NonProfit Pro

India Cancels Licenses of Nearly 9,000 Charities Over Foreign Funds
April 29, 2015

India has cancelled the registration of nearly 9,000 charities for failing to declare details of donations from abroad, as New Delhi tightens surveillance on foreign-funded non-governmental organizations in the country.

The crackdown comes days after the government suspended the license of Greenpeace India and put United States-based Ford Foundation on a security watch list, ordering government approval of any of its activities in the country.

A cancellation order issued by the home ministry and uploaded to its website late on Monday said the government had cancelled the registration of 8,975 associations because they did not declare details of...

Nonprofits Mobilize in Wake of Deadly Nepal Earthquake
April 29, 2015

United States-based aid groups swung into action in response to the earthquake in Nepal as rescue workers searched the rubble and the toll of the killed and injured continued to rise.

By Monday, the Jewish Federation of North America, the Red Cross and World Vision had dedicated the homepages of their websites to fundraising for disaster relief in Nepal. Doctors Without Borders said on its website it has sent eight teams to respond to the humanitarian crisis. Unrestricted funds, it noted to donors, "allow us to allocate our resources most efficiently and where the needs are greatest."

Eight Anchors for a Successful Major Campaign
April 29, 2015

Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda once said, "Pennants are won and lost during spring training," and the same is true with successful major fundraising campaigns. It is the preparation—the right preparation—that will make your campaign seamless, energizing and successful!

The Fundraiser’s Kiss of Death: Talking Too Much
April 29, 2015

What's the kiss of death for every fundraiser? What's the best way to turn your donor off? And what can you do to make sure your donor never, ever wants to see you again? It's when you are guilty of being boring.

Clinton Foundation CEO Admits Missteps in Donor Disclosure
April 29, 2015

The acting chief executive of the Clinton Foundation is acknowledging the global philanthropy made mistakes in how it disclosed its donors amid growing scrutiny as Hillary Rodham Clinton opens her presidential campaign.

In a blog posting Sunday, Maura Pally defended the foundation's work and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, describing its policies on donor disclosure and contributions from foreign governments as "stronger than ever."

Still, Pally said the foundation expected to refile some of its tax forms, following a voluntary external review, because it had "mistakenly combined" government grants and donations.

Are You in Their Head?
April 28, 2015

How well do you know the people you serve? How well do you know the folks you solicit for gifts? I'm not talking about recognizing them on the street or at an event. I mean how well do you know the kind of life they live? How well do you know how they handle their finances? How well do you know what their day looks like from start to end?

Nonprofit CFO Pleads Guilty to Taking Federal Funds Meant for Indigent Health Care in Alabama
April 28, 2015

The former chief financial officer of two nonprofit health clinics in Alabama for the poor and homeless pleaded guilty Monday to multiple federal charges in connection with the diversion of $11 million in federal money to private businesses.

The guilty pleas of Terri McGuire Mollica, of Birmingham, 48, were accepted by Chief U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre in Birmingham.

Sentencing was set for Sept. 11.

A federal grand jury indicted Mollica last year on 74 counts related to an alleged scheme to defraud the government through the two health care clinics...

The 5 Things Your Emails Need to Include to Get People to Read and Respond
April 28, 2015

There's a reason this tweet, sent at 9 a.m. on March 1, amassed nearly 4,000 retweets and over 2,000 favorites in a matter of hours.

Eli Langer, who runs social media at CNBC, isn't the only one with a crazy amount of unread emails. These days, maintaining "inbox zero" is a feat of diligent OCD.

Of course, what can we expect when of the nearly 200 billion emails sent every day worldwide (84 percent are considered spam).

That's 168 billion emails ... disregarded. You might be tempted to think that just applies to marketing emails. But you'd be wrong.

Why Fundraising Is a High-Stakes Game of Musical Chairs
April 28, 2015

When was the last time you played a game of musical chairs? Perhaps it was at a birthday party or a picnic.

If you're a fundraiser, competing for the attention of the average American donor can feel like a daily game of musical chairs—one where there are far more players than there are empty seats.

While speaking on the topic of donor retention recently, I was asked by an attendee, "Just how many charities does the average donor support in our country?"

I knew that the average donor supports only a limited number of nonprofits every year, but didn't...