A new bill pending in the Illinois State Senate would require publicly-funded nonprofits to expose the pay their executives receive from private management companies.
The bill would accomplish this by closing a loophole that currently allows organizations to hide this data, according to a report in The Chicago Tribune. State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) filed the legislation after reading a series of reports in the Tribune that revealed that the nonprofit executive pay at 18 state-funded organizations rose at double the rate of the private sector in 2009 and 2010.
The report in question showed that nonprofits were able to hide their pay data by paying salaries through for-profit management companies they formed. The proposed legislation would amend Illinois's procurement code to specify that organizations would also need to reveal what executives are paid even if those salaries came through a private company.
This is the latest step in a series of efforts by the state to bring greater transparency to publicly-funded groups. In July, the Illinois Department of Human Services, which funds many organizations in the state, started requiring all tax-exempt organizations that received $250,000 or more to release the pay data for all employees, including those paid through private companies. This requirement will extend to any nonprofit receiving $250,000 or more in DHS funding.
Harris's bill will bring similar requirements to many organizations in Illinois, regardless of which agency is funding them. During Fiscal Year 2011, more than $9.8 billion was distributed to almost 6,000 nonprofits throughout the state.
You can read the full report in The Chicago Tribune.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
New York Nonprofit Salary Information
That's why, for the 2012 Nonprofit Salary and Benefits Reports, The NonProfit Times released a dedicated report for New York nonprofits.
The 2012 Nonprofit Organizations New York State Salary and Benefits Report is the ideal guide for managers who want to make sure they are offering compensation in line with competitors. It stands to reason that a large charity in Manhattan will offer vastly different salaries and benefits to workers than in smaller regions of the state, which is why the report offers a baseline on salary and benefits so you will be in line with your peers.
As any successful nonprofit manager knows, salary is just half of the picture when it comes to compensation, especially with top-of-the-line jobs. That's why the New York Salary and Benefit Report lists the top executive perks given in the state. Additional vacation days and a car or car allowance were most common among New York's nonprofits, with more than half offering these perks to their top executives. It should be no surprise, then, that these positions have some of the lowest turnover rates of those surveyed for the report.
Other information included in the NY Salary and Benefits Report include:
- Annual Salary Increases (executive and non-executive);
- Base Salary and Total Cash Compensation data with percentile rankings for each position;
- Total compensation costs as a percentage of operating expenses;
- Employee profile data: number of full/part time; exempt vs. nonexempt;
- Retirement Plans (maximum contributions, eligibility, plan offerings, participation rates);
- Executive Employment Agreements (organizations offering, terms and conditions);
- Part Time Employee Benefit Offerings;
- Overtime Practices – exempt vs. non-exempt staff;
- Flexible Spending Accounts (offerings, maximum contribution percentile rankings); and,
- General Benefit Offering (covers 34 unique benefit programs).
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Komen Affiliate Rebounds After Planned Parenthood Controversy
A Susan G. Komen affiliate in Washington appears to be regaining some of the support it lost after the the national organization attempted to pull funding for Planned Parenthood, a decision that was eventually reversed.
One of the affiliates hit hardest by the controversy was Komen Puget Sound, which opposed the national organization's Planned Parenthood decision. Although they worked hard to distance themselves, Komen Puget Sound missed its fundraising goal by $700,000 during this year's Race for the Cure.
While the Planned Parenthood controversy still lingers, officials at Komen Puget Sound are seeing signs that support is coming back. According to a report in Puget Sound Business Journal, Wednesday's Power of Promise Lunch in Seattle is slated to have 450 participants, up from 360 in 2011. Jim Clune, communications director at Komen Puget Sound, told Business Journal that he is also hearing from supporters that they realize that they weren't connected to the national office's decision, and that they are considering returning their support.
A survey sent to supporters by the Puget Sound affiliate seems to confirm that supporters are coming back. More than 60 percent of donors indicated that they still plan to donate to the nonprofit in the next 12 months, while 23 percent are at least considering donating. About 12 percent of respondents had negative things to say, criticizing the national organization's decisions related to Planned Parenthood.
On February 1, the national Komen office announced new eligibility requirements for grants that prevented organizations that were under federal investigation to receive funding. Planned Parenthood fell under that category, as U.S. Rep. Cliff Sterns (R-Fla.) had initiated an investigation see if the organization was using federal funds for abortions, a claim that Planned Parenthood denies. After a massive public backlash, the decision was reversed two days later, but the damage had already been done.
Key Komen leaders departed the organization, culminating with Nancy Brinker stepping down as CEO, although she still remains as the chair of the board's executive committee. The breast cancer nonprofit has also seen major sponsors step aside, including Churchill Downs, parent company of the Kentucky Derby, which dropped Komen in favor of Stand Up to Cancer. The company claimed at the time that the change was made because they wanted to focus on ways to raise money for cancer research in general, not just breast cancer.
You can read the full story in Puget Sound Business Journal.
One of the affiliates hit hardest by the controversy was Komen Puget Sound, which opposed the national organization's Planned Parenthood decision. Although they worked hard to distance themselves, Komen Puget Sound missed its fundraising goal by $700,000 during this year's Race for the Cure.
While the Planned Parenthood controversy still lingers, officials at Komen Puget Sound are seeing signs that support is coming back. According to a report in Puget Sound Business Journal, Wednesday's Power of Promise Lunch in Seattle is slated to have 450 participants, up from 360 in 2011. Jim Clune, communications director at Komen Puget Sound, told Business Journal that he is also hearing from supporters that they realize that they weren't connected to the national office's decision, and that they are considering returning their support.
A survey sent to supporters by the Puget Sound affiliate seems to confirm that supporters are coming back. More than 60 percent of donors indicated that they still plan to donate to the nonprofit in the next 12 months, while 23 percent are at least considering donating. About 12 percent of respondents had negative things to say, criticizing the national organization's decisions related to Planned Parenthood.
On February 1, the national Komen office announced new eligibility requirements for grants that prevented organizations that were under federal investigation to receive funding. Planned Parenthood fell under that category, as U.S. Rep. Cliff Sterns (R-Fla.) had initiated an investigation see if the organization was using federal funds for abortions, a claim that Planned Parenthood denies. After a massive public backlash, the decision was reversed two days later, but the damage had already been done.
Key Komen leaders departed the organization, culminating with Nancy Brinker stepping down as CEO, although she still remains as the chair of the board's executive committee. The breast cancer nonprofit has also seen major sponsors step aside, including Churchill Downs, parent company of the Kentucky Derby, which dropped Komen in favor of Stand Up to Cancer. The company claimed at the time that the change was made because they wanted to focus on ways to raise money for cancer research in general, not just breast cancer.
You can read the full story in Puget Sound Business Journal.
Monday, October 22, 2012
3 Online Fundraising Tips
Traditional means of raising money still have their place in the nonprofit sector, but there's no question that online fundraising is gaining steam.
In an article on The Huffington Post, Darian Rodriguez Heyman, who has edited books such as "Nonprofit Management 101," wrote that 15 percent of the $317 billion donated to nonprofits come via the Internet. Organizations must start implementing online fundraising into their overall campaigns, yet many managers fear that it will take up too much of their time. Is there any way to take advantage of this growing trend without the use of a lot of time and money?
Thankfully, the answer is yes.
During the recent Social Media for Nonprofits conferences, presenters shared tips on how to best utilize online fundraising. Heyman listed three that are most useful for nonprofits:
In an article on The Huffington Post, Darian Rodriguez Heyman, who has edited books such as "Nonprofit Management 101," wrote that 15 percent of the $317 billion donated to nonprofits come via the Internet. Organizations must start implementing online fundraising into their overall campaigns, yet many managers fear that it will take up too much of their time. Is there any way to take advantage of this growing trend without the use of a lot of time and money?
Thankfully, the answer is yes.
During the recent Social Media for Nonprofits conferences, presenters shared tips on how to best utilize online fundraising. Heyman listed three that are most useful for nonprofits:
- Make Your Donate Button Shine: Your donate button should stand apart from the rest of your site. When Network For Good simply changed its button's color from grey to red, they saw a 30 percent increase in donations.
- Default Levels are Key: It's usually important to give potential online donors default donation levels (i.e. $25, $50, $100, $250, and other/fill in the blank) to guide their generosity. But just like with the other tips, embrace data vs. gut- take the time to play around with these levels and see what maximizes dollars in the door.
- Map Donations to Impact: As Kay Sprinkel Grace says, "people don't give to you, they give through you." So help make their gift concrete: for instance, a $100 donation may feed 50 children in a particular war torn region, a mere $50 purchases life-saving medication for 60 pregnant women in Africa, etc. Every default donation level must have a specific impact associated with it, but toy around with how you operationalize your impact to gauge what moves people to dig a bit deeper.
You can read Heyman's full article on The Huffington Post.
The 2012 Nonprofit Salary and Benefits Reports
This year brings the introduction of a new report to the standard four that were available in previous years: The 2012 Nonprofit Organizations New York State Salary and Benefits Report. All of NPT’s reports are based on responses from around the United States, but this is the publication’s first report to collect information based on a specific state. The New York Salary and Benefits Report contains information on mid-level salary information, complete benefits coverage, and key benchmarking information, including base salary and total cash compensation data with percentile rankings for each position.
The other reports released by NPT today are:
- 2012 Nonprofit Organizations Salary and Benefits Report: The information in this report will give you the salary range for nearly 252 positions in the nonprofit sector.
- 2012 Nonprofit Organizations Salary Report: This is useful for organizations that already have a handle on their benefits packages, but need information to create competitive salary structures.
- 2012 Nonprofit Organizations Benefits Report: Similar to the report above, this is the one to purchase if your nonprofit only needs help with creating competitive benefits packages for its employees.
- 2012 Nonprofit Organizations Top Executive Positions and Special Perks Report: Nonprofit executive compensation is so important to understand thoroughly. In order to attract the best people to be a part of a nonprofit organization, a very competitive environment, you need to make sure that you offer appealing compensation packages for hiring individuals who you wish to play an important role in your organization.
All five of the reports are available for purchase immediately on The NonProfit Times’ online store. Purchase one, or more, today so that your organization can attract the best and brightest employees, and stay on top of those Form 990s.
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