Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Venture philanthropy is a growing movement that includes the idea of a nonprofit selling access to its data for profit. Nonprofits make investments that may pay dividends down the road, somewhat like what big academic institutions have been doing for years. It differs from traditional sources of funding for nonprofits, which most often depend on donations from foundations, corporations and wealthy individuals.

This form of venture philanthropy garnered attention last year when the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation sold its rights to royalties from Kalydeco for a landmark $3.3 billion.

LW Robbins, a direct-response fundraising agency, has acquired KerstenDirect. The companies have merged operations, and Tim Kersten has been appointed CEO of the combined company RobbinsKersten Direct. Operating from offices in Boston and Dallas, the company will continue to provide multichannel direct-response fundraising strategy and advanced data analytics.

FundRaising Success takes a look back at the 2010 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards Lifetime Achievement winner, Lynn Edmonds, president of LW Robbins.

Forbes picked five all-star charities that are efficient compared to their peers and do fine work in their areas. The five all-star organizations are Brother's Brother Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, International Rescue Committee and United Way.

Development Guild/DDI, a management consulting firm serving regional, national and global nonprofits in education, health and science, the arts, and human service, announced that it has opened a New York City office and that Sean O’Connor has joined the firm as a senior vice president. A seasoned nonprofit professional with nearly two decades of experience, O’Connor will collaborate with boards and executive leaders on organizational strategy, fundraising and talent management.

LW Robbins, a full-service direct response fundraising agency, has won 18 Awards for Creative Excellence from the New England Direct Marketing Association (NEDMA). The award presentation was held at The Museum of Science in Boston on June 29, 2011.

Convio announced the formation of a strategic relationship with WealthEngine, the leading provider of sophisticated wealth identification and prospect research, to deliver real-time, cloud-based actionable prospect data into the hands of fundraising professionals at nonprofit organizations. WealthEngine’s integration with the Convio Common Ground database gives nonprofits anytime, anywhere access to data that makes marketing and donor prospecting highly effective.

The shortlisted nominations for the Institute of Fundraising’s National Awards 2011 are announced. Among the shortlist are Organisational members Breakthrough Breast Cancer, Scope and Jewish Care.

The Awards are sponsored by Dataforce Charities, with ThirdSectorJobs.co.uk as the media partners. The National Awards are the only awards created for fundraisers by fundraisers. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner held on Monday 4th July, the first night of the Institute's three-day National Convention.

Kudos Community announced the launch of its new online coupon platform. Geared toward small businesses, consumers and non-rofit organizations, Kudos Community delivers risk-free, targeted coupons and offers to consumers to drive online engagement into real-world transactions for businesses. Kudos Community donates 25 percent of its revenue providing a new revenue stream to nonprofits and community organizations. Coupons are currently available in the Seattle metro area with plans to expand to other metropolitan cities across the U.S.

This year, the Piedmont Triad chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation expects to raise $2.5 million to support research on the disease.

That includes $1 million the group aims to raise at its Annual Hope Gala, to be held Feb. 26, a fundraising total that would be the highest ever for the event since it began in 2001.

Spearheading the fundraising effort is Paul Fulton, a former president of Sara Lee Corp. who also will receive the chapter's Beverly Berry Living and Giving Award at the event.