Myra Kraft Passes Away At 68

Note: This is a summary of a story from an outside news organization.  To read the full article, follow the links in this post.

Myra Kraft, a powerful figure in the world of philanthropy, passed away yesterday at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer.  Although she may be best known as the wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Myra used the fame that came with her last name to create a lasting legacy of philanthropy. 

In an obituary in today's Boston Globe, that legacy was recounted in great detail.  The piece recounted how Kraft manned phone-banks for fundraising drives for countless charities, rather than just staying in the background as a benefactor.  She was also chair of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and of the Boys & Girls Club of Boston.  Her hands on approach to philanthropy was so effective that the Boys & Girls Club waived its normal term limits to keep her on board.

According to the Globe article, Myra was concerned that, when her husband bought the Patriots in 1994, the large amount of money spent and borrowed on behalf of the team would hurt their giving.   This did not happen.  On the contrary, the couple's philanthropy increased.  Their last major gift as a couple was a $20 million donation to Partners HealthCare this year.  This donation was used to pay off the student loans of doctors in exchange for them working at community health centers for the needy.

Myra was a powerful force in the philanthropic sector.  By the time she reached adulthood, she had already donated more than $100 million to various different causes.  Her work will surely be missed, not only by those who knew her personally, but by those who benefited from her generosity.  To read the full obituary of Myra Kraft, visit the Boston Globe online.

The NonProfit Times at The Bridge Conference

The NonProfit Times is attending The Bridge Conference in DC this week.  The conference, which started yesterday, runs through July 22nd and covers topics on fundraising and integrated marketing.  We will be located at booth 339, next to the Internet Station.  If you are attending this conference, come visit us!  Our writers and editors will be there, and we'd love to talk to you.  You can also find out more details on how you can sign up for a subscription.

Nonprofit Hiring Tips

Cross posted from The Nonprofit Jobseeker

Although jobs may be scarce in this economy, this doesn't mean that job candidates are going to take the first position that is offered to them. This economy could make people more picky than normal. Because times are tough, they are going to not only want a position that pays well, but also one in which they feel comfortable. If you are going to attract the best candidates for your nonprofit job, you would do well to follow these five hiring tips:

 

• Make sure the description in your job listing is informative yet concise. This is a hard balance to strike, but it can be done. The key to reaching this balance is to use specifics. The more the applicant knows about the position, the less chance you will get resumes from unqualified candidates.

• When you conduct an interview, make sure you allow time for the person to say what they want out of the position. It's all well and good to explain what you are looking for in an ideal employee, but you should make sure that the candidate can express their expectations as well. This is helpful because it establishes that this will be a job where the employee's views are important. And that is an important factor when people decide where they want to work.

• Just because someone performs well in an interview doesn't mean they will be the right fit for your organization. Test your applicant's skills to see if they are up to the task. How you do this depends on the type of job you are looking to fill. If you are looking to hire a web content editor, for example, you can have them take a writing test after the interview. If you mention that you will be performing writing tests in your application, this has the added benefit of weeding out less serious candidates.

• Your office should be tidy at all times, but make sure it is especially presentable during the interview. And I'm not just referring to your desk; the entire office should look as impressive as possible. A relaxing workplace makes for a better working environment, and that will be on the top of the list of things top candidates will be looking for.

• Interviews can be very tiresome, especially if you have already been through many that day. Still, you are going to have to find some way to remain engaging to your prospective employee. There is no bigger turn off than an interviewer who seems uninterested. So even if you have to take an extra shot of coffee, make sure you are friendly and lively when you interview a job candidate.

Nonprofit Management Tip of The Week

We're going to start a new feature here on The NonProfit Times blog.  Each week, we will post a management tip directly from our site here to the blog.  The goal here is to not only get people more aware of this section of our site, but also to encourage discussion.  It is our hope that our readers will give their insight into the tip, and whether they have had any success with it.

With the latest news about New Jersey considering mandatory disclosure requirements, I thought it would be appropriate to have this week's management tip be about donors.  Specifically, this tip is about recent individual giving trends:

Despite the need for major gifts and foundation support, nonprofits still depend on the contributions they receive from individual donors, from that $5 check on up.


Speaking at the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Fund Raising Day in New York 2011, Margaret Holman of Holman Consulting Inc. discussed trends that are holding in individual giving through the nonprofit sector. For example:


• Major donors continue to give, but they are narrowing their focus to fewer charities where they can make a bigger impact.


• People give when they have a sense of security and optimism about the future. The economic crash and rising health care costs have left few Americans with any sense of financial security.


