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Archive for July, 2009
Give and Take: The Daily Blog Roundup
Jul 31st
Among the noteworthy items today in the Chronicle’s digest of nonprofit blogs:
- Eight signs that an arts organization isn’t ready to start a blog.
- The difference between a “high-performing” and a “high-impact” nonprofit group.
- Why don’t more charities ultimately aim to put themselves out of business?
- Resources for nonprofit groups that want to put technology to use for their cause.
- Why Planned Parenthood has been successful in using social media to advance its mission.
Get Back to Basics–and Bricks
Jul 30th
Stand out in a crowded online marketplace by opening a traditional storefront.
Food Banks Welcome Stimulus Cash as Demand Grows
Jul 30th
A $100-million federal stimulus grant is helping U.S. food pantries restock as the recession swells demand for their services, says The New York Times.
The stimulus windfall, supplementing the $250-million the food-bank program usually gets annually from Washington, provided millions of pounds of poultry, pork, cheese, canned fruit, and peanut products, according to the Department of Agriculture.
A recent survey by the nonprofit network Feeding America found demand for emergency food assistance up 30 percent nationwide over last year.
(Free registration is required to view this article.)
California Seeks Sponsors to Keep Parks Open
Jul 30th
California parks officials and nonprofit agencies are scrambling to find corporate sponsors and other donors to keep some recreational areas open as the state continues to slash its budget, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The state’s 279 state parks and beaches attract 80 million visits a year, but only a dozen or so are financially self-sustaining. A list of facilities to be closed is due after Labor Day.
(Free registration is required to view this article.)
Battle Brews Over Management of Alamo
Jul 30th
A breakaway group of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the society that has managed the Alamo for more than a century, wants to wrest control of the historic San Antonio site and run it as a foundation-supported museum, according to the Associated Press.
Since 1905, the 18th-century mission, which witnessed the legendary 1836 battle for Texas independence and now attracts 2.5 million visitors a year, has been operated in the black by the Daughters, with gift-shop sales covering most operating costs.
But two ex-members, teaming with a former Alamo director, say the group lacks the financial savvy to create a plan for the site’s long-term stability.
Homeless Millionaire’s Estate Supports Public Radio
Jul 30th
National Public Radio reports on the life and death of Richard Leroy Walters, a Phoenix man who died homeless but left an estate worth $4-million to several nonprofit groups, including NPR.
The public broadcaster received about $400,000 from Mr. Walters’s estate, as did several other charities, including the Catholic mission where he died two years ago at age 76. NPR host Robert Siegel dug into the details of the benefactor’s life after hearing an on-air announcement of his support for public radio.
Pakistani Philanthropist’s Foundation Cares for Karachi’s Destitute
Jul 30th
National Public Radio profiles Abdul Sattar Edhi, a Pakistani philanthropist and father of a cradle-to-grave care network in the sprawling city of Karachi.
Mr. Edhi, 82, arrived in Karachi more than 60 years ago amid the mass migration of Muslims from India to newly independent Pakistan. Shortly thereafter he began the work that evolved into the Edhi Foundation, which buries the bodies of the poor, cares for abandoned newborns, runs two maternity wards, and offers other services to needy families.
His philanthropic network, supported mostly by donations from ordinary Pakistanis, has raised more than $36-million so far this year.
Former Save the Children Staff Member Convicted of Sex Abuse
Jul 30th
The British relief agency Save the Children will review its recruitment process following an ex-employee’s guilty plea to child sexual abuse, reports Third Sector Online.
Sohail Ayaz, a former grants monitor for the charity, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in jail after admitting to eight counts of abuse. The offenses were committed before he joined Save the Children last November.
A Save the Children spokeswoman said Mr. Ayaz’s job did not involve access to minors, “but we are taking the matter seriously and will carry out an inquiry into the safeguards in place for hiring staff.”
From The Chronicle: Half of Charities Have Cut Jobs, Survey Finds
Jul 30th
Nearly half of nonprofit organizations (47.5 percent) have laid off staff members to cut costs as donations dwindle, according to a survey by Campbell & Company, a group that consults with charities, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.
Give and Take: The Daily Blog Roundup
Jul 30th
Among the noteworthy items today in the Chronicle’s digest of nonprofit blogs:
- 100 “incredible philanthropy blogs.”
- How business and charity can work together.
- A call for Jewish philanthropists to sell more of their artwork to support good causes.
- How to measure the value of corporate philanthropy.
Plus: Independent Sector’s meeting of nonprofit leaders draws fire.
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