Friday, June 07, 2013

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen: Philanthropy and the Wild West

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen: Philanthropy and the Wild West: Yet while many disciplines are benefiting, the philanthropy component is missing. Filling that gap is my purpose in launching Giving 2.0 ProjectU on www.giving2.com today.

With 13 years of teaching philanthropy at Stanford Graduate School of Business behind me, I've designed Giving 2.0 ProjectU as an open-source initiative that will make 100 percent of my research, case studies and teaching materials available for free online (www.giving2.com) to any educator wanting to teach philanthropy and any student wanting to learn about it.

Columbia Moves to Strip Whites-Only Provision From 1920s Gift - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Columbia Moves to Strip Whites-Only Provision From 1920s Gift - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Columbia University is seeking court approval to alter the terms of a 93-year-old donation that established a graduate-student fellowship and stipulated that recipients be “of the Caucasian race,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

'Worst Charities' Paid $1-Billion to For-Profit Fundraisers - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

'Worst Charities' Paid $1-Billion to For-Profit Fundraisers - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The 50 lowest-ranked groups collectively paid solicitors nearly $1-billion in the past 10 years. Some are founded by private firms to act essentially as fronts, while the leaders of others take multiple salaries, pay themselves consulting fees, or arrange fundraising contracts with family and friends, according to the center, a nonprofit online newsroom, and the Times.

Buffett gets philanthropy award at Forbes event - Salon.com

Buffett gets philanthropy award at Forbes event - Salon.com: ideo from the Forbes event (http://onforb.es/186UwKh) shows U2′s Bono singing a version of “Home Sweet Home” that he rewrote in tribute to Buffett.

In the song, Bono sings about how Buffett wants “No honors, no plaques, just a higher estate tax. Till his wealth is but a rich memory.”

Bono says Buffett’s advice and encouragement helped him in his own philanthropy.

Thursday, June 06, 2013

Ask an Expert: How to Raise Money With a Newsletter - Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Ask an Expert: How to Raise Money With a Newsletter - Ideas & Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "o answer her question, we recruited Tom Ahern, a direct-marketing expert and author of four books on communications with donors. He writes:

“E-mail newsletters and print newsletters are not equivalents, as you suspected. They are very different reading experiences, for one thing. E-mail newsletters are a clicker’s medium, quickly dismissed. Printed newsletters are physical, and readers tend to sit down to read them (assuming that what you’ve written is worth reading)."

'via Blog this'

Marshall Democrat-News: Local News: MVC to offer certified nonprofit leadership program online (06/05/13)

Marshall Democrat-News: Local News: MVC to offer certified nonprofit leadership program online (06/05/13): Dr. Sharon Weiser, Missouri Valley College vice president of academic affairs, has announced that MVC will collaborate with the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance to offer a Certified Nonprofit Professional program online.

Marc Joseph: Charity Is in Our DNA

Marc Joseph: Charity Is in Our DNA: Many of us participate in charity in some form. It can be as simple as taking cookies to an aging neighbor or donating items you no longer use to a good cause. The Corporation for National & Community Service reports that 64.3 Million Americans volunteered in a formal organization, an increase of 1.5 million from the year before. This is 26.8% of the population giving 7.9 Billion hours which has a value of $171 Billion. The 4 most popular service activities were: fundraising or selling items to raise money (26.2%); collecting, preparing, distributing or serving food (23.6%); engaging in general labor or transportation (20.3%); and tutoring or teaching (18.2%). One in three volunteers is a senior age 55 and older, giving this group a lifetime of experience to tap into to help those in the greatest need.

Feasibility Studies: An Unnecessary Expense Designed to Make Consultants Rich, or an Important Part

Feasibility Studies: An Unnecessary Expense Designed to Make Consultants Rich, or an Important Part: These are the questions that many organizations are asking as they ponder paying for a feasibility study at the beginning of their fundraising campaigns. After all, you know your donors, right? Can't you just do the study yourself—and aren't you just itching for a chance to talk to your donors for real, and not just as part of an invented cultivation visit?

Wednesday, June 05, 2013

Want Charities to be Evaluated Based on Impact? Be Careful What You Wish For - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Want Charities to be Evaluated Based on Impact? Be Careful What You Wish For - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: For these reasons, the passion with which many hate accounting measures is often matched by their ardent belief in the promise of impact-based performance measurement. At the risk of sounding like an accounting apologist, I believe the nonprofit sector should be careful what it wishes for when it comes to pushing for evaluating charities based on impact measures rather than accounting measures. I fear that the same voices expressing hatred for accounting may one day redirect their ire toward impact measures, pining for the “good old days” when accounting reigned. As I see it, there are three key things about impact measures that could make the flaws in accounting measures pale in comparison.

Save the Children CEO: 'Our bottom line is children's lives' - CNN.com

Save the Children CEO: 'Our bottom line is children's lives' - CNN.com: With a budget of $1.6 billion a year, a global staff of 14,000 and operations in 120 countries, Jasmine Whitbread could be in charge of a multinational corporation.

In fact, she is head of the charity, Save the Children International.

As the first global chief executive of the world's largest kids' not-for-profit, she leads the organization with the business acumen and astute professionalism of a Fortune 500 company.

Overhead Costs Pose Dilemma for Charities 6.3.2013

News: Overhead Costs Pose Dilemma for Charities 6.3.2013

By Suzanne Perry

Last fall, the International Rescue Committee mailed an eight-page newsletter to supporters that highlighted the work it was doing to help people displaced by famine, drought, and conflict in Africa’s Sahel region.

It included photos, articles, interviews, and statistics—and a prominent pie chart labeled: “IRC efficiency.”

How To Hold Onto Your High Performers - Resource Center - AFP

How To Hold Onto Your High Performers - Resource Center - AFP: If you think that hiring and rehiring fundraising staff is draining more than your patience, you are right. Renowned author and researcher Penelope Burk has just published her latest book, Donor-Centered Leadership in which she reveals the startling cost of premature staff turnover.

It costs about 1.2 times the salary to replace a front-line development officer who stays only sixteen months in their first or second job—the average length of stay for young fundraisers today. But extending their tenure for an additional year saves money while ensuring that both employer and employee reap the return on their collective investment. As Burk points out:

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Meet the New Director of the Social Innovation Fund

Meet the New Director of the Social Innovation Fund: Friends,

It is my honor to share some great news from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).

In July, Michael Smith, a recognized leader in the world of innovation, philanthropy and public-private partnerships, will join our agency as the Director of the Social Innovation Fund (SIF).

Maryland, Virginia among most generous states - WTOP.com

Maryland, Virginia among most generous states - WTOP.com: WASHINGTON -- When tragedy strikes, many Americans pride themselves on helping those in need through donations, volunteering and charitable contributions.

So where do the most generous people live? In Maryland and Virginia, reports The Motley Fool via Daily Finance.

Long-lasting philanthropic bodies 'often become sclerotic', says unnamed wealthy donor

Long-lasting philanthropic bodies 'often become sclerotic', says unnamed wealthy donor: Long-lasting philanthropic institutions can become "sclerotic and bureaucratic", an anonymous wealthy donor has told the Institute for Philanthropy as part of a study on giving behaviour.

The donor was one of 22 from around the world to contribute to the paper After the Giving Pledge: Giving Behaviours of 22 Donors, published today.

Building social purpose through partnerships | Philanthropy Journal

Building social purpose through partnerships | Philanthropy Journal: Turn to any daily news source, and it's clear that an astounding number of people around the world are calling for greater social engagement and accountability from corporations.

With this resounding call to action comes a world of opportunities for businesses that have a desire for a deeper social connection.

Opinion: Patty Stonesifer Gets 'Boots Dirty' at D.C. Charity - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Opinion: Patty Stonesifer Gets 'Boots Dirty' at D.C. Charity - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Columnist Maureen Dowd accompanies Ms. Stonesifer during a workday at Martha’s Table, a food bank that also supplies clothes, day care, and educational programs for needy Washingtonians. She took up her post with the $6-million charity in April, about five years after she stepped down as chief executive of the $39-billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Nonprofits Fight Overhaul of Government’s Charity Drive - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Nonprofits Fight Overhaul of Government’s Charity Drive - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: An Obama administration plan to overhaul the federal government’s charity drive has angered nonprofits that say the changes would be a major blow to an effort that raised $258-million last year for nearly 25,000 groups.

The Combined Federal Campaign has been a reliable source of annual revenue for charities nationwide since it began in 1961.

22 major donors share their giving motives and values | UK Fundraising

22 major donors share their giving motives and values | UK Fundraising: 22 major donors share their giving motives and values
Published on 4 June 2013, by howardlake


The Institute for Philanthropy has published details of the values and beliefs which motivate 22 major donors to give to charity.

The paper, "After The Giving Pledge: Giving Behaviour of 22 Wealthy Donors", was written in the year that the Giving Pledge, founded by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010, was extended to wealthy donors outside the US. Eight signatories from non-US countries have brought the total number of those who have taken the Pledge to 105.

The donors interviewed by the Institute for Philanthropy come from the UK, the US, Brazil, Canada, Lebanon and Mexico. Their foundations have an average endowment of $79 million and they give away each year an average of $2.1m.

Let charities keep their donors secret: Opposing view

Let charities keep their donors secret: Opposing view: However, we must not confuse the public's right to know who is funding partisan political activity with requiring disclosure of donors to charitable organizations that engage in their constitutionally protected right to participate in public policy debates.

West battling ‘donor fatigue’ in recovery efforts - WacoTrib.com: West Explosion

West battling ‘donor fatigue’ in recovery efforts - WacoTrib.com: West Explosion: Michael Nilsen, vice president of public affairs for the Association of 
Fundraising Professionals in Arlington, Va., said West might benefit in its fundraising efforts because of the uniqueness of the tragedy, one caused by something other than natural disasters.

“There is no magic silver bullet that will keep people interested in giving. You see this phenomenon all the time. It has to be a continuing process, but we can only go to the well so much because there are others who say, we need, we need and we need, too.

Tax-exempt groups should disclose donors: Our view

Tax-exempt groups should disclose donors: Our view: Mixing politics and the IRS is bound to lead to trouble, so the bipartisan uproar over the agency's targeting of Tea Party groups is entirely appropriate. But so far, the underlying cause of the problem is largely getting overlooked.

The driver of the scandal is that political organizations of all kinds want to keep the sources of their money secret

The AFP Blog

The AFP Blog:Friday, May 31, 2013
Another Step Forward, Focusing on Stewardship
The 2012 Nonprofit Research Collaborative Fundraising Survey was released during our recent International Conference on Fundraising, and it showed more good news for the profession.
Fifty-eight percent of organizations raised more money in 2012 than in 2011—a five percent increase from the 2011 results, and 15 points higher than in 2010.

Baker administration gives nearly $1.6 million to Prince George’s nonprofits - The Washington Post

Baker administration gives nearly $1.6 million to Prince George’s nonprofits - The Washington Post: Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) has announced nearly $1.6 million in grants to 72 nonprofits in the second annual Community Partnership Grant Program competition since he took office in 2010.

The winners were culled from a list of approximately 200 applications from nonprofits, including faith-based organizations. Last year, Baker’s office gave out nearly the same amount.

Buffett’s Charity Lunch Auction Bids Climb on First Day - Bloomberg

Buffett’s Charity Lunch Auction Bids Climb on First Day - Bloomberg: Buffett’s Charity Lunch Auction Bids Climb on First Day
By Vivek Shankar - Jun 3, 2013 7:01 PM ET


Warren Buffett’s charity auction, in which bidders vie for a chance to dine with the billionaire, drew a top offer of more than $100,000 as a former winner predicted the fundraiser would set a fourth straight record.

Bidding started yesterday at $25,000 in the 14th annual auction and climbed to $178,100 at 7 p.m. today in New York, according to the event page on EBay Inc. (EBAY)’s website.

Monday, June 03, 2013

Bringing New York City Dance Into the Limelight - NYTimes.com

Bringing New York City Dance Into the Limelight - NYTimes.com: The campaign, scheduled to get under way this week, is being sponsored by Dance/NYC, a nonprofit organization that was spun off in January from the national organization Dance/USA. The campaign, which is being created internally at Dance/NYC, carries the theme “New Yorkers for dance.”

The campaign seeks to stimulate interest in and increase awareness of the New York dance community through short video clips being uploaded to YouTube, which feature a cros

Surprise Donation Pays Off Mortgage for Children’s Arts Venue - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Surprise Donation Pays Off Mortgage for Children’s Arts Venue - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

50-Year-Old Interns at Nonprofits? Is This a Trend? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

50-Year-Old Interns at Nonprofits? Is This a Trend? - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: This article suggests that there is a trend in New York of 40- and 50-year-olds applying for unpaid internships but we would like to hear from readers on the topic. Is it really a trend, and is it for good or for bad? Is this the wave of the future?

“You’ve got to put your ego away,” says Michael Gonzalez, 52, who works part-time as an extern at KIND, a nonprofit that provides legal services to children in lower Manhattan. He earned a law degree two decades ago, but has been doing sales and running his family’s carpet business since. “You may have had a corner office before, but your new office will now be the conference room, and you’ll be sharing it with 23- and 24-year-olds,” he says. Pace Law School’s New Directions Program is helping him to make the switch.

The Blackbaud Index Debuts Fundraising Benchmark Calculator | Blackbaud News

Press Release
The Blackbaud Index Debuts Fundraising Benchmark Calculator | Blackbaud News: Charleston, S.C. (June 3, 2013) – Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB) today announced the launch of new features and specialty indices in The Blackbaud Index, a free charitable giving index, to make it easier for nonprofits to benchmark their fundraising results.

The Index now features a fundraising benchmark calculator that will allow users to easily chart their own results against the Index, historical data to provide a fuller view of charitable giving, and new specialty indices focused on healthcare and medical research organizations.

Government funding dwindles for ballooning Alaska nonprofit sector | Alaska Dispatch

Government funding dwindles for ballooning Alaska nonprofit sector | Alaska Dispatch: The Alaska Native Justice Center, a nonprofit tasked with bridging the divide between Alaska Natives and the state’s justice system, is facing a conundrum. With federal funding drying up as politicians try to reduce deficit spending, the center's primary funding source -- federal grants -- is drying up too.

Westport nonprofits' big capital campaigns - Connecticut Post

Westport nonprofits' big capital campaigns - Connecticut Post

Chris Grundner: Without Delaware's nonprofits, who would step up? | The News Journal | delawareonline.com

Chris Grundner: Without Delaware's nonprofits, who would step up? | The News Journal | delawareonline.com: There certainly are many more examples, but, in part, this would be a world without nonprofits.

It is unpleasant to think about, but it serves as a grim reminder how much we need our nonprofit organizations in Delaware and how different our world would look without them.

Ensuring storm relief contributions are used effectively � Business � The Norman Transcript

Ensuring storm relief contributions are used effectively � Business � The Norman Transcript: Donors can find a list of charities working on the Oklahoma tornado relief efforts at the AFP Disaster Relief and Fundraising Efforts Page. A blog covering news and updates related to fundraising and giving for the relief efforts is also available.

“As we’ve seen in response to other recent events, Americans are generous and quick to give in times of crisis and tragedy,” said Andrew Watt, FInstF, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals

Willis Turner - How to Read a Direct-Mail Fundraising Letter : FundRaising Success

Willis Turner - How to Read a Direct-Mail Fundraising Letter : FundRaising Success: A fundraising letter (or e-mail, or any other direct communication) passes through a lot of hands before it reaches its intended audience. And everyone in the approval process has the opportunity to express an opinion.

If you're one of those people, you've probably heard the general admonishment to remember that "you are not your donor," and to avoid judging a letter based on your own personal preferences.

‘India Did Not Get Anything Wrong’ | Krishna Prasad

‘India Did Not Get Anything Wrong’ | Krishna Prasad: How different are the Foundation trips to India from the time you ran Microsoft?

When you come on business you don’t spend time in the slums running things; you don’t go up to Bihar all that much. So, I’m seeing more of India, the real India, in this job than I ever did in the other job. I remember once saying that all these cities have big slums, and the Microsoft guy sitting next to me in the plane said, ‘No, no, no, Bangalore doesn’t have slums.’ When we flew over, there was this huge slum. I said, ‘OK, what’s that?’ He said, ‘Oh, maybe it does.’ So it is easy to be a bit na�ve, which is fine. But what we are doing now, is very real.

Sean Penn charity to sponsor Haitian runners in NYC marathon - The Washington Post

Sean Penn charity to sponsor Haitian runners in NYC marathon - The Washington Post: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The Haiti humanitarian group founded by Hollywood actor Sean Penn announced Friday that it will sponsor five Haitian runners so they can compete in the New York City Marathon in November.

Penn’s J/P Haitian Relief Organization will accept the top three men and two women finishers in a rare half-marathon that will wind through the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Sunday.

'Kickstarted' Documentary Will Focus on Crowdfunding

'Kickstarted' Documentary Will Focus on Crowdfunding: A pair of Los Angeles filmmakers are raising funds through Kickstarter for a documentary about Kickstarter — or, more specifically, about crowdfunding.

The project, called Kickstarted, will focus on crowdfunding's recent rise as the go-to platform for creative projects, and will follow three artists and entrepreneurs extensively throughout their respective processes, from start to finish.