Charities should consider creating a contingency plan to identify steps they would take to insure that their organization remains viable, even if revenues were to drop sharply. Here are some steps recommended by consultants who are working with charities on contingency plans: Set priorities.…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
As the recession deepened last November, executives at the Women’s Lunch Place, a charity in Boston, took a look at its $2.1-million budget and saw nothing but red ink. In just the first five months of their fiscal year, a combination of declining donations and deferred grants had left the charity…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
YMCA Tops List of 100 Most-Valuable Brands in the Nonprofit World
The YMCA of the USA has the strongest brand among charities, according to a new report by the marketing firms Cone and Intangible Business. The Salvation Army placed second on the list of the 100 most-valued nonprofit groups, followed by the United Way of America, the American Red Cross, and…
By NICOLE WALLACE and Caroline Preston
State Programs May Help Some Strapped Charities Save Jobs
Many charity executives today are being forced to choose among an unpalatable menu of budget-cutting measures that include salary cuts, furloughs, and the least savory step: layoffs. But some may want to consider another, slightly less painful way to cut personnel costs known as work sharing.…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
When Douglas F. Kridler, chief executive officer of the Columbus Foundation, helped prepare his organization’s 2009 budget last year, he recommended cutting his own $280,500 salary by 10 percent to help the organization weather the declining economy. Mr. Kridler said his board thought his…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Alsac/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Memphis): Appointed Richard C. Shadyac Jr., a lawyer at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell (Washington), to be chief executive officer. American Technion Society (New York): Appointed Sherryl Steinberg Gelbort, associate director of financial-resource…
Madoff Foundation Victims Lacked Adequate Board Size, Says Report
Madoff foundation victims lacked adequate board size, study finds
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
New Titles: Director of social entrepreneurship programs, United Negro College Fund
Organization: United Negro College Fund Job held by: Tiffany Singleton Why the job was created: Michael L. Lomax, president of the charity, has grown more involved with and intrigued by social entrepreneurship over the past decade, particularly those projects that seek creative solutions to…
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
NEW ON THE JOB: A Youth Charity Hires a Strategy Leader
America’s Promise Alliance created a new role -- chief strategy officer -- and hired a business executive who previously worked in the Chicago Public Schools -- to occupy the job.
By nicole lewis
Contributor
Christopher F. Randolph, financier and nonprofit executive
Age at death: 64 Major philanthropy job: President of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation from 2004 to 2008. How he made his mark: Margaret B. Davis, chief executive of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, recalls that “the Marine Corps values of honor, courage, and commitment played out…
By Caroline Bermudez
Contributor
A New Orleans Charity Tracks a Growing Population
It’s impossible to know exactly how many people live in this city. But for the almost four years since Hurricane Katrina struck, a small nonprofit organization has tracked New Orleans’s vital statistics — and its population analysis has helped win an additional $45-million in federal aid for the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Tax Assessor and Church Battle in San Francisco
The tax assessor of San Francisco and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco are fighting over the assessor’s conclusion that the archdiocese owes a one-time local “transfer tax” of up to $15-million on property whose ownership rights are being moved between different nonprofit…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Property-Tax Exemptions Clarified in Minnesota
Minnesota nonprofit leaders have won the final leg of their campaign to clarify state law governing charitable property-tax exemptions in the wake of what they considered a damaging Minnesota Supreme Court decision. Gov. Tim Pawlenty last month signed a bill setting out criteria for determining…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
International Charity Assists American Entrepreneurs
Kiva has been enormously successful matching entrepreneurs in developing countries with people who want to lend them money. In less than four years, visitors to the Web site have made loans totaling more than $75-million. Now the San Francisco charity is testing the idea of also including U.S.…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Advice On Job-Training Partnerships Between Charities and Community Colleges
Charity leaders and community-college officials who have collaborated on job-training programs for low-income people offer the following advice to nonprofit groups on how to make such partnerships work: Find a champion at the college. “In the community-college system, you need an administrator that…
By EMAN QUOTAH
Contributor
An employee of the Detroit Institute of Arts for almost 30 years, Steven Niemi had survived layoffs in two previous recessions, and thought he was probably safe even in the current downturn. So he was unprepared when the museum included him in a huge layoff in late February. Twenty percent of the…
By Sandy Asirvatham
Contributor