Salvation Army

It's hard to deny the need for change when it’s staring you straight in the face. That's how the need to transition the Salvation Army's annual report to digital-only occurred to Maj. George Hood, the organization's national community relations and development secretary.

One day, about two years ago, the years' worth of print annual reports sitting in the storage room in Hood's office prompted a change. Hood says he scratched his head and thought, "In this age of instant communication online, we could save a lot of money and be far more efficient and get much broader distribution by going 100 percent to a virtual annual report."

The economic crisis has put nonprofit organizations in a double bind. On the one hand, social-service organizations like food banks, rescue missions and health clinics have seen demand for their services skyrocket as the unemployment rate rises and Americans see their savings, home values and retirement accounts plummet. Yet while the demand for nonprofit services is rising, in a severe economic downturn it's harder than ever to raise dollars to pay for those services.

Los Angeles, CA, September 16, 2009 — As the film industry has the Oscars, television the Emmys and the music industry the Grammy Awards, the charity community and its most dedicated Hollywood supporters will gain global recognition with the staging of the inaugural Noble Humanitarian Awards, to take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, October 18.  The two-hour event, produced on behalf of the non-profit Celebrity Charity Awards Corporation, seeks to annually honor up to a dozen charities and celebrities who actively support them, elevating awareness of these organizations and the impact of their work.

North Palm Beach, FL, September 4, 2009 — Edmund Benson, former at-risk kid and founder of ARISE Foundation, is celebrating his 80th birthday by giving a gift to the international nonprofit community: the creative licenses for all of the 100 ARISE life-skills curricula materials. Benson will allow the materials to be translated free of charge into any language (except Spanish, which has been done), for use in life-skills training programs around the world.

August 26, 2009, USA TODAY — Chef Cecil Morris Jr., 46, of Mobile, Ala., knows what it's like to be on both sides of the soup kitchen line.

July 13, 2009, The New York Times City Room Blog — Red Salvation Army Christmas kettles, accompanied by bell-ringing volunteers and staff members, appear on the city’s streets from Thanksgiving to Christmas, with the money collected going toward the support of soup kitchens, food pantries and other social services.

CLAREMONT, Calif., June 22, 2009 — The application deadline for the 2009 Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation is quickly approaching with submissions due July 1 at 3pm EDT. The Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University is encouraging interested nonprofits to complete their applications ASAP. All U.S.-based nonprofits are eligible for the award.

VERNON HILLS, Ill., April 21, 2009 — CDW Corporation, a leading provider of technology products and services to business, government and education, today announced the formation of a solutions team solely dedicated to solving critical information technology (IT) needs for non-profit charitable organizations and foundations. Supported by technology specialists in areas such as security, volume software licensing, telephony and power and cooling, CDW’s non-profit team leverages CDW partnerships to bring non-profit organizations business-class solutions for their unique challenges.

TROY, Mich., April 9, 2209 — Signaling the importance of affirming and strengthening philanthropic support for nonprofits in times of crisis, the trustees of The Kresge Foundation awarded nearly $73 million in grants in the first quarter of 2009. The awards represent the largest quarterly commitment in the 85-year-old foundation's history. It also reflects the foundation's continuing effort to build-out its longer-term strategies to fortify the essential components of healthy, vibrant communities while identifying ways to help improve the life circumstances of low-income citizens in the here-and-now.

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 2, 2009, Associated Press — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its charitable foundations gave $423 million in cash and in-kind gifts for the company's 2009 fiscal year, a 25 percent increase from a year ago.