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NPT At NTC12
Apr 3rd
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:
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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:
18k pieces of content on @EnvDefenseFund website when redesigned. "Not just pile of clutter, wrong clutter" - @kiramarch #12ntcredesign
— Mark Hrywna (@mhrywna) April 3, 2012
Was v program related, wonky blog posts, nothing to convince ppl to give. Needed human, bit-sized pieces of info -@kiramarch #12ntcredesign
— Mark Hrywna (@mhrywna) April 3, 2012
User personas help set goals for website's site navigation, what info has hierarchy 'above the fold' - @farra #12ntcredesign
— Mark Hrywna (@mhrywna) April 3, 2012
Time to rethink ur website? Try this flowchart from @bigduck's @farra --> ow.ly/a3B3J #12ntcredesign
— Mark Hrywna (@mhrywna) April 3, 2012
Avg cost to acq #FB like = $3.5; Twitter follower = $2.05, accding to 4th annual #Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report #12ntc
— Mark Hrywna (@mhrywna) April 3, 2012
Most of us don’t need completely diff website for smartphone yet; might be depending on audience, goals -@farra #12ntcredesign
— Mark Hrywna (@mhrywna) April 3, 2012
Featured Job: Manager Of Individual Giving
Apr 3rd
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!
The NonProfit TImes’ 25th Anniversary Issue
Apr 2nd
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 Donations: From 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:
- Failing Grade: Is the nonprofit sector focused on education's real future?
- Just Like Kindergarten: Learning to share donor information is beneficial.
A Not-So-Nutty Business Idea
Apr 1st
Justin Gold put the squeeze on his product and found success in natural foods.
Tea Party Group Ruled A PAC, Not Nonprofit
Mar 29th
A Texas judge ruled that a Tea Party group is not a nonprofit as it claims but an unregistered political action committee (PAC).
Judge John Dietz of the Travis County District Court made his ruling based on a lawsuit the Texas Democratic Party filed against the King Street Patriots in 2010, according The Houston Chronicle. The suit alleged the organization made illegal contributions to the Republican Party and trained poll-watchers in cooperation with GOP candidates.
All of these actions would violate laws governing nonprofit political groups, which is what the King Street Patriots claimed they were. The organization was founded in 2009 with one of its main issues being voter fraud. The group reviewed public information of voter registration during the 2010 elections, and reported those findings to the county registrar. They also trained hundreds of poll watchers to look for potential fraud.
The ruling would force the King Street Patriots to reveal its list of funders. They would, however, be allowed to participate in partisan activities. The Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal firm based in Plano, Tex. that represents the King Street Patriots, says they plan to appeal the Judge's ruling.
The NonProfit Times recently published a story on how the IRS is monitoring political groups like the King Street Patriots to see if they are adhering to rules governing nonprofits.
You can read the full story in The Houston Chronicle.
Judge John Dietz of the Travis County District Court made his ruling based on a lawsuit the Texas Democratic Party filed against the King Street Patriots in 2010, according The Houston Chronicle. The suit alleged the organization made illegal contributions to the Republican Party and trained poll-watchers in cooperation with GOP candidates.
All of these actions would violate laws governing nonprofit political groups, which is what the King Street Patriots claimed they were. The organization was founded in 2009 with one of its main issues being voter fraud. The group reviewed public information of voter registration during the 2010 elections, and reported those findings to the county registrar. They also trained hundreds of poll watchers to look for potential fraud.
The ruling would force the King Street Patriots to reveal its list of funders. They would, however, be allowed to participate in partisan activities. The Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal firm based in Plano, Tex. that represents the King Street Patriots, says they plan to appeal the Judge's ruling.
The NonProfit Times recently published a story on how the IRS is monitoring political groups like the King Street Patriots to see if they are adhering to rules governing nonprofits.
You can read the full story in The Houston Chronicle.
Nonprofit Director Sentenced In Child Porn Case
Mar 29th
The founder and former director of a San Francisco, Calif.-based nonprofit was sentenced to six years in prison for possession of child porn. He will begin serving his sentence on May 8.
Anthony Josef Morris, who was the head of Kids Serve Youth Murals, was also ordered to pay $6,500 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, according to Mill Valley Patch. That money will be distributed among the victims identified in Norris's collection. He pleaded guilty in November to one count of possession of child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said that during his plea, Norris admitted to possessing more than 600 images on his computer of kids engaging in sexual acts with adults. These included horrific images of children being subjected to sexual assault. Norris was arrested in June of last year, in a story that was reported by NPTtv, after FBI agents discovered he had posted some of his images online. Those postings were then traced back to Norris's home computer.
