The Non-profit Times

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Yeah, but who's counting? A common link in these stats: they're all human.(GENERAL RAMBLINGS)
Roughly one-third of Americans fall into a demographic silo known as minority. The federal government divides the silos into compartments and has determined that the rapid growth of Hispanic and Asi . . .

It's your money: how not to get burned by the next Madoff.(OPINION)
"Trust, but verify," one of President Ronald Reagan's favorite maxims, has new meaning for America's not-for-profit community, which manages billions of dollars of contributions, endowments and gran . . .

4 Ways to cut costs: it can be done without crippling your organization.(FUNDRAISING)
If you're working for a nonprofit that hasn't recently undertaken an agency-wide cost-cutting program, you're clearly in a minority. Periodic cost-cutting is simply good management practice. Cost-cu . . .

What every nonprofit must do to protect against misuse of grant funds.(NPT SPECIAL REPORT)
Most nonprofits depend heavily on federal, state and private grant funding. A vast majority of these funds are properly used to promote and operate important programs and to help many facets of soci . . .

Grant writers and corporate sponsors: you're pitching a product, too: your organization.(NPT SPECIAL REPORT)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You've spent years perfecting your grant writing skills: shaping a logical argument for why your project needs funding; creating detailed budgets to reinforce your narrative . . .

Click & pledge launches open API payment platform.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
Click & Pledge has released PAI, an open application programming interface so software developers can create applications for the TRIO suite of payment system products. PAI, the Payment Applicatio . . .

cMarket posted record quarter.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
cMarket Network in Cambridge, Mass., a provider of online auction fundraising, announced a record quarter for online auction sales resulting in an additional $6.3 million raised, bringing the total . . .

ABA honors top nonprofit lawyers.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
The Nonprofit Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Business Law unveiled the recipients of its annual Outstanding Nonprofit Lawyer Awards for 2009. The 2009 recipient . . .

Blackbaud acquires Dutch software provider.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
Blackbaud has acquired RLC CCT, a privately-owned firm in Almere, the Netherlands. RLC is a provider of software and services to nonprofits in the Netherlands. Its constituent relationship managemen . . .

Resource directory.(CONSULTANTS PAGE)(Directory)
ACCOUNTING SERVICES--STRATEGIC PLANNING COMPUTER SERVICES JACOBSON CONSULTING APPLICATIONS, INC www.jcainc.com Problems With Your Fundraising System? We specialize in Business Pro . . .

Data on data: info is making modeling easier yet more confusing.(NPT EXECUTIVE SESSION)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Data has always been about the people that the numbers or categories represent. Many marketers just never saw it that way. Social networks and the unprecedented amount of in . . .

Knowing who can afford what: prospect research yields information about supporters.
If your organization's budget quadrupled from one year to the next, where would you get the money to support your mission? Two words: prospect research. That was the predicament faced by Operation H . . .

It's all in the gift bag: items should showcase group and sponsors.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I hate to get gift bags with nothing hut ads and coupons," said Sarah Gardner, public relations and marketing coordinator at Texas Discovery Gardens. So when it came time t . . .

Formats: 5 keys to determining the optimum format for your next appeal.(DIRECT MAIL)
For some, it's a blanket in a box. For others, it's a sheet of name labels, or a personalized greeting card. And for many charities, it's the old-fashioned letter in a closed face envelope. These . . .

Resource directory.(CONSULTANTS PAGE)(Directory)
ACCOUNTING SERVICES- STRATEGIC PLANNING COMPUTER SERVICES JACOBSON CONSULTING APPLICATIONS, INC. www:jcainc:com Problems With Your Fundraising System? We specialize in Business Pr . . .

Educational promises kept despite sour economy.
Ron R. Kitchens is finding money despite the economic problems faced by the nation. He beamed as he described receiving more than $80,000 for an educational scholarship program in Dieterich, Ill., w . . .

Data security in a wired world: donor management requires several layers of security.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Meet the other 12-step program--the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). There are 12 basic components to ensure safety measures are in place to mitigate . . .

Mail service cuts coming? NPT survey: execs think Monday hurts worst.
Easter Seals plans to mail 40 million pieces this year. The Chicago-based health organization tries to drop mail on Mondays because "if mail is moving at the rate it should be through the postal sys . . .

Remembering Ray: He went through life with his heart on his sleeve.(GENERAL RAMBLINGS)
Ray Grace had but days left. He was home, surrounded by family and in hospice care. He'd awake for maybe 10 minutes at a time. When awake, he was lucid, and, well, Ray. He saw his daughter Melissa . . .

Cash flow: avoiding the perils of a slow dip.(FINANCE)
Whenever a four-legged friend is adopted from the animal shelter in San Antonio, Texas, Executive Director Kathryn L. Bice counts on it being a win for the new owner and the pet but a money-losing p . . .

Restructuring in D.C.: Boys & Girls Clubs cutting staff and programs because of debt.(MANAGEMENT)
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (BGCGW) will cut staff by 10 percent and close at least four of its clubs as part of a restructuring to tackle its $7 million deficit. "It's very impor . . .

Multiple channels rule: studies show online is vital, but so is mail and networking.(NPT SPECIAL REPORT)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Step Up Women's Network each spring sends 30 high school girls on a three-night, four-day tour of seven colleges in California's Bay Area. Fewer than half of the parents . . .

Read this: what interests donors is key to solicitation.(LISTS)
In the search for upscale donors, publications like Forbes or Money are obvious choices for fundraisers targeting subscription lists. Or in the case of environmental groups, magazines with a similar . . .

The job-hunting volunteer: make sure that your organization get the best results.(ON VOLUNTEERS)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While it is being reported by the mainstream media with some surprise, it was predictable to volunteer program leaders that the numbers of people exploring volunteer opportu . . .

Calendar.(Calendar)
MAY 4-6 The Council on Foundations will hold its annual conference in Atlanta, Ga. Info: www.cof.org 17-19 The Association of Healthcare Philanthropy will hold the AHP Midwest Regional Conferenc . . .

Consultants page: resource directory.(TheNonProfitTimes[TM])(Directory)
ACCOUNTING SERVICE--STRATEGIC PLANNING BOARD AND STAFF TRAINING COMPUTER SERVICES JACOBSON CONSULTING APPLICATIONS, INC www.jcainc.com Problems With Your Fundraising System? We . . .

Mobilizing the masses: broader sector not ready for crush of volunteers.(Survey)(Brief article)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Big Brothers Big Sisters of America set a record for volunteer inquiries during Mentoring Month in January. The Philadelphia-based mentoring organization credits the spike t . . .

Rights group has new name.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Doctors of the World-USA)(HealthRight International)(Brief article)
Doctors of the World-USA, a 19-year-old global health and human rights organization in New York City, changed its name to HealthRight International. The new name was chosen to more accurately commun . . .

Consultants page: resources directory.(Directory)
COMPUTER SERVICES JACOBSON CONSULTING APPLICATIONS, INC www.jcainc.com Problems With Your Fundraising System? We specialize in Business Process Improvement, System Selection, Ticke . . .

Travel still working: donors still bid on vacations, but with shorter stays.
The direction in which the U.S. economy is traveling is straight downward, but many Americans are still traveling the world, utilizing packages available through travel auctions that benefit nonprof . . .

Unhappy galas: cutting back on everything, including the event.
The historic economic downturn of the past several months has altered the business decisions of individuals, corporations, and yes, nonprofits. One question that some organizations might be asking i . . .

Financier Bogeys the St. Jude tournament: sponsor charged with unrelated, $8 billion fraud.
The Stanford St. Jude Championship has been played under a variety of names since it began 50 years ago and it could have another this year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sir R. Allen Stanford. chairma . . .

Big gifts: $4.6 trillion reasons are target female donors.(FUNDRAISING)
Women are committed donors who care deeply about the causes they support. Yet surprisingly, despite women's economic power and philanthropic potential, too often non-profits are not engaging them st . . .

Fighting for jobs: even with jobs to fill, getting top jobs is a competition.(PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 39-year-old fashion industry executive lost his job and explained his situation to Matthew Hale, chair of the Department of Public and Healthcare Administration at Seton H . . .

Text this: mobile fundraising not ringing off the hook.(MOBILE)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Teleton, a Mexico-based charity that helps disabled children, used Mobile Accord's mobile donation program, called mGive, during a 24-hour telethon airing in the United Stat . . .

Alternative loans: funds are short, but ideas are not, for academia.(BURNT OFFERINGS)
One of the least-surprising statements anyone in the nonprofit universe hears today: Educational institutions are hurting. Enrollments are suffering. That's one spill-off from outrageously expensi . . .

Calendar.(Conference news)(Calendar)
MARCH 15-17 The Association of Healthcare Philanthropy will hold the AHP New England Regional Conference in Newport, R.I. Info:www.ahp.org 15-18 The Association of Jewish Aging Services will hol . . .

Pitching-In: Barton-Cotton back up and running.(AGENCIES)
The fundraising division of bankrupt direct response firm Barton-Cotton is expected to be sold by March 9, after this issue of The NonProfit Times went to press, according to the court-appointed tru . . .

Consultants page: resource directory.(Directory)
ACCOUNTING SERVICES--STRATEGIC PLANNING COMPUTER SERVICES JACOBSON CONSULTING APPLICATIONS, INC www.jcainc.com Problems With Your Fundraising System? We specialize in Business Pr . . .

Resource directory.(Directory)
AUCTION SERVICES cMARKET online auctions help organizations Get More Bids, Get More Items, and Raise Mere Money www.cmarket.com/npt CHARITABLE STATE REGISTRATION COPILEVITZ . . .

Where's all the money? U.S. money supply bulging, donors not giving.
Donors and banks are sitting on piles of cash after moves by the Federal Reserve Bank to slash interest rates and the infusion of federal bailout funds. Judging by the levels of the national money s . . .

Stocks of vendors tracking worse than indexes.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Last year won't be one that most investors are likely to brag about at cocktail parties, unless it's labour whose portfolios lost the least value. The 2008 market left few o . . .

Buyers' choice: purchases of nonprofit-related items plummet.(NPT SPECIAL REPORT)
Consumers might have just had enough of buying coffee, wristbands and anything else from nonprofit organizations--in stores, on the Web or anywhere else. In a national survey by The NonProfit Times . . .

Calendar.
MARCH 4-5 The Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council will hold its annual conference at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Info: www.rwrconference.com 4-6 The Association International Confere . . .

Starting the year 'solefully'.(page 4)
The Florida Highway Patrol had to deal with an interesting traffic jam the day after New Years. Thousands of shoes covered highway lanes, creating a morning commute nightmare and a boon for shoe col . . .

Former MS chapter head dies.(page 4)
Patricia McDonald, former president of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, Michigan Chapter, died after a battle with lung cancer. She was 61. McDonald started at the chapter as the prog . . .

Millionaire farmer leaves it all to church.(page 4)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Development officers, take hope, for here's another story from the "You Never Know" files. A 71-year-old man who lived in a mobile home stacked with newspapers and boxes on . . .

Gloves that caught.(page 4)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Pittsburgh Steelers eliminated the rival Baltimore Ravens to advance to Super Bowl XLIII before winning their record sixth title this past season. Though Ravens fans are . . .

Spring clean-up: Barton-Cotton bankruptcy leaves a mess.(AGENCIES)
Nonprofits, particularly Catholic-related charities, are scrambling to find answers and complete campaigns already in production after the collapse of direct response marketing firm Barton-Cotton. . . .

MPower renamed Orange Leap, launches two new products.(AGENCIES)
MPower, a vendor of constituent management and fundraising open source software, was renamed Orange Leap (www.orangeleap.com). "We decided to rebrand with a new name, logo and tagline that better ca . . .