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

Why Can’t We Get Over Overhead? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: hat slapping noise you hear every holiday season is the sound of philanthropic experts briskly applying palms to foreheads as they watch the perky nightly-news broadcaster reminding viewers to be generous, but to give only to groups that spend far more on programs than on overhead.

The program/overhead distinction, though denigrated for years by the most articulate and determined nonprofit professionals, simply refuses to die. Somehow, the general public doesn’t want to let go of it.

Why not? Will the simple-minded rubes whose donations constitute the overwhelming majority of charitable giving in America ever realize that it’s a meaningless if not downright pernicious distinction? Will they finally turn instead for giving guidance to the shiny new outcomes metrics upon which our experts have been beavering away?

Student project gives charity $5K boost

Student project gives charity $5K boost: YFC Youth Unlimited St. Catharines has received a big boost in its bid to open a new location.

As they work towards moving to a new home for The Deck, at 226 Merritt St. in Merritton, the organization earned a $5,000 donation through a Youth and Philanthropy Initiative project at Eden High School.

Venture philanthropy takes root | Westfair Communications

Venture philanthropy takes root | Westfair Communications: he SVP model first began in Seattle in the 1990s when former Microsoft employees wanted to do more than just make charitable donations, Kendall said. They wanted to lend their business and financial expertise to help grow charities to make an even bigger impact.

And now that idea has quickly spread. Today there are more than 35 SVP chapters across the globe that have contributed more than $46 million to hundreds of nonprofits.

With the support of the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF), Fairfield County will now have its own chapter, but with a small twist. The group doesn’t plan to work with charities. Instead it plans to work only with scalable social enterprises or businesses that have charitable aspects built into their business models.

Opera House finds success with corporate partners

Opera House finds success with corporate partners: n conjunction with its 10-year anniversary, the Napa Valley Opera House has launched a new corporate sponsorship program, which they hope will be a mutual success — raising money the Opera House needs while helping local businesses connect with the customers and clients they need.

According to the Opera House’s development director Jessica Thomason, they have always worked with local businesses in a sponsorship capacity, but they anticipate this new program will be an even greater success because of the way it was designed.

Valerie S. Lies: It's Time for Real Talk About Real Nonprofit Overhead Costs

Valerie S. Lies: It's Time for Real Talk About Real Nonprofit Overhead Costs: This is a welcome development for donors and nonprofits alike. For too long the laser-like focus on nonprofits doing more with less when it comes to overhead and administrative expenses has unnecessarily limited their abilities to fulfill or expand their missions.

To be sure, ratios can be a measure of an organization's effectiveness and should be used as one of a set of tools to identify mismanagement or malfeasance. But we ask charities to do too much with too little to achieve effective ratios. It's time we start looking at an organization's outcomes -- in addition to what they spend to achieve them -- when determining where our charitable dollars go.

Foundation Center - Press Release - Pioneering Research Illuminates Global Human Rights Philanthropy

Foundation Center - Press Release - Pioneering Research Illuminates Global Human Rights Philanthropy: Pioneering Research Illuminates Global Human Rights Philanthropy
New Report Uncovers Grants Totaling More Than $1.2 Billion

New York, NY — June 20, 2013. A partnership between the Foundation Center and the International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG) has produced the first data-driven portrait of how foundations are advancing human rights around the world. According to new research released today by the two organizations, over 12,000 human rights grants supported more than 6,800 organizations worldwide, amounting to $1.2 billion in 2010. Advancing Human Rights: The State of Global Foundation Grantmaking confirms that human rights philanthropy is a global phenomenon: the 703 funders included in the analysis represent 29 countries across seven major world regions.

Start Planning Next Spring's Golf Fundraiser Now: Interview with Golf Fundraiser Tom King

Start Planning Next Spring's Golf Fundraiser Now: Interview with Golf Fundraiser Tom King: Tom King, author of Going for the Green! An Insider's Guide to Raising Money with Charity Golf, recently spoke with his publisher about golf fundraisers. GuideStar has published an excerpt from the book, and we're pleased to be able to share Mr. King's additional thoughts with you.

This is our first tournament. We're able to mobilize a decent number of volunteers and our cause is fairly well known. We've even got a connection to the local country club. How much can we hope to net on this virgin effort?

Giving USA 2013: Giving Coming Back Slowly and Different After Recession - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Giving USA 2013: Giving Coming Back Slowly and Different After Recession - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: The overarching news that this year’s Giving USA report shows us is that we are still climbing only very slowly out of the recession. (If you remember, the title of last year’s NPQ report on Giving USA was, “Giving USA 2012 Indicates Long Slow Uphill Slog…If We Are Lucky.”)

