SBA Loans For Nonprofit Operations

Cross-Posted from The NonProfit Times Website

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If your nonprofit operates in any county that has been declared a major disaster area by President Barack Obama due to Hurricane Sandy, it might be eligible for low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Nonprofits can borrow up to $2 million at 3 percent interest rate on up to 30-year terms. Public liaison Carol Chastang said the SBA has already distributed 32,000 loan applications via mail and email in relation to Hurricane Sandy. According to Chastang, it takes 10 days after the SBA receives a completed application to render a decision.

As of Thursday, President Obama has declared major disasters in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut counties, but Chastang said her office, in conjunction with FEMA, is still conducting assessments in areas affected by Sandy and it is likely that additionally counties will be declared major disaster zones. The latest disaster declarations can be found at SBA’s Sandy hub: www.sba.gov/sandy

“We encourage people to make that phone call as quickly as possible,” said Chastang. “You can also apply online. We also encourage everyone to register with disasterassistance.gov or FEMA because other forms of assistance will be made available in the days to come.” She added that registering with FEMA, disasterassistance.gov or the SBA is “plugging into the pipeline.” Online SBA disaster loan applications are available at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/, or you can call 1-800-659-2955.

New Issue Of The NonProfit Times: 11/1/2012

Aside from the NPT 100 Report, the Nov. 1 issue of The NonProfit Times contains a number of articles covering a wide array of topics. Let's take a look at some of those stories:

Articles

• Nonprofits And Fundraisers Face Unflattering Light Of Consumer Media: Scrutiny by consumer media into some potential skeletons in the nonprofit sector’s closet has charity officials both capitulating and complaining.
• Mandel Center Changes Split Management From Business: Almost three decades after being among the pioneers in nonprofit management education, The Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations is making big changes to keep up with an evolution in the sector.
• Life After Lance: The Livestrong Foundation had been planning for life after Lance at some point – perhaps just not this soon.

Columns

• Funding 'Free': It’s a paradox. In a bad economy, more people are in need of the services provided by nonprofits just as it gets harder to raise funds for those services. People see that volunteers are important and organizations try to recruit more of them.
• Why It's Hard To Grow: There is a notable lack of attention paid to growth in the nonprofit sector, and it’s not because we’re just starting to come out of The Great Recession. There is a larger structural reason why growth is so difficult in the nonprofit sector no matter what the economic outlook. Being able to recognize that reason is the first step in overcoming this structural locked brake.

The NPT 100: 2012 Edition

The release of The NonProfit Times' Nov. 1 issue also marks the release of one of our most popular reports: The NPT 100. This in-depth study ranks the 100 largest nonprofits (by revenue) and offers a wide range of data on those organizations.

The YMCA of USA once again topped all organizations, bringing in $5,986,057,000 in total support for the fiscal year ending 2011. Yet, like most of the NPT 100 organizations, the Y had to look to different sources of revenue faced with dwindling government support and weaker charitable giving from a smaller pool of donors.

NPT's studies found that program service revenue was the second-largest portion of funds for nonprofits, coming in at $16.767 billion or one-quarter of all funds. Government support was at $11.1 billion, or 16 percent, up from $10.745 billion last year. Other revenue and investment income each contributed about 4 percent to the overall revenue pie, at $2.859 billion and $2.763 billion, respectively.

In terms of expenses, NPT 100 organizations spent $55.416 billion on program, $5.27 billion on administration, and $3.138 billion on fundraising.

Overall, the 24th annual NPT 100 Report received $33.374 billion in public support, falling below 50 percent of their total revenue of $66.875 billion. These same nonprofits saw $33.159 billion amid overall revenue of $64.43 billion last year, almost 51 percent.

To view the full report, visit our website.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Senior Director, Foundation Relations

Looking for a nonprofit job? The NonProfit Times' career center, the Nonprofit Job Seeker, has a couple of featured positions online today, including an opening for a Senior Director of Foundation Relations. Interested? Read on for more details.

The American Heart Association (AHA) in San Francisco, Calif., is hiring for this position, which involves building high-level relationships between top foundations that will increase giving to support the organization's mission. The successful candidate will work with volunteers and staff throughout AHA's Western States Affiliates to reach this goal.

AHA has a fundraising goal for this year of $785,200, so an emphasis will be placed on obtaining six-figure gifts.

Think you have what it takes for this job? Before you click that "apply now" button, make sure you meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in English, Communications, Journalism or related field;
• 5+ years’ development experience in the non-profit sector with a successful track record in developing and maintaining high-level foundation relationships, securing foundation grants, stewardship, reporting impactful outcomes, etc.;
• Ability to deal professionally in a corporate and non-profit environment and assume responsibility for guiding grants and programs from inception through completion;
• Exceptional communication skills;
• Ability to work in a fast paced, goal- and deadline-oriented environment with high expectations; and,
• Ability to work outside standard business hours as needed.

Apply today via our career center if you are interested.

California Judge Tentatively Allows Investigation Of PAC's Donors

A judge from the Sacramento Superior Court tentatively ruled Tuesday that the California's campaign finance watchdog agency could investigate an Arizona Political Action Committee's (PAC) $11 million donation.

Judge Shellyanne Chang said that citizens of California would suffer "irreparable harm" if contributions to Americans for Responsible Leadership were not investigated by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), according to The San Jose Mercury News. The small business PAC has run campaigns against two propositions on the state's ballot, Proposition 30, a tax-hike proposal, and Proposition 32, which would stop unions from collecting dues for political purposes.

Judge Chang will oversee a hearing on the matter Wednesday before she makes her final decision.

California Gov. Jerry Brown praised the tentative ruling, telling the Associated Press that "This is the biggest campaign violation ever since the FPPC became operative in 1975, and it is heartening that the FPPC is going to court."

"We believe that the state has not proven its case and that the FPPC does not have the authority to issue an audit in advance of the election," said Americans for Responsible Leadership spokesman Matt Ross in a statement. "Depending upon tomorrow's final outcome, there is a high likelihood that Americans for Responsible Leadership will appeal."

Although 501(c)(4) groups are not required to disclose their donors under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) codes, California requires disclosure, and Gov. Brown has been campaigning hard to have PACs operating in the state to follow those rules. The pressure for Americans for Responsible Leadership to reveal its donations increased after the group received the $11 million meant to help it fight the two ballot propositions.

You can read the full story in The San Jose Mercury News.

Illinois Seeks Pay Data From Nonprofits

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.

New York Nonprofit Salary Information

There are few states that have as much diversity in the nonprofit sector as New York. From famous organizations such as Charity: Water in New York City, to the government-related nonprofits of the Capital region, there are plenty of opportunities in the Empire State.

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).

This report can be purchased, along with the four other Salary Reports, on The NonProfit Times' online store.

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.

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:

• 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

The NonProfit Times, the leading business publication for nonprofit management, has released the 2012 editions of its annual Nonprofit Salary and Benefits Reports. In partnership with Bluewater Nonprofit Solutions, these five reports will give managers the most up-to-date information on current trends in nonprofit salaries and benefits so they can properly fill out their IRS Form 990s.

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.

10 Details To Share When Seeking Grants

Foundations and other funders not only require a detailed description of the program for which you are seeking a grant but, as Alan Silver explained in "How to Win Grants," also other details of how your organization is run.

Silver refers to these details as "boilerplate items," and he recommended all nonprofits develop hard-copy and electronic versions of them so they can be easily inserted into your grant proposal. There are a number of things that can be on your boilerplate list, but Silver narrowed it down to 10 items he deemed most important:

• Documentation of agency legal status;
• Agency mission, vision, and values;
• Description of services, programs, staffing, fees, eligibility, or admissions criteria;
• Descriptive information on your geographic service area and target population (including state, regional, and national comparisons);
• What makes your agency special (examples include unique mission, quality, and cost metrics);
• Volunteers: Numbers, roles, hours, and the aggregate annual economic value of the time they contribute;
• Key management and staff;
• Summary statistics/utilization data; and,
• Key performance indicators and trends (cost per client or per encounter, number of clients served per year, comparison to industry standards).

Microsoft Employees Raise $1 Billion For Nonprofits

Cross-Posted From The NonProfit Times

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Microsoft Corporation employees have given $1 billion to nonprofits since the inception of the company’s Employee Giving Campaign in 1983. The software company, co-founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, made the announcement at a town hall event yesterday. Gates is also the head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer announced the news along with Gates and Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire on the corporation’s campus in Redmond, Wash. The event was held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Employee Giving Campaign, which has benefited 31,000 organizations nationwide.

To mark the occasion, Microsoft announced that the four nonprofits that received the most money from the program would get a $25,000 grant. Those organizations were World Vision International, Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation, the American National Red Cross, and United Way of King County.

“I'm incredibly proud of our employees, and this is truly a time to celebrate, not just because we've raised a record amount of funds, but also because together with our nonprofit partners, we have impacted and improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people,” said Balmer.

When the Employee Giving Campaign was first implemented by Microsoft in 1983, 200 employees raised $17,000 for nonprofits. The company now has 35,000 employees, and it predicts that over $100 million will be raised for organizations this year.

“The impact of all that giving is almost incalculable, and the statistics don't even begin to tell the whole story,” said Jon Fine, CEO, United Way of King County.

Gates proudly recapped the employees’ history of giving, saying they have been involved in their communities from the company’s earliest days.

“Thirty years and $1 billion later, that impact can be felt around the world,” Gates said. “The company and its employees have much to be proud of at this remarkable milestone and, I know, will continue to make a positive impact in the years ahead.”

Gates is no stranger to philanthropy as his foundation has worked to support programs that aim to enhance healthcare and end global poverty. He also partnered with Warren Buffet in the Giving Pledge, which urges billionaires to agree to donate half of their wealth to charity. Gates was once again selected to The NonProfit Times’ Power and Influence Top 50, which honors the top nonprofit executives in the country.

The Employee Giving Campaign is a year-long effort, with the company matching employee volunteer time at $17 per hour and dollar-for-dollar charitable contributions to all eligible nonprofits up to $12,000 per employee. In addition to the $1 billion raised, employees have also volunteered more than 2 million hours of their time to causes since Microsoft began its volunteer match program in 2005.

The company places a special focus on the month of October both on its Redmond campus and in its offices across the U.S. Employees work together not only to volunteer their time and raise money through direct donations, but they also organize a month-long series of activities. These include a 5K run, an online auction, and an “underground” car show.

5 Suggestions For A Modest Website Redesign

When you hear the words "website redesign," images of major overhauls and hours upon hours of work come to mind. This is often the case for sites that have serious problems but, thankfully, that doesn't necessarily describe your nonprofit's webpage.

This was exactly the point that Jono Young and Rahell Guba of Blackbaud made during their session, "Better Nonprofit Websites: 52 Tweaks in 52 Weeks," during the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) in San Francisco. As the title of the session suggests, Young and Guba offered 52 tweaks that nonprofits can make to their websites without having to commit major resources.

Here are five of those suggestions that you can use immediately that will make a world of difference when it comes to your website design:

• Use fifth grade language: Clean, simple, understandable external language. Making it relatable is better than making it likable.
• I don’t just want your money: Provide alternate ways to support in addition to donations, such as social media, email, word of mouth, blog about us, templated messages.
• Pictures speak louder: Visualize your achievements, goals, mission, appeals and campaigns. Use an infographic approach and make content digestible.
• Content approval workflows: Have a second, or third or fourth, set of eyes review your content before it goes public.
• Social your confirmation pages: These are your top supporters – help them brag about what they just did and market your organization for you.

Is Your Nonprofit's Data Safe?

Chances are your nonprofit's database has a plethora of files containing sensitive donor information. With hackers constantly in the headlines, it's important that you keep your data secure.

There is no foolproof way to completely secure your files from hackers, but there are ways to significantly reduce the risk of data breach. Jon Biedermann, vice president of Softerware Inc., recommended five practices that can be used when information is stored on an organization's own computers or with a hosted backup provider.

The five practices are:

• Backup, backup, backup. The greatest risk is not because of hackers; it’s data loss from computer failure, fire or other accident. Complete backups should be performed every day.
• User ID and password security. Some of the most stringent requirements are used by the healthcare industry under the Health Information and Patient Privacy Act (HIPPA). Included in this act: passwords are at least seven characters, with a nonalphabetical character; passwords are not displayed on screen; passwords should expire and be changed every 60 days; no more than three unsuccessful log-in attempts; access to data should be limited to certain subsets.
• Audit trails. A database system should be able to provide a security audit trail of user login.
• Physical security. This includes not only computers and servers but also access to printed records.
• User security awareness training. Make users aware of “phishing” schemes.

Pittsburgh To Begin PILOT Dialogue With Nonprofits

The city of Pittsburgh on Tuesday began new dialogue with nonprofits to develop a system for payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). The move was urged by state officials.

Pittsburgh becomes the latest city, following the example of Portland, Maine, to attempt to get payments from nonprofits. It comes after Pennsylvania's Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA) approved the city's 2013 budget and five-year plan, according to a report in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The plan was approved on the condition that Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl form a task group on nonprofits by Dec. 31 and report on its findings by June 30.

In a letter to Mayor Ravenstahl, ICA chairman Dana Yealy wrote that the task force should examine how other cities handle PILOTs and make recommendations as to how much nonprofits should contribute in a similar program in Pittsburgh. In a statement, Ravenstahl thanked the ICA for "supporting the city's ongoing efforts to receive fair nonprofit payments."

