Friday, October 21, 2011

Area college donations hold steady | timesfreepress.com

Area college donations hold steady | timesfreepress.com: Charitable giving to colleges and universities nationwide is looking better but it hasn't fully recovered from a 12 percent decrease in 2009 -- the highest drop in more than three decades.

"A significant recovery depends a lot on the economy," said Ann Kaplan, director of the Voluntary Support of Education survey, which tracks private giving to higher education and private k-12.

2nd Micronesian Non Profit Congress Convenes MONDAY On Guam

2nd Micronesian Non Profit Congress Convenes MONDAY On Guam: Guam -Payu-ta, Inc., Guam’s umbrella organization for nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations, will convene the 2nd Micronesian Non Profit Congress on October 24-28, at the Westin Hotel. The Conference titled “"Weaving Policy and Practice: The Role of Nonprofit Organizations in Sustaining Pacific Communities" will bring together local, regional, national and international presenters, speakers and dignitaries to discuss the evolving role of the nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations in the region.

Microsoft's Top Lawyer Recruits Celebrities and Colleagues to Start Charity - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Microsoft's Top Lawyer Recruits Celebrities and Colleagues to Start Charity - The Giveaway - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Kids in Need of Defense provides free legal assistance to immigrant children in courtrooms across the country. Its roots are in an unexpected place: the Microsoft Corporation.

Brad Smith (left), Microsoft’s general counsel, got the idea for the nonprofit after learning that many children who are caught up in immigration proceedings—about 4,000—never receive the help of a lawyer.

UT MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER CAMPAIGN SURPASSES $1.2 BILLION GOAL - TheCypressTimes

UT MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER CAMPAIGN SURPASSES $1.2 BILLION GOAL - TheCypressTimes: HOUSTON — The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has completed its largest fundraising campaign ever. Thanks to the generosity of supporters across the globe, Making Cancer History�: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care has raised $1.215 billion for:

Three local nonprofits get boost from Day of Giving contributions | YourMurrysville.com

Three local nonprofits get boost from Day of Giving contributions | YourMurrysville.com: Delmont Public Library, Murrysville Community Library and the Westmoreland County Food Bank were among dozens of groups to receive donations during the Day of Giving on Oct. 4. Sponsored by the community foundation, the day is a major fundraising event for many nonprofit groups because it includes a "match" from the community foundation.

This year, donors contributed $435,599, and the foundation matched $100,000 of that amount, meaning for every dollar donated, nonprofit groups received an additional 23 cents.

Your Kid's Halloween Costume Could Win Money for Charity - Fairfax City, VA Patch

Your Kid's Halloween Costume Could Win Money for Charity - Fairfax City, VA Patch: The Grand Prize? Patch will whisk the winner to New York or Los Angeles for a two day, three night trip for two that includes a meet and greet with Heidi, plus a donation of $1,031 to a local charity of the winner's choice. Nine runners-up will also get a $1,031 donation from Patch to a local charity of their choice.

What Designing The New Girls Scout Innovation Badges Taught Us About Raising Leaders | Co. Design

What Designing The New Girls Scout Innovation Badges Taught Us About Raising Leaders | Co. Design: As the Girl Scouts approach their 100-year anniversary in March, they are introducing a whole new lineup of badges. Way back in 1913, the organization had badges like Flyer and Electrician to represent those trailblazing professions. Today, girls live in vastly different times and have wider opportunities in business leadership. With that in mind, Jump worked with the Girl Scouts to develop a badge program to expose girls to cutting-edge fields such as web design and social innovation.

Best bits: Charity degrees | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional

Best bits: Charity degrees | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional: Choose your course with your career in mind: Your choice of course very much depends on your specific career - there are many different types of roles within the voluntary sector umbrella. For those focusing upon a cause-specific, service delivery role, many of the generic charity management courses will be less helpful than a professionally orientated degree. That said, there are many useful courses that focus upon more generic management needs that can be specifically applied to the voluntary sector be it in finance, marketing, fundraising or grant-making etc. Their blend of theoretical underpinning with practical application can be an advantage, both in terms of enhanced understanding of what you need to do to be successful and having the competence to do it.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Jon Bon Jovi’s ‘pay-what-you-can’ charity restaurant opens in NJ to help the hungry - The Washington Post

Jon Bon Jovi’s ‘pay-what-you-can’ charity restaurant opens in NJ to help the hungry - The Washington Post: The restaurant provides gourmet-quality meals to the hungry while enabling them to volunteer on community projects in return without the stigma of visiting a soup kitchen. Paying customers are encouraged to leave whatever they want in the envelopes on each table, where the menus never list a price.

The restaurant is the latest undertaking by the New Jersey rocker’s Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which has built 260 homes for low-income residents in recent years.
New Study Says Charities Could Lose Up to $3.2-Billion From Obama Tax Change - Government & Politics Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: In another new study on President Obama’s proposal to limit the value of the charitable deduction, the Tax Policy Center has estimated that the change would depress giving from $1.7-billion to $3.2-billion a year.

