NonProfit Pro

So you've identified your big kahuna potential prospect, your mega-capacity donor. What next? How do you get in the door? Here are five quick tips to help you get that very first visit.

To get a handle on what’s in store for 2015, NonProfit PRO rounded up some of the nonprofit industry’s finest, who were kind enough to share their nonprofit trends for 2015. Here are five trends on peer-to-peer fundraising and crowdfunding.

A D.C.-based nonprofit organization claims it’s out thousands of dollars after helping a company that staged a popular race in the District. Kid Power now says its programs for underprivileged kids are at risk after it says it was stiffed by a Utah company, Run or Dye.

But the D.C. organization is not the first to raise issues with Run or Dye. Jane Driggs, the president of Utah’s Better Business Bureau, says the BBB has logged hundreds of complaints from 23 states related to the event company.

If you are going to miss this year's AFP International Conference, what will you do to fill that void? If you are going to be in Baltimore, I'd appreciate your help in keeping me up to speed on what is being shared. I'll miss the knowledge; the time to step back and think strategically and creatively; and especially miss the opportunity to connect with so many friends and colleagues who remind me how proud I am to be associated with them, to be a member of AFP and to be a member of this noble profession.

To get a handle on what’s in store for 2015, NonProfit PRO rounded up some of the nonprofit industry’s finest, who were kind enough to share their nonprofit trends for 2015. Here are five trends on software/technology, special events and staffing.

Some iconic publications by charities like Consumer Reports and Guideposts may decide to publish less frequently in print because of unexpectedly large postage increases due to take effect next month. Under the new rates, which will take effect April 26 if approved by the Postal Rate Commission, Guideposts will cost nearly 10 percent more to mail while postage on Consumer Reports and its three spin-off publications will increase by 8.5 percent to more than 16 percent.

Recent tweets on fundraising (#fundraising).

Authorities have revoked the tax-exempt status of nonprofit Blue Shield of California, potentially putting it on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in state taxes each year. The move by the California Franchise Tax Board comes as the state's third-largest health insurer faces fresh criticism over its rate hikes, executive pay and $4.2 billion in financial reserves.

The state quietly stripped the San Francisco insurer of its exemption from California income taxes in August. The company held that since its founding in 1939.

By far, the most frequently made mistake I see is when a worthy nonprofit assumes mission trumps all. It's mostly out of oversight, as nonprofit leadership is focused on doing good. However, sometimes it's because the organization really believes that donors are merely "funders"—the ATMs of the nonprofit world.

Nonprofit organizations in two major U.S. metropolitan areas are growing faster than expected and struggling to attract enough top talent to fill their jobs, according to a pair of new reports from recruiting firm Professionals for NonProfits. While a quarter of the New York groups and nearly a third of the Washington, D.C. groups plan to increase pay by more than 3 percent this year, officials continue to worry they won’t be able to fill all the available spots.