The meetings of the task force must be public, wrote Yealy, and he added that the ICA reserved the right to rescind approval of the city's $469 million budget if Pittsburgh doesn't comply with the directive.

This is not Pittsburgh's first experience with PILOTs. The approval of the city's 2012 was briefly rescinded after there was concern that not enough was being done to get payments from nonprofits. The Tuesday directive by the state was motivated by the fact that the city's largest source of nonprofit contributions -- the Pittsburgh Public Service Fund -- is set to expire at the end of 2013. The city anticipates around $2.6 million from that fund this year, though the amount contributed by nonprofits is not disclosed, something Yealy wants changed with future PILOT agreements.

The fund is the largest source of funds from nonprofits, but the city also has some private contracts in place, including agreements with 10 to 20 nonprofits that were just renewed. Those agreements will net the city $450,000 to $500,000 this year.

You can read the full story in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Wyclef Jean Defends Charity Amid Financial Scandal

Haitian-born hip hop star Wyclef Jean is defending his charity, Yele, amid reports the now-defunct organization improperly used funds meant for relief efforts.

According to a report in The New York Times, Yele, which Jean founded in 2005 and was based in New York City, closed its doors last summer after a continuing investigation by the NY Attorney General's Office found the charity misappropriated funds meant for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Yet despite these woes, Jean still stands by his efforts.

In his new memoir, "Purpose: An Immigrant's Story," Jean denied that he used his charity for personal gain. He wrote that he had no need for more personal wealth, citing his watch collection worth $500,000 as an example of his well-being. He also wrote that, someday, people will understand that "Yele is Haiti's greatest ally and asset."

At the end of August, Derek Q. Johnson, Yele's former chief executive, announced his resignation in an e-mail to supporters.

"As the foundation’s sole remaining employee, my decision implies the closure of the organization as a whole," wrote Mr. Johnson, who replaced Jean as the head of the organization after he announced a failed candidacy for Haiti's president. Johnson's resignation came after Jean refused to accept a settlement proposed by NY Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman that would have required Jean and Yele's two other co-founders to pay $600,000 in restitution to cover the "waste" of the organization's assets.

A forensic audit of the organization from 2005 to 2009 found that, of the $3 million in expenses during that time period, there were $256,580 in illegitimate benefits to Jean and other staff and board members, including $24,000 for a chauffeur service, and $30,763 for a private jet to take actress Lindsay Lohan to a benefit in Chicago. That fundraiser netted only $66,000. In addition, The New York Post reported last November that, despite receiving $16 million in donations for the Haiti earthquake, Yele spent only $5.1 million on disaster relief.

Yele was hardly a mammoth entity before the Haiti earthquake, having only $37,000 in assets. After the quake struck, however, Jean was able to raise $1 million in 24 hours by urging his Twitter followers to donate via text. He also garnered attention for his organization when he co-hosted MTV's "Hope For Haiti" telethon with actor George Clooney.

You can read the full story in The New York Times.

The Best Nonprofits To Work For 2013

UPDATE: With only three more days left to register your organization, I am bumping this post so those who haven't yet done so can begin the nominating process.


Do you think your nonprofit is the best for which to work? Now is your chance to prove it by nominating your organization for The NonProfit Times' Best Nonprofits To Work For study.

NPT, along with the Best Companies Group, releases a report of the 50 best nonprofits to work for in the United States every year. Last year's study was highlighted by the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a Jacksonville, Fl.-based organization that helps veterans who were injured in combat. This was the second year in a row that WWP won the top honors; will it win again in 2013, or will a new organization take the crown?

Now is your chance to see if WWP will reign again, or if another nonprofit will dethrone it. Simply go to the Best Companies Group website and register to participate. There is no cost to complete the survey online, so all we require is your time. All applications must be submitted by October 19, so you only have a few weeks to complete the form.

Once registered, participants will receive the following information in their e-mail:

• The Employer Benefits & Policies Questionnaire;
• The Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey;
• Survey distribution instructions; and,
• Other supporting materials and instructions.

As an added benefit to completing the survey, all participants will have the opportunity to purchase the Employee Feedback Report, which details the results of their specific survey. These would normally cost thousands of dollars if initiated independently.

Register today to make sure your nonprofit is represented in the 2013 study!

8 Steps To Winning Grant Funding

Grabbing the closest available staffer and asking him to write a few sentences about your program is nowhere near the best way to win grant funding. If you want your organization to get the money you think it deserves, then you need a well-thought out strategy.

Barbara Floersch, director of The Grantsmanship Center in Los Angeles, Calif., offered advice to nonprofits that are trying to win grant funding. She said that organizations need to follow eight steps to give themselves the best shot at winning those dollars:

• Identify foundation and corporate grant-makers with interests and giving patterns that fit your organization. Don’t wait for government competitions to open. Figure out which grant programs are a good fit then track them.
• Identify funding needs most likely to draw grant support. Innovation, equipment upgrades, program start-ups, efficiency investments, and the like. Consider these in the light of the opportunities you’ve identified.
• Hammer out a proposal submission calendar for the year.
• Find existing organizational relationships with the foundation and corporate funders you’ve targeted, or build those relationships.
• Get copies of last year’s government application guidelines. Next, speak with program officers about expectations for the upcoming competition.
• Establish a team for each proposal you’ll submit. Pull each team together, assign leaders, and set up work plans.
• Work the plans. Don’t wait until the last couple of weeks. Lay-out the program design, and pull together the data, collaborations, letters of commitment, and other pieces you’ll need well ahead of the deadline. Take the time to do it right.
• Monitor the work and keep it on track. Make sure you know what’s happening.

Home Depot Founder Wins Philanthropy Prize

Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of the popular home improvement retailer Home Depot, was awarded the 2012 William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership on October 11.

The William E. Simon Prize has been awarded every year since 2007 to business leaders who exemplify the principles of philanthropy. Recipients are given $25,000 which is donated to the charity of the winner's choice. Marcus, who co-founded the Home Depot in 1979, chose to give his earnings to the Marcus Autism Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

The award is given by the Philanthropy Roundtable, the country's leading network of charitable donors, at the request of the William E. Simon Foundation.

"William E. Simon Sr. was a legendary, caring philanthropist, and it is heartwarming that his family continues this great legacy," said Marcus in a statement. "I have never done philanthropy with the objective of qualifying for awards, and it was a surprising and humbling experience to find out I had won this prestigious honor."

Marcus's business accomplishments are impressive, as he helped grow the Home Depot from a single store in Atlanta to a successful enterprise across the country until his retirement in 2002. His philanthropic deeds are also lengthy, including being the main force behind the funding for the Georgia Aquarium, and providing major contributions to medical research in the areas of autism and brain surgery.

"Bernie is strategic, effective and has high expectations for his for-profit and nonprofit investments," said William E. Simon Jr., co-chairman of the William E. Simon Foundation, in a press release. "Like our father, Bernie sets high standards and settles for nothing less. We are thrilled Bernie is the recipient of the 2012 William E. Simon Prize."

Recipients of the William E. Simon Prize must possess the ideals and principles which guides the award's namesake, William E. Simon Sr., the late philanthropist and Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Those ideals include personal responsibility, resourcefulness, volunteerism, faith, and helping people to help themselves.

Previous winners of the Prize are Philip and Nancy Anschutz, Ben Carson, S. Truett Cathy, Raymond G. Chambers, Richard and Helen DeVos, Frank J. Hanna III, Roger Hertog, Charles G. Koch, David Robinson, the late John M. Templeton, and the late John T. Walton.

Featured Nonprofit Job: Chief Operating Officer

Space: The final frontier. People around the globe have been fascinated by the photos sent back from Mars by NASA's Curiosity Rover, so it's no surprise that there are many who want to get into a profession that has to do with space.

Not everybody can be a rocket scientist but, thanks to the Nonprofit Job Seeker's latest featured position, you can get a space-related job.

The Space Foundation is Colorado Springs, Colo., is looking to hire a Chief Operating Officer to help lead the organization and develop a culture of performance. The COO must be a leader who is able to help others at the Space Foundation deliver measurable, cost-effective results that make the vision a reality. Most importantly, the successful candidate will have the skills, sensitivity, and personal confidence to tap into the power that each member of the team brings to this mission.

The major responsibilities of the COO include:

• Working in partnership with the CEO, continuously improve the strategic plan and implement new processes and approaches to achieving it;
• Collaborating with senior leadership, refine the operational aspects of all Foundation events, including scope, features, logistics and pricing, and provide on-side leadership during said events to ensure optimum performance, quality and customer satisfaction;
• Partnering with the Chief Financial Officer to manage the creation of the company’s operating plan, and manage the company’s performance to plan and budget;
• Leading the performance management process that measures and evaluates progress against goals for the organization;
• Providing for all team members a strong day-to-day leadership presence; bridge national and regional operations and support an open-door policy; and,
• Communicating the foundation's branded message internally and externally.

Sounds like a lot of work, right? If you think you have the necessary skills to be a successful COO, you should waste no time to apply. Head over to our career center to read more about this job, including the qualifications you must meet to be considered.