• Lower-income people tend to be more generous than higher-income individuals.


• The most generous donors are more likely to give by mail and less likely than average to give online.


• More generous donors are more intentional about planning their support.


• Giving still happens because donors are involved with their organizations.


• Demographics still matter.


• People check out charities in the following ways: talking to someone who supports the charity, visiting a Website or searching the Internet, checking a watchdog organization or visiting the organization in person.


• Best practices are stay donor focused, keep it simple, develop relationships (don’t think of donors as wallets) and triage your donors quarterly for contact.

What are your thoughts on this?  Have you noticed these trends as well recently?  We'd love to hear your stories.  If you are interested in reading more donor-related management tips, head on over to the NPT website.

The New NonProfit Times

The NonProfit Times, the leading business publication for nonprofit management, unveiled www.thenonprofittimes.com an innovative content driven platform designed to engage readers through category/content driven searches.  The website is designed to give visitors the ability to find the exact subject information that is relevant to their needs.  Whether it is an article or a management tip from The NonProfit Times, a white paper, or a directory listing, readers will know that they can easily find the subject that matters the most to them.

The reason for the website redesign was simple: To increase interaction between the reader and The NonProfit Times.  The new site takes a holistic approach to social sharing and reader interaction, with the goal of delivering intelligent and informative content to fulfill the reader’s needs.

 The website is divided into 4 main areas: News and Articles, Management Tips, Resource Marketplace and the Library.

News & Articles gives the readers daily updates on the happenings of the nonprofit sector, keeping them up-to-date on the happenings of the day.  Whether it is a quick update on a breaking story or a opinion-driven column, there will always be new stories available to readers.   

Management Tips offers “how tos” on a wide range of management topics that are geared towards nonprofit organizations.  Nonprofit managers will be able to find the answer to virtually any issue they have by browsing the 26 different categories of tips. 

The Resource Marketplace is where a nonprofit turns to when it is need of a product or a service to help the organization reach their goal.  Within each category is a list of services, along with their contact information and a short description of what they do. 

The Library is an advertiser driven area, in which white pages, videos, webinars are uploaded and are searchable by subject and category.

NJ Considering Mandatory Disclosure Requirement

We just put up a new story on the website that may be of some interest to nonprofits in New Jersey.  Our own Sam Fanburg reports that the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (NJDCA) is accepting public comment on a proposed mandatory donor designation disclosure.  If it were to pass, nonprofits would be required to give donors a way to designate funds for specific programs.  Here are some more details from the story:

According to the "pre-proposal" under N.J.A.C. 13:48-11.2, the NJDCA believes that “if particular programs are the inducement for a donor to make a contribution to the charity, the donor should be advised that he or she has the option to direct the charity to use his or her contribution to fund that program.” Any nonprofit that receives more than $250,000 in its previous fiscal year would have to include a designation allowing donors to choose what specific program their contribution would fund.

In a seven-page letter addressed to the acting director of the NJDCA, Errol Copilevitz, a partner in the Kansas City, Mo., firm of Copilevitz & Canter, LLC, tackled his own misgivings about the proposal finding a misunderstanding of fundraising by the state. “The rule fails to recognize a basic axiom of charitable fundraising, to-wit: it costs money to make money,” he wrote.

The proposed rule makes no allowance for cost and would mislead donors into believing their designation will require “100 percent of their donation to go to program services (when such a request is impossible),” according to Copilevitz. Especially in a nonprofit’s infancy, many times it costs more than a dollar to raise a dollar, but securing that initial relationship with donors allows an organization to cultivate future contributions.

As you can see, there are some concerns being raised about this proposal.  In addition to Copilevitz, the Center for Non-Profits in New Brunswick, NJ also has some issues with it.  Among other things, they believe it could lead to additional administrative costs such as printing, fund allocation and bookkeeping.  If your organization wants to make any comments on the proposal, send it to this address:

Thomas Calcagni, Acting Director
New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 45037
Newark, NJ 07101

And be sure to read the full article on The NonProfit Times website.

Commission Adopts Model Protection Of Charitable Assets Act

Here is an excerpt from a story we recently published on our website:

The Model Protection of Charitable Assets Act (MPCAA) received approval from the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) Tuesday during the ULC’s annual meeting in Vail, Colo.

Approval means that individual states can use the act or any part of it as a model for regulation of nonprofit organizations, though they are not required to use any of it. The new act replaces the Uniform Supervision of Trustees Charitable Purposes Act, passed in 1954.

