CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-23 13:41:37 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Lois Lerner, who oversees applications for tax-exempt status, said in a Congressional hearing yesterday that she did not hide anything from Congress about the tax agency's efforts to single out conservative groups for scrutiny.

2013-05-22 15:45:04 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Donor-advised funds are now worth over a third more than they were before the recession started, a Chronicle study finds. Watch The Chronicle's Sarah Frostenson speak on a panel about donor-advised funds today at noon U.S. Eastern time at the link below.

2013-05-21 13:11:52 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern time to get advice on how to weave fun into messages about your mission from Peter Sagal, host of NPR's "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!" and a skilled fundraiser.

2013-05-20 13:45:16 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

With the growth of smartphone use, e-mail marketing messages need to be more concise and attention-grabbing and should include multimedia, says an expert in this month's Fundraising Fundamentals podcast with +Tony Martignetti. 

2013-05-17 13:40:27 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

As cultural institutions across the country struggle to attract young visitors, the Cleveland Museum of Art is embracing cutting-edge technology to try to lure new audiences to its collection of masterworks.

2013-05-16 15:46:20 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern Time for a live online discussion about how to improve your career prospects.

2013-05-15 16:46:38 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 0 +1s)

At least 32 groups that filed applications to become tax-exempt charities could have sued the Internal Revenue Service last year for taking too long to make a decision, according to a Treasury Department audit released Tuesday that faulted the agency for mishandling applications from groups that could be politically oriented.

2013-05-10 15:52:43 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

This Sunday is Mother's Day. Before you observe the holiday, listen to how the 1,000 members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good are using social media and blogs to call attention to issues such as health, education, and hunger in this month's Social Good podcast.

2013-05-09 15:05:52 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

Less than two weeks after the Christian relief charity World Help reported that it had overstated its 2011 revenues by 1,400 percent, in large part because it said it had overvalued medicine it provided to other charities, one of its beneficiaries, The Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation, in Harrisburg, Pa., is taking similar, though smaller, action.

2013-05-08 13:47:18 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

The number of philanthropists responding to Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett’s appeal for increased generosity grew yesterday, as 11 more wealthy families and individuals announced they have signed the Giving Pledge, promising to give away at least half of their wealth to charity.

2013-05-07 13:32:07 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Join us today at 2 p.m. U.S. Eastern time for a live online discussion about how to collect data and evaluate your nonprofit’s results.

2013-05-06 16:51:40 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Our new issue is online now. Check out the full table of contents in the link below.

2013-05-03 17:50:18 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

How a new +Google Giving App is Promoting Small Gifts

2013-05-03 16:50:04 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

Among the 57 new grants posted this week: $2.59-million from the Coca-Cola Foundation to Keep America Beautiful to expand Chicago's recycling program. See the full list at the link below.

2013-05-02 20:46:52 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 1 +1s)

Right-leaning donors would be wise to follow the advice of David Kuo, a former White House aide to George W. Bush, about the best ways to transform public policy, writes William Schambra in an op-ed about Mr. Kuo, who died last month at the age of 44.

2013-05-01 16:15:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

We rolled out the first in a series of improvements to our web site last night, and we'd love to hear your feedback. What do you think of the new design and menu?

2013-04-30 14:16:49 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern time for a live online discussion about the best ways to raise money from the crowd using Kickstarter, Razoo, and similar sites. 

2013-04-29 16:42:23 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

"More and more, clients I encounter across the nonprofit spectrum, who may come to me with different needs, have a similar problem at their cores: a lack of pride," writes consultant Brendan Tapley in an op-ed. Is the nonprofit world lacking pride in its work?

2013-04-26 13:43:52 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 3 +1s)

Fourth-quarter online giving rose 16.7 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to data we receive from Blackbaud, Network for Good, and PayPal. Explore the data for three quarters by month, day, and hour in the link below.

2013-04-25 13:40:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern time for a live online discussion about the smartest ways to keep people satisfied in their development jobs.

2013-04-24 16:31:02 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

"When Robert Edgar, president of Common Cause, died suddenly Tuesday morning at age 69, America lost one of its most important nonprofit leaders," writes Pablo Eisenberg today in a column about Mr. Edgar's life and career.

2013-04-23 13:33:12 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Donors often fail to research who else is financing a cause before they dive into it. That was one of many takeaways from last week's Global Philanthropy Forum, an annual gathering of wealthy individuals, top foundation officials, and nonprofit leaders.

2013-04-22 13:38:54 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 0 +1s)

Fundraisers need to avoid falling into the trap of thinking all older or younger donors are alike, says consultant Phyllis Weiss Haserot. Learn how you can relate better with donors of different ages in this month's Fundraising Fundamentals podcast with +Tony Martignetti.

2013-04-19 13:24:31 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

To get the full benefit of LinkedIn for reaching prospective donors and board members, fundraisers need to be able to count on all of the people in their network, Anthony Pisapia told participants recently at the Nonprofit Technology Conference. Sometimes that means turning down invitations to connect—an idea that doesn’t come easily for fundraisers.

2013-04-18 15:27:58 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 3 +1s)

"For a volunteer program to appeal to a company, it must match volunteer opportunities with the company’s goals," writes Diane Knoepke in the latest Measuring Up post.

2013-04-17 13:39:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Nonprofits around the country are increasing security for their athletic fundraising events after the Monday bombings at the Boston Marathon spurred anxiety about copycats. But most groups, including many planning events this weekend and in coming weeks, aren’t changing their plans and expect fundraising to continue at the same pace as past years.

2013-04-16 13:52:23 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern time, for a live online discussion about how to tap into the passion of employees, volunteers, and the people the charity serves and protect them at the same time. We’ll offer practical tips for avoiding pitfalls, such as recruiting volunteers too soon after a trauma or allowing them to become too emotionally involved.

2013-04-15 15:26:31 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Watch a live broadcast from the Global Philanthropy Forum today at 3 p.m. U.S. Eastern time, when a panel of three prominent philanthropy experts will discuss whether foundations are putting too much burden on grantees to show results.

2013-04-12 13:59:40 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 1 +1s)

President Obama is asking Congress to require nonprofits to file their informational tax returns electronically and taking other steps to encourage the Internal Revenue Service to make charity data more easily available to the public.

2013-04-11 13:20:39 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

The president's 2014 budget proposal, released Wednesday, would add money to education and health-care organizations, but it would also limit the value of deductions for charitable contributions. What do you think of the proposal?

2013-04-10 13:50:46 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Check out the lessons that every nonprofit can learn from the +Human Rights Campaign's efforts around the recent same-sex-marriage hearings at the Supreme Court: promote more than the organization, use new tools, and prepare carefully.

2013-04-09 13:42:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

President Obama is expected to renew his call to limit the charitable tax deduction when he releases his 2014 budget plan on Wednesday—a proposal that nonprofits have repeatedly helped defeat.

2013-04-08 16:01:20 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

More than seven in 10 nonprofits expect their donations to increase this year, even amid a challenging economic and political climate, according to a survey to be released this week. What's your outlook for 2013?

2013-04-05 13:34:34 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 11 +1s)

Advice from this month's Social Good podcast: Don’t limit your organization to Facebook and Twitter. Encourage your whole staff to use a wide variety of social-media sites.

Listen to the full podcast in the link below.

2013-04-04 15:52:43 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

In some nonprofits, analysts, researchers, and evaluators have trouble making themselves heard, writes Rick Groves in the Measuring Up blog. What they don’t realize is that decision makers are looking for insights, not just numbers.

2013-04-03 13:39:22 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

"Service design" focuses on eliminating friction and frustration for nonprofits and their staffs. Learn the principles of this exciting discipline and concrete examples of how nonprofits are using it during a live Google Hangout today at 2 p.m. EST. More details in the link below.

2013-04-02 12:53:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern time for a live online discussion about the best ways to evaluate your organization's progress in meeting its mission and share the findings with potential supporters.

2013-04-01 19:41:09 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 0 +1s)

People who have survived gun violence, cancer, or other life-altering experiences are often inspired to work for a nonprofit focused on that issue. In the link below, read about ways nonprofit managers try to protect these volunteers and employees, while making sure that the cause is well served. 

2013-03-29 13:38:27 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

Among the 57 new grants posted this week: $80,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to AJK Film. See the full list in the link below.

2013-03-28 14:24:47 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 5 +1s)

Nonprofits may be uniquely positioned to leapfrog the rest of the economy and use service-design principles -- improving services by examining the service-delivery context -- to build organizations that better serve their constituents, writes Matthew Scharpnick in today's Redesigning Good blog post. What do you think? 

2013-03-27 13:43:46 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

A rising generation of younger donors could bring new money to nonprofits and fresh energy to their boardrooms—if boards can overcome their dysfunction and engage them, writes Rick Moyers in his latest blog post. What do you think?

2013-03-26 14:09:42 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern time for a live online discussion about the best ways to attract donor dollars without straying from your mission. 

2013-03-25 17:26:08 (0 comments, 8 reshares, 10 +1s)

For the first time in five years, more than half of charities in the Nonprofit Finance Fund’s annual survey said they were unable to meet requests for assistance last year, and even more groups expect to struggle to do so in 2013. What is the outlook for your organization?

2013-03-21 13:48:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Rosetta Thurman, a careers consultant, offers advice on steps that development officers can take to increase their success and happiness on the job in this month's Fundraising Fundamentals podcast with +Tony Martignetti. What are your tips and tricks?

2013-03-20 17:10:04 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 3 +1s)

Foundations with assets under $50-million increased their giving by 9 percent last year, according to preliminary findings of a study released yesterday. Are you receiving more grants from small foundations?

2013-03-19 15:14:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Join us today at noon U.S. Eastern time for live online discussion about the best ways to negotiate for a salary increase in the sputtering economy.

2013-03-18 20:24:17 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Rep. David Reichert, who is examining charity issues for the House Ways and Means Committee as lawmakers consider a tax overhaul, says he wants to protect the charitable deduction.

2013-03-15 13:51:26 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Volunteers are an integral part of the labor market, but many charities have a limited understanding of this important resource and fail to make the most of it, writes Diane Knoepke on the new Measuring Up blog.