CLOSER LOOK: Spending costs of local United Way agencies | www.middletownjournal.com

CLOSER LOOK: Spending costs of local United Way agencies | www.middletownjournal.com: In recent years, there has been a public conversation about nonprofit overhead, or administrative costs, and the extent to which those costs should influence giving. Some believe low overhead is evidence of an efficiently-run operation. But advocates and those who work for nonprofits argue that donors should not use overhead as a measure of a nonprofit’s success, but rather its impact on the communities it serves.

Checkout Charity: How Do the Pennies Add Up? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Checkout Charity: How Do the Pennies Add Up? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you were probably asked to donate to charity. Checkout charity campaigns are becoming an increasingly common way for nonprofits to raise funds and for corporations to indirectly contribute to good causes. The Cause Marketing Forum recently analyzed 63 campaigns that had each raised more than $1 million in 2012, a combined total of more than $358 million raised that year. (Their extensive list of campaigns follows at the end of this Newswire.)

Detroit Museum Amends Donor Policy to Safeguard Future Gifts - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Detroit Museum Amends Donor Policy to Safeguard Future Gifts - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The director of the Detroit Institute of Arts tells The Art Newspaper that the museum is changing the language of its donor agreement to ensure future donations cannot be used to alleviate Detroit’s financial woes.

“We are inserting into our deed of gift a line stating that from any sale of the work, the proceeds can only be used to buy more art,

What’s the Future of Planned Giving? | npENGAGE

What’s the Future of Planned Giving? | npENGAGE: "I was recently asked the question, “What do you see as the future of planned giving?” during a development professionals’ educational session.  Because the answer would have taken much more time than allotted, I promised to give the query some thought and respond through my blog."

'via Blog this'

Not Very Giving - NYTimes.com

Not Very Giving - NYTimes.com: STANFORD, Calif. — AS school gets rolling across the country, many parents will be asked to make a large financial contribution to their children’s school. In Hillsborough, Calif., for example, parents receive a letter from the Hillsborough Schools Foundation in which the amount requested is $2,300 per child.

Non-Profit Online Fundraising Strategies from NPR - New Media Campaigns

Non-Profit Online Fundraising Strategies from NPR - New Media Campaigns: About 40% of NPR's $174 million annual budget comes from individual donations. That makes them one of the most consistently successful organizations at grassroots fundraising from individuals who are supportive and passionate about their mission. Public Radio listeners are familiar with the NPR Pledge Drives that will dominate a member station for a week at a time, encouraging people to call in with donations or give online. In addition to leveraging their on-air talent, the non-profit does a great job of cultivating donations online. Below are several things they're doing really well that can be adopted by any other organization who wants to raise money online from their network of supporters.

Registering Your Nonprofit in Other States: When Is It Necessary? |

Other State registration stories

Registering Your Nonprofit in Other States: When Is It Necessary? |: Given the increasingly global nature of markets, it might come as no surprise that even nonprofits sometimes seek to raise funds in places other than their home state. This is not uncommon in metropolitan areas that straddle state lines, where the concept of identifying with a state sometimes takes a backseat to identifying with a locality or region.

Currently, the majority of states (39) and the District of Columbia have laws specific to nonprofit fundraising activity that involve registration. Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wyoming, as of the time of this writing, do not.

Foundations need diversity in the C suite - Opinion - Crain's Chicago Business

Foundations need diversity in the C suite - Opinion - Crain's Chicago Business: ccording to data compiled by the Council on Foundations, only 4 percent of foundation CEOs nationwide are African-American and 7 percent of foundation trustees are African-American. These data are taken from a survey of less than 1 percent of U.S. foundations.

Nationwide, the number of African-American chief executives has remained stagnant. At best, the number of African-Americans leading Chicago-area foundations reflects national data on diversity in philanthropy.

Perspective: ‘Voluntourism’ as a Powerful Learning Tool

Perspective: ‘Voluntourism’ as a Powerful Learning Tool: Voluntourism’ has gained popularity over recent years and has inspired many debates. Some question the effectiveness of sending volunteers overseas to do work people overseas are more than capable of doing.

Cole Hamels Runs An Athlete Charity That Actually Works - Forbes

Cole Hamels Runs An Athlete Charity That Actually Works - Forbes: Off the field, Hamels has managed to pull off a similar feat with his philanthropy, which he has pursued with his wife, Heidi, a former Playboy Playmate and Survivor contestant. The Hamels Foundation, which funds childhood education programs in Africa and in Philadelphia, is a tiny operation, with an annual budget of just under $1 million. But because Hamels covers all of the foundation’s expenses, 100% of every dollar raised actually goes to its programs, a rarity in the world of athlete-backed philanthropies designed more for buzz than impact.

Network hosts tours of local nonprofits | The Columbian

Network hosts tours of local nonprofits | The Columbian: The Nonprofit Network Southwest Washington is continuing the Community Cares tours it began in 2011 and expanded in 2012. The tours draw attention to community issues and show what local nonprofit agencies are doing to make a difference, the network said.

Wise Words About Charities And Branding | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits

Wise Words About Charities And Branding | The Agitator - Fundraising, Direct Marketing and Advocacy Strategies for Nonprofits: The other day blogger Jeff Brooks headlined a post … How to kill your fundraising. And the answer he gave was: Investing in brand. Well, I thought that was one of the most annoying things I had ever heard from Jeff (who I regard very highly).

So I read on and discovered he was passing along the admonition of Sean Triner, another smart blogger. Sean’s original post was titled: The first of two good ways to destroy your individual fundraising. Now I was really juiced up!

