Delaware Museum Expects “Shunning” as it Prepares to Sell Art - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Delaware Museum Expects “Shunning” as it Prepares to Sell Art - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: The Delaware Art Museum is in $19.8 million of debt acquired during an expansion and renovation nine years ago, and now it has announced plans to try to raise $30 million by selling up to four works from its collection. Its complete collection comprises 12,500 pieces. What is left over after the debt is paid will be used to replenish the endowment.

The museum’s CEO explained, “After detailed analysis, heavy scrutiny and the exhaustion of every reasonable alternative to relieve our bond debt, the trustees had two agonizing choices in front of them—to either sell works of art, or to close our doors.”

Trend Report: Sector-Switching - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Trend Report: Sector-Switching - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Until recently, the boundary between for-profit and nonprofit, at least in theory and public perception, was clear. There was a distinction, codified by legal status and crystalized in a collective understanding of disparate motivations and bottom lines. The for-profit world made a profit, and the nonprofit world made a difference.

New donors help Milwaukee Symphony's $5 million emergency campaign succeed

New donors help Milwaukee Symphony's $5 million emergency campaign succeed: The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has successfully completed its $5 million emergency fundraising drive with the help of 1,408 new individual donors, contributing an average gift of $340.25 each, the orchestra announced.

"We are thrilled to have rallied the community and improved our business model. The MSO board will now turn to the big picture — the changes that could permanently stabilize and capitalize the MSO," board chairman Douglas Hagerman said.

Diverse Museum Donor Base Shows Changing Cleveland Giving – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Diverse Museum Donor Base Shows Changing Cleveland Giving – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: The Cleveland Museum of Art’s capital campaign to finance its newly finished expansion and renovation demonstrates how wealth and philanthropy have changed in the city in the last half-century, writes The Plain Dealer in one of a series of articles this week on the state of the institution.

Head of Redskins’ Native American Charity Drew U.S. Scrutiny – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Head of Redskins’ Native American Charity Drew U.S. Scrutiny – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: he leader of Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder’s new foundation to assist Native Americans runs another nonprofit whose use of nearly $1-million in federal funds was questioned in a 2012 government review, according to USA Today.

AARP Donor Questionnaire and Petition Package : FundRaising Success

AARP Donor Questionnaire and Petition Package : FundRaising Success

WARNING: Your Fundraising Communications are Too Pretty - Clairification

WARNING: Your Fundraising Communications are Too Pretty - Clairification: Creative is great. I see lots of beautiful newsletters, web pages and email appeals. They have great design, colors, photos and even videos. But they have a problem.

They tend not to be original. They tend to be the same old thing you always talk about. Yourself.

Nonprofits To Add Staff, Don’t Budget For Recruitment | The NonProfit Times

Nonprofits To Add Staff, Don’t Budget For Recruitment | The NonProfit Times: More nonprofits plan to hire new staff in 2014 than use current staff, according to a new survey released today.

Washington, D.C.-based Nonprofit HR, a human resources firm that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations, released the 2014 Nonprofit Employment Practices Survey, which includes responses from more than 400 nonprofits nationwide.

Shower Strike

Shower Strike: Our Strikers of the Day are the fabulous Fish family! They are on their fourth Shower Strike this year! Back in 2011, their first year to Shower Strike, Melanie Fish said: “We decided who better to participate in the annual Shower Strike than a family with the last name Fish? No one likes smelly fish.” It was true then, and it’s still true now! Congrats on meeting your goal, you...

Silvermine leads local nonprofits on 'Giving Day' - New Canaan News

Silvermine leads local nonprofits on 'Giving Day' - New Canaan News: The Silvermine Guild of Artists led New Canaan nonprofits in donations raised during Fairfield County Giving Day on March 7.

Foundation Group Expands to Reach More Donors - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Foundation Group Expands to Reach More Donors - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: he Association of Small Foundations announced today that it has changed its name to “Exponent Philanthropy” to appeal to a broader range of philanthropists who are increasingly giving through donor-advised funds and other methods.

Best Ideas and Strategies to Disrupt the Nonprofit Sector | Rad Campaign

Best Ideas and Strategies to Disrupt the Nonprofit Sector | Rad Campaign: If nonprofits are going to solve the world's toughest social justice issues and create real world impact, then we need to disrupt the nonprofit sector and radically change the way it functions and is led. For the March Nonprofit blog carnival I asked the community to share their thoughts about how we can create more innovative and effective organizations, a topic that Amy Sample Ward and I discuss in our book Social Change Anytime Everywhere,

Survey: Charitable Giving Saw Strong Gains in 2013: Associations Now

Survey: Charitable Giving Saw Strong Gains in 2013: Associations Now: undraising was up across the board in 2013 in the U.S. and Canada, according to the Nonprofit Research Collaborative’s Year-End Fundraising Survey—but did it come at the cost of volunteerism?

Shift- Say Yes to Your Life’s Experiences | Social Media For Nonprofits

Shift- Say Yes to Your Life’s Experiences | Social Media For Nonprofits: It is very timely to be speaking at the 51st AFP International conference and to be thinking about “shifting” to make some of the changes that I am making in my personal and professional life.

As you all think about the lessons learned, sessions attended, nuggets that you got from the conference and more,

Chronicle highlights philanthropy in Houston - Houston Chronicle

Chronicle highlights philanthropy in Houston - Houston Chronicle: Philanthropy is a natural part of Houston life. When it comes to the health of our local charities, we rank second in the nation. In fact, Houstonians and area organizations contributed nearly $12.4 billion to causes last year.

Your generosity inspires us. At Houston Chronicle Media Group, we host Houston's significant conversations. That is why we publish Houston Gives - now in its third year - to spotlight our city's great works, to champion its causes and to honor its heroes.

AFP Fundraising Conference Takeaways: Putting Passion Into Practice : FundRaising Success

AFP Fundraising Conference Takeaways: Putting Passion Into Practice : FundRaising Success: ut action is the key, as we all know. And now that I have a day full of meetings, deadlines and working on some terrific projects, I am challenged to take full advantage of my experience from San Antonio.

If you feel the same way, here's my plan that you may find helpful:

Review my notes, and incorporate them into my goals and daily/weekly action lists.
Review the program for sessions of interest that I did not attend and download available materials.

3 Objections to Dan Snyder’s Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

3 Objections to Dan Snyder’s Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Daniel Snyder, the majority owner of the Washington, D.C. National Football League franchise, announced that he is creating the “Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation.” Snyder has been under consistent criticism for his dead-set opposition to changing the name of the team despite vigorous and sustained opposition from some Native American leaders and even members of Congress, though he’s received the surprising backing of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Now, after four months of research into Native American attitudes about the name of the Washington team, Snyder has announced the creation of the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation. He said, in a letter posted on the team’s website, “The more I’ve heard, the more I’ve learned, and the more I saw, the more resolved I became about helping to address the challenges that plague the Native American community.”

Hawaii First State to Propose Civic Crowdfunding Legislation | Idea Lab | PBS

Hawaii First State to Propose Civic Crowdfunding Legislation | Idea Lab | PBS: Hawaii has become the first state to propose a bill supporting civic crowdfunding, as it seeks to raise funds for the maintenance and repair of local schools.

HB2631 outlines a pilot program in which two maintenance projects at Hawaii schools are selected for public crowdfunding campaigns.

How Not to Muddle the Middle�|�Gary Laermer

How Not to Muddle the Middle�|�Gary Laermer: In the non-profit world, big scores -- or the biggest donors -- get major attention, as they deserve. Another key to success, however, is building capacity to steward the vitally important and often-overlooked group in the middle. In reality, donors who give moderate amounts on a steady basis are the lifeblood of the philanthropic world. They are the ones who sustain organizations through ups and downs, and the ones who are most likely to proselytize about a group's core mission. Take a look at the lifetime giving of mid-level donors to see their real value.

The Next Big Thing in Fundraising: Monthly Giving Programs

The Next Big Thing in Fundraising: Monthly Giving Programs: Yes. You heard me correctly. All that effort, time, and money you put into acquiring new donors and 3/4 of them will not come back next year to support your organization again if you’re not engaging them and offering them a reason and easy way to do so.

This is where monthly or recurring giving comes into play.

Cancer Research UK receives �8m in six days from no make-up selfies | Third Sector

Cancer Research UK receives �8m in six days from no make-up selfies | Third Sector: Harpal Kumar, head of the charity, says it has been overwhelmed by the donations generated by the trend, in which people tweet pictures of themselves without make-up

Cancer Research UK has received donations of more than �8m in just six days from the #nomakeupselfie trend.

The trend, in which people tweet pictures of themselves without make-up, began generating donations for the charity last week.

A New Guide Helps Foundations Become More Transparent - Grant Makers - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

A New Guide Helps Foundations Become More Transparent - Grant Makers - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: A New Guide Helps Foundations Become More Transparent

By Sarah Frostenson

Foundations seeking to meet demands for greater transparency have some help in the form of a new guide.

“Opening Up: Demystifying Funder Transparency” was produced by GrantCraft, an arm of the Foundation Center, which provides resources to grant makers.

Revisiting Families and the Transformative Power of Philanthropy | Planned Giving Design Center

Revisiting Families and the Transformative Power of Philanthropy | Planned Giving Design Center: An ever increasing number of high net worth households are wanting their advisors to assist them with the philanthropic conversation. But there is a problem! It is not just the ultra wealthy. We have a chance to use the same methods with many families below the unified gift and estate tax exemption.

Alternative spring break in Baltimore - baltimoresun.com

Alternative spring break in Baltimore - baltimoresun.com: This year, however, the sophomore was in Maryland for her school break, taking part in a movement that's swept college campuses nationwide.

Known as Alternative Spring Break, the concept, which gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, centers around students performing community service during their time off, instead of, say,

Does the Nonprofit CEO Need to Go??�|�Eugene Fram

Does the Nonprofit CEO Need to Go??�|�Eugene Fram: Recognizing and acknowledging that the current CEO is no longer helpful to the nonprofit organization is never easy to come by. Beyond malfeasance and under-performance, obvious reasons for initiating such a discussion, there are often other indicators: his/her modest leadership skills, ineffective discussions between the CEO and the board chair, criticism from external stakeholders, overemphasis on tactics unbalanced by a focus on strategies, etc.

5 Questions: Nicki Meneley sees charity role for sororities

5 Questions: Nicki Meneley sees charity role for sororities: he role of sororities, and fraternities, on college campuses is evolving, Meneley said. Their image of being elitist and places for party-goers has instead become one based on community involvement.

“Over the past decade, we have seen the creation of numerous philanthropic efforts that raise millions of dollars using sorority members’ time and talents,” she said.

Blog | Diversifying your nonprofit's donor base

Blog | Diversifying your nonprofit's donor base: What do all sustainable fundraising strategies have in common? Diversity. In other words, yes, that old adage about not putting too many eggs in one basket applies to the nonprofit sector.

You never—and I'm not usually one to say never—want to depend on a limited number of sources for all of your funding, for a variety of reasons. At its core, diverse fundraising is really about your nonprofit's long-term resiliency, and we've seen many organizations take on the challenge of rethinking or expanding how they raise money, usually aming to reach more individual donors.

Shove Over and Give Gen Y the Keys! - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Shove Over and Give Gen Y the Keys! - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Gone are the days when an organization can survive on ‘old money’ alone”, writes Marleen Litt, social worker and chair of the American Friends of Reuth’s Young Leadership Division in The Jewish Chronicle. “The key to nonprofit success is engaging younger donors and volunteers.”

“Millennials will soon wield more power than any previous generation because they are the most passionate and idealistic generation to ever grace the planet. As such, when fueled by values or a cause they believe in, they are virtually unstoppable.”

President of Minnesota Orchestra Resigns under Fire - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

President of Minnesota Orchestra Resigns under Fire - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: In a statement released last Thursday, the Minnesota Orchestra has announced that President and CEO Michael Henson would step down at the end of August when the season ends. As regular NPQ readers know, a labor dispute with the musicians at the orchestra, which had resulted in an extended lockout, was recently resolved, but apparently this did not mean that all was forgiven in terms of Henson’s leadership.

