Tips for Job Seeking When a Pregnancy, a Handicap, or Other Personal Needs Are Part of the Package
JOB MARKET By Alicia Abell As he interviewed candidates recently for a communications job at Mercy Housing, Rich Sider, the group’s vice president of human resources, saw a top choice quickly emerge. There was only one sticking point: She was six months pregnant. Because the candidate specifically…
By Alicia Abell
Contributor
How to Find the Best Instruction in Writing Grant Proposals
The faxed advertisement that arrived at Citizens Who Care, a nonprofit group in Davis, Calif., that provides services for the elderly, promised grant-proposal-writing training that would result in thousands of dollars in revenue for charities. But Julie Bornhoeft, the group’s executive director,…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
A List of Grant Seekers’ Favorite Resources
TOOLS AND TRAINING By Cassie Moore Consult the following resources to help improve grant-proposal writing skills: Web sitesCharityChannel.com: The “Grants and Foundations Review” ALSO SEE:How to Find the Best Instruction in Writing Grant Proposals section of this Web site contains dozens of…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
How Foundations Can Use Proxy Voting to Promote Philanthropic Goals
Unlocking the Power of the Proxy: How Active Foundation Proxy Voting Can Protect Endowments and Boost Philanthropic Missions encourages grant makers to use their status as shareholders of publicly traded companies to further their philanthropic goals. This report says that foundations should vote…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
Advice for Writing Case Statements
Making the Case: The No-Nonsense Guide to Writing the Perfect Case Statement, by Jerold Panas, seeks to help nonprofit groups draft a document to explain why they deserve support. Mr. Panas, founder and chairman of the Institute for Charitable Giving, in Chicago, says that an effective statement…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
Charity Leader’s Love Affair With Nonprofit Work Began in Childhood
I started working in the nonprofit sector at the ripe old age of 9. It all started when my elementary school in East Meadow, Long Island, held a student assembly at which two representatives
Sierra Club Voters Defeat Challengers’ Board Bids
A bitter fight for control of the Sierra Club’s 15-member national board has ended with the defeat of independent candidates who had hoped to alter the Sierra Club’s policy on immigration and other issues. The controversy sparked a record turnout by the group’s members. Nearly 23 percent of the…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
Groups Urge Institutions to Invest Responsibly
Two groups have been formed to encourage socially responsible investing by endowment-holding nonprofit institutions. Students and alumni from 27 colleges and universities -- including Harvard University and the University of Virginia -- founded the Responsible Endowment Coalition last month. Made…
By Michael Anft
Contributor
Senate Seeks Information on Donated Instruments
As the Senate Finance Committee continues its investigation into donations of artworks, real estate, and other noncash gifts to charities, it has asked the Smithsonian Institution to account for the $50-million valuation placed on a gift six years ago of four Stradivarius musical instruments to the…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Warns Charities Against Electioneering
As the presidential election approaches, the Internal Revenue Service is reminding charities to be careful how they talk to voters if they want to retain their tax-exempt status. Some churches, schools, and other types of charities often try to help voters understand the issues and the candidates…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Bits: Indiana Website Lists Charities Using Professional Solicitors
The Indiana attorney general’s office is now able to share through its Web site financial information from charities that use professional solicitors to raise money in the state. The information is being collected as part of a new state law that requires fund-raising companies to file annual…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Software Guide Helps Charities Customize
The Nonprofit Open Source Initiative has released a new guide, “Choosing and Using Open Source Software: A Primer for Nonprofits,” to help charity managers and technology-assistance providers use open-source software effectively. Open-source software gives users access to the “source code” of an…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Web Site Offers Civil-Rights Recollections
As a teenager in segregated Petersburg, Va., Priscilla Robinson took part in sit-ins at restaurants that would not serve black people and protested at businesses that would not hire black employees. She was determined to fight for change, but always anxious. “Apprehension was my constant…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Charities Seek Help Protecting Donor Privacy
Epsilon, a for-profit marketing company in Wakefield, Mass., that serves many nonprofit groups has added the position of chief privacy officer to help clients ensure they are complying with new laws, such as the federal do-not-call registry and the anti-spam law. The new privacy official, Steven…
By Cassie J. Moore
Contributor
Federal Drive Raises $248.5-Million From Government Employees
Federal employees, U.S. military personnel, and other government workers last year pledged $248.5-million -- a record total -- to the Combined Federal Campaign, the federal government’s annual charity drive. The campaign raised 4.9 percent more than 2002’s total of $236.9-million, and also beat…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Giving to United Ways Drops for a Second Consecutive Year
Weakened by a poor economy, the nation’s United Ways suffered a fund-raising decline for the second consecutive ALSO SEE:A New Era for Nation’s United WaysUnited Ways Are Spreading Quickly Around the GlobeWhere United Way’s Leader Isn’t the Boss period during the 2003-4 campaign season, leading to…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor