Internet Address Fetches $200,000 Donation
The Boston Foundation received an unlikely gift from Tom Bird, a Boston-area entrepreneur: the domain name farm.com. The gift ended up bringing in $200,000 for the foundation when it sold the name to Pets United, an online pet-supplies company. Roger Collins, president of Afternic.com, which…
By Leah Kerkman
Contributor
Web Site for Volunteers Focuses on Disaster Aid
Learning from the difficulties of coordinating the activities of volunteers following Hurricane Katrina, the Points of Light Foundation, in Washington, announced plans for a new Web site to match volunteers with appropriate tasks following national disasters. The site, which will become available…
By Leah Kerkman
Contributor
Association for Managers of Volunteers Collapses In Debt
The most prominent organization representing managers of volunteers, the Association for Volunteer Administration, in Richmond, Va., is closing its doors amid allegations of embezzlement by a staff member, the dismissal of three employees (including the executive director), and the accumulation of…
By EMAN QUOTAH
Contributor
International Gathering Seeks to Give ‘Social Investing’ Mass Appeal
CONFERENCE NOTEBOOKOxford, England Al Gore is so convinced that companies whose operations are socially and environmentally responsible have a competitive ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: Project to Convert Minefields Into Vineyards Is Among Recipients of Skoll Grants edge over other businesses, the former vice…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Project to Convert Minefields Into Vineyards Is Among Recipients of Skoll Grants
Sixteen nonprofit organizations from around the world have received Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, which ALSO SEE:ARTICLE: International Gathering Seeks to Give ‘Social Investing’ Mass Appeal were accompanied by three-year grants. The winners were: Afghan Institute of Learning, in Kabul,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Lawmakers Earmarked $29-Billion for Pet Projects in 2006, Report Says
By Elizabeth SchwinnWashington Members of Congress spent a record $29-billion last year on so-called legislative earmarks, singling out a substantial number of charities and other institutions to receive federal funds, according to a study by a government-watchdog group. Members of Congress…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Charities That Rely on Mass Solicitations Fared Well in 2005, Study Finds
By Holly HallGiving to charities that rely on direct-mail and other mass solicitations has slowed in recent months, after a spike caused by the 2004 tsunamis and Hurricane Katrina, a new study has found. But even with the slowdown, which came in the final three months of 2005, contributions grew by…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
CONFERENCE NOTEBOOKEvidence of gender gap in pay found in study of fund raisersAtlanta The gender gap in pay for fund raisers is a reality, according to the first comprehensive study of the salary differential ALSO SEE: CHART: Donors’ Top Expectations for Charities between men and women. Women who…
By Leah Kerkman
Contributor
Foundations Urged to Upgrade Communications Efforts
Charity officials give high marks to foundations that make sure their Web sites, literature, and staff members provide consistent information about their philanthropic goals and programs, says a new report on how grant makers communicate. Such consistency is the best predictor that a charity will…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Two Wisconsin Science Centers Receive $50-Million; Other Recent Gifts
Compiled by Maria Di MentoFour institutions have received big gifts: John P. Morgridge, chairman of Cisco Systems, in San Jose, Calif., and his wife, Tashia, have given $50-million to the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery to build a facility that will house two new science centers near the…