So although giving has increased by 3.5% in real dollars and 1.5% in inflation-adjusted dollars, giving overall is still down 8% in inflation-adjusted dollars from where it was in 2007. Is this five-year (so far) recovery on par with those that followed earlier recessions?

Looking at the graph below, we appear to be setting a record for slowest recovery.

National Philanthropic Trust comments on 2013 giving USA report on philanthropy

National Philanthropic Trust comments on 2013 giving USA report on philanthropy: Superstorm Sandy made a significant impact on human services giving category ($40.40 billion; 3.8 percent overall increase). In the last two months of 2012, an estimated $223 million was given to support organizations working on Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. For 2013, Giving USA estimates $100 million in additional Sandy-related donations.

“Historically, giving is a lagging indicator of the economy,” said Heisman. “The positive data in Giving USA’s report indicates Americans may be feeling more confident about the global economy.”

Charity giving rose in 2012 to $316 billion - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Charity giving rose in 2012 to $316 billion - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: While high-profile fundraising for victims of Hurricane Sandy generated $236 million in donations in the last quarter of 2012, that amount represented less than 1 percent of all giving for the year, Mr. Carlson noted.

"Episodic giving -- whether it's 9-11, or Haiti or Sandy -- as part of overall giving does not have a big impact. Where it really may have an impact is in particular sectors, such as environmental or international giving, but it really doesn't move the needle overall."

Campaign McGill pulls in $1 billion : McGill Reporter

Campaign McGill pulls in $1 billion : McGill Reporter: There is no getting around it; the numbers of the recently completed Campaign McGill are impressive. But, as announced in a press conference early Tuesday, the one number that is truly astounding is the Campaign’s bottom line: $1 billion-plus raised to support students, faculty and researchers.

Court Throws Out Suit Claiming Columbia U. Misused 1927 Gift - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Court Throws Out Suit Claiming Columbia U. Misused 1927 Gift - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: A New York judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Columbia University violated the intent of donors who gave money 85 years ago to establish a campus center for Italian-American studies, Bloomberg reports.

Volunteering lifts job prospects of the jobless - The Washington Post

Volunteering lifts job prospects of the jobless - The Washington Post: Unemployed Americans stand a much better chance of finding a paying job if they first work for free. That is the key finding from a new federal study that is billed as the first empirical examination of the benefits of volunteering for out-of-work Americans.

The report, to be released Tuesday by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that encourages and facilitates volunteerism, found that jobless Americans increase their odds of finding work by 27 percent if they volunteer.

One Size, One Regulation, One Ratio Does Not Fit All in the Nonprofit Sector | Johnson Center for Philanthropy

One Size, One Regulation, One Ratio Does Not Fit All in the Nonprofit Sector | Johnson Center for Philanthropy: "This is a repost of Dr. Carpenter’s blog article titled, “America’s Worst Charities, Not! America’s Worst Attorney Generals!”"

The AFP Blog: Giving USA: More of the Same

The AFP Blog: Giving USA: More of the Same: Giving USA: More of the Same
It’s more of the same for giving, which isn’t a bad thing.

Giving USA 2013, which covers giving levels for 2012, was released today, and the results are what you’d probably expect: a small increase in giving—about 3.5 percent before inflation, and 1.5 percent when calculated with current inflation.

Protect Charitable Deductions for Stronger Communities

PhilanTopic: Congress is threatening to eliminate the charitable deduction as we know it -- at the expense of millions of people in need. Specifically, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are talking about imposing a cap or limit on the value of the charitable tax deduction as part of a bigger effort to raise additional revenue and/or "simplify" the tax code.

Fundraising Day New York & TMI - Tony Martignetti

Fundraising Day New York & TMI - Tony Martignetti: Fundraising Day New York
What a rush!

I spent all day on June 7th, 6 to 6, at Fundraising Day hosted by the Greater New York City chapter of AFP.

Komen Finally Chooses a Successor to Brinker or So They Say - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Komen Finally Chooses a Successor to Brinker or So They Say - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Our assumption is that Brinker plans on staying. We don’t stand with those who think that a founder cannot stay on once a new leader steps in, but in this case, we doubt somewhat that this leadership shift is entirely…how shall we say it?…sincere in its aim to transfer the reins of power. What do you think?—Ruth McCambridge

Fewer Over-Qualified People Now Applying for Nonprofit Jobs

massnonprofit.org ::: une 8, 2013 — Fewer over-qualified applicants are seeking nonprofit jobs, a sign that the Massachusetts economy is continuing to improve, according to Ann-Marie Joyce, who served as human resources manager for two nonprofits simultaneously during the last seven years.