Opinion: Tax Steps Could Reduce Inequality in Schools Giving - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Opinion: Tax Steps Could Reduce Inequality in Schools Giving - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Giving by affluent parents to foundations serving their children’s schools has “unintended, pernicious effects” that widen inequalities in education funding, says the co-director of Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society argues in a New York Times opinion column.

Charlotte United Way investing in collaboration for impact � Philanthropy North Carolina

Charlotte United Way investing in collaboration for impact � Philanthropy North Carolina: CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One year ago, United Way of Central Carolinas began working with 16 of its partner agencies to provide better data to track their impact on the academic performance of at-risk kids they serve.

This month, in partnership with the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Foundation for the Carolinas and roughly 40 other nonprofits, United Way began spearheading a new effort to improve service to the homeless by improving the way agencies collect information from them and identify their needs for services when they first seek assistance.

Corporate Volunteer Grants - Also Known as Dollars for Doers

Corporate Volunteer Grants - Also Known as Dollars for Doers: n a previous article we outlined 7 types of corporate giving programs. While matching gifts are the most common form of employee giving program, volunteer grants are one of the newest and fastest growing forms of corporate social responsibility.

Big Boston Charity Funds Report Robust Donation Gains - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Big Boston Charity Funds Report Robust Donation Gains - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Three of Boston’s largest philanthropic groups took in record gifts in the past fiscal year, with the gains attributed to the rising stock market and donor concerns over possible changes to the charitable deduction, The Boston Globe writes.

PPP Blog: What Donors Actually Did—And How They Did It

PPP Blog: What Donors Actually Did—And How They Did It: What Donors Actually Did—And How They Did It
Much of what we know about charitable planning comes from living people. They tell us in surveys that they’ve included a bequest in their will, or established some type of life income gift. But we also know that some people simply won't disclose about their giving, and, for some others, social desirability bias leads some to exaggerate their philanthropy. After our survey subjects have died, it’s difficult to compare their reports with actual behavior, especially for estates that fall below the estate tax threshold. There are various formulas for estimating the number of Americans who make charitable bequests, but the truth is, we don’t know exactly how many do.

Beyond Input - What Happens When Nonprofits Really Engage The People They Serve? | Willa Seldon

Beyond Input - What Happens When Nonprofits Really Engage The People They Serve? | Willa Seldon: Nearly all nonprofits collect input and other kinds of data from those they serve--at a minimum, demographic information and satisfaction surveys. But some leading nonprofits are engaging clients or beneficiaries or residents--here we use the term constituents--in order to have more impact on the social concerns they are trying to address. Of course, some organizations are constituent-led--parent groups, neighborhood associations, civil rights organizations, membership groups.

Yet for many social sector organizations, constituent engagement is a challenge, as listening is a challenge for many people.

Charity News: UK: Rise of foodbank charities - New research confirms food charities increasingly in demand in UK due to cost of living pressures...

Charity News: UK: Rise of foodbank charities - New research confirms food charities increasingly in demand in UK due to cost of living pressures...: New figures by the Citizens Advice charity reveal a 78 per cent rise in enquiries about foodbanks across the UK...

The advice charity says almost every region across the country has reported a spike in requests for information about emergency food supplies...

Why nonprofits need succession planning - Greensboro - The Business Journal

Why nonprofits need succession planning - Greensboro - The Business Journal: As Baby Boomers approach retirement age, nonprofit organizations will face a changing makeup of their boards of directors. To help, the N.C. Center for Nonprofits started a statewide initiative to help nonprofit boards of directors and executive directors plan for the massive changes in leadership expected as Baby Boomers retire.

N.Y. Hospital Ordered to Repay Millions to Endowment - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

N.Y. Hospital Ordered to Repay Millions to Endowment - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: A New York judge has ordered financially strapped Long Island College Hospital to repay tens of millions of dollars it borrowed from a $135-million endowment bequest, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Duke Haddad-The Integrated Special Event : FundRaising Success

Duke Haddad-The Integrated Special Event : FundRaising Success: The point is that a special event is not just a simple activity that comes and then goes until next year. This event was treated as a complex endeavor that encompassed elements of annual gifts, major gifts, planned gifts and development services. The event itself had time, talent and treasure values assigned to it.

Donate a dollar at the register? Checkout charity is big business for nonprofits | Tampa Bay Times

Donate a dollar at the register? Checkout charity is big business for nonprofits | Tampa Bay Times: Checkout charity, as it's sometimes called, has become big business for nonprofits and retailers. Charities love it because it raises money from the masses at little cost. Companies love it because it makes them look caring and generous, even if it comes on the backs of customers.

Greensboro United Way regroups in ‘building year’ � Philanthropy North Carolina

Greensboro United Way regroups in ‘building year’ � Philanthropy North Carolina: GREENSBORO, N.C. — For each of the past four years, United Way of Greater Greensboro fell short of the goal for its annual fundraising campaign.

This year, United Way is regrouping: Rather then set a goal for the annual campaign, it will be working to raise awareness in the community about the impact of the programs in which it invests at 29 partner health and human services agencies.

And it will be working to connect in a more personal way with donors, and provide better customer service for companies that run United Way drives in the workplace.

Copley Raff's Giving Take: The Myth of Advancement Benchmarks

Copley Raff's Giving Take: The Myth of Advancement Benchmarks: here seems to be this belief that by “benchmarking” an organization to other “peer” organizations that something useful can be learned. Or that insights will emerge that will help your organization…or make it feel bolstered or diminished in some way.

Consultants are often asked to do benchmarking as part of an assessment engagement, but unfortunately, the reporting on federal 990s is so inconsistent, and sometimes downright fraudulent, that very little can be learned from the numbers. Let’s look at some key metrics: