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.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

onPhilanthropy: Social Responsibility: Whose Business Is It?

onPhilanthropy: Social Responsibility: Whose Business Is It?: "Social Responsibility: Whose Business Is It?
By: Carolyn Cavicchio, 12/7/06

Are corporate citizenship and sustainability important to business? Yes, say a majority of leaders of global businesses who were recently polled by The Conference Board. But these same companies also lack an active strategy to develop new business opportunities arising from meeting citizenship and sustainability needs.

This divide between attitude and actual business practice was one of the topics of a
Reuters panel debate, co-hosted by The Conference Board and the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative at Harvard University. In a fairly lively debate, business and media leaders staked out their positions."

The Sun Herald | 12/07/2006 | Nonprofits given office space for $1

The Sun Herald | 12/07/2006 | Nonprofits given office space for $1: "Nonprofits given office space for $1
By LEIGH COLEMAN
SUN HERALD

GULFPORT - Harrah's Entertainment has given office space to six South Mississippi nonprofits for $1 a year rent, allowing the agencies to move out of their temporary trailers.

Board members of the agencies gathered Wednesday at Harrah's operations building on Seaway Road in Gulfport for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to thank the leaders of Harrah's Entertainment for their generosity.

'There is no way to measure what Harrah's has done for us. They were proactive about helping these agencies, they came to us and offered their office space,' said John M. Walton, regional president of Whitney Bank and an agency board member."

Playbill News: Arena Stage Gets a Record Gift to a U.S. Theatre — Nearly $35 Million

Playbill News: Arena Stage Gets a Record Gift to a U.S. Theatre — Nearly $35 Million: "Arena Stage in Washington, DC, announced Dec. 6 that it has received donations totaling more than $100 million — including a record $35 million single gift — for the renovation of its facilities and the creation of a modern theatre campus.

This historic milestone was made possible by local philanthropists Gilbert and Jaylee Mead, who donated close to $35 million toward the project, prompting Arena to honor their exceptional generosity by naming the new complex Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater."

The metrics of giving

The metrics of giving: "The metrics of giving
Thursday, December 7, 2006
By Mark Fellows
mfellows@mbusinessreview.com

Every three hospital jobs in Michigan generate two more in the community, state economic multipliers indicate. Each dollar of hospital wages generates another 58.83 cents of economic activity.

Analysis and research are part and parcel of effective philanthropy, but private giving remains more focused on ensuring grants are effective and not on broad economic metrics."

This summit seeks balance for givers

This summit seeks balance for givers: "This summit seeks balance for givers
Women of African descent learn to keep a personal touch in philanthropy while growing ties to foundations and nonprofits.
Robert Franklin, Star Tribune

Last update: December 06, 2006 – 10:11 PM

Julie Green started a nonprofit to give surplus goods to needy people in Liberia and Monrovia as well as the Twin Cities. Betty Emarita's relatives built a family compound and school in Nigeria. Brikti Hiwet is helping to market purses made by young women for a charity in her native Ethiopia."

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Washington Square News - Pledge policy to see minor changes

Washington Square News - Pledge policy to see minor changes: "Pledge policy to see minor changes

by Ali Weinberg
Staff Writer

December 06, 2006
NYU will now require donors who pledge large sums of money to pay some cash upfront as the university examines its fundraising policy in the wake of several donations that backfired.

The university will not change its pledge policy outright, but it is considering creating a stipulation that pledges must give NYU part of their pledge before the university starts outlining how it plans to use the funds, said Debra LaMorte, NYU’s senior vice president for development and alumni relations. Donors often make requests about how their pledges and donations are to be used; now, the university will not allow projects to go forward without the money promised for those projects has been paid."

Survey: Charitable Giving Remains Steady - Newsroom - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick

Press Release

Survey: Charitable Giving Remains Steady - Newsroom - Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick: "INDIANAPOLIS—Nonprofit fundraisers are reporting a fairly stable fundraising climate that is slightly less positive than six months ago, but slightly more positive than one year ago, according to the Philanthropic Giving Index (PGI) released today by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Fundraisers’ overall optimism about the climate for giving in the United States increased 1.6 percent over this time last year, but was down 1.4 percent from the Summer of 2006. Fundraisers for public benefit, environmental and international nonprofits and those working in human services organizations reported slightly less optimism than those from other types of organizations."

snip snip>>
PGI survey participants are chosen to represent a cross-section of nonprofits nationwide in terms of geographic region, annual revenue size and type of organization. The survey was mailed to 403 nonprofit development executives and fundraising consultants. Of those, 168 fundraisers and consultants responded, for an overall response rate of 42 percent. The survey was sponsored in part by the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.