In a statement after the vote, the ULC said the goal of the PCAA is to “protect the role of the states with respect to charitable assets, by clarifying the role of the Attorney General.

“The attorney general’s authority in most states is broad and this act will not limit or narrow that authority, while providing many states the first clear statutory articulation of that authority.”

You can read the full story by visiting The NonProfit Times on the web.

26 Years of Live Aid

Yesterday was the 26th anniversary of the Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia.  Musicians like Freddy Mercury, Bob Dylan, U2, Paul McCartney, and more came together to raise money for the famine that was ongoing in Ethiopia.   

Even with today's technology, the concept of Live Aid is still extremely impressive.  At the time, the event was one of the most ambitious broadcasting events of the time, with both concerts being carried by different networks: BBC in London and ABC in America.  In addition, MTV carried an entirely separate feed of the US concert.  During the broadcast, viewers were urged to call in and donate money to the cause.

And donate they did; the concerts raised over $100 million for famine relief in Africa.  Adjusted for inflation, that number would be $200 million today.  Imagine if one of your fundraisers got that kind of money; you'd be set! 

While there were other fundraising concerts before and after, Live Aid was an important event in the history of philanthropy and fundraising. It led directly to other "aid" concerts, like Farm Aid, and was the pre-cursor to benefit concerts like those for Haiti and Japan, and Stand Up 2 Cancer, aired on most major television networks.  Feel free to share your thoughts on how Live Aid may have impacted philanthropy and fundraising below, as well as any memories you may have of the concerts.

Ethnic Donors: NPTtv Interviews Nelson Bowman

In fundraising, targeting the best prospects is very important.  In order to raise the most money possible, you have to be able to identify the top donor groups out there, and focus a lot of attention on them.  Nelson Bowman, director of development at Prairie View A&M University, spoke to The NonProfit Times TV about why targeting ethnic donors should be a key priority for fundraisers.  Specifically, we asked him the following questions:

• Why should nonprofits be thinking about specifically targeting ethnic groups when it comes to their appeals and giving programs?
• How is messaging different when targeting specific ethnic groups?
• Anything else to think about besides the message or the type of message? Are there other aspects to the giving and the philanthropy among those ethnicities that a charity would have to think about before setting out in that direction?
• Any other specific strategies or other strategies that charities should be thinking about when they set out to appeal to other ethnic groups?
• Do charities target ethnic groups now, or is it a matter of making it front of mind and reminding them that the demographics showing that you should be appealing to different donor groups by ethnicity?
• Anything else charities should think about when just starting out a program like this, to focus a little more on ethnic groups in their appeals; is there a good first step or two that they should do before they engage?

Bowman answered all of these questions, and also touched on how important it is to be ethnically sensitive to these donors.  If your organization has been thinking of reaching out to these groups, this video is a must watch.  You can view the full interview over at The NonProfit Times TV.

NPTtv Summary: Bates Tops List Of Most Expensive Colleges

Note: This is a summary of a story from the newest episode of The NonProfit Times TV.

Looking to spend a little more on colleges this year?  Then these schools will be right up your ally.

The US Department of Education has released a list of the most expensive colleges in the country.  Maine’s Bates College, with a price tag of $51,300, was named the priciest private, nonprofit college for 2009-2010.  In comparison, the average price of tuition for a public university was under $6,400.  Here are some other colleges on the list:

• Connecticut College: $51,115
• Middlebury College, Vermont: $50,780
• Sarah Lawrence College, New York: $41,968

While private schools tend to cost more than public universities, keep in mind that the average tuition for a nonprofit college in 2009-2010 was $21,324 without room and board.

NPTtv Summary: Clinton To Launch Micro-Lending Plan

Note: This is a summary of a story from the newest episode of The NonProfit Times TV.
In an effort to help small business owners in regions that were devestated by the recession, Former President Bill Clinton has launched a micro-lending plan that he hopes will bring much needed capital to these struggling businesses. 

Called Kiva City, it was announced during the annual Clinton Global Initiative Summit. The effort will be headed by micro-lending nonprofit Kiva, as well as Visa, Inc. Kiva City will offer small business lending strategies to suffering American cities like Detroit, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh. They will also give out loans of about $7,000, which will be used to pay rent, buy equipment, or cover other daily operations.

NPTtv Summary: End of Nonprofit Board Ban?

Note: This is a summary of a story from the newest episode of The NonProfit Times TV.

Could a 15-year ban be coming to an end?

