Comcast

Among the ever-evolving buzzwords and old debates in the nonprofit sector, a new concept has entered the fray: running your nonprofit like a for-profit.

I've been talking to organizations recently about their mobile strategies. Many of them are of the belief that this means the ability for someone to access their website on a mobile device.

NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti and his son Marc of the The Buoniconti Fund, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, hosted an inspirational evening with more than 2,000 guests to celebrate Destination Fashion 2012. Tom Brokaw hosted the evening, which was chaired by Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones and international polo sensation Ignacio “Nacho” Figueras and raised $31 million for The Miami Project.

In an astounding demonstration of support for Colorado nonprofits, donors from across the state contributed $12 million as part of Community First Foundation’s Colorado Gives Day 2011 — an increase of more than 40 percent compared to Colorado Gives Day 2010, which raised $8.4 million.

Individual contributions were received over an extended 36-hour period — 12 a.m. Dec. 6 until noon Dec. 7 — at GivingFirst.org. Donations ranged from $10 to $500,000. Almost half of all donations made were either $50 or $100.

Ten NBC-owned television stations across the nation will team with nonprofit news outlets in an attempt to beef up their enterprise and analytical reporting, the network announced Monday. NBC affiliates in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia will work with non-commercial outfits in those cities — KPCC public radio, the Chicago Reporter and WHYY public radio and television, respectively — while all of the network's owned-and-operated stations will get early access to investigative reports from the independent, nonprofit newsroom ProPublica.

Good journalism is not enough to sustain nonprofit online news. That is one of the key findings of a new Knight Foundation study, "Getting Local," that profiled a number of local nonprofits online.
 
Those nonprofits have to act more like for-profit businesses, the study suggests, including experimenting with different revenue models and being more entrepreneurial.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America is turning to 21st-century social media, including Twitter, to garner support for its mission. The organization wants to shed its “swim and gym” image and focus on its state-of-the-art technology offerings for students. Its principal supporters are mothers and other women, so it plans to appeal to them by holding its first Twitter party on Tuesday to spread word of its Club Tech centers, which provide computers, software and technology instruction.

City Year has announced a three-year, $20.3 million commitment in cash and in-kind contributions from Comcast, the giant cable and home Internet service provider.

The organization will use the funds to support the leadership efforts of City Year AmeriCorps team members — young people between the ages of 17 and 24 — in nine cities who are working directly with students to improve attendance, behavior, and course performance. Grant funds also will be used to build awareness of City Year's In School & On Track initiative.

FOR the first time in its more than 100-year history, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is actively seeking donations, through a nationwide campaign, to underwrite its work with children at risk.

Called “Start Something,” the campaign uses traditional as well as social media to illustrate the positive impact the adult volunteers of Big Brothers Big Sisters have on children’s lives, and to solicit both volunteers and financial support.

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) announced that in connection with the Sept. 10, 2010, simultaneous commercial-free telecast, more than $80 million has been pledged so far to accelerate groundbreaking research and bring new treatments to patients as quickly as possible. The telecast is available online at www.su2c.org/2010show. Donations can continue to be made online at www.su2c.org and at 1-888-90-STAND (78263).