Requiem for (Another) Opera Company - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Requiem for (Another) Opera Company - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: On March 20, San Diego Opera performed Verdi’s Requiem to a sold-out house, a stirring performance that Los Angeles Times music critic Mark Swed called “an angry Requiem for a senseless, premature death”—that of the opera company, which one day earlier had announced it would cease operations after its final 2014 production in April.

Corporate Entanglements Raise Questions about Nonprofit Museum’s Bona Fides - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Corporate Entanglements Raise Questions about Nonprofit Museum’s Bona Fides - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: How closely entangled with a for-profit company can a nonprofit be before it is no longer a nonprofit? That’s the question raised by a report issued by the Oregon Attorney General’s Office. In the case of the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, it seems that the audit was connected to a whistleblower’s report that the museum had transferred $700,000 (discovered in the audit to actually have been $725,000) to the for-profit Evergreen International Aviation company, one of several Evergreen companies controlled by Delford Smith, who was the driving force behind the creation of the museum and its Wings and Waves waterpark.

Live From AFP: Wozniak Says Do What You Love | The NonProfit Times

Live From AFP: Wozniak Says Do What You Love | The NonProfit Times: teve Wozniak, self-admitted ubergeek, loves equations so much he even developed a formula for happiness: H=S-F. Happiness equals the number of smiles minus the number of frowns in your life. His secret to success? Doing what he loves and doing what he’s best at.

Wozniak helped kick off the Association of Fundraising Professionals 51st International Conference on Fundraising in San Antonio, Texas. He gave a brief but wide-ranging talk on the importance of having fun and giving back.

How Funders Can Address Nonprofits’ Key Challenges | PhilanthroFiles

How Funders Can Address Nonprofits’ Key Challenges | PhilanthroFiles: How Funders Can Address Nonprofits’ Key Challenges

Our colleagues at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) launched a new website earlier this month. To celebrate their announcement and their commitment to smart grantmaking that bolsters nonprofits’ success, we are pleased to share excerpts from a tear sheet co-created with their staff.

As funders, your success is tied to the success of organizations you support. Yet there is often a disconnect between the ways funders support nonprofits and the types of support nonprofits say contribute most to their success.

In its publication, “On the Money,” GEO describes several challenges faced by nonprofits:

Is the Civil Sector in Death Spiral Mode? - Clairification

Is the Civil Sector in Death Spiral Mode? - Clairification: oday’s post is a quick – yet very thought-provoking – share.

I happened upon Ruth McCambridge’s feature story for Nonprofit Quarterly, Jeremy Rifkin: The Future of the Economy is There for the Civil Sector to Claim. In it she dissects Rifkin’s op ed for the New York Times, “The Rise of Anti-Capitalism.” I often hear a lot of doom and gloom about our sector, so this inspired me.

Maybe we’re not in a death spiral. Yet.

Ten Nonprofit Funding Models

Ten Nonprofit Funding Models: Money is a constant topic of conversation among nonprofit leaders: How much do we need? Where can we find it? Why isn’t there more of it? In tough economic times, these types of questions become more frequent and pressing. Unfortunately, the answers are not readily available. That’s because nonprofit leaders are much more sophisticated about creating programs than they are about funding their organizations, and philanthropists often struggle to understand the impact (and limitations) of their donations.

Fundraising, Part 8: United Way diversifies � Philanthropy North Carolina

Fundraising, Part 8: United Way diversifies � Philanthropy North Carolina: ith growth in fundraising accelerating only modestly in recent years, United Way has been diversifying its fundraising and focusing on its impact, says Sherrie Brach, executive vice president of investor relations at United Way Worldwide.

That strategy has included targeting women, young professionals and major donors, engaging workplace donors as volunteers, focusing on solving community problems, and “productizing” priority community initiatives to generate new investment opportunities for individuals, corporations and foundations, Brach says.

IRS Projects Sector’s Worth At $2.939 Trillion | The NonProfit Times

IRS Projects Sector’s Worth At $2.939 Trillion | The NonProfit Times: The nonprofit sector collectively had nearly $3 trillion in assets during 2010, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Statistics of Income Winter Bulletin. Total assets came in at $2.939 trillion. That’s about 9 percent more than 2009, when total assets added up to $2.673 trillion.