April 23, 2010, Chronicle of Philanthropy — The Internal Revenue Service is not backing away from its controversial efforts to promote good governance by charities, according to its top nonprofit regulator.
The federal tax code does not explicitly set out governance standards for the IRS to enforce, but the tax agency in the past two years has been keeping an eye on charities' governance practices -- a move that has drawn criticism from some observers.
Here, a few notes on the new look of business rules, presented by Tom Gaffny, principal at Tom Gaffny Consulting, and Mary Beth McIntyre, president of Win-Win Giving, in the session "Running Your Nonprofit Like a Business" at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2010 Washington Nonprofit Conference.
Before you begin any fundraising program you need a plan to guide you along the way.
A good fundraising plan is a roadmap to success and shows you how to allocate your precious resources of time and money. It can also help keep you out of crisis mode and help you control the flow of work in your office. This is a shift from being reactive to being proactive. When you’re proactive, you’re organized and focused. You raise more money.
Lynn Edmonds, president, L.W. Robbins Associates
Loyal donors are being conservative but holding on. Since the spring, we have seen a slight increase in giving in some audiences but not all. And in certain cases, we have been able to reactivate lapsed donors by decreasing the gift asks.
November 19, 2009, The Wall Street Journal — Thanksgiving is around the corner, but Silicon Valley's charitable giving is on the back burner.
MENLO PARK, Calif., November 18, 2009 — Nonprofit organizations need flexible funding to thrive, but whether a funder provides general support or underwrites a specific project depends on the compatibility of their interests, writes Paul Brest, president of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, in an essay accompanying the Foundation's recently released 2008 Annual Report.
November 16, 2009, Maine Today — A year ago the Maine Community Foundation, one of the state's largest philanthropic enterprises, was preparing for hard times ahead.
WASHINGTON, November 11, 2009, The New York Times — IT was standing room only in a Detroit hotel ballroom last week as the leaders of hundreds of nonprofits poured in to hear one of President Obama’s top advisers describe a new government fund meant to help innovative, successful nonprofits expand their reach.
November 13, 2009, The New York Times — THE expectation in America is that people who do well give back to society. For the wealthy, it is one way to stave off charges of being greedy. And in the boom times, being seen as philanthropic seemed a social and political obligation.
November 13, 2009, Huffington Post — The fantasy of conservatives and progressives alike is that the free market will solve the increasingly desperate woes of small businesses and nonprofits. It's not entirely impossible, but it does require an entirely new way of thinking about the problems of these struggling entities.
