Give Millions While You’re Young: a Plea to the Wealthy - Opinion - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Give Millions While You’re Young: a Plea to the Wealthy - Opinion - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Wealthy people often wait until middle age or even retirement to begin thinking in earnest about giving. Of course, this is sometimes necessary—it often takes time to earn wealth before one can consider investing it in worthy causes. But age should not be the determining factor, and philanthropy, no matter when one starts, will yield successes and failures that offer lessons for one’s future giving. Effective philanthropy is not an easy undertaking, and postponing one’s engagement can mean postponing effective giving.

Why Can't I Mail It? - USPS Regulations on Booklets : Target Marketing

Why Can't I Mail It? - USPS Regulations on Booklets : Target Marketing: s you know from Part One of "Why Can't I Mail It?" with postcards and Part Two with self-mailers, there are many times that a design element causes a mailing to go at a higher rate of postage. This can be frustrating as well as expensive. In order to help you stay away from potential issues, here are some things to keep in mind as you are preparing a direct mail campaign.

Nonprofit finds revenue stream in its lobby | Crain's New York Business

Nonprofit finds revenue stream in its lobby | Crain's New York Business: The 145-year-old charity is leasing out a 745-square-foot shop at its headquarters at 590 Sixth Ave. in Chelsea to Coffeed, a two-year-old Long Island City, Queens-based caf�chain with four locations. Slated to open in October, the store will be the Coffeed's first Manhattan location. The expansion into Manhattan was made possible by New York Foundling agreeing to charge Coffeed about $6,000 a month—about half the going rate for such space in the neighborhood—in exchange for getting a percentage of the store's sales, publicity for the hospital's mission and a promise to interview

Create a speech on a community issue � Philanthropy North Carolina

Create a speech on a community issue � Philanthropy North Carolina: To help raise awareness about the need your nonprofit addresses, develop a speech that your CEO and board chair can deliver at civic events in your community.

Rather than touting your own nonprofit’s work and the difference you make, focus on a community problem, its causes and symptoms, and strategies and part

Inspired by Webcomic, Elon Musk to Give $1M to Tesla Museum - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Inspired by Webcomic, Elon Musk to Give $1M to Tesla Museum - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: Combining a mutual love of science, innovation, and early twentieth-century inventor Nikola Tesla, technology magnate and billionaire Elon Musk has responded to an appeal from web artist Matthew Inman and agreed to donate a million dollars toward the creation of a museum honoring the early twentieth-century inventor.

Corcoran Gallery to Shed 150 Jobs as Part of Merger Plan – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Corcoran Gallery to Shed 150 Jobs as Part of Merger Plan – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: About a third of the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s 465 employees are slated to lose their posts next month as part of the financially strapped museum’s planned merger with the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University, according to Washington Business Journal.

The Top 10 Largest Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Events in the U.S. : FundRaising Success

The Top 10 Largest Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Events in the U.S. : FundRaising Success: Social fundraising provider RallyBoundOpens in a new window recently released this handy infographicOpens in a new window of the "Top 10 Single Largest Nonprofit Fundraising Events," all of which include peer-to-peer fundraising. The list is based on the total fundraising results from 2013 for each event.

Balancing Philanthropic Travel and Voluntourism with Family Time | GuideStar Blog

Balancing Philanthropic Travel and Voluntourism with Family Time | GuideStar Blog: he tourism industry represents one of the largest service industries in the world, employing 102 million people around the globe in 2013, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, and generating $2.1 trillion in economic output in the U.S., claims the U.S. Travel Association.

Red Nose Day will be shown in the US for the first time next year

Red Nose Day will be shown in the US for the first time next year: The British fundraising institution Red Nose Day is being exported to America for a three-hour show in May next year.

The television fundraising event will be shown on the US network NBC, which is working in collaboration with Comic Relief to bring the show to the States for the first time.

Red Nose Day raised �100.2m in 2013 and has been running in the UK for 25 years.

Fundraisers’ salaries down by 18 per cent in the North East

Fundraisers’ salaries down by 18 per cent in the North East: The salaries of fundraisers in the North East have fallen by an average of 18 per cent since 2009, according to a report released last week.

The Voluntary Organisations' Network North East (Vonne) has released a report showing that the salaries of people working in the charity sector in the North East have fallen by an average

The Philanthropic Problem with Hillary Clinton’s Huge Speaking Fees

The Philanthropic Problem with Hillary Clinton’s Huge Speaking Fees

‘Charity’ Donation Bins Proliferating on New York Sidewalks – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

‘Charity’ Donation Bins Proliferating on New York Sidewalks – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: A growing number of private companies are illegally placing putatively charitable used-clothing bins on sidewalks in New York City, mirroring a national trend that is raising concerns among nonprofits that legitimately collect secondhand items, according to The New York Times.