Standards For Excellence Institute Adds Three States :: PNNOnline ::

Standards For Excellence Institute Adds Three States :: PNNOnline ::: "Standards For Excellence Institute Adds Three States
Posted by: laurakujawski on Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Topic Special Features

The Standards for Excellence Institute, the first program in the United States to promote and provide a code for self-regulation for the nonprofit sector, announced that three additional organizations in West Palm Beach, Florida, Oklahoma and West Virginia now offer the rigorous Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector to nonprofits across their regions. The Standards for Excellence Institute (Institute) works nationwide, to help nonprofits meet the highest standards of nonprofit governance, management and operations.

Joining groups in Maryland, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Idaho; are the three new groups, which recently were approved to offer the Standards program: The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, a program of the Executive Service Corps of Southeast Florida, The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, and The Community Development Partnership of West Virginia.

The Standards for Excellence™ program has been cited as exemplary at hearings and roundtables before the US Senate Committee on Finance."

How they did it - The Boston Globe

How they did it - The Boston Globe: "How they did it
They had to get the land. They had to get the money. And they had to stay true to their risky vision -- even if it meant building on an undeveloped waterfront site.
Chief curator Nicholas Baume helps install artworks in the ICA's new gallery spaces.
Chief curator Nicholas Baume helps install artworks in the ICA's new gallery spaces.

December 6, 2006

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE a get-to-know-you breakfast, a chance for the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Art to sit down with a powerful trustee. Before the coffee had even cooled at the Charles Hotel restaurant, Paul Buttenwieser stunned ICA head Jill Medvedow with his news."

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Mellon pledges that deal will bring increased charitable giving

Mellon pledges that deal will bring increased charitable giving: "Mellon pledges that deal will bring increased charitable giving

Tuesday, December 05, 2006
By Anya Sostek, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On a day when Mellon Financial Corp. announced it was changing its name and its headquarters address, it also sought to reassure the Pittsburgh community that its charitable works would stay put. And to win over skeptics -- history is riddled with promises that weren't kept -- it even said it will up the ante."

Monday, December 04, 2006

Disabled ready to overcome another barrier - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Disabled ready to overcome another barrier - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Disabled ready to overcome another barrier

By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, December 2, 2006

Chaz Kellem arrived ready to serve.

'I've got an interest in the community and am ready to give a helping hand,' he said, before filling out an application for a Duquesne University program that will place people with disabilities on nonprofit boards and committees."

New Guidelines for Payroll Deduction Contributions to Charities

New Guidelines for Payroll Deduction Contributions to Charities: "IR-2006-186, December 1, 2006

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service announced today new guidelines for taxpayers to follow to substantiate donations to charities that were made by payroll deductions.

'This makes it easier for businesses and individuals to support worthwhile charities without fear of losing the deduction,' said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson."

Union Leader - Dueling for donors: NH charities compete - Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006

Union Leader - Dueling for donors: NH charities compete - Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006: "*
Dueling for donors: NH charities compete

By MICHAEL COUSINEAU
Union Leader Staff
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006

Dawne and Bob Litterst were looking to make a meaningful donation to a local charity.

The Bedford couple attended a few fund-raising events for Easter Seals, growing more comfortable about how the organization helped people and spent its money.

In their mid-40s, the Littersts set up a $50,000 endowment in the family's name that they hope their three sons will add to in the coming decades."

Will Your Biz Profit as a Nonprofit?

Will Your Biz Profit as a Nonprofit?: "Will Your Biz Profit as a Nonprofit?
When structuring a company, there are a number of distinctions to keep in mind, including the fact that 'nonprofit' does not mean 'nontaxable'

by Karen E. Klein
Small Biz
We are starting a small entertainment company. Our aim is to produce family television programming and musical entertainment that would be suitable for Christian television or family networks. Should our company be structured as a for-profit or a nonprofit entity? How does a business owner decide?—A.A., Independence, Kan."

[Editorial] Giving to others should not be seasonal act : Editorial & Opinion : Home

[Editorial] Giving to others should not be seasonal act : Editorial & Opinion : Home: "The winter freeze has begun in earnest, which means it is the season of worries for the common people and the poor. This year, without fail, Salvation Army donation buckets have appeared across the country and the Community Chest of Korea has raised a 'Thermometer of Love' to track donations. You see reports of how businesses and volunteer groups are delivering heating briquettes and kimchi to poor neighborhoods."

