Senate Finance Panel Outlines Ideas for Changing Charity Rules - Government - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Senate Finance Panel Outlines Ideas for Changing Charity Rules - Government - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The Senate Finance Committee released a report Thursday outlining options for overhauling laws governing the activities of tax-exempt organizations and the value of charitable deductions.

Diana Leon-Taylor to take over as Nonprofit Roundtable chief - Washington Business Journal

Diana Leon-Taylor to take over as Nonprofit Roundtable chief - Washington Business Journal: The Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington has a new chief. Diana Leon-Taylor was named president and CEO about seven months after past President Chuck Bean left to head the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Caterpillar Inc. no longer giving money to Boy Scouts, cites ban on gay leaders - The Washington Post

Caterpillar Inc. no longer giving money to Boy Scouts, cites ban on gay leaders - The Washington Post: CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Caterpillar Inc. is no longer giving money to the Boy Scouts because the organization discriminates against homosexuals, a spokeswoman for the Illinois-based heavy equipment manufacturer confirmed Thursday.

New Video: How Professional Advisors Can Energize Your Planned Giving Program | Planned Giving Design Center

From Planned Giving Design Center

New Video: How Professional Advisors Can Energize Your Planned Giving Program | Planned Giving Design Center: Summary

As one of over 30,000 planned giving professionals who use the PGDC, we wanted you to be the first to see a 26 minute video we just finished. Who should watch it? Anyone who works with nonprofits on planned gifts, and wants to help catapult their planned giving department to the next level!

Inside this video, you'll discover who potential donors are asking most for planned giving advice this year, the 17 steps to building fruitful relationships with those influencers to maximize your fundraising success, and how to do it all faster and with less work than you ever imagined!

Nonprofits encouraged to take part in impact study | Nonprofit Strategies | SanLuisObispo.com

Nonprofits encouraged to take part in impact study | Nonprofit Strategies | SanLuisObispo.com: An economic impact study of nonprofits in San Luis Obispo County will get underway later this month to better understand their diverse and sustainable effects locally.

Beacon Economics, a research and consulting firm, has been retained to conduct the study by the Central Coast Economic Forecast.

Conducting such a study is challenging because there is no central data bank of information on nonprofits.

Quartet of nonprofits come together for auction - Eastern Arizona Courier: News

Quartet of nonprofits come together for auction - Eastern Arizona Courier: News: SAFFORD — The leadership for four nonprofit groups agreed that battling for donations doesn’t make nearly as much sense as joining forces.

At the urging of Lori Knight of Graham County 4-H, the Boys and Girls Club of the Gila Valley, Graham County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and Catholic Sisters Divine Cuisine joined with 4-H for the inaugural To Make the Best Better 2013 Benefit Auction this

Presentation For Local Non-Profits - KULR-8 Television, Billings, MT

Presentation For Local Non-Profits - KULR-8 Television, Billings, MT: The presentation, titled "Beyond The Economy: Social Impact And The Quiet Revolution", took place at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Downtown Billings Wednesday evening. Andrew Watt, President of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, was there to present the series.

International nonprofit leader offers insight on state, future of philanthropy

International nonprofit leader offers insight on state, future of philanthropy: "Nonprofits need a wake-up call, says Andrew Watt, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, an international organization for philanthropy groups with more than 30,000 members around the world.

“I think one of the things that nonprofits are particularly bad at is actually standing up and telling people what they do, communicating the benefit of what they do,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “We tend to be quite, sort of, bashful about it.”"

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Successful Mergers: Two CEOs Talk Shop - Meyer Foundation

Successful Mergers: Two CEOs Talk Shop - Meyer Foundation: Successful Mergers: Two CEOs Talk Shop

For many years, and especially since the economic downturn reduced their grantmaking budgets, funders have been urging nonprofits to merge. Proponents of merger often cite duplication of effort among grantees and the presumed economic efficiencies that can be gained from having larger organizations. Neither assertion is well supported by evidence, and for those and other reasons mergers continue to be discussed far more than frequently than they are implemented.

Record number of donated 'undies' destined for needy across the U.S. | jacksonville.com

Record number of donated 'undies' destined for needy across the U.S. | jacksonville.com: ignity U Wear's 2013 Undie Campaign collected a record 170,000 undergarments, an increase of 50,000 pieces over the 2012 campaign.

Collected garments include underwear, bras, sock and undershirts, which will help the Jacksonville-based nonprofit's inventory needs for the entire year. Ultimately, the clothing will be donated to school children, homeless and wounded veterans and women in crisis through the Dignity U Wear's network of more than 300 social service agencies throughout country, according to the news release.

