News/Stats/Studies

Charity Dynamics announced the addition of nonprofit special event fundraising expert Cassidy Richards as a senior member of the company’s growing consulting practice. Richards joins the company from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, where she served for nearly five years, most recently in the position of national event director. With Crohn’s & Colitis, Richards led the launch of the Foundation’s highly-successful multi-affiliate fundraising walk campaign, Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis, which has raised more than $32 million since it launched four years ago.

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) announced that cash charitable giving to ECFA members continues to be very strong, totaling $9.38 billion last year, a 5.8 percent increase from the 2009 level of $8.87 billion.

ECFA's second Annual State of Giving Report showed charitable contributions held up especially well among larger charities. Donations to ECFA-member organizations with more than $10 million in annual revenue increased 6.7 percent in 2010, compared with 2009, while organizations with less than $10 million in annual revenue increased 1.6 percent during the same span.

The White House and a coalition of nonprofits plan to start a new effort to improve the quality and diversity of nonprofit leaders following a daylong program in Washington, D.C.

The Initiative for Nonprofit Talent and Leadership will be led by Independent Sector in collaboration with the White House. Also among the sponsors are American Express, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Aspen Institute Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation, the Center for Creative Leadership, Commongood Careers, and Public Allies.

The Alliance for Global Good, a grant-making organization in Greensboro, N.C., is starting a fund to promote innovation in philanthropy. While the exact size of the fund hasn’t been decided, organization officials say it is likely to be in the $10-million range. The alliance hopes that the fund will draw attention to charities that have found new approaches to tough problems and provide money to help them expand their work, says David M. Brand, the organization’s chief executive.

The nonprofit world is going viral. New media — Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube, vivid photography and interactive content — is quickly becoming part of the effort to educate and win donors.

Organizations such as Make-A-Wish, the Florida Youth Orchestra and Jewish Community Services, to name a few, are taking full advantage, with assistance from tech-savvy companies like Content Creators and colleges like St. Thomas University.

The Foundation of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey announced a $1 million gift from the Wakefern Food Corp. to support university research, scholarship or community service programs.

The gift, to be donated to the New Jersey Health Foundation and its affiliate, the Foundation of UMDNJ, establishes the Dean Janeway Endowment to Advance Healthcare Excellence in honor of the retiring Wakefern president and chief operating officer.

This week, the Washington Post launched “On Giving,” a new section devoted to coverage of corporate giving and social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, charitable actions and personal finance. The section features original Washington Post reporting and guest contributions from philanthropists, global development leaders, social entrepreneurs, academics and researchers.  

Starting at midnight on Nov. 9, nonprofits around Washington, D.C. started raising money as part of Give to the Max Day — a one-day online fundraiser created by Razoo and supported by supported by several major partners, including Care2.

At the end of 24 hours, $1,886,584 had been donated to 1,285 different nonprofits. Top nonprofits were also eligible for prize money donated by various partners and that brought the total raised to $2,034,584. Over 17,000 donors participated in the day’s fundraising challenge.

More than 12 million Americans from 44 to 70 years old would like to start nonprofits or businesses that solve social problems, according to a new study by Civic Ventures, a think tank in San Francisco. The report, which was supported by the MetLife Foundation and compiled by Penn Schoen Berland, a marketing-research firm, also found that more than half of those 12 million Americans say it is very likely they will start such an organization within the next five to 10 years.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced that it made a donation of $25,000 to USANA Health Sciences’ “Ace Out Hunger” program, a charity that raises money for some of the world’s neediest children. All of the funds raised for “Ace Out Hunger” will go to Children’s Hunger Fund, a global nonprofit organization fighting hunger in impoverished regions around the world.