There are three articles this week that I want to bring to your attention. First, what are your biggest fears about asking for money? Below is a short article that addresses some of the fears our volunteers have. An interesting resource this week is a list of websites that help us sharpen our critical thinking skills. The third article is about a woman who started a movement on Facebook that resulted in over $10,000 in donations to her local foodbank.
Two interesting results from studies show that (1) people are volunteering less (initially many thought that people with more time on their hands would be likely to volunteer more); and (2) the numbers of mergers happening between nonprofits are fewer than many initially thought would occur.
Here are all of this week’s headlines. Happy reading!
THOUGHTS ON FUNDRAISING
Engaging Your Board in Fundraising: Overcoming Fears (Kirsten’s Fundraising Headlines Blog) Board members can create many reasons why they should not be required to fundraise on behalf of your great cause. Many times these reasons are really based in a fear of fundraising. First, I believe that it is the fear of the unknown. Next, many feel that asking for a charitable contribution is one small step above begging on the street corner. Finally, many board members do not know where to start looking and who to start talking to. Here are some strategies to assist in overcoming these fears. http://fundraisingheadlines.blogspot.com/2009/09/engaging-your-board-in-fundraising.html
PSAs Can Fuel Organizational Credibility (The NonProfit Times) Project Fit America (PFA) found itself on the pages of national magazines several years ago, prompting calls to the small nonprofit in Boyes Hot Springs, Calif. All the attention turned out to be a mixed blessing. A huge number of calls came from parents and schools inquiring about the program, but the campaign didn’t incite as much response in terms of direct funding. Including a strong call to action will make PSAs more effective. http://www.nptimes.com/09Aug/news-090831-1.html
Are There Easy Ways to Reduce Donor Attrition Rates? (Guidestar, Reprinted from Contributions) Today, losing donors has special urgency because more and more organizations are struggling to acquire new donors. Response rates are down exactly at a time when paper and postage costs keep climbing. Your organization may also be facing sharp drops in giving from major donors who have taken a beating in the stock market. Increasing the loyalty of your donors produces huge benefits. http://www2.guidestar.org/rxa/news/articles/2009/are-there-easy-ways-to-reduce-donor-attrition-rates.aspx?source=sep09nwsltr
Judge Rules For Tulane In Bequest Case (NonProfit Times) A New Orleans judge has ruled in favor of Tulane University in a donor intent dispute over a century-old bequest.
Civil District Court Judge Rosemary Ledet on Monday granted the university’s motion for summary judgment while denying the plaintiffs’ motion. Language in the will “clearly gives the university full and complete control over how her donation will be used,” according to a statement from Tulane University. http://www.nptimes.com/09Sep/bnews-090902-1.html
Nonprofit Exec’s Salary Becomes A Funding Problem (NonProfit Times) There was no shortage of cuts when the Montgomery County, Md., budget was adopted this past May, but in a $4.4-billion budget, $55,000 sure did get a lot of attention. Among the budget cuts was $55,000 initially proposed for Food & Friends. The Washington, D.C.-based organization had received county funding for nearly a decade. The $357,447 salary of the Food & Friends Executive Director caught the attention of a Councilman during the discretionary grant application process. http://www.nptimes.com/09Sep/npt-090901-2.html
TIPS AND RESOURCES
The 10 Bona Fide Best Sites for Sharpening Your Critical Thinking Skills (Nonprofit Online News) Included are descriptions of the Critical Thinking Quiz, the Internet Detective, The Argument Clinic, and seven other excellent sites. Some of these would be really fun staff or board exercises. http://www.missiontolearn.com/2009/09/sharpen-critical-thinking-skills/
TECHNOLOGY
The Shrinking Generational Digital Divide (NTen) Personal computers, cell phones, digital assistants, and the Internet have fundamentally changed how we communicate. The digital divide is the division between those who both want and can afford to make these purchases and those who cannot. The gap between older and younger digital users is rapidly diminishing, especially as boomers explore the vast array of uses for the Internet. http://nten.org/blog/2009/08/25/shrinking-generational-digital-divide
Facebook User Ignites Worldwide Fund-Raising ‘Club’ (Chronicle of Philanthropy) Last month, when Jenni Ware lost her wallet at a California supermarket, a fellow customer she’d never met before, Carolee Hazard, offered to pay her $207 grocery bill. Later that day, Ms. Ware found her wallet and sent Ms. Hazard $300 — the food bill, plus an extra $93 for her trouble. Ms. Hazard, a Facebook user, asked her online “friends” what they would do with the extra money. As people suggested she donate the amount to charity, Ms. Hazard not only donated Ms. Ware’s $93 tip, but matched the amount. So did several of her Facebook connections. “The result for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, where it all began? Nearly $10,000 raised for Silicon Valley’s hungry in a week” writes Mr. Goldstein. Ms. Hazard has started the 93 Dollar Club on Facebook, which allows people worldwide to read about the story and donate to food banks in their local areas. http://philanthropy.com/news/prospecting/9418/facebook-user-ignites-worldwide-fund-raising-club
OTHER ARTICLES
Study Shows Americans Pulling Back From Volunteering (AFP Blog) Americans say they have cut back on volunteer service to their communities and believe others have chosen to look out for themselves as a result of the recession. Nearly two thirds (72 percent) of Americans surveyed said they cut back on time spent volunteering, participating in groups and doing other civic activities in the past year, reports a study by the National Conference on Citizenship. http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?content_item_id=25006&folder_id=2545
Effects of Recession Being Felt by Nonprofits Nationwide, Report Finds (Foundation Center) A new report from the National Council of Nonprofits, in Washington, D.C, finds that the damage to nonprofits and the nonprofit sector from the recession is mounting. Based on data from four national and nine state-specific organizations, the report found that nonprofits nationwide are struggling to meet growing demand for services at the same time that their operating costs are rising and their revenues falling. http://pndapps.fdncenter.org/link/20012750/story
Recession Not Leading to Wave of Mergers (Foundation Center) As the economic crisis began to squeeze foundations and non-profits last fall, predictions of a wave of mergers spread through the nonprofit sector. But no such wave has emerged, at least not on the scale predicted. http://pndapps.fdncenter.org/link/20012753/story
World Press Freedom Declines in 2008 (Nonprofit Online News) The basic enabling foundations of civil society continue to erode around the globe. For the seventh straight year, world press freedom declined again in 2008, according to a Freedom House study. In 2008, only 17% of the world’s populace lives in countries with genuine freedom of expression. http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=251&year=2008
The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle (Stanford Social Innovation Review) Organizations that build robust infrastructure—which includes sturdy information technology systems, financial systems, skills training, fundraising processes, and other essential overhead—are more likely to succeed than those that do not. This is not news, and nonprofits are no exception to the rule. Yet it is also not news that most nonprofits do not spend enough money on overhead. http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_nonprofit_starvation_cycle/
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