foundations, and they expect multi-million dollar enterprises to end their year with zero. This makes nonprofits dependent supplicants year after year--unhealthy enterprises with no cash"

New grads turn to nonprofits, grad school in weak economy - WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, Sports

New grads turn to nonprofits, grad school in weak economy - WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, Sports: "Edwin W. Koc, director of strategic and foundation research for the National Association of College Employers (NACE), said that a survey of 2010 college graduates indicates that more are interested in working in the nonprofit sector than in any previous year.

Andrew Velasquez, a 2010 graduate of Boston College, is one student who tried to volunteer in the face of a weak economy."

How to count fundraising costs

How to count fundraising costs: "How do I count fundraising costs to determine the average per dollar raised?

The average cost per dollar raised is a frequently asked question but the answer is less meaningful if you’re trying to compare dissimilar charities who have traditionally allocated costs differently. With continued media attention, the cost of raising money is in the forefront of many people’s minds. It’s important that the leadership team (board and chief executive) take fundraising costs seriously but it’s hard to ensure we’re comparing apples to apples."

India's 2% corporate philanthropy law a good idea? | Corporate Social Responsibility

India's 2% corporate philanthropy law a good idea? | Corporate Social Responsibility: "s it CSR if it is forced? Part of the idea behind corporate social responsibility efforts is that it is corporate, not a mandate or regulation. In the US corporate social responsibility has come to refer to efficiencies, products, campaigns and business methods that at minimum do not harm the public and at maximum introduce obvious public benefit- and critically, do so without being told to. Once the government tells corporations to do something, it falls out of the realm of CSR and into compliance."

Thrill The World: Halloween Comes Early for Charity - Technorati Entertainment

Thrill The World: Halloween Comes Early for Charity - Technorati Entertainment: "Yet its not all merely for fun. While data from the 2010 event is yet to be released, last year over $100,000 was raised in sponsorship for various charities and causes. In total, 80 charities and not-for-profit organizations benefited from the money and awareness raised."

Deals link stars, charities - The Boston Globe

Deals link stars, charities - The Boston Globe: "About 80 percent of Fortune magazine’s top 200 US companies have a “branded cause-related initiative’’ involving a charity, daSilva said. According to the IEG Sponsorship Report, an industry publication, corporate spending on cause marketing was projected to grow about 6.1 percent this year, to $1.61 billion"

Sweet charity

Sweet charity: "This week, a thousand students in an introduction to psychology class at Virginia Tech will receive PayDay candy bars in wrappers that say 'Pay-It-Forward.'"

Recession Driving Changes in Corporate Philanthropy - US News and World Report

Recession Driving Changes in Corporate Philanthropy - US News and World Report: "Recession Driving Changes in Corporate Philanthropy
Companies also looking to incorporate volunteerism into their corporate culture

By Joshua Kucera

Not long ago, corporate philanthropy didn't involve much more than writing a check to United Way or the local opera. Nowadays that's changing. Blame corporate shareholders for tightening the purse strings, or credit Barack Obama and an entire generation raised on public service. All are forcing companies to get creative, to focus on making more of a difference while spending less cash."

Signs of Growth as Nonprofits Push for Strong Year-End - Press - AFP

Signs of Growth as Nonprofits Push for Strong Year-End - Press - AFP: "Some Good Signs

The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving reports that overall revenue increased by 1.4 percent for the three months ending August 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009. This was a move back into positive territory from July's 4.5 percent decline. This trend is based on $2.2 billion in 12-month revenue accumulated from 1,364 nonprofit organizations."

Penny theft starts flood of donations

Penny theft starts flood of donations: "The theft of a 5-gallon water bottle filled with pennies and dollar bills, donated to the Santa Maria Natural History Museum, has turned into an unexpected payoff for the nonprofit organization."

Most in Carolinas still feel charitable - CharlotteObserver.com

Most in Carolinas still feel charitable - CharlotteObserver.com: "The Divineys are among a majority of Carolinians who say their charitable giving hasn't changed in the past year, and will likely remain the same next year, according to a new poll. The survey didn't ask their level of giving."

Tame These Grant Writing Myths

Tame These Grant Writing Myths: "No one ever said that rolling out a grant writing program is easy.

Unfortunately, many smaller nonprofits think that it is impossible and thereby pass up an inviting source of funding for their causes. I asked Pamela Grow, of Pamela's Grantwriting Blog, to debunk the myths surrounding grant writing and provide her expert advice about setting up a grant writing program."

Blackbaud Research on Online Giving � A. Fine Blog

Blackbaud Research on Online Giving � A. Fine Blog: "I was very pleased by the response from the attendees, but it’s not what stuck with me for the day. I attended a presentation later in the day by Blackbaud. Chuck Longfield, the company’s head of research gave a presentation on the state of fundraising on land and on line that the company gathers from it’s 24,000 nonprofit users (quite a data set!) Here is a link to the findings they were reporting on. I asked Chuck if he was seeing any trends in the behavior of donors whose entry point is online. Do they give less over time? Do they give once and never again? Are the size of their donations less than the ones given by donors who begin through an in person event or through direct mail?"

Nonprofit groups feeling economic pinch - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Nonprofit groups feeling economic pinch - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "'It's tough to make long-term philanthropic commitments of seven or eight figures when you're not even sure about your income,' said Albert J. Novak, Jr., vice chancellor for institutional advancement at the University of Pittsburgh.

The amount of money Pitt raised from individuals, foundations and corporations dropped 14.2 percent in fiscal 2009 to about $109.8 million, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, an independent newsweekly."

IRS Updates, October 2010: Draft 2010 Forms 990 and 990-EZ and Last Workshops for the Year

IRS Updates, October 2010: Draft 2010 Forms 990 and 990-EZ and Last Workshops for the Year: "2010



IRS Updates, October 2010: Draft 2010 Forms 990 and 990-EZ and Last Workshops for the Year

Drafts of the 2010 core Form 990 and Form 990-EZ are available for review and comment,"

Against the Grain - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Against the Grain - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "How on earth does this relate to nonprofit boards?

The nonprofit board environment, much like soap operas, seems to distort the passage of time.

Many times I’ve asked board members how long they’ve been on the board. And they’ve shrugged and said they don’t remember exactly.

I’ve also asked board members if their boards conduct annual executive-director performance reviews. And the board member says of course. And when I ask when the last one happened, the answer turns out to be two years earlier."

News: Changing Course - Inside Higher Ed

News: Changing Course - Inside Higher Ed: "As a growing number of nonprofit colleges hire for-profit companies to lay tracks for their new online programs, academics generally have been the third rail. Technology and information systems are one thing, the colleges say; to outsource teaching and curriculum is quite another.

Now, two major e-learning companies have teamed up to disprove that truism. Blackboard and K12, Inc. announced last week that they will begin selling online remedial courses to community colleges beginning next year. The details will be hashed out over the next few months, but the basic outline is this: The companies will design the courses and provide the instructors from K12’s stable, and the colleges will offer the courses through their normal catalogs."