9/11 Charities Under Scrutiny For Failing To Raise Money For Victims

9/11 Charities Under Scrutiny For Failing To Raise Money For Victims: NEW YORK -- Americans eager to give after the 9/11 terrorist attacks poured $1.5 billion into hundreds of charities established to serve the victims, their families and their memories. But a decade later, an Associated Press investigation shows that many of those nonprofits have failed miserably.

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Gay-Rights Activists Lobby Companies to Cut Ties with Charitable-Giving Website Linked to Focus on the Family

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Gay-Rights Activists Lobby Companies to Cut Ties with Charitable-Giving Website Linked to Focus on the Family: Gay-rights activists are calling on corporations to end their charitable-giving deals with the Charity Give Back Group (CGBG), according to a Denver Post report. Once known as the Christian Values Network, CGBG recruits online shoppers who can designate a percentage of their purchase totals to go to a list of specific charities, both secular and religious. One of the designated nonprofit recipients is Focus on the Family, which many gay-rights activists and others consider a hate group due to its attitude toward gays and lesbians.

Kickstarting Jewish Culture? | The Jewish Week

Kickstarting Jewish Culture? | The Jewish Week: alk about Jewish funding for culture seems to be getting louder, Kelman said, citing a 2010 panel discussion at the Association for Jewish Studies conference. Fordham University professor Ayala Fader is planning a book on the subject. Stephen Hazan Arnoff, executive director of the 14th Street Y, and Steven M. Cohen, research professor of Jewish social policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, published in JTA a call for a “Jewish cultural policy” after JDub shut down.

Of course, that conversation is part of a larger national debate about support for arts and culture, especially when the effects of recession linger and unemployment persists above 9 percent. Recently, Republicans cited the soft economy when they repeated their call to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts altogether.

Giving Grows as a Business-School Subject - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Giving Grows as a Business-School Subject - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Three dozen business schools worldwide now offer courses devoted to giving, according to a recent Aspen Institute report, and the national service coalition Campus Compact says about 100 such courses are offered to undergraduates at U.S. schools, with some giving students money to donate to local projects. (Read about one of those efforts in The Chronicle’s continuing-education guide.)

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Innovative Fundraising: Iowa Arts Center Sells Naming Rights to Its Toilets

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Innovative Fundraising: Iowa Arts Center Sells Naming Rights to Its Toilets: A Cedar Rapids nonprofit arts organization that recently renovated its flood-damaged social hall is selling naming rights to its new toilets, complete with decorative plaques to be placed above each facility, for $1,000 a pop. The Des Moines Register reports that while supplies last, donors can even choose their particular comfort station. An email from the group, Legion Arts, announced the exciting opportunity:

Celebrities, Survivors Join To Make 10th Anniversary Of 9/11 A Charity Milestone | FoxNews.com

Celebrities, Survivors Join To Make 10th Anniversary Of 9/11 A Charity Milestone | FoxNews.com: As the nation prepares for the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, leading nonprofit organizations MyGoodDeed and HandsOn Network have launched a national public service announcement campaign to organize the largest day of charitable service in U.S. history.

One LA museum hosts an exhibition in the fine art of giving - The National

One LA museum hosts an exhibition in the fine art of giving - The National: In the end, it is not necessarily the thought that counts, but the price tag," Komaroff notes candidly in the exhibition catalogue.

Conceived so broadly, the process of gift-giving was crucial to diplomacy, civic and religious philanthropy, and to the international exchange of art and wealth. Gifts, then and now, are rarely acts of pure generosity, says Komaroff, who notes that the exchanges of objects (and cash) reflect relations of power and obligation.

Why Tech Is Key to the U.S. State Department's Mission

Why Tech Is Key to the U.S. State Department's Mission: First of all, I think that one ought not make a generalization about any philanthropic effort that just lives on the Internet. I mean, those efforts are as varied as efforts that are organized on street corners or in communities or anywhere else. So I hate to say, you know, “Online activism or online philanthropic efforts are all X.” I think the community and those efforts are sufficiently far along that to stereotype them in one way is intellectually lazy …

massnonprofit.org ::

massnonprofit.org ::: Some large organizations that have not yet embraced integrated marketing, while some smaller organizations are quite sophisticated on this front,” reported a study commissioned by Texas-based Convio that looked at 123 nonprofits nationally, each of which had raised at least $1 million per year via direct response channels.

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | The Economy Turns Generation Next into Generation Vexed

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | The Economy Turns Generation Next into Generation Vexed: This article from the Los Angeles Times about young people with life plans undone by the recession grabbed our attention for a particular reason. The first person profiled in the article, a 20-year-old woman, had planned for a career at a nonprofit to be followed by marriage and a home purchase. While it wasn’t clear that she had given up her nonprofit career plans, the implication was that she had to pay more attention to the day-to-day challenges of money and survival than to prospects for following her dreams and desires. Relying on a survey released by the nonprofit Generation Opportunity that found that three-quarters of respondents aged 18 to 29 were going to put off career or purchase choices due to the economy, the Times referred to this cohort of young people as “Generation Vexed.”

