Heifer International

The Geneva, Switzerland-based magazine The Global Journal has just published its “first ranking of its kind” list of the “Top 100 Best NGOs.” It’s an unusual compilation in that the editors of this magazine acknowledge that they eschew quantitative metrics for a series of qualitative measures, which are as follows: innovation, effectiveness, impact, efficiency and value for money, sustainability, strategic and financial management, and peer review.

The Wikimedia Foundation came in at No. 1.

The Farm Journal Foundation in Cedar Falls, Iowa, has announced a $1 million grant to Heifer International to identify communities in the United States and developing nations that would significantly benefit from the gift of livestock and training in animal husbandry and basic smallholder farming practices.

To date, the grant is the largest single commitment made through the Farmers Feeding the World initiative.

With less than two weeks left before the holiday giving seasons ends, many charities have already raised more compared with 2010 — and some are even expecting a windfall, a new Chronicle of Philanthropy poll finds.

Fifty-four percent told The Chronicle that they raised more money in November and the first part of December than they had at this point last year. One out of five of the 152 organizations in the survey said contributions are outpacing last year’s donations by 20 percent or more.

As end-of-the year giving gets under way, some charities like the American Red Cross are skipping disaster pictures and switching to gentler imagery to urge people to forgo extraneous holiday gifts and, instead, give “something that means something.”

To deliver its message, the American Red Cross has a new animated character in its multimedia campaign highlighting the seasonal dilemma of whether to please family and friends with material gifts or to give them something that betters the lives of others.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation announced that Handicap International, the largest non-governmental organization providing assistance and advocacy for people with disabilities, will receive the 2011 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million. The Hilton Foundation presents the annual award, the world's largest humanitarian prize, to an organization that is doing extraordinary work to alleviate human suffering. Handicap International was selected for the 2011 Prize by a prestigious independent international jury.

The Direct Marketing Association's Nonprofit Federation today announced Heifer International as winner of the 2010 Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award.

SEATTLE, October 21, 2009 — Amazon Payments, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), today announced that leading nonprofit organizations are accepting Amazon Payments just in time for holiday giving, making it just as easy to donate to your favorite charity as it is to shop on Amazon. Organizations such as American Red Cross, UNICEF, Greenpeace, Nature Conservancy, Feeding America, Heifer International, Autism Society of America, International Federation for Animal Welfare, Children’s Miracle Network and United Way of King County now allow Amazon customers to make donations quickly and securely using information from their Amazon.com account. Customers can visit www.amazon.com/holidaygiving from now through January 10, 2009 to learn more about “Holiday Giving with Amazon Payments.”

Seattle, August 18, 2009 — PATH, a nonprofit organization that uses innovative technologies and solutions to solve global health problems, has been selected to receive the 2009 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million. The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation presents the annual award, the world’s largest humanitarian prize, to an organization that is significantly alleviating human suffering. The prize will be presented on September 21 in Washington, DC, with keynote speaker Muhammad Yunus, who is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, founder of the Grameen Bank, and former Hilton Prize juror.

Most nonprofit newsletters are boring. I subscribe to about 20 of them, and only one or two are interesting enough to regularly skim. Most are full of cookie-cutter human-interest stories that elicit little more than a yawn. This got me thinking, is this sample representative? If so, yikes! Newsletters are an important way that we cultivate relationships with donors. If we’re generally dull and needy in those communications, our audience will lose interest. And that ultimately spells financial heartbreak for us. So what’s a nonprofit to do? How do we take our newsletters from snoring to soaring? Looking for an easy answer

The winners of FundRaising Success’ 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards are nonprofit fundraisers and consultants whose accomplishments have enriched the nonprofit sector. Each of their successes are a testament to their passion for the work that they do, and their ability to harness this passion for good. I asked award winners to share the keys to their success with FS Advisor readers. Here, a sampling of their responses: * Dixie Ost, director of direct marketing, Heifer International, and one of our Top Women in Fundraising: Find the smartest people, give them opportunities, reward success. * Chuck Longfield, chief executive officer, Target Analysis Group,