Connecticut Business - State, National, World News from The Hartford Courant - BUSINESS

Connecticut Business - State, National, World News from The Hartford Courant - BUSINESS: "Finding Careers At Nonprofits, Not By Accident, But By Design
December 4, 2006

Question: What employment sector has a do-good mission, rising salaries, expanding opportunities and an appetite for seasoned workers?

If you were to ask the 700 or so attendees of 'Philanthropy Day' in Uniondale, N.Y., the consensus would most likely be: the not-for-profit industry, which encompasses organizations ranging from Canine Companions for Independence to the National Organization for Women."

newsobserver.com | Know where donations go

newsobserver.com | Know where donations go: "Know where donations go
Retailers' holiday charity efforts may have loopholes

Sue Stock, Staff Writer
Give $1 to St. Jude, buy a plush Grinch to help children, or consider a camera to benefit the Ronald McDonald House.

Holiday shoppers are encountering almost as many donation requests as they are discounts.

The appeals are fast becoming a yuletide tradition as merchants respond to competition as well as shoppers and employees who want to deal with socially responsible companies.

But there's quite a bit in it for businesses: good will, publicity, added sales and a tax write-off."

Gates Foundation to close -- in several years

Gates Foundation to close -- in several years: "Gates Foundation to close -- in several years
Decision emphasizes issues are solvable

By TOM PAULSON
P-I REPORTER

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, intending to underscore its belief that the mission is more important than the institution, plans to close its doors a half-century or so after the philanthropy's primary benefactors -- Bill, Melinda and Warren Buffett -- have died.

'Of course, that could easily be another 100 years,' said Patty Stonesifer, chief executive officer at the Gates Foundation. But planning an eventual closure, she said, emphasizes the Gateses' desire that many of the problems of poverty, inequity and disease they have targeted be regarded as both urgent and resolvable."

Friday, December 01, 2006

Arbutus Times

Arbutus Times: "Accountability a goal for nonprofits

11/30/06
by L. REED WALTON
Capital News Service

Email this story to a friend

Five more Maryland nonprofits have joined 69 of their state counterparts in meeting the Standards for Excellence, a set of goals devised by the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations (called Maryland Nonprofits).

The five made the grade for their ethics, openness and accountability, according to the group, which oversees state nonprofit organizations."

Gates Foundation Changes Structure | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Gates Foundation Changes Structure | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Gates Foundation Changes Structure

By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
TOOLS

SEATTLE — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be altering its internal financial structure to cleanly separate its program work from investment of its assets, the foundation announced this week.

The reorganization plan, which takes effect in January, will also help the foundation accommodate an infusion of stock from Warren Buffett, the organization announced Wednesday. Buffett said in June he would be giving most of his money to the foundation in annual installments worth about $1.5 billion. His first gift was made in August.

Buffett has given the foundation a few years to ramp up before requiring that it distribute his entire donation each year, which will effectively double the dollar amount of grants the foundation makes."

The Science Of Smart Giving

The Science Of Smart Giving: "The Science Of Smart Giving
Squeezing the most good from large-scale donations takes serious planning. Here are five success stories

Slide Show >>
How do you give away $10 million? You could start adding zeros to whatever checks you are writing to charitable institutions and worthy causes. But if you're going to hand over an eight-figure sum, you'll want more than a thank-you letter and a receipt to show the tax man. Such amounts 'raise a question that isn't just material but emotional: How much impact am I going to have?' says Paul Schervish, director of Boston College's Center on Wealth & Philanthropy."

PlaybillArts: News: Baltimore Symphony Receives $1 Million Challenge Grant

PlaybillArts: News: Baltimore Symphony Receives $1 Million Challenge Grant: "Baltimore Symphony Receives $1 Million Challenge Grant

By Vivien Schweitzer
30 Nov 2006

The Baltimore Symphony has received a $1 million challenge grant from the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, a group of family foundations dedicated to cultural and educational philanthropy in the Baltimore region and Israel."

The Nonprofit Sector in Brief: Facts and Figures from the Nonprofit Almanac 2007

The Nonprofit Sector in Brief: Facts and Figures from the Nonprofit Almanac 2007: "The Nonprofit Sector in Brief
Facts and Figures from the Nonprofit Almanac 2007
Author(s): Thomas H. Pollak, Amy Blackwood
Other Availability: PDF | Order Online | Printer-Friendly Page
Posted to Web: October 26, 2006
Permanent Link: http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311373

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The text below is a portion of the complete document.

