Tips for Creating Livelier, More Productive Board and Staff Meetings
Let Becky Christianson count the ways in which well-intentioned nonprofit meetings can go so terribly wrong. For example, she says, “There’s having the wrong physical arrangement for a room. I mean, it’s hard to discuss something with the back of somebody else’s head.” Or not being given a chance…
By Jeffrey Klineman
Contributor
Three Unconventional Ways to Improve Charity Meetings
IN THE TRENCHES Tinker with seating arrangements. “There’s a cultural phenomenon called ‘precedence,’” says Paul ALSO SEE:Tips for Creating Livelier, More Productive Board and Staff Meeting Radde, a psychologist in Houston who consults with meeting planners. “It means that if you come into an…
American Federation of Arts (New York): Appointed Margaret Bowers Touborg, special adviser to the director of the Frick Collection (New York), to be deputy director for institutional advancement. The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore: Appointed Rachel E. Gabrow Monroe, vice…
By Elizabeth Schwinn The IRS wants the public to comment on whether changes should be made to several different types of forms charities file with the revenue service, including Form 990, the federal informational return; Form 1024, through which charities apply for tax exemption; and Form 8868,…
Managers of Volunteers Seek Training, Respect from Education Programs
TOOLS AND TRAINING By Eman Quotah Like a lot of people who manage charities’ volunteer activities, Joni Todd fell into her job. The former teacher had volunteered for a year in the thrift shop run by the Freeport Area Church Cooperative, in Freeport, Ill., and that experience helped her snag a…
By EMAN QUOTAH
Contributor
Q. I have three small children, and realize that in about 15 years, my first child will be in college. With tuition costs rising, I’d like to plan now for their education. I’d also like contribute toward the education of my friends’ and relatives’ children. My idea is to start a nonprofit…
By Alison Stein Wellner
Contributor
Q. I just got a job as the manager of planned giving at a hospice, but have no experience specific to that field. Where can I find information to help me understand planned giving? A. Your first step: Find a mentor, suggests W. Douglas McGaughey, senior director of gift-planning services at the…
By Alison Stein Wellner
Contributor
Nonprofits that have audits are deemed by the community to have more rigorous accounting controls.
By Alison Stein Wellner
Contributor
Philanthropy in Washington, D.C.
A Region of Givers provides an overview of giving by individuals, companies, and foundations in Washington, D.C., and surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia. In 2002, 52 percent of private foundations reduced the amount they distributed in grants compared with what they gave away in 2001,…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
The Best of Board Cafe: Hands-On Solutions for Nonprofit Boards, by Jan Masaoka, presents articles about nonprofit boards that originally appeared in a newsletter published by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, a San Francisco consulting and training company for nonprofit organizations. Ms. Masaoka,…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
Career Activist Brings Civil-Rights Passion to Community Fund
For more than 20 years, Antonia Hernández has been fighting to protect the rights of Mexican- Americans. Now she is about to leave behind the day-to-day legal and advocacy battles she waged as head of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and become head of the California…
By Jeffrey Klineman
Contributor
Senate Committee Asks IRS for Muslim-Charity Records
Washington As part of an expanding Congressional investigation into alleged ties between charities and terrorist groups, the Senate Finance Committee has asked the Internal Revenue Service to turn over confidential records, including donor names, of 24 Muslim charities and foundations. Some Muslim…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
‘San Francisco’: a Look at the Moore Foundation
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a $5-billion philanthropy in San Francisco, has frustrated environmental groups with its smattering of grants and its leaders from the corporate world, says San Francisco magazine (January). Started in November 2000 by the founder of Intel, a company that…
By Nicole Lewis
Contributor
Many Charities Report Success in Coping With Fiscal Challenges
Many nonprofit organizations managed to increase revenues last year, despite daunting fiscal challenges caused by a lackluster economy and cutbacks in government support, according to a new report. But the groups’ costs rose even more, prompting many of them to scale back some programs and take…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor
The Escalating Expense of Health Care
Charities explore new ways to stem spiraling insurance premiums When Frank Ross met with his charity’s insurance representative three years ago, he was greeted with some distressing news. Mr. Ross’s small social-services organization, Elm Acres Youth and Family Services, in Pittsburg, Kan., faced a…
By PETER PANEPENTO
Contributor
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (Washington): Announced the death of Carol Fraser Fisk, deputy executive director. Ms. Fisk died January 7 of ovarian cancer. American Associates of the Ben-Gurion U. of the Negev (New York): Appointed Vivien Marion, director of the…