NonProfit Pro

Two nonprofit trusts created by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and financed with more than $40 million from ratepayers paid millions to vendors without competitive bids, overpaid top managers and let them charge personal travel, gasoline and other items without filing expense reports, city audits released Thursday showed.

In five years, a handful of trust employees charged more than $660,000 to their publicly financed credit cards for things such as steak dinners and trips to Las Vegas, Hawaii and New Orleans, city controller Ron Galperin said.

However, Galperin said, auditors did not find evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

My particular area of expertise is digital marketing, media and e-commerce. However, whilst I remain excited by what is possible with purely digital marketing, I am most intrigued by marketing that makes intelligent, creative and effective use of a mixture of media—multichannel or omnichannel marketing that choreographs an experience across touchpoints, both physical and digital.

You may have seen the recent campaign from MarketReach, the Royal Mail's direct marketing arm.

Whilst MarketReach itself is growing as a business, marketing spend on direct mail is falling year on year by around 5 percent, according to Ofcom figures...

The economic, political and cultural climate faced by human-serving nonprofits continues to challenge efficiency amid shrinking resources, increased demand and higher expectations of demonstrating return on investment. And while there is an urgency to achieve efficiency, there is even more urgency to achieve impact―in that "sweet spot" where operational excellence and mission alignment converge.

Just because we are experts at fundraising doesn't mean we are great managers or leaders. Yet most of us who excel in our profession end up with management responsibilities—often with less training than we received when tackling our first direct mail appeals, websites or DRTV campaigns.

Corporate growth is almost always a good thing. It can augment the bottom line, create new jobs and open new business opportunities. Yet, expansion can sometimes create unforeseen human resource issues, especially in small organizations. In a rush to fill the personnel gap growth creates, companies often accelerate staffing actions without first assuring structures are in place to maintain organizational identity.

Announcing the winners of the 2015 Nonprofit Professionals of the Year Awards. Category: Unsung Heroes of the Year.

People on the move in the nonprofit world for May 2015.

The best nonprofit points-of-contact with volunteers generally, or volunteer fundraisers specifically, reinforce the idea in that person that they are good. If successful, we help our targets self-identify as being good to the point that they work for free for our nonprofits, donate to our nonprofits and fundraise for our nonprofits.

Abila, Austin, Texas, yesterday announced the 20th anniversary of its Certified Consultant Program. Abila Business Partners have completed more than 6,300 hours of classroom certification training to become experts in Abila's portfolio of products, including Abila MIP Fund Accounting.

Since I do not have a large engagement staff and only limited time, I must pick and choose which prospect and donor visits to engage. When I have a 1:1 donor visit, I also must be very strategic with the donor's time based upon the scenario of engagement I employ.