The New York Attorney General’s charity bureau has a “new, take-no-prisoners attitude,” writes City Limits, a magazine for New York grass-roots groups in its January issue. William Josephson, an assistant attorney general who oversees charity issues, says an aggressive stance is needed because “‘a…
By Nicole Lewis
Contributor
Resources are always the main issue with creating a new position in any nonprofit organization.
By Alison Stein Wellner
Contributor
Practical Tips for New-Employee Orientation
IN THE TRENCHES By Alicia Abell Unlike many employees, Tricia Cornell doesn’t recall orientation day at her current job as pointless or boring. At the Center for Victims of Torture, in Minneapolis, where she has worked for the last year and a half as a communications specialist, staff members…
By Alicia Abell
Contributor
How to Be a Successful Board Member
The Ultimate Board Member’s Book: a 1-Hour Guide to Understanding and Fulfilling Your Role and Responsibilities, by Kay Sprinkel Grace, offers advice for people serving on the boards of nonprofit organizations. Ms. Grace, a fund-raising consultant in San Francisco and a member of the faculty of the…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
Grant Making by New Foundations in Southern Florida
A Philanthropic Force: New Foundations in South Florida describes the giving trends of 669 foundations established in southern Florida since 1996. Those foundations have assets of more than $2.14-billion and in fiscal 2002 made grants totaling more than $129-million, according to the report. The…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
A Collection of Successful Grant Proposals
The Foundation Center’s Guide to Winning Proposals, edited by Sara Collins, contains 20 grant proposals that succeeded in procuring support from foundations or companies. Sara Collins, manager of bibliographic services at the Foundation Center, in New York, edited this collection of proposals,…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor
Packard’s Worldwide Search for New CEO Leads Home
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation conducted a five-month, worldwide search for a new chief executive, vetting dozens and dozens of candidates, only to discover that the person with the qualities the board members sought already worked for them. Last month, the foundation appointed Carol S.…
By Ian Wilhelm
Contributor
Revenue Service Releases Guidelines on Charity Ads
The IRS has released guidelines for charities and other tax-exempt groups that explain when such organizations must pay taxes on advertisements about political and social issues. The guidance, known in tax parlance as a revenue ruling, uses six examples to explain when such spending is taxable.…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Christian Group Asks IRS to Audit Churches
A Christian watchdog group has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate seven preachers who give televised sermons and to consider revoking the tax-exempt status of the churches where the ministers work. Wall Watchers, a group in Matthews, N.C., that evaluates Christian charities, says it…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
IRS Takes Hard Look at Patent Donations
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it plans to crack down on improper charitable deductions claimed for donations of patents and other types of intellectual property. Taxpayers who claim such deductions, the revenue service warned, could be subject to penalties. The tax agency’s move…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Bits: ePhilanthropyFoundation.org Add Ethics Test
A nonprofit organization that offers charities advice on Internet fund raising, ePhilanthropyFoundation.Org, has added an ethics test to its Web site. The self-assessment asks charities 15 questions about the way they conduct their online fund-raising activities, and then provides feedback based on…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Technology Conferences Merge Into One
Two popular technology meetings are being combined into the Nonprofit Technology Conference, which will be held March 25-27 in Philadelphia. In 2003, the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network Roundup and the e-Philanthropy Conference were held consecutively at the same hotel in Oakland, Calif.,…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Federal Grant Information Available Online
A new Web site, Grants.gov, provides information about how to find and apply to federal grant programs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services led the development of the Web site, which includes information about more than 800 grant programs run by 26 federal grant-making agencies that…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Youth Group’s Web Site Offers Architectural Tips
Placing a game room near the entrance of a Boys & Girls Club can help convey a sense of fun from the moment a child walks in the door, while comfy couches, beanbag chairs, and rugs can make a club’s homework and study areas more appealing. These and other tips and information can be found on…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas. Community development. The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise (Washington) and the Center for Corporate Citizenship of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Washington) have…
Former Irvine Foundation CEO and His Wife Repay Fund for Benefits That Raised Questions
A former president of the James Irvine Foundation and his wife have repaid the foundation $31,300 for some of the benefits they received during his 16-year tenure, the foundation disclosed last month. Dennis A. Collins, who headed the foundation from 1986 until he stepped down two years ago, paid…
By Stephen G. Greene
Contributor