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Friday, April 6, 2012

Florida United Way Sees Increase In Charitable Giving

Charitable giving seems to be on the rise, led by a significant increase for a United Way affiliate in Florida.

The Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday that Heart of Florida United Way -- which covers Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties -- raised $19.4 million dollars through a fundraising campaign for the past year. That number is nearly $2 million more than the year before and also represents the highest total since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The money raised was $1.6 million more than the organization's goal.

These numbers would seem to indicate that charitable giving is on the rise after the low points of the Great Recession. Indeed, a recent report by Charleston, S.C.-based software firm Blackbaud indicated that charitable giving increased more than 3 percent for the three months ending January 2012.

Another positive sign is that, as The Sentinel reported, charities in the Orlando area have launched capital campaigns in the last year to construct new facilities or expand programs. A study by the Community Foundation of Central Florida (CFCF) showed that of the 600 central Florida nonprofits tracked, 136 were involved in a capital campaign in 2011, and 86 percent were on target to bring in a collective $561 million through those campaigns.

About 400 companies participated in Heart of Florida United Way's fundraising campaign, which targets employees to donate through regular paycheck deductions and asks executives and corporate foundations to give at least $1,000.

How is the fundraising in your area? Have you seen similar results as United Way?

You can read the full article in The Orlando Sentinel.

North Carolina Investigating State Official's Ties To Nonprofit

Governor Bev Perdue's (D-NC) administration is investigating a top state official's ties to a nonprofit after it was alleged that he didn't reveal that connection in an ethics disclosure form.

Henry McKoy Jr., the assistant secretary for community development, helped with an initiative that would get Raleigh, N.C.-based North Carolina Sustainability Center (NCSC) a $2 million federal grant, according to a report in The Times News. McKoy had served as an unpaid leader of the organization before his appointment by Perdue in August 2010. These ties were allegedly not reported in his 2011 and 2012 ethic disclosure forms, an allegation that was first bought up in a report Wednesday by Carolina Journal Online, a news website with ties to the conservative John Locke Foundation.

A Perdue administration spokesperson responded by saying it is investigating the report, but was quick to point out that the initiative that McKoy was involved with had not yet been approved and that no money had been distributed to NCSC.

McKoy denied the allegations by the Carolina Journal, telling The Times News that the story is being "distorted." He said that Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco asked him to resign after the report first came out, but he refused to do so. Crisco and many other administration officials were involved with NCSC, which was essentially a creation of the Commerce Department.

McKoy said that he and Crisco both resigned from the board of the nonprofit in August after new directors were appointed.

You can read the full story in The Times News Online.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Bruce Willis To Donate Ski Resort To Nonprofit?

Actor Bruce Willis has indicated that he is willing to donate his central Idaho ski resort to a nonprofit, in what would be a major gift.

According to a report in Bloomberg Business Week, the Die Hard star had already put his home in Hailey, Idaho on the market along with his nightclub, The Mint; those properties are listed at $15 million and $4 million respectively. Now, according to a story first published in The Idaho Mountain Express, he is now offering his Soldier Mountain ski resort to the right nonprofit.

Willis has owned the resort since the 1990s and at least one organization, the Soldier Mountain Recreation Association, has expressed interest in obtaining the resort. John Palan, a long-time employee at the organization, told The Idaho Mountain Express that the resort has been operating at a loss for several years, but they would have interest in it if they can find enough sponsors and get new members.

Ted Beeler, president of the ski resort planning and design firm SE Group, told the paper that there are 30 nonprofit ski areas operating in the United States. He said that transferring Soldier Mountain to a nonprofit would open up the resort to tax-deductible donations which would allow it to continue to stay afloat.

You can read the full story in Bloomberg Business Week.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

For Nonprofits, Demand Is Up While Cash Is Low

A new survey revealed that the demand for nonprofit services is very high, but that many of these organizations simply don't have enough cash on hand to meet the needs of the people.

More than 4,500 nonprofits gave responses to the State of the Nonprofit Survey, as reported by The Huffington Post. The survey indicated that while nonprofits expect to see an 88 percent increase in demand for services in 2012, 57 percent only have enough cash on hand for three months or less.

While there are a number of reasons for this, the main issue is a decrease in government funding. The economic troubles the country endured has lead to cuts at the state and federal level, which have often targeted nonprofit funding.

The Huffington Post reported that one nonprofit that is experiencing these troubles is Worcester, Mass.-based Abby's House, which provides shelter and other support to homeless women and children. The length  of stay has increased from 11 nights to 33 in the past year, and the charity has been scrambling to come up with solutions to house the individuals that need shelter.

You can read the full story in The Huffington Post. If you want even more reading on this topic, check out our recently published column about how much cash nonprofits should keep in reserve.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

NPT At NTC12

This post will be updated throughout the day


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The NonProfit Times is attending the Nonprofit Technology Network's (NTEN) annual conference, NTC. The event is being held in beautiful San Francisco, California this year, and our senior editor, Mark Hrywna, is tweeting about the latest happenings at the show:






Featured Job: Manager Of Individual Giving

NPT Jobs has a new opportunity for job seekers looking to play a leadership role in concept and annual fund development. Intrigued? Then read on for more details.

Geneva, Ill.-based Marklund, a nonprofit serving the healthcare needs of disabled Americans, is seeking a Manager of Individual Giving. The chosen candidate should be prepared to work in a fast-paced environment where he/she will oversee all aspects of direct mail fundraising and appeals. Using various mediums including mailings and e-blasts, the Manager will seek to expand the lower-level annual giving program (gifts up to $5,000).

Reporting to Marklund's Chief Development Officer, other responsibilities of this position include:

  • Identify, cultivate, and solicit current and prospective donors.
  • Thank and recognize donors.
  • Enlarge the donor base in terms of number of donors and dollars raised.
Think you have what it takes for this job? Make sure you meet the following requirements before applying:
  • Bachelor's Degree in nonprofit management, marketing, business management, communications, or another related field.
  • At least six years of progressively responsible experience in annual fund and donor engagement in the nonprofit sector.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects and work independently, with a strong attention to detail.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Strong proficiency with donor database function and navigation.
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Office programs, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
  • Experience working with direct mail and e-mail vendors and printers.
Read more about this job, including more requirements, on our website. If you think you would be a good fit, don't hesitate to apply!

Monday, April 2, 2012

The NonProfit TImes' 25th Anniversary Issue

The first full week of the month always means a new issue of The NonProfit Times, but this one is a little different. Yes, this year's April 1 edition of NPT is our 25th Anniversary issue. We are celebrating 25 years of delivering high quality nonprofit news with a special commemorative article looking back at the past years, both the highs and the lows. 

Oh, and we also have the Top 50 Best Nonprofits To Work For in this issue. So you could say this is a pretty packed issue.

Articles:
  • NPT Celebrates 25 Years: As NPT embarks on its 26th year of publishing, we take a look back at  some of the biggest stories we've covered.
  • 50 Best Nonprofits To Work For In 2012: What nonprofits were the best to work for this year? NPT conducts it's annual study of the best nonprofits, led for the second consecutive year by the Wounded Warrior Project.
  • Credit Card Scams Targeting College Online DonationsFrom California to Pennsylvania, from Wisconsin to Washington, colleges around the country were getting large online donations that turned out to be nothing more than credit card scams.
Columns: