New on the Job: Benita F. Shobe, Chief Executive, NARSAD
Background: Ms. Shobe was previously senior vice president of development and field operations at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, where she had worked since 2000. Before that, she spent more than 20 years working at other health charities. What her organization’s initials stand for: The…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Alliance for Climate Education (Oakland, Calif.): Appointed Pic Walker, deputy director, to be executive director. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (New York): Appointed Laura Spitzer, associate executive director at the Jewish Leadership Forum at the UJA-Federation of New York, to be…
More Than Half of Corporate Employees Volunteer, Study Finds
Employee volunteerism thrives despite the struggling economy.
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
Hispanics Hold Few Leadership Positions at Calif. Nonprofit Groups
Urban Institute report shows leadership posts are dominated by whites.
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Work On Timely, ‘Hidden’ Social Issues Recognized With Purpose Prizes
Six charity founders and entrepreneurs, with an average age of nearly 68, have won the top awards in the fourth annual Purpose Prizes, given by Civic Ventures, a think tank in San Francisco that seeks to involve older people in civic activities. The prizes, sponsored by Atlantic Philanthropies and…
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
Hollywood’s On-Air Effort to Promote Volunteerism Gets Mixed Reviews From Nonprofit Experts
If Hollywood’s “iParticipate” campaign to promote volunteerism were a contestant on a reality show, the judges would be divided about whether to kick it off the program. Some nonprofit experts say the campaign’s weeklong blitz of volunteer-themed television shows in October was overhyped, produced…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
For Some Nonprofit CEO’s, Recession Stress Is Personal
Many charity leaders are grappling with unprecedented personal stress as they try to keep their organizations afloat in a tough economy. Tom Adams, president of TransitionGuides, a Washington consulting company that works with nonprofit groups, says a big problem is that many veteran executives…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Four-Day Week and Donated Services Help Orchestra Soften Budget Gap
For the first time in 60 years, the Sarasota Orchestra, in Florida, faced a deficit last year that forced it to raid its reserves — wiping out $515,000, or nearly half of its savings. The organization cut the salaries of orchestra workers by up to 10 percent, with senior staff members absorbing the…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Grant Makers Offer Financial Advice and Credit to Cash-Strapped Charities
To help cash-strapped charities in Los Angeles, a new foundation partnership offers lines of credit to nonprofit groups, while also teaching them how to avoid the mistakes that could lead to long-term debt problems. The California Community Foundation, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Database to Track Spending on Human Needs Aimed at Preserving Aid
Last spring many Illinois human-service charities were facing the prospect of slashing, or even closing, their programs after the General Assembly adopted what was dubbed a “doomsday” 2010 state budget. The final budget tempered some of the proposed cuts, but the deep uncertainty about the…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Charities Pool Resources to Get Discounts on Accounting and Other Services
When Katherine Morrison took over last May as interim executive director of a charity in Washington that provides services to domestic-abuse victims, she learned quickly she needed to cut administrative costs. Hit by the economic downturn, the group — Women Empowered Against Violence — had used up…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Charity Hands Over Program to Another Group
“Focus on your mission” has become one mantra for surviving the recession. At Pine Street Inn, a homelessness group in Boston, that has meant transferring a program that prepares people to seek and hold a job to a nearby charity, a move that has allowed Pine Street to save about $170,000.…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Leading in Tough Times: Resources for Charity Leaders
ARTICLES “How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy” In a Harvard Business Review article published in June, Robert I. Sutton, a professor of management science at Stanford University, describes why it is difficult to lead well in hard economic times and what the best leaders do when fear among…
Dozens of Companies Are Sprouting With the Same Goal: Doing Good
In the bad economy, many companies struggle to make any profit at all. But now dozens of companies — many seeking the help of grant makers — are getting started with a deliberate goal that making money is a secondary concern. The primary aim is to offer social benefits, or as the grant maker who…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Are Charities Ready for Tough Times Ahead?
In the 12 months since the financial crisis rocked the world’s economy, nonprofit groups have cut budgets, laid off staff members, and taken other steps to shore up their finances. But have they done enough to prepare for what is likely to be a long and arduous recovery? While opinions are mixed,…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
American Lung Association (Washington): Appointed Adrienne Glasgow, executive vice president and chief financial officer at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (New York), to be chief financial officer. Charlottesville Symphony Society (Va.): Appointed Janet B. Kaltenbach, vice president of…