Could IBM’s Watson Computer Aid the Work of Nonprofits? - Corporations - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Could IBM’s Watson Computer Aid the Work of Nonprofits? - Corporations - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "This week, roughly 100 government officials, medical researchers, nonprofit leaders, and others gathered at IBM’s research center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., to discuss the possibilities. After the event, Stanley S. Litow, president of the IBM International Foundation, spoke with The Chronicle about his plan for how Watson might be able to improve how governments and nonprofits provide services."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | No Surprises, Rural Philanthropy Still Lags Behind

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | No Surprises, Rural Philanthropy Still Lags Behind: "The failure of foundations to put much grant money into rural nonprofits is historic and persistent. Despite frequent promises to the contrary, foundations haven’t done much to narrow the disproportional gap between urban and rural groups’ access to foundation dollars. The toll is increasingly evident in the rural nonprofits across the country that struggle to stay afloat every day."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | No Surprises, Rural Philanthropy Still Lags Behind

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | No Surprises, Rural Philanthropy Still Lags Behind: "The failure of foundations to put much grant money into rural nonprofits is historic and persistent. Despite frequent promises to the contrary, foundations haven’t done much to narrow the disproportional gap between urban and rural groups’ access to foundation dollars. The toll is increasingly evident in the rural nonprofits across the country that struggle to stay afloat every day."

Charles Feeney, a Onetime Billionaire, Takes the Giving Pledge - NYTimes.com

Charles Feeney, a Onetime Billionaire, Takes the Giving Pledge - NYTimes.com: "The Shy Philanthropist is most decidedly going public.

Charles F. Feeney, who made a fortune as co-founder of Duty Free Stores, has become the 59th signatory to the Giving Pledge, the project created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren E. Buffett to encourage the mega-rich to commit at least half their wealth to philanthropy."

Religious Groups Fight for Tax Deductions - News

Religious Groups Fight for Tax Deductions - News: "Many religious nonprofits, which supplement their budgets heavily with donations from wealthy donors, are concerned that reducing the tax write-offs for charitable donations will cause a decrease in giving, said Diana Aviv, the president and CEO of Independent Sector, a coalition of nonprofit organizations.

'The question is, 'Do tax incentives work, do they stimulate more money than they cost?'' Aviv said, 'Experts estimate that this proposal could reduce charitable giving by $7 billion dollars.'"

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Op-Ed: The Meaning of Wisconsin for Nonprofits

OP/ED
The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Op-Ed: The Meaning of Wisconsin for Nonprofits: "Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s power play is bad news for the nonprofit sector, not just unions and the middle class.

That’s because more than anything else it is a power play. Walker’s rhetoric is that it’s all about balancing a budget, but that’s a ploy. To understand the impact on Wisconsin’s nonprofit community, one has to look longer term at the consequences of the governor’s power move."

Foundation Keeps Up With Times - News, Sports, Jobs - The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Foundation Keeps Up With Times - News, Sports, Jobs - The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register: "Although the foundation has given more than $5 million to groups working to improve the area since it was founded in 1972, these two grants are the largest awards the foundation has made through its discretionary funds in its entire history."

Paulette's Point of View

Paulette's Point of View: "The AFP International Conference is the largest gathering of fundraising professionals in the world, and has to represent the full spectrum of the profession while still being all about you and your particular needs. To that end, we’ve made a lot of changes this year to the conference—and all of them based on your feedback and comments.

We’ve created a more compact conference, with no more sessions on Wednesday and much more programming throughout the day on Sunday. Our general sessions are shorter and streamlined, focusing on broad themes and featuring multi-media presentations throughout, culminating with our big speakers such as President Clinton, Queen Latifah and Blake Mycoskie. Our educational sessions have been themed and refocused to emphasize the changes in the profession while still acknowledging time-tested and proven techniques."

What Mark Zuckerberg's Money Is Doing in Newark | Fast Company

What Mark Zuckerberg's Money Is Doing in Newark | Fast Company: "Fast Company wrote about what we (and many innovative thinkers) would do to fix public schools with $100 million (post your ideas below!). Now Newark's public schools, the recipients of that sum from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, are rolling out their true plan. 'We want to make Newark the centerpoint of education reform in the nation,' David Nachtweih, spokesperson for the Partnership for Education In Newark, tells Fast Company. Here's how they plan to do it."

Britain's Philanthropy Ambassador Pushes Effort to Elevate Giving Globally - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Britain's Philanthropy Ambassador Pushes Effort to Elevate Giving Globally - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Wanted: Leading philanthropists willing to give time and money to serve as philanthropy ambassadors for their home countries. Posts open everywhere but the United Kingdom.

Qualifications: Demonstrated ability to inspire others, a high political profile—but enough independence to work with officials of any political view. Stellar career in hands-on philanthropy, not just writing checks.

The call for such ambassadors came last week at a conference at New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising."

Into the sunset - BizTimes

Into the sunset - BizTimes: "“Foundations like these play an even greater role in our community, which might not immediately be recognized,” said Julie Whelan Capell, board president of the Milwaukee chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and director of planning and development at The Planning Council for Health and Human Services. “Foundations like these can create a bigger agenda than individual donors sometimes can. They can push for things to happen on a broader basis because"