Graduate applications rise as job uncertainty looms After more than 17 years in the newspaper business, Lisa D. Lenoir could see only hard times ahead if she continued in journalism, given the layoffs sweeping news organizations nationwide. She began to toy with the idea of building new skills and…
By HEATHER JOSLYN
Contributor
George A. Brakeley Jr., Fund Raiser
Age at death: 93 Major fund-raising job: Referred to as “the dean of American fund raising,” George Brakeley began his career shortly before World War II, working at the fund-raising firm John Price Jones, which his father helped to found in 1919. He started his own consulting company, then…
By Caroline Bermudez
Contributor
‘Town & Country’: Help for Cambodia’s Kids
On a trip to Cambodia in the early 1990s to shoot the famous Angkor temples, the photographer Kenro Izu watched an impoverished child die in her father’s arms because the government-run medical facilities in the little girl’s village, Siem Reap, were inadequate to save her. Mr. Izu vowed to do…
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
‘American Prospect’: Foundations and Obama
After a stilted relationship with the Bush administration, left-leaning foundations are excited about the opportunity to work with President Obama, writes Lauren Foster in The American Prospect (May 4). Members of the Obama administration have signaled an interest in teaming up with grant makers,…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Budget Plan Asks $50-Million for Social Innovation Fund
As part of his budget request for fiscal 2010, President Obama is asking Congress to provide $50-million to support creative and successful nonprofit groups as part of a new Social Innovation Fund. The fund was authorized by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a new law that expands…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
IRS Seeks Help in Setting Tax-Exempt Priorities
The Internal Revenue Service is asking charities to recommend the “tax issues” that the government should focus on over the next year as it issues advice to help them understand federal law. In Notice 2009-43, the IRS said it is seeking suggestions for the annual Guidance Priority List that it uses…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Senator Raises Question About Hospital Exemptions
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, raised a question last week about whether tax exemptions for hospitals will still be needed if the nation revamps the health-care system. “Over the last 40 years, with the creation of federal and state insurance programs…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
President’s Proposed Budget Signals Big Shift From Bush-Era Spending
The $3.5-trillion federal budget that President Obama has proposed for 2010 is a far different document than those offered recently by his predecessor. Where President Bush sought to squeeze spending on social services, arts, health care, and other domestic programs, Mr. Obama generally wants to…
Bits: MacArthur Foundation Opens ‘Second Life’ Island
United Way of America and the American Human Development Project have created an online tool that calculates how an increase in high-school-graduation rates and other educational achievements could improve social problems, such as poverty and unemployment rates, life expectancy, obesity levels, and…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Tracking System Finds Open Slots at Shelters
Cornerstone, a Bloomington, Minn., charity that works to prevent domestic violence, is trying to make it easier for shelters across the country to share real-time information about open emergency beds and support services. The nonprofit group runs Day One, a secure online service that allows…
By Scott Russell
Contributor
Mentor Group Offers Online Screening Tool
As part of its mission, the New York charity iMentor has built an online system that allows for safe, guided communication between high-school students and their mentors — an effort that has won praise and interest from similar organizations. Dana Saxon, director of partnerships at iMentor…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Charity Sites Rate Low on Satisfaction Survey
The average charity Web site scored only 73 out of 100 on a recent survey of more than 2,000 visitors to nonprofit-run Web sites. That’s a low C on a grade scale, and lower than government sites scored. Onlinebanking sites scored 10 points higher. The “Trends in Constituent Satisfaction with…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Tips for Dealing With Suspected Theft
If an organization finds itself the victim of fraud or embezzlement, it needs to move quickly to protect its interests. Following are suggestions from Philip S. Deming, a human-resources and risk-management consultant in King of Prussia, Pa., and Edward McMillan, a certified public accountant in…
By Eric Frazier
Contributor
Like most people in the nonprofit world, Nick Rees has heard the horror stories of trusted employees who labor faithfully at their jobs for decades, only to shock their employers by stealing money from the organization’s coffers. As vice president for development at the Buckeye Ranch, a large…
By Eric Frazier
Contributor
Foundation Leaders Made a Median of $134,680 in 2008, Says Survey
Foundation leaders received a median salary increase last year of 6.4 percent, outpacing the 4.4-percent increase for their employees, according to a new study of compensation at grant-making institutions by the Council on Foundations. The increase in pay for chief executive officers, chief giving…
By Adam Bell
Contributor
Hard-Hit Arts Groups Hope Federal Funds Will Help Preserve Jobs
As the tight economy forces more arts and cultural groups to lay off employees, many are holding out hope that the $50-million earmarked for arts jobs in the economic-stimulus law will stem the wave of layoffs, at least in the short-term. Arts groups have been particularly hard hit by the downturn…
By Sue Hoye
Contributor