Friday, September 20, 2013

Columbus Foundation’s Big Give generates $10.5 million in donations, up from $8.5 million last time - Columbus - Business First

Columbus Foundation’s Big Give generates $10.5 million in donations, up from $8.5 million last time - Columbus - Business First: The Columbus Foundation facilitated nearly $10.5 million in donations to 569 local nonprofits through its online fundraiser that wrapped up Wednesday morning.

Mason’s Nonprofit Center Helps Launch Connect Northern Virginia - Mason News - George Mason University

Mason’s Nonprofit Center Helps Launch Connect Northern Virginia - Mason News - George Mason University: eorge Mason University’s Center for Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, and Policy is serving as community administrator for Connect Northern Virginia, a new website that helps bring together businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, and the broader public to strengthen the region.

The new website—connectnorthernvirginia.org—was officially launched at a September 10 event at the Belmont Country Club in Ashburn, Va.,

Budget Battles: Sequestration Cuts More Popular than Ever - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Budget Battles: Sequestration Cuts More Popular than Ever - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Oddly, the sequestration part of the budget battle is not being addressed, at least for the pieces of concern to nonprofits, partly because the public is growing to like the cuts, partly because President Obama has taken credit for their deficit reduction impacts, and partly because elements looking to be protected from sequestration are the military and the FAA, not the social safety net.

Ind. Fund Mulls Next Steps With 'Miracle' $150-Million Gift - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Ind. Fund Mulls Next Steps With 'Miracle' $150-Million Gift - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The Wall Street Journal writes about the challenges facing an Indiana community foundation as it determines what to do with an unrestricted $150-million bequest from a local man who amassed a fortune in insurance.

Philanthropy is not a multiple choice question for your nonprofit board of directors | Development Consulting Solutions

Philanthropy is not a multiple choice question for your nonprofit board of directors | Development Consulting Solutions:S o often I have heard this one line uttered…”But I give of my time and that is my gift!”

Yes and no.

As a Board of Director, you are expected to give of your time. You are a volunteer. You have fiduciary responsibilities that you are not usually paid for. And folks contrary to what you might think, there are no laws against board members receiving composition. But for this example, let’s look at your board and mine. They don’t get paid nor expect to.

This, however, does not make philanthropy an option.

It is a given.

Nonprofit Jobs: 5 Mistakes Of New Nonprofit Employees

Nonprofit Jobs: 5 Mistakes Of New Nonprofit Employees: 5 Mistakes Of New Nonprofit Employees
So you finally got that nonprofit job. You might think the hard part is over but in reality the first few weeks at a new employer can be the hardest.

Whether you are working at a nonprofit job in New York or Iowa, you will find, as a new employee, that there is a lot on your plate. The choices you make in your first few weeks on the job will determine whether you will be successful.

virtualvolunteering - research

Resource list on Virtual Volunteering from Jayne Cravens

virtualvolunteering - research: Research regarding Virtual Volunteering

A compilation of research and evaluation reports regarding online volunteering / virtual volunteering, including studies on the various different activities that are a part of online volunteering such as online activism, online civic engagement, online mentoring, microvolunteering, or crowd-sourcing, etc. (these are not opinion or PR pieces - these provide hard data, case studies, etc.). These go in reverse publishing or research date order.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

The AFP Blog

The AFP Blog: Identify, Recognize and Celebrate Leadership
There’s been a lot to make me think about the qualities of leadership recently: remembrances of 9/11, the global debate and Syria, and the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

What does it mean to lead? To serve as an example for others? To “speak quietly and carry a big stick?” Is it how we carry ourselves, or to make others the best that they can be? Is it about us, or is it about our mission?

How To Capture Online Contributions Through A "Giving Day" | #fundchat

How To Capture Online Contributions Through A "Giving Day" | #fundchat: But the idea of launching an online campaign that gains traction and produces big results for your nonprofit seems daunting. Enter The Knight Foundation (@knightfdn). They have just published a comprehensive, step-by-step resource for planning, implementing, and measuring online “Giving Days.”

How to Crowdfund a Million Dollar Arts Project | Idea Lab | PBS

How to Crowdfund a Million Dollar Arts Project | Idea Lab | PBS: I was sad to note on Monday that, with 14 days to go, the New York City Opera had raised less than 10 percent of its ambitious $1 million target on Kickstarter.

The “People’s Opera” has struggled in recent years. It closed its doors in 2008 for a refurbishment that coincided with the Financial Crisis, and has struggled to make ends meet since then. Organizers describe the crowdfunding campaign as “urgent,” but it is only a slice of a larger call for $7 million by the end of September. If the overall campaign fails, the 70-year-old Opera will suspend its program after the first opera of the season, Anna Nicole. As of 6pm on Monday, the outlook for the crowdfunding portion of that goal is not good — Kicktraq’s trend algorithm is currently projecting an endpoint of around $250,000. I’m no authority whatsoever on the Opera’s history and its viability, so my comments here relate specifically to the crowdfunding campaign.

It’s a New (Old) Day for Volunteerism: Crowdsourcing Social Change - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

It’s a New (Old) Day for Volunteerism: Crowdsourcing Social Change - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: ’m struck by the sense that today’s volunteer mobilization challenges are not that different from those which many organizations have faced for at least the last quarter century. My first in-depth exploration of volunteerism was in the mid-1980s—the result of seeing a worrisome decline in volunteer participation in an international youth-serving organization I worked for. In many of our national programs, the numbers of volunteers were dropping, but, more troubling, staff expectations were dropping even faster. A small group of staff from several different countries formed a short-term task force to study the situation. We tried to understand the cause of the decline, and also looked for exemplary programs around the world that were growing their volunteer bases.

Two Fresh New Ideas in Monthly Giving

Two Fresh New Ideas in Monthly Giving: Monthly giving programs are really catching on, often in surprising ways. Here are two projects that caught my attention.

GlobalGiving Project of the Month Club

10 Questions You Must Ask Before Asking for a Major Gift - Fundraising

10 Questions You Must Ask Before Asking for a Major Gift - Fundraising: Just as you can’t build a house until you’ve found the right location, created a blueprint, laid a foundation and brought in just the right workers, you can’t ask for a major gift until you’ve (1) found the right prospect; (2) developed a clear case for support and fundraising goal; (3) done some foundation groundwork to get your prospect ready for the ask, and (4) prepared yourself and your solicitors to knock the ask out of the park. So, get ready!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Alleviating Global Poverty Is a Top Concern of Wealthy Donors, Says Study - Donors - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Alleviating Global Poverty Is a Top Concern of Wealthy Donors, Says Study - Donors - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas:Alleviating Global Poverty Is a Top Concern of Wealthy Donors, Says Study

By Maria Di Mento

The world’s wealthiest philanthropists say the main goal of their giving is to alleviate global poverty, and the best way to do that, they say, is through greater collaboration between charities and other organizations, according to a study released today.

5 Reasons for Hope From a Gathering of Nonprofit Leaders | Spencer Critchley

5 Reasons for Hope From a Gathering of Nonprofit Leaders | Spencer Critchley: People who set out to change the world often get the feeling they may have to settle for a few square feet.

Poverty, violence, hunger, disease and injustice are made of resilient stuff, to say nothing of self-interest, bureaucracy and sheer complexity.

That's why an event like this year's Nonprofit Management Institute conference is so welcome. For two days, some of the best thinkers in the nonprofit world expanded its horizons.

Charities that follow watchdog rules receive more donations, study shows. | NJ.com

Charities that follow watchdog rules receive more donations, study shows. | NJ.com: Charities that strictly follow the BBB Wise Giving Alliance guidelines for accountability receive more donations as a result, a new study reports.

Commissioned by the Wise Giving Alliance, the study shows that national charities that followed all 20 standards of the Wise Giving Alliance saw increases of 8 percent in donations. In the New York metro area, the increase was 13.5 percent.

Philanthropic Giving to Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Care Systems Held Steady in Fiscal 2012, AHP Reports - MarketWatch

Philanthropic Giving to Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Care Systems Held Steady in Fiscal 2012, AHP Reports - MarketWatch: Nonprofit hospitals and health care systems in the U.S. raised more than $8.9 billion through philanthropy last year, as their development programs successfully maintained giving levels despite a sluggish economy. The Association for Healthcare Philanthropy's (AHP) annual Report on Giving survey, now in its 29th year, showed no decline in total giving in fiscal 2012 compared to 2011 and an increase of more than 7 percent over fundraising revenue in FY 2010.

A new way of thinking about charities - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

A new way of thinking about charities - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: But is it really better for a nonprofit to hold a bake sale with just 5 percent overhead and net $71, he asked, if instead it can spend 40 percent on overhead on mass events and net $71 million? Isn't the real measure of a charity its impact and effectiveness in helping solve social problems anyway?

"Disney can make a $200 million movie that flops, and nobody calls the Attorney General," he told an audience of 600 nonprofit leaders and board members. "But you do a $1 million fundraiser for the poor, and it doesn't produce 60-70 percent returns the first year, your character is called into question."

Aussie Walks Across America for Charity - FOX 42: Omaha News, Sports and Weather; kptm.com |

Aussie Walks Across America for Charity - FOX 42: Omaha News, Sports and Weather; kptm.com |: – A 24-year-old Australian man is walking from San Francisco to Delaware Bay, New Jersey to raise money for charity.

Benjamin Lee has traveled to 36 different countries and after graduating college last year, he decided he wanted to have one last hurrah before settling into his career.

Monday, September 16, 2013

5 Challenges to Effective Integrated Marketing for Nonprofits

5 Challenges to Effective Integrated Marketing for Nonprofits:

'via Blog this'

Texas Charity Shuttered By Authorities | The NonProfit Times

Texas Charity Shuttered By Authorities | The NonProfit Times: A Texas nonprofit that was not authorized to process immigration cases has been shuttered and its leaders ordered to pay restitution and penalties of more than a half-million dollars.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office announced that it secured an agreed final judgment and permanent injunction against Cristo Vive in Austin, Texas for providing unauthorized legal services in the Travis County area. The state filed an “enforcement action” in August 2012 against the organization for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Notary Public Act by unlawfully representing they were legally authorized to process immigration cases before federal authorities. State investigators later discovered that the defendants were neither licensed attorneys nor accredited to offer immigration-related legal services.

CEO Salaries Rose 2% in 2011, Says Study - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

CEO Salaries Rose 2% in 2011, Says Study - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Pay for nonprofit chief executives continued to inch upward in 2011, after years of holding steady during the downturn, according to a new study of pay at 95,000 organizations.

The median increase for all chief executives was 2 percent in 2011, compared with 1.6 percent in 2010. But that uptick, which barely kept pace with inflation, still represents a more sluggish pace of growth than the typical 4- to 6-percent increases nonprofit leaders typically received before the recession hit in 2008.

3 Secrets to Getting Your Donor Thank You Out in 48 Hours - Clairification

3 Secrets to Getting Your Donor Thank You Out in 48 Hours - Clairification: Gosh dang it! How on earth do you develop a system that assures thank you’s really get out in 48 hours?