Fundraising On the Rise for 10th Consecutive Month

BLACKBAUD: Press Releases: "Fundraising On the Rise for 10th Consecutive Month
Blackbaud debuts new specialty index focused on international affairs organizations

Charleston, S.C. (July 15, 2011) – Blackbaud, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) today announced the release of a report focused on fundraising trends based on monthly findings from The Blackbaud Index and featuring commentary from Drakes Bay Fundraising and CARE USA. Additionally, Blackbaud announced the release of a new specialty index focused on international affairs organizations."

Back to school | Good Will-Hinckley undertakes a painful rebirth to become Maine’s only agricultural academy | Mainebiz

Back to school | Good Will-Hinckley undertakes a painful rebirth to become Maine’s only agricultural academy | Mainebiz: "Good Will has come a long way, and managed to sustain one day program through the turbulence, but at least one major hurdle remains. The school tapped its $12 million endowment to the tune of $2.4 million, triggering an agreement with the Maine Attorney General’s Office that mandated a new plan for the school. Paying back those funds depends on the expected sale of 680 acres of Good Will’s 2,450-acre campus to Kennebec Valley Community College, which needs the land to expand and pursue a plan to offer the state’s first associate’s degree in agriculture. “If they had an extra six acres, none of this would be happening,” Cummings says. The sale is expected to close this month."

Local governments scramble to replace lost federal funds for nonprofits | Liz Essley | Virginia | Washington Examiner

Local governments scramble to replace lost federal funds for nonprofits | Liz Essley | Virginia | Washington Examiner: "Arlington County stepped in on Saturday to fill a gap left by the federal government when it cut funding to some local nonprofits.

The County Board offered $221,088 in emergency funds to help make up for severe cuts in federal grant money for fiscal 2012 to nonprofits serving low-income residents.

The one-time payment is just a temporary solution, however, as county officials worry about what will happen in fiscal 2013."

MyCareer@PND -- How Can I Become a Nonprofit Fund-Raising Consultant? | PND | Foundation Center

MyCareer@PND -- How Can I Become a Nonprofit Fund-Raising Consultant? | PND | Foundation Center: "How Can I Become a Nonprofit Fund-Raising Consultant?
by Tony Poderis

Are you a nonprofit development professional thinking about striking out into the world of fundraising consulting? Think before you leap: although the consulting profession may seem attractive, you'll need to do a serious and honest assessment of your knowledge, temperament, and motivation for this work. Here are my suggestions, based on hard-earned experience."

Growing our ethical skills | Philanthropy Journal

Growing our ethical skills | Philanthropy Journal: "As chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Ethics Committee, I work with a lot of fundraisers concerning ethical dilemmas.

A typical part of the conversation, after we've delved into the major issues, often involves the idea of how to get 'better' at ethics."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Voices from the Field: Nonprofit Workplace Culture – Why it Matters so Much to Us

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Voices from the Field: Nonprofit Workplace Culture – Why it Matters so Much to Us: "Throughout my nearly 15 years of working as a nonprofit employee and as a consultant for nonprofits, I have landed upon a basic fact: All nonprofits are dysfunctional in some way or another and figuring out where to hang your hat requires one to assess whether the level and type of dysfunction is personally tolerable. Like most of us working in the nonprofit sector, I am motivated by a desire to have an impact, create change and help others. Somewhat surprisingly I have worked in several organizations where the management staff has exhibited behaviors in direct contradiction to the stated mission."

How to Manage Feelings of Burnout - Career Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

How to Manage Feelings of Burnout - Career Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Many nonprofit employees do a poor job of managing stress related to work, says Nathan Hand, vice president for development at the School on Wheels in Indianapolis and a nonprofit blogger."

Can Matt Damon Bring Clean Water To Africa? | Fast Company

Can Matt Damon Bring Clean Water To Africa? | Fast Company: "The walk came toward the end of a 10-day African journey, a systematic primer on the complexities of the continent's extreme poverty that had been organized for Damon by staffers from his friend Bono's ONE campaign. Damon was on a quest to understand what it meant to be really, really poor. 'It was like a mini course in college,' he says. Every day brought a different subject: urban AIDS, microfinance, education, and, finally, water. While walking with the young teen on her hour-long trudge to collect water for her family, something clicked. 'We talked the whole time [through a translator]. When I asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up -- 'Do you want to stay here?' ' he says, pointing to the memory of the dusty village -- 'she got shy all of a sudden.' As they returned, both toting 5-gallon jugs of water filled at the well, she finally confessed her dream: to go to the big city, Lusaka, and become a nurse. Damon recalled his dreams at the same age, when he and best friend Ben Affleck were plotting their way from Boston to casting agents in New York. That connection opened the door for Damon. 'I remembered so well the feeling of being young, when that whole world of possibility was open to you.'"

Nonprofit Healthcare Organizations Report Average Investment Returns of 10.9 Percent in FY2010 | PND | Foundation Center

Nonprofit Healthcare Organizations Report Average Investment Returns of 10.9 Percent in FY2010 | PND | Foundation Center: "Nonprofit Healthcare Organizations Report Average Investment Returns of 10.9 Percent in FY2010

U.S. nonprofit healthcare organizations reported an average return on investible assets of 10.9 percent for fiscal year 2010, a decline from the average return of 18.8 percent registered in FY2009 but a significant improvement over the average of -21.2 percent recorded in 2008, the Commonfund Institute reports."

60 seconds with....Mary Anne Graf | Richmond Times-Dispatch

60 seconds with....Mary Anne Graf | Richmond Times-Dispatch: "Women control $5 trillion in U.S. business and consumer spending and influence or make 80 percent of all spending nationally.

'They make the majority of decisions regarding major purchases, from homes to retirement planning, vacations and charitable giving."

United Way seeks donations from large companies to offset loss in giving - wdbj7.com

United Way seeks donations from large companies to offset loss in giving - wdbj7.com: "as the economy continues its slow recovery, non-profits are leaning on large companies to stay afloat.

The United Way of Central Virginia is making its annual appeal for donations. The organization and its partners are paying personal visits to companies like Areva, asking employees to keep giving."

How Nonprofits Can Measure Outcomes and Why They Should

How Nonprofits Can Measure Outcomes and Why They Should: "Demand is growing for nonprofits to provide proof that what they are doing actually accomplishes something. That demand is coming particularly from donors and grantors, such as foundations. Unfortunately, many nonprofits do not have objective data showing that their outcomes are worth supporting."

The Blurred Lines of Integrated Cross-Media Marketing for Nonprofits

The Blurred Lines of Integrated Cross-Media Marketing for Nonprofits

The AFP Blog: Rankled Over Rankings

The AFP Blog: Rankled Over Rankings: "Rankled Over Rankings
Another charity ranking system is out, this time in Canada: the MoneySense Charity 100 (not currently available online but the 2010 version is here).

It takes a very small sample of 100 out of the more than 85,000 charities in Canada and attempts to take the dozens of factors that affect fundraising costs and compact them down into one all-encompassing, objective letter grade."

News: Themselves to Blame? - Inside Higher Ed

News: Themselves to Blame? - Inside Higher Ed: "Themselves to Blame?
July 12, 2011

CHICAGO -- The ever-so-modest increase in contributions to colleges (0.5 percent) from 2009 to 2010 was cheered by many fund-raisers, since it represented much better news than the 11.9 percent decline from the year before. But at a presentation here at the annual gathering of senior fund-raising officials of the Council for Advancement and Support for Education, speakers suggested that alumni giving rates are not going to rebound -- and that a big reason why can be found in young alumni, and in the strategies colleges use to woo them."

Alternatives to Strategic Planning, by Jan Masaoka

Alternatives to Strategic Planning, by Jan Masaoka

Why Give to the Arts When People Are Starving in the Gutter? | Fundraising Non-Profit Fund-raising Resource – Tony Poderis

Why Give to the Arts When People Are Starving in the Gutter? | Fundraising Non-Profit Fund-raising Resource – Tony Poderis: "actually read that riveting question in the marginal notes of a proposal for funding an orchestra. The notes were penned by a trustee of a grant-making foundation during a meeting to review the proposal. Another trustee of the foundation, the one who presented the proposal on behalf of the orchestra, later showed them to m"

30 Charities Take Ads in Final 'News of the World' - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

30 Charities Take Ads in Final 'News of the World' - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Profits from sales of the last issue of what was Britain’s best-selling Sunday paper will be split equally among three organizations–the children’s charity Barnardo’s, the Forces Children’s Trust, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity.

Many U.K. charities turned down the weekly’s offer of free ads, made after Rupert Murdoch’s News International abruptly decided to close the 168-year-old newspaper amid revelations that its reporters hacked the cellphones of celebrities, politicians, crime victims, and military families."