That is less than the estimate of $2.9-billion to $5.6-billion offered in another study released this month.

Optimism growing in the sector, claims report

Optimism growing in the sector, claims report: “There is a very real sense of optimism growing in the sector,” said Andrew Watt, president and CEO, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), who provided commentary in the report.

Citing a situation not many in the UK sector will share, Watt added: “Rising giving levels are what is driving the sense of optimism and, in turn, anticipated growth in staffing. Part of that optimism is the nature of our missions—NFPs work to create change and inspire the public. We tend to be optimists, but with a healthy dose of realism.”

The protean nature of philanthropy is one of its greatest assets | Michael Edwards | Global development | guardian.co.uk

The protean nature of philanthropy is one of its greatest assets | Michael Edwards | Global development | guardian.co.uk: In fact, the debate is heating up. On the one hand, there are those who, like Gates, favour large, targeted investments in social goods such as classrooms, drugs and loans, which provide an immediate sense of payback. On the other, there are those who favour longer-term support for the infrastructure of social change – for the institutions that determine who wins and who loses from the processes and politics of development.

Who is going to win? Hopefully neither side, since both approaches have much to offer in the century to come

The protean nature of philanthropy is one of its greatest assets | Michael Edwards | Global development | guardian.co.uk

The protean nature of philanthropy is one of its greatest assets | Michael Edwards | Global development | guardian.co.uk: In fact, the debate is heating up. On the one hand, there are those who, like Gates, favour large, targeted investments in social goods such as classrooms, drugs and loans, which provide an immediate sense of payback. On the other, there are those who favour longer-term support for the infrastructure of social change – for the institutions that determine who wins and who loses from the processes and politics of development.

Who is going to win? Hopefully neither side, since both approaches have much to offer in the century to come

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Chinese nuns run to help AIDS victims - CNN.com

Chinese nuns run to help AIDS victims - CNN.com: This year, 52 Chinese catholic nuns ran for charity.

The jolly group of women came in jogging pants and whiteT-shirts emblazoned with the logo, Great Wall Appeal.org.

Car Donations In IRS Spotlight--Again - TheNonProfitTimes

Car Donations In IRS Spotlight--Again - TheNonProfitTimes: he Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is calling for public comment on a scheduled reevaluation on the codes that stipulate rules for charitable contributions of certain motor vehicles, boats and airplanes.

Every three years the IRS takes into account new perspectives and ideas on how tax codes can be changed to make processes run smoother and more effective. The last time this code changed was 2005.

Wealth - The New York Times

Wealth - The New York Times

A Primer on IRS Rules for Charitable Giving

massnonprofit.org ::: A Primer on IRS Rules for Charitable Giving

When soliciting or acknowledging donations to your nonprofit, it's important to understand substantiation and disclosure requirements for contributions of $250 or more, or if you provide goods or services to donors who make contributions over $75.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Johns Hopkins launches certificate in nonprofit management : Johns Hopkins University – The Gazette

Johns Hopkins launches certificate in nonprofit management : Johns Hopkins University – The Gazette: ohns Hopkins has launched an online graduate certificate in nonprofit management, designed for working professionals who are looking to expand their expertise in nonprofit management with the latest skills and approaches taught by faculty at the forefront of their careers. The certificate will be offered through the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences’ Advanced Academic Programs.

Rickshaw charity rally assured Bangkok not flooded - The Nation

Rickshaw charity rally assured Bangkok not flooded - The Nation: With 28 teams of motorised rickshaws on a 3,000km journey through Java to Bangkok, Thailand has assured visitors that the kingdom is safe for travellers with many key tourist attractions unaffected by the floods.

The rickshaw journey will cross the Straits of Malacca into Malaysia's Penang Island. They will continue to head north, and are expected to complete the first ever Asean Rickshaw Run in the Thai capital of Bangkok. News of the flooding in Thailand had caused some concern among the organisers, although the intrepid racers seemed totally unfazed.

Institute of Fundraising goes for gold | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional

Institute of Fundraising goes for gold | Voluntary Sector Network | Guardian Professional: As I take on the role of chief executive at the Institute of Fundraising I've been asked to reflect on my priorities. Quite simply, my goal is to make the IoF the best membership and training organisation in the country.

Why do I want to do this? The answer is that I am driven by a commitment to social justice, to changing the world for the better. And I know that fundraisers are the lifeblood of charities. Without cold, hard cash to spend it is very difficult for charities to make the positive impact they want on the causes they care about, changing for the better the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world. This is particularly true when the country is facing the difficult economic challenges it has to handle today.

2011 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Recipients Announced | PND | Foundation Center

2011 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Recipients Announced | PND | Foundation Center: 2011 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Recipients Announced

The Carnegie Corporation of New York has announced the winners of the 2011 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Carnegie Medal, an honor that is bestowed every two years to families and individuals around the world who believe, as Andrew Carnegie did, in dedicating their private wealth to the public good.

Nonprofit groups cash in on Brewers playoff games - JSOnline

Nonprofit groups cash in on Brewers playoff games - JSOnline: What is not generally known is that a few hundred of those people work for nonprofits that gain financially from staffing the concession stands.

Since the '90s, Sportservice and the Milwaukee Brewers have allowed nonprofit groups to work the concession stands for a percentage of the money brought in. Olson said the groups get 10% of the sales. Sometimes, he said, groups will make as much as $1,000 for working one game.

Richmond Folk Festival breaks attendance record | Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond Folk Festival breaks attendance record | Richmond Times-Dispatch: Meanwhile, festival bucket brigades took in a record $92,000 in donations — $4,000 above last year's total and well above the $57,000 collected two years ago, Sims said.

Sims said a member of the event security staff conducted an informal survey of arriving concertgoers. His findings: Nearly every state was represented at the festival.

Monday, October 17, 2011

The New Way to Recruit Skilled Volunteers on VolunteerMatch | Engaging Volunteers

The New Way to Recruit Skilled Volunteers on VolunteerMatch | Engaging Volunteers: The world of volunteering is changing. More and more, we’re seeing a great focus on what skills volunteers possess and how they can utilize them to help nonprofits and causes.
The Need

Corporations are interested in making skilled volunteering a larger piece of their community involvement activities, and companies like Microsoft, HP, American Express and The Gap

Report says tithing, church spending hit record low - The Washington Post

Report says tithing, church spending hit record low - The Washington Post: Tithing to mainline Protestant churches as a percentage of income is at its lowest level in at least 41 years, according to a new report, and churches are keeping a greater share of those donations for their own needs.

Parishioners gave about 2.38 percent of their income to their church, according to “The State of Church Giving through 2009,” a new report being released Friday (Oct. 14) by Empty Tomb inc., a Christian research agency in Champaign, Ill.

Les Dames Du Soeil grace Desert AIDS Project event, raise $139,000 | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com

Les Dames Du Soeil grace Desert AIDS Project event, raise $139,000 | The Desert Sun | MyDesert.com: The Ladies Of The Sun, that amazing group that calls itself “a drag of comic entertainers,” has now been performing — for free — at fundraisers for more than 17 years.

They design, sew and pay for their spectacular costumes. They write their scripts, choreograph their dances and pay for their props, music, transportation and all other expenses. They have entertained thousands while raising more than $2 million for dozens of local charities.

Your rags. Whose riches? Charity donations vary at second-hand stores - TwinCities.com

Your rags. Whose riches? Charity donations vary at second-hand stores - TwinCities.com: Shoua Yang is a big philanthropist - but she doesn't know how big.

She dropped off a bag of clothes at the Goodwill store in Woodbury on Wednesday.

Because she did, the value of that donation was about 25 times more than if she had taken it to the Woodbury Savers store or if she had called a pickup service.

Southern California’s Fil-Am Community Unites for Philanthropy

Southern California’s Fil-Am Community Unites for Philanthropy: HOLLYWOOD—The southern California Filipino-American community now resonates with one vision and one purpose, from as far east as san Fernando Valley to the western blocks of hollywood. The community, represented by 70 of its top leaders representing over 30 organizations, came together under the auspices of the ABs CBN Foundation international on september 17th to discuss collaboration and philanthropy. The ABs CBN Foundation international’s institutional giving program, the Kapamilya Circle of Giving, held its capacity-building event, Kwentuhan Hollywood (Hollywood Stories), on the weekend of the TFC’s One Kapamilya Go event at Universal studios.

Designing and Evaluating Your Mentoring Program

Designing and Evaluating Your Mentoring Program: Good mentorship program design and matching is crucial to the effectiveness of mentorship relationships. Research by Ragins, Cotton and Miller (2000) found that program design has a direct impact on the mentee's:

Career commitment (commitment to working in a specific field/sector)
Job satisfaction
Satisfaction with opportunities for promotion
Organizational commitment
Satisfaction with procedural justice (how policies are implemented by the organization)
Organization-based self-esteem (self-esteem specific to their job and role with the organization)
Intentions to quit

People Are Multidimensional | Inspiring Generosity

People Are Multidimensional | Inspiring Generosity: BlackBaud released an infographic last week that highlighted the importance of cultivating online donors with more than just social media or email. The data shows that online donors who give through multiple channels are worth up to 3x more than single channel donors (specifically, donors acquired by mail or email).

Economic Challenges Persist for Nonprofits: New Report Recommends Action for Organizations | onPhilanthropy

Economic Challenges Persist for Nonprofits: New Report Recommends Action for Organizations | onPhilanthropy: However, I am very proud to say that a new report will help you understand our economic downturn and its effects on the nonprofit sector. The Public Finance Crisis: Can Philanthropy Shoulder the Burden? not only explains in tremendous detail just how “deeply and widely” the effects were felt, but it provides solutions for you and your nonprofit. Released by our firm, Changing Our World, Inc., the report is the work of Susan Raymond, Ph.D., Sally Schiff Park and Jason Simons – and addresses the following questions; What to do now?, How to be ready next time?, and How to predict the next time?