Contest Seeks Applicants in Creative Technology
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, in Chicago, is expanding its Digital Media and Learning Competition. The foundation will again provide $30,000 to $250,000 to innovative projects that demonstrate the use of technology to encourage participatory learning in which people share…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Mapping Tool Details Local Conditions
Nonprofit groups can use a new online service, PolicyMap, to create maps that show important crime, demographic, education, employment, health, and housing information about the neighborhoods in which they work. “We have loaded in almost 4,000 indicators, or pieces of information, that you can put…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Rapid Response Pays Off, Consulting Group Finds
When people sign up to receive online newsletters and other information from a charity, they usually get little more than an acknowledgment from the organization for at least a month. Cutting that lag time can produce fund-raising benefits for nonprofit groups, according to a new background paper…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
IRS Issues Final Rules for Tax Form That Charities Are Required to File
The Internal Revenue Service has released final instructions for the Form 990, completing the first major overhaul in a generation of the informational return that most charities must file with the federal government. The IRS modified some language in the instructions, including tinkering with the…
By Ben Gose
Senior Editor
Family Ties: a Sampling of Charities With Relatives in Top Spots
The American Veterans Coalition and three other organizations — the Children’s Cancer Assistance Network, the Disabled Firefighters Foundation, and the National Association of Disabled Police Officers — are all operated by a husband and wife in Gig Harbor, Wash. Robert Friend and his wife, Shao Mei…
The National Association of Chiefs of Police is very much a family affair. And that’s just the way Barry Shepherd likes it. Mr. Shepherd, his mother, a brother, and his sister-in-law hold four of the top positions with the Florida charity. In addition, the organization says it employs people…
By Bill Smith
Contributor
Fund Raiser Gains Business Opportunities as Consultant to Charity Run by His Mother
When the American Breast Cancer Foundation began its search for a new fund-raising consultant in 2002 to handle its direct mail, it didn’t have far to look. The contract went to Non Profit Promotions, a newly created company in Annapolis, Md., founded and owned by Joseph A. Wolf Jr., the son of the…
By Bill Smith
Contributor
Job Tips for Fund Raisers in a Still-Shaky Economy
To find or hold onto a development job in a tough economy, executive recruiters and others offer fund raisers the following advice: Work hard. Employees are often told that they need to “work smarter,” says Henry R. Maly, a Ponte Vedra, Fla., recruiter who seeks senior fund raisers for…
By Holly Hall
Contributor
Foundations vs. Charities: Should Rules Be the Same?
Foundations have been living under stricter tax rules than charities since 1969, when the tax code was changed to crack down on perceived abuses by grant makers. The Senate Finance Committee now wants to explore whether the different tax treatment still makes sense — and will probably hold a…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
On September 11, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama will appear at a gathering of charity leaders in New York to talk about one issue they more or less agree on: national service. Both are expected to call for a vast expansion of the federal government’s domestic and international service programs.…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Paying It Forward — and Back
Like many members of Congress, Rep. Xavier Becerra — a Democrat who represents a largely Latino district of Los Angeles — is worried about the federal deficit and how to find money for social programs like providing health care to millions of uninsured children. But Mr. Becerra, a member of the…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
AARP Foundation (Washington): Appointed Vivian Vasallo, vice president for strategic markets at First American, based in Washington, to be senior director of innovations for financial services, a newly created position. Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Foundation and Air Safety Foundation…
To Recruit Younger Workers, Charities Must Call Attention to Values, Report Says
Charities should call more attention to their missions and their values to attract and retain the next generation of employees, according to a new report. Nonprofit groups should sell not just the job to potential employees but also the “context of the job,” says the report from the Johns Hopkins…
By Debra E. Blum
Contributor
Arthur J. Stein and Linda Dozoretz serve as the top two officials of Children’s Wish Foundation International, in Atlanta — and they are “happily married,” a note near the end of the group’s annual filing with the Internal Revenue Service states. Mr. Stein says the fact that he and his wife run the…
By Bill Smith
Contributor
Arizona Humanities Council (Phoenix): Appointed Herbert J. Paine, president of Paine Consulting Services (Phoenix), to be executive director. Arts Corps (Seattle): Appointed Elizabeth Whitford, community-investment director, to be executive director. She succeeds Lisa Fitzhugh, founder, who has…
La. Nonprofit Association’s New Chief Focuses on Growth
In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, nonprofit organizations in the Gulf Coast played a vital role in recovery efforts. Yet the organizations themselves have needed support and rebuilding. In some cities, they lost facilities and staff members. In other cities, massive population…
By Scott Russell
Contributor