Anonymous Donors Help Cover Philadelphia School Chief's Buyout - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Anonymous Donors Help Cover Philadelphia School Chief's Buyout - Philanthropy Today - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Anonymous Donors Help Cover Philadelphia School Chief’s Buyout

August 23, 2011, 9:47 am

Anonymous contributors pledged $405,000 to help Philadelphia buy out the contract of its top schools official, writes The Philadelphia Inquirer.

What to Watch: Nonprofits to discuss how to stretch dwindling dollars at conference - The Washington Post

What to Watch: Nonprofits to discuss how to stretch dwindling dollars at conference - The Washington Post: On Thursday, nonprofits, including charities and trade associations, will have an opportunity to hear creative ways for stretching their limited resources at the 11th annual Public Private Partnership Conference. The event is sponsored by the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Partnerships & Grant Services as well as the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater Washington, Center for Nonprofit Advancement and Greater DC Cares.

Young Actors Bring Portraits to Life; US Water Activist to Walk Across Africa | Special English | Learning English

Young Actors Bring Portraits to Life; US Water Activist to Walk Across Africa | Special English | Learning English: Amy Russell founded the nonprofit organization Walk4Water three years ago while she was still in college.

AMY RUSSELL: “If I ever wanted to tackle any of these big social causes of our day, [I realized] that I’d have to start at the root of everything. And the root of everything looks like it was poverty. Then, when I studied poverty a little more, I realized that clean water is just at the base and the root of all that. You can’t really have the rest of the development process of sanitation, education, all those types of things without having the basic necessity of clean water.”

Nonprofit Resource Center: The Demand for Leadership in Rural Minnesota

Nonprofit Resource Center: The Demand for Leadership in Rural Minnesota: Benjamin Winchester, Research Fellow at Extension Center for Community Vitality at the University of Minnesota (pictured left), suggests that in many rural communities the answer is “no.” There’s not enough people to cover the volunteer board roles and the elected or appointed public roles we’ve created in our society. If you live in a small town or most anywhere in rural MN, this probably doesn’t come as a shock to you. You’ve been noticing for some time now that the same people are involved in the church council; are involved in the Lion’s Club; are involved in the Red Cross blood drive; are involved in the PTA or school board and more. Or that sometimes no one steps up to take board positions or open council seats.

Young volunteers turn backs on money - USATODAY.com

Young volunteers turn backs on money - USATODAY.com: She works a couple of part-time jobs, but most of her time is spent as an unpaid advocate for Nashville's homeless men and women.

The 26-year-old says she has a roof over her head, a husband who loves her, plenty of friends and a car that starts most of the time. And she has the belief that she'll be taken care of no matter what.

Rain doesn’t dampen charity cardboard boat race in Aurora - DailyHerald.com

Rain doesn’t dampen charity cardboard boat race in Aurora - DailyHerald.com: articipants in the Fox Valley United Way’s What Floats Your Cardboard Boat Race knew they’d get wet Saturday when their handmade crafts began to sink.

So the day’s rainy weather didn’t cancel the event, which kicks off the yearly fundraising campaign for the United Way.

Charity tomato fight highlight of Pittston festival - News - The Times-Tribune

Charity tomato fight highlight of Pittston festival - News - The Times-Tribune: Both trenches fired away as fast as they could, heaving the juicy projectiles through the air. And standing firm in the middle of one of the throngs in a camouflage shirt and eye black, Jake Amendola ducked an incoming blast, then launched a first tomato into a makeshift shield and the second into the chest of an opponent.

It was tomato chaos Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of Cooper's Seafood House as more than 250 people took part in the Pittston Tomato Festival's charity tomato fight.

Donors give record amount to UW

Donors give record amount to UW: A sluggish economy didn’t stop the University of Wyoming from collecting a record $43.1 million in private contributions during the last fiscal year.

More than 24,000 donors gave to the school, which raised more than $40 million in private contributions for only the second time in its history, according to the university. The contributions include gifts to Wyoming Public Media and the Cowboy Joe Club.

A Gold Mine of Data About Smart Ways to Help Nonprofits - Good Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

A Gold Mine of Data About Smart Ways to Help Nonprofits - Good Advice - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: And that is exactly what will soon be available from a study underwritten by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. I learned about the preliminary results at the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s conference, Better Philanthropy: From Data to Impact, where I attended a discussion with Kathy Reich, a program officer at the Packard Foundation, and Paul Connolly, a nonprofit management consultant, about preliminary findings from the foundation’s Organizational Effective Goldmine Research Project, which analyzes 1,300 grants that were designed to make nonprofits stronger.

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Things to Look For Before You Take That Nonprofit Job

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Things to Look For Before You Take That Nonprofit Job: The Boston Herald reports that Brooks formerly worked at Goldman Sachs in a high-paying position but made the transition to nonprofits at age 40 to balance her life. She advises younger people interested in doing nonprofit work to consider a range of organizations and then decide based on the office culture and work environment. “Don’t just look for mentors in a boss, but think about who your peers will be,” she told the Herald. “If you visit a nonprofit and you don’t see your potential peers hustling or feeling empowered, that’s an indication for how effective you will be. There are plenty of poorly run nonprofits that don’t go out of business.”

GOOD Buys Jumo, Seeks Social Connective Tissue | Tactical Philanthropy

GOOD Buys Jumo, Seeks Social Connective Tissue | Tactical Philanthropy: Jumo is supposed to be Facebook for nonprofits. Founded by Facebook co-founder and chief digital organizer of the Obama 2008 campaign, Chris Hughes, Jumo launched with great fanfare and grant funding from the Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network and Knight Foundation.

Changemaker Central opens on all ASU campuses | ASU News | The State Press | Arizona State University

Changemaker Central opens on all ASU campuses | ASU News | The State Press | Arizona State University: New resource centers for students interested in becoming entrepreneurs or serving the community opened on all four campuses Monday as part of a national program dedicated to providing students with change making tools.

The student-run centers, known as Changemaker Central, are part of the global organization Ashoka U’s Changemaker Campus Initiative that aims to solve social issues through entrepreneurship at universities. ASU was named a Changemaker Campus last fall and is one of 10 Changemaker Campuses nationwide — a list that includes Duke University and the University of Maryland.

Homegrown philanthropy works wonders

Homegrown philanthropy works wonders: Thanks, and thanks again — and again.

Homegrown philanthropy can work wonders for a community, and we have one of the best examples of that right here in Racine County in the Village of Mount Pleasant.

Last week, the village announced that it had received a $336,000 bequest from the estate of Emil Ebe, a longtime village resident who died in April.

It was not the first gift from Ebe — and it will not be his last.

Mercer Island prepares for swim around the Rock for charity - Mercer Island Reporter

Mercer Island prepares for swim around the Rock for charity - Mercer Island Reporter

Learning About Finance: Advice for Nonprofit Leaders - Money and Mission - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Learning About Finance: Advice for Nonprofit Leaders - Money and Mission - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: "Learning About Finance: Advice for Nonprofit Leaders

August 17, 2011, 9:42 am

By Dione Alexander

The job market is full of visionary people hoping to find a job at a nonprofit.

They are idealistic young people who envision jobs that are the perfect nexus of “helping people” and using what they have learned in their academic studies. They are nurses who hope to run free clinics and fine-arts majors who want to start community theaters."

Philanthropy Gains Eager Followers in B-Schools - BusinessWeek

Philanthropy Gains Eager Followers in B-Schools - BusinessWeek: "Today, dozens of MBA and undergraduate programs teach philanthropy as an academic subject, exposing students to both the art and science of giving. Some schools—including Stanford, Columbia Business School, and the Boston University School of Management—teach entire courses focused solely on the topic, while others weave philanthropy into the curriculum of social-enterprise courses. The topic appeals to business students because many may wish to serve eventually on the boards of nonprofits or become philanthropists themselves, professors at those schools say."

Where young, wealthy people find help giving their money away | Reuters Money

Where young, wealthy people find help giving their money away | Reuters Money: "Just 22, Franklin (pictured) began a life-changing journey into philanthropy. Today he gives away one-fourth of his income and serves as executive director of Bolder Giving at the tender age of 31. And like many other young philanthropists, Franklin has benefited from new resources that didn’t exist a generation ago. As he has learned, philanthropy is about more than just giving a check, and that some training is involved."

Center for Arab American Philanthropy Announces Third Round of Grants | PNNOnline.org

Center for Arab American Philanthropy Announces Third Round of Grants | PNNOnline.org: "CAAP is the only national Arab American philanthropic support organization in the United States. It builds on the tradition of Arab American giving by working with donors to invest their charitable dollars in organizations and programs making the greatest impact.

“Through general grant-making and donor-advised funds, CAAP empowers individuals to fulfill their philanthropic goals within and beyond the Arab American community,” said Maha Freij, deputy executive director and CFO of ACCESS, CAAP’s parent organization. “By giving through CAAP, donors are leaving a legacy of Arab American philanthropy for the future.”"

Exec: Nonprofits need to be good places to work - BostonHerald.com

Exec: Nonprofits need to be good places to work - BostonHerald.com: "If you’re coming from a go-go job and you want to try life in the nonprofit world, the biggest factor in finding the ‘Right Next Place’ is the environment,” says Brooks, who will run a career transition workshop with the Boston chapter of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association next week."

Atlanta Church Saves Morris Brown With Donation | News | BET

Atlanta Church Saves Morris Brown With Donation | News | BET: "Atlanta Church Saves Morris Brown With Donation

Atlanta congregation comes to the rescue of embattled HBCU.
By Naeesa Aziz
Posted: 08/15/2011 02:15 PM EDT
Filed Under Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HBCU

This Sunday the Cascade United Methodist Church of Atlanta handed over a large check to Morris Brown College, helping the school eliminate its hefty debt to the U.S. Department of Education.


“We are truly, truly blessed that you have embraced us in this campaign,” Morris Brown President Stanley Pritchett said on Sunday. [The check] helps us to insure that the future is stable for Morris Brown Colored College and all of our HBCU institutions.”"