This brief highlights key findings from the Nonprofit Almanac 2007, prepared by the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute (Urban Institute Press, forthcoming). The Almanac is the latest in the Urban Institute's series of statistical profiles of the nonprofit sector, most recently produced in conjunction with Independent Sector in 2002."

Thursday, November 30, 2006

DenverPost.com - Nonprofits get help in hunt for sponsorships

DenverPost.com - Nonprofits get help in hunt for sponsorships: "Nonprofits get help in hunt for sponsorships
One tip from an expert at the Denver conference: Land the biggest fish first, then net the smaller ones.
By Will Shanley
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/29/2006 11:07:06 PM MST

Nonprofits in Colorado and nationwide are on the hunt for billions of dollars in corporate donations.

But some nonprofits miss out on that money because they make a few basic mistakes. At a conference in Denver on Wednesday, expert Martha Vail presented ways for nonprofits to avoid those errors and attract corporate sponsors:

Pitch the company on the marketing value of the sponsorship, not just the importance of the nonprofit's mission.

Land the largest sponsors first, then fill in the financing with smaller deals.

Don't offer a company exclusive sponsorship rights unless the sponsor asks for it - and is willing to pay for it."

Is writing a check enough? - The Boston Globe

Is writing a check enough? - The Boston Globe: "Is writing a check enough?

By Milton J. Little Jr. and Trish Karter | November 30, 2006

BY ANY measure, there is a remarkable amount of corporate philanthropic giving in Boston -- in time, money, and in-kind contributions. Corporate philanthropy is critical to sustaining the nonprofits that contribute so much to the health and vitality of many communities throughout the state. But is writing checks and making in-kind donations of time and resources enough?"

Rich or poor, charity begins one by one - Yahoo! News

Rich or poor, charity begins one by one - Yahoo! News: "he superrich (
Bill Gates,
Warren Buffett) set a glittery example by giving away billions. The working poor do their share, too - by handing over a higher portion of their income to charity than wealthier folks. Wanting to help others knows no financial boundaries.

One survey shows that Americans are giving more than ever to charities, some $260 billion last year alone, about 6 percent more than the previous year. And add to that another estimated $150 billion in volunteer giving each year (valued at $18 per hour)."

cantonrep.com-Cash is nice, time and energy just as valuable

cantonrep.com: "'Giving of time is significant,' Rubin said. Some organizations couldn't exist without volunteers, and working for a charity affords donors a firsthand look at how their money is used.

When it comes to donating money, the Association of Fundraising Professionals says it's best not to give on a whim. Do your homework first. Which charity do you want to support? How much will you donate? When will you make your gift?"

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

DenverPost.com - CU med school's name up for grabs

DenverPost.com - CU med school's name up for grabs: "CU med school's name up for grabs
The medical campus got the Anschutz tag Monday. CU has talked to about 50 people about the school.
By Will Shanley
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:11/28/2006 10:05:30 PM MST

While the University of Colorado announced this week that its medical campus in Aurora will be named after Denver-based financier Philip Anschutz, school officials continue to seek a name donor for its School of Medicine.

'I'm not sure how long it will take, but I'm sure we'll get this done at some point,' said Dr. Richard Krugman, dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. 'This isn't a sprint.'

More than a year ago, Krugman and a team of advisers launched a campaign to find a well-heeled philanthropist willing to donate $100 million or more in exchange for the naming rights to the school."

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The $3 Billion Man - Forbes.com

The $3 Billion Man - Forbes.com:

snip snip>>>
"That changed last September. After a philanthropy-filled summer that saw major donations by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, Branson capped the season with an announcement of his own. At Bill Clinton's Global Initiative in New York, Branson pledged all proceeds from Virgin Group’s transportation divisions be donated to develop alternative fuel sources and alleviate global warming. His pledge amounts to about $3 billion over ten years."

FirstGov.gov: Answer

FirstGov.gov: Answer: "There are a number of assistance programs that are available to nonprofit organizations. The websites listed below are all excellent sources of information:

*www.nonprofit.gov. This site is dedicated to assisting nonprofit organizations.
*www.cfda.gov. The online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA), which is a comprehensive list of all federal assistance programs.
*www.grants.gov Helps state and local governments, academia, not-for-profits and other organizations locate and apply for grants for which they may qualify."