White House Plan to Limit Charitable Deduction Would Take Toll on Charities, Fundraisers Say | PNNOnline.org

White House Plan to Limit Charitable Deduction Would Take Toll on Charities, Fundraisers Say | PNNOnline.org: "Over half predicted a drop of at least 10 percent to their contributions, with just over one in four respondents fearing a sizeable drop in contributions (at least 25 percent or more).

Only one in ten fundraisers (9 percent) said that there would be no effect on the donations their organization receives. Fourteen percent said that they were not sure the effect it would have.

“The White House and Congress must understand that limiting the value of itemized deductions for charitable contributions will dramatically affect the charitable sector and those it serves,” said Andrew Watt, FInstF, president and CEO of AFP."

White House Plan to Limit Charitable Deduction Would Take Toll on Charities, Fundraisers Say | PNNOnline.org

White House Plan to Limit Charitable Deduction Would Take Toll on Charities, Fundraisers Say | PNNOnline.org: "Three out of four fundraisers predict that donations to their organizations will drop if the White House’s FY2012 budget proposal to limit the charitable deduction is enacted into law, according to an online poll by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). More than half said that the proposal would have a significant impact on giving.

AFP asked visitors of its website what impact they envision the White House’s proposal would have on their charity. Three-quarters (77 percent) said that donations would drop at least slightly as a result of limiting the U.S. charitable deduction, in response to an informal “Quick Poll” conducted from mid-April to mid-June of this year on AFP’s website."

Britain's Royal Couple Visits Los Angeles Urban Arts Charity | USA | English

Britain's Royal Couple Visits Los Angeles Urban Arts Charity | USA | English: "Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, finished up their North American tour by visiting a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles that teaches art to needy children."

Donations to mid-Missouri charities above national average in 2010 - Columbia Missourian

Donations to mid-Missouri charities above national average in 2010 - Columbia Missourian: "COLUMBIA — Key nonprofit organizations in mid-Missouri have bucked national trends recently in charitable donations.

Nationally, charitable donations declined in 2008 and 2009, then rose an estimated 3.8 percent across the board in 2010, according to the recently released Giving USA report. Locally, however, many nonprofits brought in percentage increases higher than the national average."

Texas man completes 1,500-mile horseback charity ride Sunday by crossing George Washington Bridge | NJ.com

Texas man completes 1,500-mile horseback charity ride Sunday by crossing George Washington Bridge | NJ.com: "Blethen's trot across the bridge was the final leg in a 1,500-mile, cross-country trip that began four months ago in Dallas. The trek raised money for Heroes for Children, a Texas childhood cancer foundation. Blethen, a short, fit man with a goatee and good Texas manners, encouraged everyone he met along the way to donate by visiting the website the foundation created for his ride. Blethen, who hoped to raise $3,000, believes he has surpassed his goal, but won't know exactly how much he has raised for a few weeks."

New IRS rule aims to keep better track of Montana nonprofits

New IRS rule aims to keep better track of Montana nonprofits: "Be careful when you donate to your favorite charity.

The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of 1,240 organizations in Montana, including 720 charitable nonprofits, according to the Montana Nonprofit Association. Most are considered defunct, but those that are still running may face hurdles with the IRS."

Cohen covers the nonprofits - Business - NewsObserver.com

Cohen covers the nonprofits - Business - NewsObserver.com: "As editor and publisher of philanthropyjournal.org, Cohen is arguably the foremost authority on philanthropy and nonprofits in North Carolina. His verdict on the sector: 'It is stronger, more diverse, more innovative and more at risk than it's ever been.'"

Food for poor overcomes shutdown | StarTribune.com

Food for poor overcomes shutdown | StarTribune.com: "A program supplying tons of food to food shelves around Minnesota, suspended by the state government shutdown, was quickly restored after a hunger organization filed a plea with the state."

Meet Masood Razaq a Pioneer in Digital Philanthropy | elan

Meet Masood Razaq a Pioneer in Digital Philanthropy | elan: "Masood Razaq, founder and executive director of Goodgate.org, is spearheading an initiative to provide a global platform for Muslim charities. This unique resource presents various credible charities by country, themes or tags allowing the visitor to choose what initiative they’d like to invest in. With a global upbringing and a corporate background, Razaq’s creative solution to transform the concept of charity to strategic philanthropy within the Muslim community is a noble endeavor."

Charities Use Amazon's Wish List for Needed Goods - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Charities Use Amazon's Wish List for Needed Goods - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Her friend had helped Lucky Dog Animal Rescue by buying $25 worth of flea medicine on an Amazon Wish List the animal-welfare organization had created.

The online wish list enables people to make a donation that pays for one or more products listed, including shipping and handling."