AFP Blog: Recent News of Note

This blog contains assorted news and commentary on the fundraising profession and philanthropy gathered by the AFP Fundraising Resource Center. Other Sites of Interest Section Disclaimer: AFP provides the following listing of hyperlinks to other Internet pages as a privilege to the user. AFP does not necessarily endorse, support or attest to the accuracy of information posted on those Internet pages. Some links may require registration to view and/or may only be available for a limited time.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Portsmouth Herald Maine News: Nonprofit networking

Portsmouth Herald Maine News: Nonprofit networking: "Nonprofit networking

By Rachel M. Collins
news@seacoastonline.com

Complete Maine News Index

YORK, MAINE - Kathleen Chamberlain knew immediately when she moved to York in October that she loved the town’s 'feeling of community.'

But she and her husband, who had lived in Acton, Mass., for 28 years, had left behind friends and community ties.

That’s why they attended Tuesday night’s 'York Night' (a.k.a. 'Everything you ever wanted to know about York but didn’t know where to ask!') - to get instant connections to more than 30 local nonprofit groups."

Locals plot game plan for disaster

Locals plot game plan for disaster: "Locals plot game plan for disaster

By Danny Barrett Jr.

[4/27/06]
Looking back in order to look forward was the focus of about 30 people who gathered Wednesday to analyze what worked in the local response to Hurricane Katrina and what needs improvement.

Hosted by the United Way of West Central Mississippi, the hourlong seminar focused initially on coordination among local nonprofits in directing people in need to available resources.
"

While a Third of Adults Think the Nonprofit Sector in the United States is Headed in the Wrong Direction, a Vast Majority of Households have Donated t

While a Third of Adults Think the Nonprofit Sector in the United States is Headed in the Wrong Direction, a Vast Majority of Households have Donated to Charities in the Past Year: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance: "Press Release Source: Harris Interactive

While a Third of Adults Think the Nonprofit Sector in the United States is Headed in the Wrong Direction, a Vast Majority of Households have Donated to Charities in the Past Year
Thursday April 27, 5:18 pm ET

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- One-third of U.S. adults (32%) have less than positive feelings toward America's charitable organizations(1) and the same number (32%) thinks that the nonprofit sector in America has pretty seriously gotten off in the wrong direction, according to a survey by Harris Interactive®. While a majority of adults may have positive feelings toward nonprofits (68% give them a score of 51 or higher out of 100) and most (92%) households have contributed to a charity in the last year (up from 80% in October 2005), only one in 10 (10%) strongly agrees that charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use of donated funds. Almost half (48%) somewhat agrees with this sentiment, while slightly more than one- quarter (27%) somewhat or strongly disagrees that these organizations use donated funds honestly and ethically, and another 15 percent are not sure."

News - Wakefield Today:Firefighters' ladder climb record attempt for charity

News - Wakefield Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More: "Firefighters' ladder climb record attempt for charity
FIREFIGHTERS climbed up and down a ladder and then did it over and over and over again for 24 hours until they were exhausted.
Outside Wakefield Cathedral retained firefighters from Skelmanthorpe mounted a challenge to try and break the world ladder climbing record, while raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation UK charity, at the weekend.

The team of 10 managed to climb 91,610 metres, narrowly missing out on the world record of 105,000 metres.
"

Charity Raffle Leaves Some Ticket Holders Crying Foul - Yahoo! News

Charity Raffle Leaves Some Ticket Holders Crying Foul - Yahoo! News: "ome people paid $1,000 apiece for a chance on a dream home with the money benefiting spinal cord research. But in the end, the charity lost money, the raffle house became mired in debt and the winner is known to only a handful of people. Some ticket holders say it doesn't add up."

RGJ.com: Corporate philanthropy is susceptible to abuse

RGJ.com: Corporate philanthropy is susceptible to abuse: "Corporate philanthropy generally doesn't rank very high, if at all, on the list of shareholder grievances.

That might be a mistake, since charitable giving can be ripe for abuse and self-serving behavior by executives.

The magnitude of such misbehavior can range from outright crime to more subtle acts such as funding a charity in which a top manager is involved, a donation that can benefit an executive's social standing more than the company and its shareholders."

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Kansas City Star | 04/27/2006 | Dream house raffle a castle in the air

Kansas City Star | 04/27/2006 | Dream house raffle a castle in the air: "Fundraiser involving Parkville mansion falls apart
Dream house raffle a castle in the air
By LINDSAY HANSON METCALF and DAN MARGOLIES
The Kansas City Star

“People need to understand that we did what we said we were going to do. They need to understand that this is a legitimate raffle, that the prize was paid for by Gateway to a Cure.”
John Kress, attorney for Gateway to a Cure

The charity raffle was ballyhooed as one of the biggest in Kansas City history.

The grand prize: a Parkville mansion worth $1.3 million.

The raffle took two years and involved at least one delayed drawing date before a winner was announced."

The Daily News Record: Top News-Cost Of Raising Money

The Daily News Record: Top News: "Cost Of Raising Money

With the 2005 fund-raising campaign complete and the allocations made, the United Way begins its next capital campaign in the summer, according to Terry Weaver, the 2006 campaign chair.

Weaver said he hopes to repeat the results of the ’05 campaign.

'We hit our goal for the first time in 10 years,' he said. 'So I feel some pressure.'

With $160,322 in fund-raising and management expenses, the United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County spends 15.9 percent of the money it raises maintaining its operations.

'That’s lower than most United Ways,' Hay said.

That also is well within the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance guidelines that 'charities should spend no more than 35 percent of related contributions on fund raising.'

The largest 200,000 charitable organizations in the United States spend 18 percent on fund-raising costs, according to the Association of Fundraising Professionals."

deseretnews.com | E-mail poll is legitimate, church says

deseretnews.com | E-mail poll is legitimate, church says: "E-mail poll is legitimate, church says

It will ascertain interest in LDS charitable opportunity
By Carrie A. Moore
Deseret Morning News
Latter-day Saints who receive e-mails from Harris Interactive asking about their charitable contributions don't have to wonder if the survey is a yet another Internet 'phishing' expedition.
LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills said Wednesday that LDS Philanthropies 'is conducting an (online) survey among its existing donors to determine interest in a proposed charitable giving opportunity.' He declined to give additional details.
The survey is apparently being sent to selected members of the church who have contributed to specific LDS-based charities."

The Chronicle, 4/27/2006: Online Surveys Help Charities Save Time and Money

The Chronicle, 4/27/2006: Online Surveys Help Charities Save Time and Money: "Online Surveys Help Charities Save Time and Money
By Marilyn Dickey

For members of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, getting the results of the group's survey of fund raisers'

salaries and benefits is one of the most valued perks of membership in the organization, says Joyce O'Brien, vice president for communications and marketing.

The questionnaire, which is sent to more than 4,000 fund raisers, breaks down the data on fund raisers' salaries by such criteria as job title, location, the group's budget, and the fund raiser's years of experience."

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

GAO: FEMA Still Not Set to Stop Aid Waste - Yahoo! News

GAO: FEMA Still Not Set to Stop Aid Waste - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - With hurricane season approaching, FEMA is destined to repeat million-dollar mistakes of disaster aid waste and fraud unless it can quickly establish controls for verifying names and addresses, congressional investigators say."

Times Community Newspapers - Museum gets $25,000 surprise

Times Community Newspapers - Museum gets $25,000 surprise: "Museum gets $25,000 surprise
Staff
04/25/2006
email this storyEmail to a friendpost a commentPost a Commentprinter friendlyPrinter-friendly
April 8 was a great night for philanthropy when a gift of $25,000 was unexpectedly donated to the Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County. The giver was Irwin Uran of Loudoun County.

