The NonProfit Times announced the launch of a free online portal that gives free access to corporate donation data for fundraising research to nonprofit grant writers and others researchers. The portal’s address is http://www.nptgrantsearch.com.
The portal is powered by Internet search company NOZA, Inc., provider of the world’s largest database of charitable gifts. The research portal was launched with more than 4,300 searchable records of corporate donations valued at $1 million or more to U.S. charities.
The only free service of its kind, users can search, view and save information about the corporate donor, recipient organization, size of gift, and year of donation. Nonprofits can research current donors and create customized prospect lists to assist in solicitation planning.
Access is available immediately at http://www.nptgrantsearch.com or from NPT’s home page, http://www.nptgrantsearch.com.
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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Eleanor Clift Starts NPT Column - Estate Tax will survive the November election
Political pundit Eleanor Clift starts a Web-only column for The NonProfit Times, which will appear monthly through the November presidential election. A Newsweek columnist, book author and television commentator on The McLaughlin Group and numerous other programs, she'll talk to Washington, D.C., insiders to let nonprofit managers know what to expect on important issues.
Here is a sample from her first column:
Not Dead Yet - Estate Tax will survive the November election
By Eleanor Clift
The estate tax was a hot political issue when Republican pollster Frank Luntz renamed it “the death tax,” persuading millions of Americans without enough assets to be affected that Uncle Sam would fleece them at the grave, denying heirs what was rightfully theirs. Calling for an end to the estate tax became a rallying cry for Republicans throughout the nineties, but politicians don’t talk about it anymore, and there’s a reason for that.
Whoever wins the White House in November, John McCain or one of his Democratic rivals, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, the estate tax will still be with us. Planned giving officers at nonprofit organizations should rest easy. There is no way a Democratic Congress will allow the estate tax to expire, and Democrats will have the numbers in both the House and the Senate to work their will regardless of which party captures the White House.
In the House, a high number of Republican retirements, 29 at last count, make it a certainty that Democrats will increase their margin, a proposition that seemed shaky until recently. The Democrats took control in November ’06 in part because they won marginal districts that could revert back to the GOP. That looks unlikely in the wake of the Democrats picking up the seat held for two decades by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a sign that there is trouble ahead for the Republicans...
Click Here to read complete article...
Here is a sample from her first column:
Not Dead Yet - Estate Tax will survive the November election
By Eleanor Clift
The estate tax was a hot political issue when Republican pollster Frank Luntz renamed it “the death tax,” persuading millions of Americans without enough assets to be affected that Uncle Sam would fleece them at the grave, denying heirs what was rightfully theirs. Calling for an end to the estate tax became a rallying cry for Republicans throughout the nineties, but politicians don’t talk about it anymore, and there’s a reason for that.
Whoever wins the White House in November, John McCain or one of his Democratic rivals, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, the estate tax will still be with us. Planned giving officers at nonprofit organizations should rest easy. There is no way a Democratic Congress will allow the estate tax to expire, and Democrats will have the numbers in both the House and the Senate to work their will regardless of which party captures the White House.
In the House, a high number of Republican retirements, 29 at last count, make it a certainty that Democrats will increase their margin, a proposition that seemed shaky until recently. The Democrats took control in November ’06 in part because they won marginal districts that could revert back to the GOP. That looks unlikely in the wake of the Democrats picking up the seat held for two decades by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a sign that there is trouble ahead for the Republicans...
Click Here to read complete article...
Don't Tell the Donor - An Honest Critique Of The Fundraising Conference Circuit
I will never forget the first fundraising conference I ever attended. It was energizing to be surrounded by hundreds of passionate fundraisers from a wide range of nonprofit groups who were eager to share their successes and failures. The experience convinced me that this was a profession where I could spend my career learning and growing while helping a great cause.
Unfortunately, some of my recent conference experiences have been underwhelming. In fact, after one particularly boring conference, a colleague told me that the old adage must be true, “those that can – do; those that can’t – attend conferences.”
The truth is that I'm not one of those people who tries to argue that we as fundraisers are too busy raising money for the urgent and critical work of our respective organizations to take two or three days out of the office and spend valuable resources to attend a conference.
I remain optimistic that a vibrant conference circuit is the best avenue to provide continuing education to fundraisers. Our fast-paced industry benefits from bringing creative and innovative thinkers together to learn new tactics and meet new leaders.
The legal and medical professions believe so strongly in continuing education that they mandate a certain number of CLE or CME credits to maintain their licenses. It’s easy to understand why. We live in a rapidly changing world and it is a liability to employ staff whose knowledge or expertise stagnates....