Donors Overestimate Benefits of Auto Gifts
Charities receive less money from the donation of cars than the donors expect, congressional investigators told lawmakers this month. When donors give their cars to charity, they assume that the charity will receive the fair market value of the vehicles. However, that’s often not the case, the…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Senate Passes Charity Tax Breaks
By a vote of 95 to 5, the Senate has passed legislation that has the potential to significantly affect the way charities attract donations and lobby Congress. The legislation is a package of tax proposals that were first advanced in the Charity Aid, Recovery, and Empowerment (Care) Act of 2003. The…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Web Sites Offer Details on Charity Projects
Several new databases provide information for charities on nonprofit business ventures, support for capacity-building efforts, and the history of philanthropy. Community Wealth Ventures, in Washington, created a database of businesses run by nonprofit organizations and marketing partnerships…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
National Technology Group Schedules Regional Meetings
The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network, in San Francisco, a national organization for individuals, charities, and businesses that provide technology assistance to nonprofit groups, will hold eight regional conferences this year. Registration is now open for the New York conference, “Using What…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
New Owner Takes Over Database Program
Groundspring.org is taking over control of ebase, a free database program that allows charities to keep track of donors, activists, and volunteers. TechRocks, the San Francisco nonprofit group that developed the software, is scheduled to transfer the program by the end of the month. Formerly known…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Book Advises Charities on Technology Plans
A new book guides charities through the process of developing a technology plan based on their mission and organizational goals. Wired for Good shows nonprofit groups how to design a planning team that is representative of the entire organization; analyze their business processes and current…
By NICOLE WALLACE
Features Editor
Worker Shortage Expected at Social-Services Charities
Human-services charities could soon face a serious shortage of workers, predicts a new report by a Washington think tank. The report says human-services workers are asked to do too much for too little. The survey, by the Brookings Institution, was based on interviews with 1,213 private, nonprofit,…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Salaries Rise for Fund Raisers in New York
Increased competition for dollars and a weak economy prompted New York nonprofit groups to pay a premium to ALSO SEE:Nonprofit Pay: Salary Ranges at Organizations in New York City retain their most effective fund raisers, according to a new survey. Nonprofit organizations in the city increased the…
By Brad Wolverton
Contributor
Sabbatical Among Ex-Prisoners Is Transforming for a Foundation Vice President
The Open Society Institute, the umbrella organization for the philanthropies financed by George ALSO SEE:Shedding Light With Shadows Soros, offers four-month paid sabbaticals to its senior staff members to allow them to pursue projects related to the mission of the foundation. Nearly two years ago,…
Foundation officials gain a better view of how charities work by following executives on the jobThe day Irene Cooper-Basch went back to high school, inspiration struck. Ms. Cooper-Basch, then a program ALSO SEE:Sabbatical Among Ex-Prisoners Is Transforming for a Foundation Vice President officer at…
By Darlene M. Siska
Contributor
Research Is Vital to Watchdog Group’s Advocacy Role, Director Says
As a college student working at a small library in Dallas, Pa., Jeff Krehely, director of research at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, developed a keen appreciation for what he calls the nonprofit way of doing things. “At the library, people from the wealthiest to the poorest…
By Sandy Asirvatham
Contributor
Tax-Exempt Organizations Registered With the IRS
More than 900,000 charities and private foundations were registered with the Internal Revenue Service as of September 30, 2002, according to figures just released by the tax agency. That is a 76-percent increase in the number of charities in a decade. In 1992, 516,554 charitable organizations were…
By Elizabeth Schwinn
Contributor
Research Is Vital to Watchdog Group’s Advocacy Role, Director Says
As a college student working at a small library in Dallas, Pa., Jeff Krehely, director of research at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, developed a keen appreciation for what he calls the nonprofit way of doing things. “At the library, people from the wealthiest to the poorest…
By Sandy Asirvatham
Contributor
BRAINSTORMS By Rebecca Gardyn About six years ago, Margaret Talburtt and Mary Kramer realized that they were both concerned about the same trend: While American women were increasingly moving into powerful jobs, relatively few of them were also moving into boardrooms of the nation’s large nonprofit…
By Rebecca Gardyn
Contributor
ENTRY LEVEL Nancy Klaus Age: 52 First job: Assistant to the director, Office of Career Development and Placement, Philadelphia College of Art Current job: Director, Office of the President, United States Fund for Unicef, New York In 1987, after obtaining a degree in city planning and history of art…
Trustees, CEO’s Share Success Stories About Organizational Transitions
Managing Change: Lessons Learned From Nonprofit Leadersoffers insights from board chairmen and directors of charities on how they have successfully adapted to organizational change. The guide discusses such challenges as moving from a founding committee to a governing board, working with a new…
By Jessica Kronstadt
Contributor