If The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has its way, federal employees will be allowed to serve on nonprofit boards without approval from their agencies.  The organization published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to do away with that regulation, which has existed since it was first passed in 1996.  They noted in their new proposal that the supposed conflicts of interest between an employee’s job and their financial duties to a nonprofit are more theoretical than real.  Therefore, they argued, the regulation was not necessary.

Whether this rule will become law is anybody's guess, but it's certainly something to keep an eye on.

NPTtv Summary: We're Out Of Here: Two Nonprofit CEOs Call It Quits

Note: This is a summary of a story from the newest webcast of The NonProfit Times TV.

Two major nonprofit CEOs came back after the July 4th weekend to decleare their independence from their organizations.

Steve Gunderson, of the Council on Foundations, and Robert D. Reischauer, of the Urban Institute, announced they were stepping down from their positions. Gunderson, who was CEO for six years, announced he would be retiring effective September 1st. In an open letter on the COF website, he said it was “the right time for a transition.”

Reischauer, who lead the Urban Institute for 11 years, will step down as CEO at the end of 2011. During his tenure, the organization established the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and refocused its interdisciplinary research on welfare reform for low-income working families.

New NPTtv Out Tomorrow

The newest webcast of The Nonprofit Times TV will be out tomorrow!  Here's a sneak peek at the stories you can expect to see:

• "We're Out Of Here"
• "New Federal Rules For Boards"
• "Clinton Launches Micro-Lending Plan"
• "The Most Expensive Colleges"
• "Targeting Ethnic Donors"

We will provide the links to each of these stories tomorrow, as well as summaries.  Stay tuned!

AFP Poll: Changes To Charitable Deduction Will Hurt Giving

Fundraisers have made it clear they expect a drop in donations if the Obama Administration's plan to limit the charitable deduction is approved, according to a story that was just published on our website.  How much that decline would be, however, is up for debate.

The plan, which is part of the White House's Fiscal Year 2012 budget, would cap itemized deductions at 28 percent for the richest Americans.  In a Quick Poll by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), three-quarters of those surveyed said the plan would negatively affect giving.  When it comes to how much giving would be affected, however, participants were split.  Here's how the numbers break down:

• 27 percent predict a 25-percent drop in gifts
• Another 27 percent believe it will be around a 5 to 10-percent decrease
• Finally, 23 percent think the decline will be at 5 percent

 Fewer than one in 10 fundraisers thought there would be no effect on giving, while 14 percent remained unsure.  You can read the whole story, including some reactions from the CEO of AFP, at the The NonProfit Times.

Discussion: CEO Changes

We just posted a discussion on our LinkedIn profile about the recent CEO changes that have been occuring at nonprofits.  The question is below:

Earlier this week, Steve Gunderson, President and CEO of The Council On Foundations, announced he would be resigning in September. There have also been a number of CEO changes, like at Save the Children and Catholic Relief Services. What advice would you have for these new generation of leaders?

Feel free to start off the discussion by visiting us on LinkedIn.

Japan Easing Towards Nonprofit Groups

Note: This is a summary of an article from an outside news organization.  To read the full article, click on the links in this post.

It's no secret that Japan has a negative view of nonprofit organizations.  During natural disasters, such as the recent tsunami or the 1995 Kobe earthquake, the government advised relief organizations to keep away.  Those that came anyway found that it was almost impossible to get anything done.  This is because the country lacks a long history of private philanthropy.  Support for those in need is supposed to come from the family, and nonprofits are viewed as interfering.  And with restrictive laws in place, life for nonprofits in Japan is very difficult.  All this is about to change, however, according to a story in The Economist.  Well, at least for the most part.

On June 22, a law was passed in Japan that will allow nonprofits to get tax relief much easier.  Currently, only 223 of the 90,000 NPOs in Japan have a special tax status.  To put this in even greater perspective, that number is at 160,000 in the UK and 1.8 million in the US.  The new law will drastically change the way the current cumbersome process is handled.  Now, municipal authorities will handle the certification process instead of the national tax agency handling certification.  This is a big deal, as the latter views most NPOs as a detriment to the country's finances.  Other changes include:

• The so-called "public support test" will be scrapped, removing a huge burden for nonprofits eligibility.
• Contributions will be nearly 50% tax-deductible.  This is an increase from the current 10% level

When the law comes fully into effect, it will be a huge boon for any future disaster relief efforts.  The way nonprofits are viewed by Japanese officials may never change, but this law will at least make it easier for them to operate in times of need. 

If you want to read the full story, head on over to The Economist.

Nonprofits Gain Reprieve From Minnesota Debt Crisis

If you've been following the news lately, you might have heard about the Minnesota government shutdown.  It all started when Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, attempted to close a $5-billion deficit by increasing taxes on residents making $1 million or more, as well as instituting some budget cuts.  The Republican controlled state senate, however, wanted only spending cuts.  Since no deal was made by midnight on June 30th, all non-essential government services were halted. 

This created a scare for some nonprofits in the state, such as BLIND Inc, who feared that that shutdown would severely handicap them and the people that rely on their services.  However, a district court eventually ruled that BLIND Inc and several other Minnesota nonprofits count as essential services, allowing them to operate as normally.  Here is an excerpt from the just released story from The NonProfit Times:

On the first day of rulings, Gearin ruled that the services provided by BLIND Inc. and Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services were essential. She also included the state’s licensing agencies so licenses can be renewed, but she did not include the agency that issues nurse registration.


The ruling came as good news to Shawn Mayo, executive director of BLIND Inc. in Minneapolis, which offers training to the blind. She said her organization was able to continue without cutbacks in services because it could draw from general funds. It has 15 full-time staff and three summer temporary staff. It will be adding five more summer temps next week. The organization serves 40 to 45 people and will begin its children’s program the second week of July.


Mayo said the staff was discussing options even before the shutdown and was willing to take whatever steps necessary to keep running.


“We were quite concerned about how long we could continue to provide services and about further sustainability,” Mayo said. She added that even though her organization can operate, it is a referral agency, so she is concerned that counselors to whom clients would have been referred and who are out of work may face serious backlogs when they do return to work.


“Our students are thrilled (about the ruling),” Mayo said. “They didn’t have anywhere else to go. And they’re what it’s really about.”

You can read the full story at The NonProfit Times website.

Catch Up on eNewsletters From The NonProfit Times

Did you know you can view all of our past eNewsletters on The NonProfit Times' website?  By visiting our eNewsletter page, you can take a look at all of our past (and current) messages.  This is a handy feature for a number of reasons.  First, if you were ever thinking of subscribing to them, you will now get a better idea of the kind of content you will be receiving.  On the other hand, it allows you to catch up on issues you might have missed if you hadn't been subscribed since the first newsletter came out.

As a reminder, here are the newsletters we currently offer:

-NPTimes Weekly-Get updates on the latest trends in nonprofit management. Sent every Monday.

-NPTimes Jobs-Delivers the latest news on nonprofit jobs, including the latest positions from our job board. Sent every Tuesday.

-Exempt-The companion eNewsletter to The NonProfit Times’ sister publication, Exempt Magazine. Sent  third Tuesday of each month.

-NPTimes TechnoBuzz-The latest trends in nonprofit technology can be found in this eNewsletter. Sent second Tuesday of each month.

-NPTimes Instant Fundraising-Need help with fundraising for your organization? This is the newsletter for you. Sent every Wednesday.

-NPTtv Newsletter-Sent every other Wednesday with the release of the new NonProfit Times TV webcast. Includes links to the individual stories in the new episode.

All of these newsletters are available to view in our archive, so check them out.  Just scroll down past the article categories to the section entitled "eNewsletters" and select the edition of the newsletter you want to view.  And if you are interested in signing up for any of these e-mails, visit our newsletter subscription page.

Management Tip: 7 Essentials to Attracting Great Employees

Here is a recent management tip direct from The NonProfit Times website.  Check the management tips page often, as new ones are added every week.

***

Wondering why your organization has trouble attracting good employees?

Well, that article in The New York Times reporting your CEO has been found certifiably insane sure didn’t help, but in fact when it comes to hiring and retention, the times they are a changing.

In their book “Brand For Talent,” Mark Schumann and Libby Sartain offer information meant to show that getting and keeping top employees means awareness that present-day employees are not the same as those who grew up during the Depression, even if they are dealing with the Great Recession.

Schumann and Sartain offer seven essentials that can help deal with a new situation.

• Wake up. Today’s job-seekers see themselves, not you, as the consumers. With a world of information at their fingertips, and the savvy to maneuver it, they are looking for something that satisfies them.

• Look ahead. You might have to market yourself as a good place to work. Think sensibilities, challenges, lessons, opportunities, the future.

• Create. A company must creatively market its employer brand to each segment of worker it hopes to secure.

• Segment. As with marketing, segmenting means adapting the talent brand message for each segment based on insight into audience needs and preferences.

• Implement. Be recognized, believed, personalized, and remembered.

• Sustain. There must be alignment of the culture, corporate identity and the consumer and employer brands.

• Survive. Be aware of and utilize social media to your benefit.