NonProfit Pro

Ted Hart speaks with ACFRE Linda Lysakowski and CFRE Lynne Dean, director of institutional advancement at Northwest Vista College, about nonprofit strategic planning on his Nonprofit Coach radio show.

A 98-year-old man says Chapman University took advantage of his age to get him him to donate $12 million for an engineering building — and he is suing to get his money back. Corona del Mar philanthropists James and Catherine Emmi have filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court charging that Chapman University President James Doti put undue pressure on James Emmi to sign an irrevocable contract without the consent of his wife.

Two weeks after being suspended from government work, the leading development nonprofit for the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan has purged numerous longtime senior executives amid a widening investigation of allegations of “serious” financial misconduct. International Relief and Development, headquartered in Arlington, Va., allegedly used taxpayer money for football season tickets, personal travel and meals, and alcohol at company receptions and retreats, according to current and former government and nonprofit officials.

The worst thing any nonprofit organization can do to its volunteers is to give them meaningless tasks. Volunteers, especially corporate volunteers, want to make a difference with their time. Here are 10 ways to motivate corporate volunteers.

(Press release, Feb. 10, 2015) — Salsa Labs Inc., creator of the all-in-one online engagement platform, announces the release of its newest software, Solis. Designed to help growing nonprofit organizations take full advantage of online communications, outreach and fundraising, Solis guides users step-by-step and encourages best practices to ensure success. Users can control email, donation, social sharing and online CRM tools — all in one application.

Recent changes to Facebook’s news feed algorithm have brought about a significant decline in “organic reach,” the number of people who see a post that hasn’t been boosted by paid advertising. Two years ago, organic reach for many posts was at about 16 percent, but over the last several months it’s been throttled to 2 percent or even less. Nonprofit organizations are getting caught in the algorithmic filter, and some say the change has crippled their ability to share critical information and maintain the online communities their memberships rely on.

A bipartisan pair of senators introduced a bill on Friday that would require the IRS to give a nonprofit organization ample notice before revoking its tax-exempt status. Sens. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) are co-sponsoring the legislation that they say will give charities and tax-exempt groups more time to ensure they have filed the right paperwork to maintain their status.

A man who sometimes held his coat together with safety pins and had a longtime habit of foraging for firewood also had a knack for picking stocks — a talent that became public after his death when he bequeathed $6 million to his local library and hospital. The bequest of $4.8 million by Ronald Read, a former gas station employee and janitor, to the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and $1.2 million to the town's Brooks Memorial Library were the largest each institution has ever received. Read also made a number of smaller bequests.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie steered more than $600,000 to a Bronx nonprofit that had no official board, filed no tax forms for years while receiving taxpayer funding and ultimately went bankrupt. The Bronx Business Alliance stopped filing tax forms after the 2008-09 tax year, reporting a $34,000 deficit.

Nevertheless, Heastie kept sponsoring funding for the group. His final grant was for $115,000 in 2009-2010, and other politicians directed hundreds of thousands of dollars more in 2010-2011.

Several years ago, a large European company asked Thomas M. DiBiagio to run an internal audit on its South African operations. The company suspected that something might be amiss. And it was right. In the course of the audit, he discovered about $12 million that might best be described as ill-gotten gains. DiBiagio, now a partner at the law firm Baker Botts, reported what he found to the company’s management and suggested something novel: Since the money had been earned “from aggressive business practices” the company should give it to charity.