New York City bans such bins on public streets and sidewalks, although they are allowed on private property with the owner’s consent. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, the city tagged more than 2,000 illegally sited bins and confiscated 132, compared to 91 tags and 10 confiscations four years ago.

Wounded Warrior CEO Rips Rating Systems as ‘Ineffective and Misinformed’ - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Wounded Warrior CEO Rips Rating Systems as ‘Ineffective and Misinformed’ - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Working against the prevailing view that overhead is bad and spending money on fundraising signals inefficiency or fraud, the Wounded Warrior Project made significant investments in its fundraising operation, he said. It has grown revenue by about 65 percent each year since and is on track to bring in more than $300-million this year, he said.

Mr. Nardizzi made the comments Thursday at the Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference in Maryland.

Surge of Remainder Trusts Seen as Baby Boomers Age - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Surge of Remainder Trusts Seen as Baby Boomers Age - News - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: The oldest of America’s 72 million baby boomers are turning 68 this year, the average age at which individuals create charitable remainder trusts. That’s likely to produce a surge in such gifts during the next 20 years, predicts Robert Sharpe, a planned-giving expert in Memphis.

Aside from the factor of demographics, more people will be interested in charitable trusts because of recent tax changes that increased the amount of capital-gains taxes they will owe after selling a business or other asset,

The Power of the Crowd | Imagine Canada

The Power of the Crowd | Imagine Canada: Crowdfunding is an increasingly hot topic for fundraisers. Millions of dollars are raised every year through online crowfunding platforms, of which there seems to be an ever increasing list.

Eleven characteristics of successful fundraisers revealed at IoF National Convention

Eleven characteristics of successful fundraisers revealed at IoF National Convention: Emotional intelligence and being able to read people and situations are among the top characteristics that make successful fundraisers, according to academic research revealed yesterday.

Beth Breeze, director of the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent, presented early findings from her three-year project, The Formation of Fundraisers: the Role of Personal Skills in Asking for Money, at the Institute of Fundraising’s National Convention.

They included a list of 11 personal characteristics and traits that she has discovered so far in the kind of people who make a career out of asking for money.

Moore-What Do Oxytocin and Cortisol Have to Do With Fundraising? : FundRaising Success

Moore-What Do Oxytocin and Cortisol Have to Do With Fundraising? : FundRaising Success: Don't let the title of this blog post scare you off. And, watch the whole video to understand the lengths these researchers went through to understand what really happens to someone when that person hears a story and how "Empathy, Neurochemistry, and the Dramatic Arc" truly affect fundraising.

Here's the summary:

Overhead Ratios: How to answer your donors’ questions |

Overhead Ratios: How to answer your donors’ questions |: Well, in this week’s episode, Peter Drury from Splash shares a terrific tip on answering the question about your overhead ratio. And perhaps after you watch the video, you will actually WANT donors to ask you that question.

Peter, by the way, is also the creator of the “Beyond Cash Fundraising Management Dashboard”. This is a terrific resource that helps organizations prioritize and save their time. It makes fundraising a predictable process. If you want to know more about the dashboard, go here: nonprofitbestpractices.com

S.C. Watchdog Warns College on Moving Money to Foundations – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

S.C. Watchdog Warns College on Moving Money to Foundations – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: South Carolina’s inspector general is calling on South Carolina State University to cease diverting rebates from contractors to a pair of school-affiliated nonprofits, which have received $2.3-million in such payments in recent years, writes The State of Columbia, S.C.

The AFP Blog: An Increase in Giving, But Fair Warning Needed

The AFP Blog: An Increase in Giving, But Fair Warning Needed: An Increase in Giving, But Fair Warning Needed
Like many of you, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Giving USA numbers for 2013, with overall giving increasing by three percent, adjusted for inflation.

While previous versions of the study showed a steady uptick in giving over the past few years—as had other surveys, including the Nonprofit Research Collaborative’s 2013 Year-End Fundraising Survey—few expected such a strong increase for the past year.

If You Do Just One Thing Right—Accepting Gifts of Life Insurance |

Via PPP



If You Do Just One Thing Right—Accepting Gifts of Life Insurance |:If You Do Just One Thing Right—Accepting Gifts of Life Insurance
Posted on July 8, 2014

PPP members are invited to share their thoughts about best practices that help them raise more meaningful gifts. Feel free to enter your thoughts in the comment field below.

