Spotting Common Fund-Raising Blunders
Fundraising Mistakes That Bedevil All Boards (and Staff Too): A 1-Hour Guide to Identifying and Overcoming Obstacles to Your Success, by Kay Sprinkel Grace, offers advice for avoiding the “top 40" errors committed by board members and development officers when soliciting donations. Ms. Grace, a…
By Caroline Preston
Contributor
Nepal Trek Leads to New Path for Former Microsoft Executive
When I was growing up in a small Pennsylvania town, the library was a sacred place for me. I’d frequently leave with armloads of books, many of which I’d devour late into the night in my bedroom. My grandmother, mother, and sister always read to me. Books and learning were deeply woven into our…
‘Fortune’: Fighting Cancer in New Ways
Michael Milken, the former junk-bond trader, has made a new name for himself in the world of cancer research, reports Fortune magazine (November 29). As founder and head of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Mr. Milken has “turned the cancer establishment upside down,” the publication says, and has…
By Brennen Jensen
Contributor
‘Worth’: Private Banks and Philanthropy
A growing number of private banks are now offering advice to the wealthy on how to give their money away, notes Worth magazine (December). In the past six years, the magazine says, the banks have stepped up their efforts to compete with financial planners, lawyers, accountants, and professional…
By Brennen Jensen
Contributor
‘Business Week’: Rankings of Top Donors
The superrich donated huge sums to charities this year, fueled by a growing belief that spending to solve today’s problems benefits society more than leaving sizable bequests, according to a Business Week cover story (November 29). As part of its third annual special report on philanthropy, called…
By Nicole Lewis
Contributor
Database of Listeners Aids Radio Station
Minnesota Public Radio is tapping into the power of the Internet to expand the network of people that its reporters turn to in their reporting. Over the last two years, the organization’s Public Insight Journalism program has built a database of 8,000 listeners, with information they provide such…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Pa. Arts Groups Get Technology Help
Arts and cultural organizations in the Philadelphia area have a new service to turn to for help in solving everyday technology problems. TechConnection for the Arts Help Desk offers arts groups 24-hour telephone assistance with their hardware and software questions. The service is provided by the…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Research Project Taps Free Computing Power
The World Community Grid, a new project started by the IBM Corporation, in Armonk, N.Y., aims to solve big social problems using relatively small amounts of donated computer power from millions of users. Through the project, computer users can donate their machines’ unused processing power for…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas. Arts and humanities. President Bush has awarded the 2004 National Humanities Medal to eight Americans and U.S. institutions for their contributions to the humanities.…
A Veteran Leader Combines Social Services With Civil Rights in Detroit
Detroit
By Kimberlee Roth
Contributor
Financial Outlook for Charities Said to Improve
The financial outlook for nonprofit organizations has improved, says one of the nation’s major credit-rating services. Moody’s Investors Service said the outlook was “cautiously stable” and better than the “mixed” picture it had previously used to describe the situation. In a report issued last…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor
Changes Are Urged in Foundation Tax Form
A new report calls for revisions in the informational tax returns that grant makers are required to file annually with the Internal Revenue Service, saying the documents offer the public a sketchy picture of foundation spending. The report -- published by the Donors Forum of Chicago, a regional…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Former Regulator Urges New Rules to Crack Down on ‘Rotten Apples’
During his five years as chief charities regulator for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in New York, William ALSO SEE:About William Josephson, former head of the New York State Charities Bureau Josephson earned a reputation for straight talk and for taking an aggressive approach to enforcement. He…
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Contributor
Two Animal-Protection Groups Plan to Merge in 2005
Two leaders in the field of animal protection have decided to join forces. The boards of the Humane Society of the United States, in Washington, and the Fund for Animals, in New York, have voted to combine operations. The merger will formally occur on January 1. The decision to merge was not driven…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
N.Y. Charity Officers Paid ‘Poorly,’ Says Report
Among small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations in the New York City area, education, environment, and societal-benefit groups, such as community and civil-rights organizations, ALSO SEE: Median Salaries of New York City Nonprofit Executives pay their leaders the highest salaries, according to…
By Sharnell Bryan
Contributor
IRS Asked to Investigate Charity That Fights Limits on Alcohol, Fatty Food
“No food for you,” the Soup Nazi barks at an overweight restaurant customer at the front of a line of patrons who must be weighed before they are permitted to eat. The character made famous on the Seinfeld television show, played by the actor Larry Thomas, is appearing in a commercial produced by…
By Harvy Lipman
Contributor