The NPT Jobs Posting Special

In this tough economy, you need to take advantage of all sources when recruiting new candidates for open positions. That means not only using job boards, but also social media and print advertisements. With the newest jobs posting special from The NonProfit Times, you get all of that and more.

For only $595, your organization will get all the tools it needs to reach a wide audience of job seekers. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

• Online 30 day posting on The Nonprofit Job Seeker.
• Banner ad to run for 30 days that ad is running, SITE WIDE.
• Job tweeted to @nptjobs & @nonprofittimes list 3x each.
• Listing in the print and digital editions of our magazine
• Blog post of your listing on our Jobs Blog 

Does this sound like a deal that would interest your nonprofit? If so, please contact Janice Freedman at 973-401-020 x219 for more details. Happy recruiting!

NY Attorney General Sues Race Horse Nonprofit

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced yesterday that he has filed a lawsuit against the directors of a nonprofit for retired race horses.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported that Schneiderman accused the Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) of providing inadequate care for its 1,100 retired race horses. The suit alleges the organization took on more horses than it could handle, leading to poor food, unattended injuries, and a lack of shelter for severe weather.

In a statement, Schneiderman said that both the state and the nation need TRF to succeed but that the group's "board has driven this vital organization into the ground." The foundation is also accused of paying its boarding farms less than $3 per horse a day to provide care -- less than half spent by similar organizations -- and that the board diverted funds for horses to repay loans by two of the organization's directors.

TRF Chairman John Moore has denied the allegations, saying that suit is based on a "pile of lies." He insisted that all of the horses they care for are in good condition, and that TRF would pursue every legal avenue to defend itself.

You can read the full story in The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Grant Writer

Are you as skilled with numbers as you are with the pen? Are you able to work on tight deadlines? If you answered "yes" to both of these questions, NPT Jobs has just the position for you.

Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio (LSSCO) is actively searching for a full-time Grant Writer to identify and pursue a vast array of grant opportunities that support fundraising and program priorities for the organization. This position will partner with program leadership to plan and ensure targeted grant goals are being met. While teamwork is certainly a part of this job, you must also be able to work independently to research, analyze, and make recommendations for new grant opportunities.

Wondering what it takes to qualify for this work? LSSCO listed the following requirements in their job description:

• Bachelor's Degree in communications or a related field.
• At least five years of grant writing experience, specifically with government or other complex grants.
• Strong computer skills with knowledge in online resources, Microsoft Office products, and Raiser's Edge or other application databases.
•  Demonstrated ability to work as a team and develop collaborative partnerships with the ability to set expectations, hold other accountable, and provide effective feedback. Must be able to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and set priorities.

If you fit all of these qualifications then you are definitely a candidate for the job. Apply today via our career center!

Alexandria Nonprofits Cash In On Giving Day

Online giving days have been very popular recently, with cities such as Erie, N.Y. participating in a 24-hour marathon of fundraising. Alexandria, Va., which has hosted this kind of event in the past, has once again cashed in on its popularity.

The Washington Post reported that organizations in the northern Virginia city hoped to raise $200,000 in the 24-hour "Spring2ACTion Alexandria" online giving day which ended yesterday. The event encouraged donors of all income levels to give $10 or more to local charities via spring2action.org or by phone.

Nonprofits not only reached their goal, they exceeded it.

According to the numbers from spring2action.org, nonprofits raised a combined $319,333 from 3,698 donors. Last year's Spring2Action campaign raised $104,000 from more than 1,200 donors.

Casa Chirilagua, a Christian faith-based nonprofit, led all organizations with $33,774 from 186 unique donors. The Art League Inc. came in a close second, with $32,416 from 610 unique donors, which was the most donors to any organization during the event.

Spring2ACTion Alexandria was the first of three days of fundraising events in the city. A business philanthropy summit, a community service day, and a kids lemonade stand day are upcoming. You can read more about Spring2ACTion and these other events in The Washington Post.

Online Giving Challenge Raises $2.2 Million

An online giving challenge sponsored by Battle Creek, Mich.-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) raised more than $2.2 million over 10 days.

Twenty-two nonprofits participated in the foundation's national "Cultures of Giving Challenge," according to a press release posted in The Sacramento Bee. The challenge ran from April 17 to April 26 and provided a dollar-for-dollar match up to the first $20,000 per nonprofit. A total of $1.3 million was raised from 3,421 donations, with WKKF matching that number with a total of $915,000.

WKKF decided to hold The Challenge after the release of its report entitled "Cultures of Giving: Energizing and Expanding Philanthropy by and for Communities of Color." The report showcased the power of identity-based philanthropy, which is a growing movement to get people from that community to engage in philanthropic giving.  A recent report by Blackbaud also indicated that online giving is continuing to grow, increasing for the 12th month in a row.

"The Challenge was a success because it really engaged grassroots participation," said Dr. Alandra Washington, the foundation's deputy director of programs for the education and learning, and family economic security teams. "This will serve as a model for what communities can do to help themselves and their causes in the social media realm."

Read the full press release in The Sacramento Bee.

The May 1 Issue Of The NonProfit Times

With the beginning of a new month comes a new issue of The NonProfit Times. We're excited to commemorate the beginning of our march towards summer with the release of our May 1 issue! This edition of NPT contains a new Special Report and insights on topics from education to boards. Let's take a look at what's inside, shall we?

Special Report:

• Online Or Offline: What's the key for to successful professional development? It looks like it's a combination of both online and offline work.

Articles:

• East Coast Vs. West Coast, Public Vs. Private: Our main cover story for this issue focuses on the role geography plays when it comes to fundraising at colleges and universities.
• Nonprofits Make Sure Friends Find Them 'Pinteresting': An in-depth look at how nonprofits are making use of the latest social media phenomenon, Pinterest. Is there a future in its use for organizations?
• Smaller Boards Flexible, Engage All Members: It seems that less may be more when it comes to the size of nonprofit boards.

Columns:

• Taxes Vs. Fundraising: Why is the federal government trying to do the work of nonprofits?
• Don't Assume: Leaders of volunteers deal daily with all sorts of misconceptions that seem never to die, no matter how often they are challenged. One of these is the assumption that people automatically know how to work effectively with volunteers.

MD Nonprofits To Get Advance Funding

Small nonprofits in Montgomery County, Md. will get one-third of their funding up front beginning next fiscal year.

Gazette.net reported yesterday that, starting in Fiscal 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will implement this change for nonprofits that receive less than $26,000 dollars from the county. As it currently stands, organizations that contract with HHS submit monthly invoices with supporting documents. HHS then reimburses them for what they spend.

Uma Ahluwalia, the director of the county's HHS, told Gazette.net that giving nonprofits advance contracts will allow them to better fulfill their goals. She added that this change was first requested by the nonprofits in Montgomery County.

Here is how the new policy would work: If a nonprofit receives less than $26,000 from the county, it would get $8,600 up front. Assuming all of the organizations in that group received that amount of money, the county would spend about $480,000 in advance. HHS also plans to allow smaller nonprofits to keep back-up documents on-site, simplifying the administration of the money.

You can read the full story on Gazette.net.

Nonprofit Hospitals Accused Of Poor Charitable Care

A recent study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that many nonprofit hospitals provide only slightly more charitable care than for-profit ones.

A report on North County Public Radio (NCPR) expanded on this study by telling the story of Lori Duff from Columbus, OH. Duff had frequently visited a local nonprofit hospital called Mount Caramel Health for prenatal care while pregnant with her third son. She had assumed that, since she was earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, that the prenatal care would be free. That's why she was shocked when debt collectors demanded $1,800 for her visits to the hospital.

A spokesperson for Mount Caramel, which sued Duff and several other patients for not paying their bills, told NCPR that its mission is to provide as much charitable care as possible, but it must collect payments from those who can afford to pay them.

This is not the first instance that nonprofit hospitals have been accused of stingy health care. Three Illinois hospitals were denied tax-exemption last year after it was deemed they did not provide enough free care. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 attempted to address this type of issue by setting new rules for how nonprofit hospitals report its charity care. These new rules went into effect last year but have not been widely enforced. Here are some of the requirements:

• Nonprofit hospitals are prohibited from charging uninsured low-income payments higher rates than the lowest amounts billed to individuals with insurance.
• They must have a clearly written financial assistance policy describing who is eligible for free or reduced cost care.
• Extraordinary collections actions are not allowed against patients before determining whether the patient qualifies for financial assistance.

You can read the full story on NCPR's website.