Arts and culture was fastest-growing philanthropic cause in 2012 - latimes.com

Arts and culture was fastest-growing philanthropic cause in 2012 - latimes.com: In terms of donations, arts and culture was Americans’ fastest-growing charitable cause in 2012, rising an estimated 7.8% to $14.44 billion, according to a leading annual research report on charitable giving.

Knock Your Third Party Fundraiser Out of the Park | npENGAGE

Knock Your Third Party Fundraiser Out of the Park | npENGAGE: Baseball season is in full swing this time of year and so are multitudes of fundraising events. Alongside the rides, walks and runs, many organizations are utilizing Third Party or Independent Fundraising Events (IFE) to raise money for specific campaigns. But just because you’ve built this beautiful fundraising website, doesn’t mean the fundraisers or donors will show up to the game. For a big win, it is important to plan ahead and organize your supporters to kick off your campaign to a great start.

Below are a few tips to help you conduct your peer-to-peer fundraising event strategy as if you were in spring training.

Senate Finance Committee Releases White Paper on Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Senate Finance Committee Releases White Paper on Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Bipartisanship and cooperation does happen on Capitol Hill. Last week, the Senate Finance Committee produced a concise and readable review of options available to change regulation of tax-exempt organizations and charitable giving. The 19-page report is replete with numbered lists, bullet points, and links to source documents where each possible idea is explained in more detail. The document’s introduction states that it is a “joint product of the majority and minority staffs of the Finance Committee with input from Committee members’ staffs.”

Oregon Sets 30% Program Spending Benchmark for Charities - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Oregon Sets 30% Program Spending Benchmark for Charities - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: NPQ has had a number of stories on overhead lately, including our blockbuster today where three prominent organizations are calling for an end to the overuse of overhead as a measure of grantworthiness but what about when nearly no money of what is raised goes to program? Oregon has now enacted the nation’s toughest law on spending by nonprofits. The law will pull eligibility for the state charitable tax deduction for donations from charities that do not spend at least 30 percent of their donations “to support their mission.” Charities that fall short of the 30 percent threshold are required to disclose that information or face a penalty of up to $25,000.

Given recent debates within the n

The Stubborn 2% Giving Rate - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

The Stubborn 2% Giving Rate - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: mericans gave $316.2-billion to charity last year, according to “Giving USA,” the annual survey of philanthropy that was released this week. And in a statistic that offers no surprises no one, that represented 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, the same as in 2011.

Local Millennials change the face of philanthropy

Local Millennials change the face of philanthropy: Capital Cause members are local Millennials, aged 18 to 35 years—most of whom are entry-level professionals who make less than $60,000 a year. Each member donates just $30 per year, which has funded over $20,000 in mini-grants to local organizations. Each member also commits time to a “cause” by pledging at least five service hours to local community projects.

Minn. philanthropy leaders hope to tap $48 billion transfer of wealth | StarTribune.com

Minn. philanthropy leaders hope to tap $48 billion transfer of wealth | StarTribune.com: Charity leaders see unprecedented opportunity in the largest transfer of wealth in our nation’s history as billions change hands from baby boomers to their kids over the next 40 years.

Charitable giving has slow, steady growth in 2012

Charitable giving has slow, steady growth in 2012: haritable giving was up 3.5% last year, mainly benefiting animals, the arts and the environment, according to the 2012 Giving USA report from the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Overall, Americans gave $316.23 billion to charity.

Minnesota Council on Foundations names Trista Harris as president | StarTribune.com

Minnesota Council on Foundations names Trista Harris as president | StarTribune.com: Harris is the executive director of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice in Minneapolis, and is active nationally in philanthropic issues.

She is the chair of the national board of advisers of the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy, a national network that supports effective leadership development for the next generation of philanthropists.

'America's Worst Charities' List Criticized By The Association Of Fundraising Professionals

'America's Worst Charities' List Criticized By The Association Of Fundraising Professionals: But some charity experts are speaking out, saying these nonprofits are too far on the fringes. In a recent press release, Andrew Watt, the president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), a nonprofit support organization, said the investigation should not have solely focused on cases of solicitors who receive a commission, a practice widely viewed as unethical.

Tips for Getting More Appointments with Potential Donors | Bloomerang

Tips for Getting More Appointments with Potential Donors | Bloomerang: Tips for Getting More Appointments with Potential Donors

On May 30th, Jay Love and Sandy Rees spent an hour answering questions live about donor communications and donor engagement. The webinar participants asked some intriguing questions, and we’d like to share some of Jay and Sandy’s answers with you.

One participant asked about donor engagement as it pertains to a fluctuation in donation amounts:

Ten key themes in charity mergers

Ten key themes in charity mergers: Ten key themes in charity mergers
Finance | Richard Gutch | 17 Jun 2013

Richard Gutch has interviewed a number of the chief executives involved in recent mergers. Ten key themes have kept emerging.

Giving in U.S. grows, still lags 2007 peak � Philanthropy North Carolina

Giving in U.S. grows, still lags 2007 peak � Philanthropy North Carolina: Powered by individual donors and corporate funders, charitable giving in the U.S. grew 3.5 percent to $316.23 billion in 2012, or an increase of 1.5 percent adjusted for inflation, a new report says.

Giving by foundations also grew, while giving by bequest fell, according to Giving USA, an annual report on giving in the U.S. from the Giving USA Foundation and its research partner, the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Komen breast cancer charity names new CEO

Komen breast cancer charity names new CEO: DALLAS (AP) — Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced Monday that it has a new CEO.

The breast cancer charity named Judith A. Salerno to replace founder Nancy Brinker, whose promise to her dying sister begat a fundraising powerhouse that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer research.

Why Strong Leaders Need Strong Cultures: Associations Now

Why Strong Leaders Need Strong Cultures: Associations Now: ntentionally or unwittingly, leaders model the culture of their organizations. Sending the wrong message can make that culture one of distrust—and have a real impact on your success.

Open Society Announces Fund to Support New Nonprofit Leaders - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Open Society Announces Fund to Support New Nonprofit Leaders - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Open Society Foundations has established a $2-million fund to help new nonprofit chief executives put their ideas to work quickly.

The New Executives Fund will provide financial assistance to nonprofits around the world that are working on the causes supported by Open Society, the foundation created by George Soros. Those include public health, education, and promoting social change.

The Overhead Myth Campaign - A GuideStar Initiative to Improve Donor Choice

More on Overhead Costs

In a historic move, the leaders of the country’s three leading sources of information on nonprofits – GuideStar, Charity Navigator, and BBB Wise Giving Alliance – penned an open letter to the donors of America denouncing the “overhead ratio” as a valid indicator of nonprofit performance.  
The Overhead Myth Campaign - A GuideStar Initiative to Improve Donor Choice

The Rich are Irrelevant…and Other Thoughts about the Donor Pyramid - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

The Rich are Irrelevant…and Other Thoughts about the Donor Pyramid - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: The rich are irrelevant,” said Tom the other day. And so started a very interesting conversation.

Tom is my life partner and a donor communications expert. We often talk about our shared experience in philanthropy and fund development. Our respective work takes us down similar paths that often diverge and then reconnect. This philanthropy thing is our life’s work—each of us alone and both of us together.

“The rich are irrelevant,” Tom repeated. “You and I are not interested in the rich people. We aren’t interested in the money and the transaction.”

Launching a campaign to end the Overhead Myth | GuideStar Blog

Launching a campaign to end the Overhead Myth | GuideStar Blog: My nonprofit friends, it’s time we changed the conversation about “the overhead ratio”: the percentage of your organization’s expenses that go to administrative and fundraising costs.

For too long, we’ve let a few bad apples—the rare cases of outright fundraising fraud—confuse donors about what matters when judging a nonprofit.

Tampa Bay Times, CNN List of “Worst Charities” Cites Extreme Cases, Misses Key Points - Press - AFP

Tampa Bay Times, CNN List of “Worst Charities” Cites Extreme Cases, Misses Key Points - Press - AFP: "– In response to the recent release of the “50 Worst Charities” by the Tampa Bay Times and CNN, the president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Andrew Watt, released the following statement:

Fundraising is an honorable and inspirational profession that makes a huge difference in the lives of millions of people across the U.S. Without the work of fundraisers, charities would be unable to provide their critical programs that feed the hungry, heal the sick, shelter the homeless, protect our environment and countless other missions that we take for granted every day. The fundraising profession is populated by thousands of individuals who practice best standards and abide by ethical standards in all of their work."

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