Oprah's $12 Million Smithsonian Gift Largest In History Of National Museum of African American History

Oprah's $12 Million Smithsonian Gift Largest In History Of National Museum of African American History: WASHINGTON -- Oprah Winfrey has donated $12 million to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, the museum announced Tuesday.

Brooklyn Museum: Community: bloggers@brooklynmuseum » Moving Toward a Conversation

Brooklyn Museum: Community: bloggers@brooklynmuseum » Moving Toward a Conversation: "For the most part these worked to serve the purpose and we didn’t think much about changing them, but this year we started to wonder if there would be value in upping the game a bit. As they stood, they were the electronic version of a one way comment drop box.  Should they become a more personal experience and one that leans toward a two way dialog? Could we elevate the discussion from a simple “leave us your thoughts” to more directed questions that might provoke deeper engagement?  Could that same format help give visitors access to someone—a curator, an educator, an artist, a conservator—to help get their questions answered?

"

Marketing, Membership & Communications: Where Tech Comes in: Associations Now

Marketing, Membership & Communications: Where Tech Comes in: Associations Now: Technology was a persistent theme during ASAE’s 2013 Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference last week. Why? Well, when you peel away the outer layers surrounding tech issues, what you might find at the core are really membership issues

CITY REGAINS TOP SPOT IN PHILANTHROPY RATINGS | UTSanDiego.com

CITY REGAINS TOP SPOT IN PHILANTHROPY RATINGS | UTSanDiego.com: By Karla Peterson12:01 a.m.June 7, 2013Updated5:34 p.m.June 6, 2013


San Diego has gotten better at giving back. Thanks to the financial health and public accountability of our biggest charities, San Diego was named the top philanthropic city in the U.S. by Charity Navigator, which analyzes and ranks the nation’s nonprofits.

Why Can’t We Get Over Overhead? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Why Can’t We Get Over Overhead? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Fundraising, Part 2: Investment in capacity pays off � Philanthropy North Carolina

Fundraising, Part 2: Investment in capacity pays off � Philanthropy North Carolina: Note: This article, the second of three, is from a report written for Blackbaud, which asked me to look at fundraising strategies that nonprofits have found to be effective.]

Since the bottom fell out of the economy nearly five years ago, San Francisco-based Dignity Health has invested in building the capacity of its fundraising operation, an investment that has begun to help fuel growth in major gifts and planned gifts.

Operating over 40 nonprofit hospitals and care centers throughout California, Arizona and Nevada, Dignity Health raises roughly $100 million a year in private philanthropy and government grants through 33 separate foundations that support the hospitals.

Charities … Don’t Evaluate Your Work | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits

Charities … Don’t Evaluate Your Work | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits: "Charities … Don’t Evaluate Your Work
By Tom Belford   |    June 10, 2013
This two-part series by Caroline Fiennes — Most Charities Shouldn’t Evaluate Their Work — in the Stanford Social Innovation Review left me scratching my head.

The tantalizing headline drew me in.

Then I tried to absorb the basic message of her formula:

Impact = Idea x Implementation"

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At Grameen Foundation, an international nonprofit becomes a software developer - The Washington Post

At Grameen Foundation, an international nonprofit becomes a software developer - The Washington Post: hree years later, the foundation’s thesis has given rise to an open-source software platform called Mobile Technology for Community Health, or MOTECH, that an increasing number of nonprofits, non-governmental organizations and humanitarian groups are using to address pandemics such as tuberculosis and HIV.

Charity lunch with Warren Buffett sells for just over $1 million - latimes.com

Charity lunch with Warren Buffett sells for just over $1 million - latimes.com: A private lunch with Warren Buffett that benefits a charity was sold Friday on Ebay for $1,000,010.

The anonymous bidder will be able to take seven of his or her friends with them to a steakhouse lunch in New York City for a private meal with Buffett, the billionaire investor known as the "Oracle of Omaha."

Donors Lose Thousands to IRS for Inadequate Receipt - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Donors Lose Thousands to IRS for Inadequate Receipt - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Unfortunately, the church didn’t follow all components of the four-part test for gift receipts, as detailed in IRS Publication 1771. For each gift to a charity over $250, the charity must document in writing a bank record or written communication, which must be contemporaneous. (This means that you must receive the written acknowledgement before you file your federal income tax return for the year of the contribution or prior to the due date—including extensions—of the return.) The written acknowledgement must state the amount donated, and it must also state whether goods or services were provided by the charity in return. If so, it must state their value, and if the donor received “intangible religious benefits,” the written acknowledgement must state this as well.