Even more disturbing, San Francisco United School District officials said they found other offensive images hidden in tiles in at least three of the murals his organization created for schools and other sites across the city. Those images were quickly removed by the school district.
You can read the full story in Mill Valley Patch.
Anthony Josef Morris, who was the head of Kids Serve Youth Murals, was also ordered to pay $6,500 in restitution by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg, according to Mill Valley Patch. That money will be distributed among the victims identified in Norris's collection. He pleaded guilty in November to one count of possession of child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said that during his plea, Norris admitted to possessing more than 600 images on his computer of kids engaging in sexual acts with adults. These included horrific images of children being subjected to sexual assault. Norris was arrested in June of last year, in a story that was reported by NPTtv, after FBI agents discovered he had posted some of his images online. Those postings were then traced back to Norris's home computer.
Even more disturbing, San Francisco United School District officials said they found other offensive images hidden in tiles in at least three of the murals his organization created for schools and other sites across the city. Those images were quickly removed by the school district.
You can read the full story in Mill Valley Patch.
Blackbaud Interview With Paul Clolery
Mar 28th
Found this video on YouTube. It's an interview with our editor-in-chief, Paul Clolery, at the 2009 Blackbaud Conference on Nonprofits. Enjoy!
Planning For Planned Giving
Mar 28th
Planning for planned giving is a very sensitive task for donors. What they leave behind for others is a big decision that shouldn't be taken likely. A nonprofit might be anxious to know if they are receiving a bequest ahead of time but, according to representatives from The Stelter Company, that isn't always the case.
The representatives shared their findings on this subject at a recent Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) international conference. The results of their study showed that a whopping 53 percent of those polled said they prefer that an organization find out about a bequest when the time comes. Another 5 percent said they intend to notify the organization at some point.
A bequest is a very personal decision and donors don't necessarily want their decisions to be private until the time comes. Stelter urged nonprofits to respect the privacy of donors and to assure them they have a right to change their minds. They also listed the reasons why donors choose not to notify nonprofits ahead of time:
- It’s the donor’s own business, and no one else needs to know: 80 percent.
- The donor might have a change of heart, so it’s better not to say anything: 34 percent.
- Worries about being pestered with mailings and phone calls if the nonprofit knew about the bequest: 26 percent.
- A sense of the nonprofit looming like a vulture waiting for the money: 26 percent.
- A fear of getting special treatment, which would make the donor feel uncomfortable: 24 percent.
- Fear the organization would sell/give the information to other nonprofits that would also approach the donor: 19 percent.
Bequest giving is a big source of revenue for nonprofits, which makes it even more important that nonprofits respect the wishes of these donors. Failing to do so will likely result in the loss of the bequest and bad publicity.
An Increase In The Need For Nonprofit Services?
Mar 27th
The NonProfit Times reported today that, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the amount of nonprofits in the U.S. decreased by 18 percent last year. As you probably know very well, a lot of people rely on nonprofits for affordable services, especially in this tough economy.
This news made us wonder whether nonprofits have noticed an increase in demand for their services during the past year. We went to Twitter to find out, and were given the following responses from our followers:
What are your thoughts on this issue? Tweet at us @nonprofittimes or respond in the comments section below. We will update this post with new tweets from our followers.
This news made us wonder whether nonprofits have noticed an increase in demand for their services during the past year. We went to Twitter to find out, and were given the following responses from our followers:
@NonProfitTimes As the economy worsens, the need for services increases. We have been fortunate through these hard times. Hope it continues
— Ctr for Child&Family (@centerforchild) March 27, 2012
@NonProfitTimes Our ToolBanks are seeing their user-ship rise as NPOs use a ToolBank to make more efficient use of service project budgets.
— ToolBank USA (@ToolBankUSA) March 27, 2012
What are your thoughts on this issue? Tweet at us @nonprofittimes or respond in the comments section below. We will update this post with new tweets from our followers.
Three Ways to Get a Niche Product into Retailers (Video)
Mar 27th
After inventing a wallet that keeps people's credit-card data safe, Michael Aiello of DIFRWear faced a dual challenge: Educating customers about his unusual product, then getting retailers to sell it.
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