“This was a complete surprise,” said Karen White, director of the AAHA. “It was at Mr. Uran's 80th birthday party in Middleburg, and I had been invited, but I didn't know that we would be receiving anything until the day before.”"

Louisiana Poker Bill Comes Up Short | Poker News

Louisiana Poker Bill Comes Up Short | Poker News: "On April 25th, the legislation failed to garner enough votes to pass through to the Senate. Coming up two votes short, the legislation, known as House Bill 1149, would have legalized charity tournament events and local 'bar poker' tournaments

throughout the state. The discussion of the bill perhaps was where the biggest battles were drawn and show the continued debate over poker in America today.
"

Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com- Public vs. private

Northwest Indiana News: nwitimes.com: "Without the $200,000 funneled to East Chicago's St. Stanislaus Catholic elementary school for new windows, officials there say the facility housing about 200 students would have seen sky-high power bills this past winter.

On face value, that project and the hundreds of others funded with millions of dollars in casino revenue disbursed by the Foundations of East Chicago seem philanthropically worthy"

Salary Quandary - Christianity Today Magazine

Salary Quandary - Christianity Today Magazine: "A recent survey reveals that the vast majority of Christian ministries pay their leaders significantly less than what those executives could earn in private industry. No surprise there, but they also earn significantly less that their counterparts in secular nonprofits.

By reviewing the compensation practices of 147 Christian ministries, Best Christian Workplaces Institute (BCWI) and the Christian Management Association discovered that the average compensation for presidents/chief executive officers is $99,000; for chief operating officers, $88,200; and for chief financial officers, $78,200."

Maximizing ROI in an Integrated Context :: PNNOnline ::

Maximizing ROI in an Integrated Context :: PNNOnline ::: "Maximizing ROI in an Integrated Context
Posted by: taitchison on Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Topic Expert Opinion

For the most part, fundraisers no longer believe that online marketing is competitive with offline marketing. Most understand that you need to incorporate both into your marketing strategy and they should be coordinated in order to realize synergies. Many fundraisers, however, struggle with determining how much to focus on and invest in online marketing and how to drive the coordination between online and offline channels.

With the exception of a few specific segments of nonprofit organizations like disaster relief groups, public radio stations, and heavy users of gift catalogs or volunteer led special events, a majority of direct response fundraising-driven organizations still raise less than 10 percent of funds online (although this figure is escalating rapidly). ."

onPhilanthropy - Milken Lessons: Collaborate Across Sectors

onPhilanthropy - Milken Lessons: Collaborate Across Sectors: "Milken Lessons: Collaborate Across Sectors
By: Tom Watson, 04/26/06

Alvin Toffler is known for his bold, iconoclastic visions of the future. His latest, related in Beverly Hills this week to a crowd of 2,500 movers and shakers at the Milken Institute Global Conference, should resonate with anyone in philanthropy: 'Today's wealth revolution is far greater than today's statistics suggest.'

T

100,000 Americans Asked to Raise Their Hands for Civic Leadership: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

PRESS RELEASE

100,000 Americans Asked to Raise Their Hands for Civic Leadership: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance: "100,000 Americans Asked to Raise Their Hands for Civic Leadership
Wednesday April 26, 7:17 am ET

ATLANTA, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- 'Raise your hand, America,' says the Hands On Network Corporate Service Council, an alliance of 47 Fortune 500 companies and civic organizations committed to mobilizing the corporate workforce to be a community change force throughout North America. The program, announced today as part of National Volunteer Week activities, envisions 100,000 volunteers stepping forward in the largest-ever campaign to recruit and train individuals to manage thousands of service projects over the next two years. The Corporate Service Council is chaired by Bob Nardelli, chairman, president & CEO of The Home Depot, in partnership with Michelle Nunn, co-founder and CEO of national nonprofit Hands On Network."

The Shreveport Times-Sylvia Goodman named 'Louisiana Heroine'

The Shreveport Times: "Sylvia Goodman will receive a Louisiana Heroine award for her volunteer work with the Robinson Film Center and other Shreveport nonprofit cultural organizations. A local force in nonprofit fundraising, Goodman is one of 10 women who will be given the award by the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations at a May 5 banquet in Baton Rouge.

'I'm very grateful because I'm sure all the nominees were well deserving,' Goodman said. 'I just believe that if you are given the opportunities to make the world a better place, you are obligated to.'
"

The Korea Times : Michelle Wie Donates $300,000 to Charity

The Korea Times : Michelle Wie Donates $300,000 to Charity: "American teenage golfer Michelle Wie will bring more than a golf bag to Korea when she arrives Sunday.

The 16-year-old, coming to play in the Asian Tour's SK Telecom Open next week, also plans to meet Korean recipients of her $300,000 donation designed to help poor Korean children receive needed medical care.

A week before making her second visit to the country where her parents were born, Wie donated 300 million won ($300,000) to an endowment at the Yonsei University Severance Hospital and Korea University Medical Center, which are caring for 30 ill children aged under 15."

‘Deal or No Deal’ winnings benefit Special Olympics - Wednesday, 04/26/06

‘Deal or No Deal’ winnings benefit Special Olympics - Wednesday, 04/26/06: "Deal or No Deal’ winnings benefit Special Olympics

By Tena Lee
Hendersonville Star News

Even before last week’s appearance on the hit TV game show, “Deal or No Deal,” Hendersonville resident Erin Birch had already made her own deal.

She promised to give her employer, Special Olympics Tennessee, half of her winnings - whether it be a penny or a million dollars.
Friends, family, co-workers and Special Olympics athletes piled into The Stage, a Nashville honkytonk, Monday night to see just what that amount would be."

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "'Year of the Museum' Centennial Celebration Kicks..."

PRESS Release
U.S. Newswire : Releases : "'Year of the Museum' Centennial Celebration Kicks...": "'Year of the Museum' Centennial Celebration Kicks Off This Week: AAM Meeting, 2 Congressional Resolutions, 2 Books, TV Special

4/26/2006 5:01:00 AM

To: National and Assignment desks

Contact: Tim Andrews, 202-289-1818, tandrews@aam-us.org or Anna McAlpine, 202-289-9125, amcalpine@aam-us.org - both of the American Association of Museums

WASHINGTON, April 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Celebrate 100 years of museums in America as the American Association of Museums (AAM) commemorates its 100th Anniversary during 2006 with the 'Year of the Museum.' The year-long, nationwide celebration includes the world's largest gathering of museum professionals at AAM's 100th Anniversary Annual Meeting, this week in Boston, two Congressional Resolutions, two books and a TV special on PBS ."

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

HometownAnnapolis.com, Top Stories - Event hopes to attract under-50 crowd with fashion

HometownAnnapolis.com, Top Stories - Event hopes to attract under-50 crowd with fashion:
snip snip>>>
"but despite her savvy outlook on life, Mrs. Almalel's under-50 friends balk at joining her at events for Hospice of the Chesapeake, fearing stifling soirees stuffed with snooty seniors. Undaunted, the financial advisor at Merrill Lynch joined forces with friend Sherri Meredith and formed Hospice Hundred, a group of young philanthropists-in-training."

Volunteering in community is wise investment of time | IndyStar.com

Volunteering in community is wise investment of time | IndyStar.com: "my view: Ellen K. Annala
Volunteering in community is wise investment of time
Drive to College Avenue and 62nd Street and you can't miss United Way's gigantic thank-you to volunteers. On a banner stretching across the busy intersection, we're saying thanks to everyone who gives the gift of time to make our community better.

The banner is a new tradition we started last year to commemorate National Volunteer Week. It's observed annually in April. If you're a volunteer and your schedule won't take you that way, we extend our thanks to you in this My View."

