Friday, June 08, 2012

4 non-cash gifts that require substantiation - TheNonProfitTimes

4 non-cash gifts that require substantiation - TheNonProfitTimes: Nonprofits will not always receive gifts in the form of cash. Non-cash gifts, such as computer equipment or office supplies, can be just as useful. Yet even these gifts still have cash value.

That’s right, even non-cash gifts are income, at least they are in the eyes of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Depending on the cash value of these gif

Buffett's Charity Lunch Auction Ends Friday Night - ABC News

Buffett's Charity Lunch Auction Ends Friday Night - ABC News: ids in an annual auction of a private lunch with investor Warren Buffett to benefit the homeless were well below last year's $2.6 million winner early Friday, with just hours left before the sale closes.

The top bid early Friday was $410,200, but in past auctions, the bids didn't reach astronomical levels until close to the end.

Foundation Giving Did Not Keep Pace With Inflation in 2011 - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Foundation Giving Did Not Keep Pace With Inflation in 2011 - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Giving by U.S. foundations totaled an estimated $46.9-billion last year, an increase of only 2 percent from 2010 and a more than 2 percent drop from 2009, according to a new study on foundation giving.

Ryan Scott: The Volunteer Dating Game

Ryan Scott: The Volunteer Dating Game: But for whatever reason, you haven't taken the plunge, so volunteer mingling will have to suffice.

It doesn't have to be this way. Imagine a world where the energy, passion and skills of
volunteers aligned perfectly with the needs and capacity of nonprofits. Where expectations
were calibrated and trust was built over time.

That's the world that Gap Inc. is working to create with its global teams of employee volunteers.

Robert Rauschenberg's Captiva complex to house artists, authors | The News-Press | news-press.com

Robert Rauschenberg's Captiva complex to house artists, authors | The News-Press | news-press.com: Created by the New York-based foundation, the new artists residency program will allow artists to live and work on the 26-acre property, painting or writing or sculpting as they share ideas and attempt to make artistic breakthroughs. Rauschenberg, himself, lived and worked there for four decades. The foundation now owns the property.

Why Do I Need an Advisory Board and How Do I Build It? - Global Business Hub - Boston.com

Why Do I Need an Advisory Board and How Do I Build It? - Global Business Hub - Boston.com: Whether you are a nonprofit, a private or a public company, the need is there. An Advisory board has the ability to provide strategic counsel from an industry and competitive perspective on various topics of expertise. The time and money invested in your advisory board members should be far outweighed by the counsel and strategic value they impart on your organization.

Donor Database | Community Techknowledge

Via the CTK blog

Donor Database | Community Techknowledge: Deborah goes to Marc Baizman for answers to the following question:

Question: How can development professionals get up to speed about donor databases for small nonprofits?

What Makes a Stellar Nonprofit Technology Conference? | Atlantic BT

What Makes a Stellar Nonprofit Technology Conference? | Atlantic BT: You ask 100 nonprofit professionals, you’ll get 100 answers. Aside from one thing, working WIFI ;-)

This week’s Inaugural AFP International TechKnow Conference did nail that one.
They also nailed the headliner closing session -Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak. More on him in a bit.

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Mark Rosenman: Nonprofits Missing From Big Battles

Mark Rosenman: Nonprofits Missing From Big Battles: Charities and foundations should be geared up to confront immediate and near-term policy battles of extraordinary consequence to them. Instead, they seem to be wearing blinders -- or simply fear controversy, no matter the stakes.

Congressional Republicans want a repeat of last summer's divisive struggle over raising the debt limit and are committed to pursuing new budget cuts. This comes after the House recently approved changes to last year's deficit-cutting sequestration agreement and shifted what was a shared annual burden of $109 billion entirely to domestic programs and actually raised the defense budget instead of cutting it.

8 Tips for Raising Money and Attracting Support on Social Networks - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

8 Tips for Raising Money and Attracting Support on Social Networks - Prospecting - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Mr. Copeland was one of several specialists in social-network fundraising who offered suggestions for charities at this week’s inaugural AFP TechKnow, a technology conference in Orlando, Fla., organized by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Following

Philanthropic studies now has major implications | Deseret News

Philanthropic studies now has major implications | Deseret News: Philanthropy has transitioned from a utopian ideal to a tangible career path after five students graduated from Indiana University with what are believed to be the first-ever bachelor's degrees in philanthropic studies, according to a recent article by Maureen West in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

IndustryWeek : CEO Departures in May Down Slightly From 2011

IndustryWeek : CEO Departures in May Down Slightly From 2011: In May, 99 CEOs announced their departures, down from 103 in May 2011.

The majority of CEO departures occurred in the health care and government/nonprofit sectors, with 19 changes for each industry.

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Make CSR mandatory, says philanthropist Sitaram Jindal

Make CSR mandatory, says philanthropist Sitaram Jindal: The idea of legislation for corporate houses to make charity mandatory might sound pushy, but veteran industry warhorse Sitaram Jindal, who set up his charitable trust as early as in 1969, foresees the need of one immediately to push Indian industry into more vigorous philanthropy in the social sector.

Three Lessons Learned from Freeing Three American Hikers: From Integrity to Engagement to Relationship-based Fundraising - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

Three Lessons Learned from Freeing Three American Hikers: From Integrity to Engagement to Relationship-based Fundraising - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: Since our Free the Hikers social media campaign achieved its primary, seemingly impossible, objective of freeing my dear friends Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, I have received numerous requests to share our secret. Political prisoner campaigns, human rights organizations, mental health organizations, and even businesses, want to know how we built the global movement that it took to free them. They want to replicate our success in building a large, very engaged global support base that takes action to help them achieve their key objective(s). For political prisoner campaigns and non-profit organizations, a key objective is fundraising to enable them to pursue their mission. They want to know how we used social media to fundraise. Many of the campaigns and organizations that have sought my advice have the misconception that I can share our “secret” in a brief phone call or e-mail message, that they can replicate our success in a few minutes or hours/week, and that social media work starts with posting on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.

Turning Slumdogs Into Millionaires: One Hedge Fund Manager's Quest - Forbes

Turning Slumdogs Into Millionaires: One Hedge Fund Manager's Quest - Forbes: Unable to find an organization that met his value-investor’s need for efficiency and ROI, he decided to simply start his own. His Dakshana Foundation (dakshana means “to give or receive a gift” in Sanskrit) would initially be funded in 2006 with $577,000 of his own money (to date he has contributed $5.5 million).

The idea behind Dakshana was to find some of India’s most brilliant and poorest kids and prepare them for the rigorous entrance examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology. The IITs are a group of the nation’s most prestigious engineering and technology universities. Its graduates are virtually guaranteed employment and success.

D.C.'s Corcoran Gallery Eyes Sale of Century-Old Home - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

D.C.'s Corcoran Gallery Eyes Sale of Century-Old Home - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: .C.’s Corcoran Gallery Eyes Sale of Century-Old Home

June 5, 2012, 10:51 am

The financially strapped Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.’s oldest private art museum, is mulling the sale of its landmark building across the street from the White House, says The Washington Post.

Next Charity Commission chair to work only two days a week - Civil Society - Governance - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits

Next Charity Commission chair to work only two days a week - Civil Society - Governance - News - providing news and in-depth coverage of charities, voluntary organisations and not-for-profits: The next chair of the Charity Commission will have to do the job in a day less a week, and for less money, than the outgoing chair Dame Suzi Leather.

Several State Fairs Going Private - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.

Several State Fairs Going Private - NPQ – Nonprofit Quarterly - Promoting an active an engaged democracy.: Until recently, governmental agencies and nonprofits ran state fairs, but they’ve had a difficult time making a go of it. In Virginia, recently, the nonprofit State Fair of Virginia, Inc. defaulted on more than $70 million in loans, leading to the auction sale of the nonprofit and the park grounds where it operated outside of Fredericksburg to a for-profit, Universal Fairs, LLC.

Including Virginia’s, Universal runs five state fairs—Georgia’s, Tennessee’s, Mississippi’s, and Washington’s. The company’s owner, Mark Lovell, saw a bargain in being able to pick up the Virginia asset for less than $6 million and jumped at the opportunity.

Increase Unrestricted Giving |

Increase Unrestricted Giving |: It’s June and 2012 is nearly half over. How would your Fund Raising Team answer these questions on how to attract unrestricted giving to make up for any loss in funding due to the recession?