News/Stats/Studies

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.

Tides has launched a new Tides Fellows program focused on research-based approaches to increasing innovation and capacity in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. The inaugural cohort of Tides Fellows includes three distinguished sector leaders, who will each pursue a unique set of projects to support a broad progressive agenda.

• Anthony Jewett, co-founder of the National Center for Global Engagement
• Gara LaMarche, former president and chief executive officer of The Atlantic Philanthropies
• Sonal Shah, former deputy assistant to the president and director of the first White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation

DMW Direct, a leading direct response advertising agency, today announced that effective January 1, 2012, Debbie Merlino will be appointed President of DMW Direct Fundraising — a division of the company which serves non-profit organizations nationwide in support of their fundraising and membership-building programs. Current President Tom Hurley will continue to play a key role, serving as a Senior Advisor to the business.

The endowments of 284 U.S. colleges and universities returned an average of 19.8 percent (net of fees) in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011, a new report from the Commonfund Institute finds.

Conducted in partnership with the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the 2011 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments found that the highest-performing endowment in FY2011 returned 31.8 percent while the lowest returned 3.7 percent.

In partnership with the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the California Endowment, and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, Grammy award-winning entertainer Lady Gaga has announced the launch of the Born This Way Foundation.

To be directed by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, the charitable organization will work to address youth issues such as self-confidence, well-being, bullying, and career development utilizing digital mobilization as a method of creating positive change.

Lower-income Britons donate a higher proportion of their income than higher earners, says Third Sector Online, citing research by two major U.K. nonprofit associations.

People earning less than $51,000 give more than 1 percent of their income to charity, compared to 0.8 percent for those who make $83,000 or more, according to the U.K. Giving 2011 report by the Charities Aid Foundation and the National Council for Voluntary Organizations.

Fisher House Foundation, which constructs comfortable homes to provide free, temporary housing to the families of service members receiving medical care at VA and military hospitals around the world, announced that it will receive continued media support from long-standing partner Clear Channel Radio this Veterans Day. 

Clear Channel will launch the second annual Operation Fisher House, a powerful week-long national media campaign designed to raise awareness and funding for Fisher House and the military members they serve.

Merkle, the nation’s largest privately held agency, has appointed Angie Moore senior vice president, CRM officer for its nonprofit division. This move accentuates Merkle’s emphasis on bringing the full array of customer relationship marketing (CRM) services to the nonprofit marketplace.

In her new role, Moore will lead strategic partnerships with major nonprofit organizations to drive Merkle’s CRM and integrated marketing strategies into this market. Previously, Moore was general manager of Merkle’s nonprofit practice.

America's charities, which receive a significant portion of their annual contributions during the holiday giving season, will be heartened to know that donors who gave last year-end plan to give again this year-end. The recent survey about year-end giving by Charity Navigator, the nation's largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities, also found that the majority of donors expect to give at the same level as they did last year.

For the first time, business and nonprofit executives trying to harness Facebook’s enormous audience to power cause marketing campaigns have an in-depth guide to what’s working and what’s not.