Online NewsHour: An Analysis of the Return of Student Activism -- April 21, 2006

Online NewsHour: An Analysis of the Return of Student Activism -- April 21, 2006: "A report on a new wave of student activism brought about by September 11th, the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

ANNE TAYLOR FLEMING, NewsHour Essayist: I was struck by the pictures of college kids on spring break, not the ones doing the time-honored bacchanalian thing on the beaches of Florida, but rather the kids who had forsaken that rite and gone instead to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to help rebuild that battered region.

Swinging hammers, cleaning out moldy shacks, they seemed to me a bright spot in a complicated world, an indication, perhaps, that narcissism was finally giving way to a little activism.

I've got '60s kid nostalgia, no question, a hearkening back to when my peers and I were lit up with help-change-the-world fervor, a sense that we could and should matter, protesting war, advocating women's rights or civil rights."

Arts contributors may get big return

Arts contributors may get big return: "Arts contributors may get big return
by Steve Garmhausen

Agnes Gund has spent much of the past five decades buying modern art by the likes of Jasper Johns and Mark Rothko. But she has also given scores of works away to the Museum of Modern Art.

'It could be because I feel guilty about having so much more than most people,' says MoMA's president emerita, who has contributed some 250 pieces to the museum. 'If I can have it, others should be able to enjoy it.'"

San Luis Obispo Tribune | 04/25/2006 | Drawing lines between board and staff duties

San Luis Obispo Tribune | 04/25/2006 | Drawing lines between board and staff duties: "Nonprofit Strategies
Drawing lines between board and staff duties
By Dave Edwards
The Tribune

One of the most difficult aspects of running a nonprofit organization is balancing the respective roles of the board and staff.

Having a strong board and staff are essential for success, but making sure each does what it’s supposed to do is the challenge. When those lines are blurred, dysfunction can ensue."

Former U.S. senator praises Colby, stresses need for philanthropy

Former U.S. senator praises Colby, stresses need for philanthropy: "WATERVILLE -- At a time when the U.S. is the most powerful nation in the world economically but our standing in the world is lower than it has ever been, it is critically important that we learn about people whose circumstances are different than ours.

That was a message former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell touted Monday night as part of 'Burst the Bubble, Build a Bridge,' a weeklong program designed by Colby College students to help strengthen ties between Colby and the community."

Monday, April 24, 2006

Blogger was offline for a portion of Monday

A quick note to say that Blogger was offline for most of today Monday April 24. This was a systemwide outage and thus our posting's were not available untill late in the day. Thanks for your patience and for the moment everything seems to have returned to normal.
Here is some explanation including information about a brief scheduled outage later today.
Monday, April 24, 2006

Blogger.com will be down on April 24 2006 from 4 pm PDT to 4:45 pm PDT due to planned maintenance. We’re sorry about the one-two unplanned/planned outage punch today, but we need to do some database maintenance. You will still be able to view your blogs during the outage. Be assured that when Blogger.com comes back, it will be shinier and happier than ever.

Posted by Pete at 11:32 PDT

All publishing is broken right now. We’re working on fixing it.

Update, 10:15AM: We have Blog*Spot publishing working again. External publishing coming soon.

Update, 10:41AM: External publishing is working again as well. Plus users, we haven't forgotten about you.

Update, 10:50AM: Everything sorted out now and working fine. Expect possible transient slownesses as we shore up some of the quick fixes that we had to make.

Courier News Online - Corporate support for arts flagging

Courier News Online - Corporate support for arts flagging: "Corporate support for arts flagging

By PEGGY McGLONE
The Associated Press

With state cuts looming, report shows four-year decline in private donations.

NEWARK -- With the state broke, New Jersey's top culture official has said it's time for the private sector to pony up more money for museums, theaters and symphonies.

But if recent patterns are any indication, don't bet on business stepping up.

New Jersey may be home to some of the biggest and best-known companies in the world, some of whom have seen a profit bonanza during the past three years. But an examination of funding trends shows overall corporate support for the arts has flat-lined."