How big is your donor? � 101fundraising

How big is your donor? � 101fundraising: Along with the World Cup (depending on the team, of course), we celebrate fund raising achievements. We look at results and trends from last year and partly with a sigh of relief and hope for this year: in 2013 in US charitable giving was at the same level it was before the financial crisis and in UK there was an �800m increase in donations. So, why we shouldn’t do better this year? In reality we should also ask ourselves if this is the result of more people giving or if we are simply fishing in the same pond with a lower offer. Mark Astarita, the fundraising director of British Red Cross and outgoing chair of UK Institute of Fundraising, simply put it “Over 30 years of professional fundraising have we grown the pie, are more people giving? I’m not so sure.” And Ken Burnett argued that the actual costs of acquisition with typical low retention rates are not sustainable and charities would be stupid if they don’t take action to avoid eating their seed corn.

Participant Index Seeks to Determine Why One Film Spurs Activism, While Others Falter - NYTimes.com

Participant Index Seeks to Determine Why One Film Spurs Activism, While Others Falter - NYTimes.com: LOS ANGELES — You watched the wrenching documentary. You posted your outrage on Twitter. But are you good for more than a few easy keystrokes of hashtag activism?

Participant Media and some powerful partners need to know.

For the last year Participant, an activist entertainment company that delivers movies with a message, has been quietly working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to answer a question vexing those who would use media to change the world.

Donor-Advised Funds: The Source Fundraisers Can't Afford to Ignore : Page 1 of 2 : FundRaising Success

Donor-Advised Funds: The Source Fundraisers Can't Afford to Ignore : Page 1 of 2 : FundRaising Success: No matter your take, DAFs are a funding source fundraisers of all sizes and missions cannot afford to ignore. According to both Fidelity Charitable’s 2014 Giving Report and the National Philanthropic Trust’s 2013 Donor-Advised Fund Report DAFs are on the rise, growing in popularity and dollars dispersed to the charitable sector.

Husock on Crony Corporate Philanthropy - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Husock on Crony Corporate Philanthropy - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: What is interesting in this new article of Husock’s in Forbes, where he is a regular commentator, is his concern for “crony philanthropy,” which he defines as “corporate philanthropic donations made to funds or causes designated or directed by elected officials.” Nonprofit Quarterly has raised this concern for years, going back to the charities established and more or less run by elected officials, beginning with our investigative piece on political charities such as then Congressman Tom DeLay’s DeLay Foundation. Our big investigative piece, “One for the Money, Two for the Show: Nonprofits as Conduits for Political Influence,” became an op-ed in the Washington Post, “Giving That Is All About Getting.”

Retired Steelcase chairman, philanthropist Peter Wege dies at 94 | MLive.com

Retired Steelcase chairman, philanthropist Peter Wege dies at 94 | MLive.com: GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Peter Melvin Wege loved giving away his money.

And give it away he did — millions of dollars in grants large and small — a fortune he had amassed as the former chairman and largest stockholder of Steelcase, Inc., the office furniture company his father founded.

Ten Nonprofits Get Grants to Increase Their Effectiveness

massnonprofit.org ::: July 8, 2014 — The Boston Foundation yesterday announced that it has awarded $61,550 to 10 Greater Boston nonprofits as part of a program that awards grants for small-scaled projects that increase impact and effectiveness of nonprofits.

The grants, of up to $7,500, from the Vision Fund program of The Boston Foundation (TBF), are designed to support capacity building efforts, pilot or demonstration projects, program design, evaluation or research, as well as board assessment/development, explorations of mergers and restructuring or other components of a strategic planning effort.

Crowdfunding: What It Is — And What It’s Not | Idea Lab | PBS

Crowdfunding: What It Is — And What It’s Not | Idea Lab | PBS: The initiative was described to me as being similar to crowdfunding, likely because of its gamified flavor. Although the folks behind it weren't using the language of crowdfunding, several observers were. But it wasn't crowdfunding, and there are a number of important reasons why.

Before I get into that, let's be clear: I'm not making a point about the technical definition of the term crowdfunding. My critique is not that this initiative missed many opportunities to create a compelling campaign that crowdfunders and crowdfunding platforms make use of every day. The following criticisms are not specific to this case, either. They're common problems among inexperienced (and reluctant) online fundraisers, particularly in the non-profit space. That's why I'm not going to name the initiative here, instead I'm going to refer to it as Acme Non-Profit Initiative.
what isn’t crowdfunding

12 Reasons Why You Should Gracefully Resign from a Nonprofit Board | Nonprofit Law Blog

12 Reasons Why You Should Gracefully Resign from a Nonprofit Board | Nonprofit Law Blog: Are you a valuable and valued board member for a nonprofit? If not, a graceful resignation and reassignment may be good for you and the organization.


12 reasons why you should resign from a nonprofit board:

Consultant Tony Elischer says charities should focus fundraising on minority communities to reap rewards | Third Sector

Consultant Tony Elischer says charities should focus fundraising on minority communities to reap rewards | Third Sector: Managing director of Think Consulting Solutions tells the Institute of Fundraising national convention that fundraisers are missing out by ignoring multiculturalism