Bits: ‘Bridging the Innovation Divide’ Chronicles Charities’ Technological Efforts
PolicyLink and BCT Partners have released a report on charities that have been quick to adopt new technology. “Bridging the Innovation Divide” examines problems the 12 groups that are described in the report have faced and offers advice for integrating technology into a charity’s operations. For…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Internet Delivers Advice to Victims of Date Violence
Break the Cycle, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles, is trying to create a safe, welcoming place on the Internet where young people can find out about a difficult subject: date violence. The new Web site, TheSafeSpace.org, discusses the signs of an abusive relationship and steps to take to…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Kintera Removes Founder From CEO Position
Until just over a month ago, Harry E. Gruber was both president and chief executive officer of the fund-raising software company he founded, Kintera. But the man who replaced him as president of the struggling company in February, Richard N. LaBarbera, will take over as CEO as well, Kintera has…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Charity Feature Added to Microsoft Chat Software
Money talks, and for nine major nonprofit organizations, talk is now money. Microsoft has unveiled a feature on its instant-messaging service that allows people to support a charity with minimal effort. Users of the software can type the name of one of nine nonprofit groups into a text box, causing…
By Sam Kean
Contributor
Government Incentives Could Increase Volunteering, Experts Say
Groups that want to encourage older Americans to use their expertise to help solve social problems should unite to lobby federal, state, and local lawmakers to provide money and other incentives to promote such “civic engagement,” said speakers at a conference here this month. “Many, many policy…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Boomer Volunteers Often Give Up Duties, Study Finds
Baby boomers are volunteering at higher rates than previous generations, but 31 percent of those who volunteer one year fail to return the following year, according to a study released this month by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Nonprofit groups and others that use volunteers…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Burnout, Low Pay May Drive Young Charity Workers Away, Survey Finds
A new survey of young nonprofit workers shows that long hours and low pay are a key reason that few of them expect to stay in the charity world throughout their professional careers — and even fewer desire to become top leaders of nonprofit organizations. More than 70 percent of young nonprofit…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Merit Pay Becomes More Popular, Study Finds
More New York charities are tying pay to an employee’s performance, and a majority of the nonprofit groups ALSO SEE:TABLE: Nonprofit Pay: Salary ranges at organizations in New York City plan to expand the sizes of their staffs this year, according to a new survey of salaries paid by nonprofit…
By Scott Westcott
Contributor
Citing Conflict With the Board, the Head of the NAACP Steps Down
When Bruce Gordon, a former high-ranking Verizon Communications executive, was tapped to lead the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 2005, some charity leaders thought it was an odd fit, but one that suggested the nation’s oldest civil-rights charity was striving to…
By BRENNEN JENSEN
Contributor
Rooting Out Errors on Charity Tax Forms
IRS weighs new penalties on nonprofit groups after salary investigation turns up pattern of mistakesNow that it has completed its two-year investigation of executive compensation at nonprofit organizations, the Internal Revenue Service is weighing whether to impose new penalties on charities and…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
‘U.S. News’: Resources for Young Donors
A growing number of efforts are under way to help young wealthy people figure out how to give money away, reports U.S. News & World Report (February 26). One reason for the growth: Some experts predict that the baby-boom generation will pass along big sums to their children. The richest 10 percent…
‘New York’: Incivility at Civil-Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberities Union has grown quickly under the leadership of Anthony Romero, who took over just a few days before the 2001 terrorist attacks and has led the organization through dozens of lawsuits over actions the Bush administration has taken to promote national security, reports…
Lawmaker Criticizes Smithsonian’s Spending
A leading Republican senator has asked the board of the Smithsonian Institution to explain why it authorized “lavish expenses” to support the “champagne lifestyle” of the institution’s chief executive, Lawrence M. Small, following a report by the Smithsonian’s inspector general that said nearly…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Election Ban Unclear, Congressional Report Says
As the Internal Revenue Service continues its crackdown on charities that become involved in political campaigns, a Congressional report takes the tax agency to task for failing to explain clearly to nonprofit groups how to comply with the law. The 1954 law that enacted the prohibition on…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Supreme Court Reviews Case on Religious Charities
By Suzanne PerryThe Bush administration, in a case that could set new ground rules for lawsuits involving the constitutional separation of church and state, last week asked the Supreme Court to quash a lawsuit challenging its program to steer more federal money to religious groups for social…
By SUZANNE PERRY
Contributor
Bits: ‘Grassroots Use of Technology’ Conference To Be Held in June
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is holding a workshop entitled, “Planning Your Online Legislative Affairs and Advocacy Campaign,” in Washington on April 3. Another workshop, “Engaging Online in a Presidential Election,” is scheduled for June 19. For more information: Go to http://webworkshops.info.…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor