May 15th, 2008
When I ran a university communications shop, I occasionally made presentations at conferences, and one of my most trusted pieces of advice to harried peers at other institutions was to use student interns to conduct interviews, write stories, and take photos. They’re talented, they’re hungry, and they’re inexpensive; what’s not to like? The Nonprofit Supporter has the same idea, pointing out that college students can be of great use throughout the sector:
The use of a year round internship program within your nonprofit organization is a great opportunity to find candidates and test them before placing them into permanent positions. The cost to your nonprofit is low for this type of employee. It is just $10-$13 an hour and no benefits.
Nonprofits or any organization looking for individuals whom have lots of energy, are willing to learn and willing to receive feedback should use interns.
I would add only that because so many people of that age have a social-justice bent to them, the nonprofit world is a great place for them to cut their teeth. Really, the fit is so snug that it’s surprising not more organizations take advantage. | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 14th, 2008
The news that students in Cornell University’s Leadership in Non-profit Environments class had doled out $10,000 in grants to four local organizations was hardly earth-shattering; after all, this kind of teaching by example has been done before. The funding for the philanthropy lesson came from Doris Buffett’s Sunshine Lady Foundation (she’s Warren Buffett’s sister), and the United Way of Tompkins County helped the class to administer the proposal and granting process. A pretty picture, but one that’s been painted already. No, what caught my eye was how the students went about completing the project, so I called up Joanne Florino, executive director of the Triad Foundation, who taught the course, and asked her about it.
"They agreed early on they were very interested in looking at grants that were for low-income or otherwise marginalized communities," she told me. "One of the factors they were looking for in these grant proposals was sustainability. They wanted to be sure this wasn’t just a one shot deal because of the $10,000. They were looking for collaboration. And the they outlined specific areas: They were very concerned about issues of poverty, underemployment, and education."
The class received two dozen proposals seeking a total of $125,000 in funding. Based on the criteria they had agreed to, the students awarded four grants, reported the Ithaca Journal:
- $2,200 for the Ithaca Health Alliance’s Free Clinic to develop information-collection tools that will improve interactions with patients.
- $1,500 for Finger Lakes ReUse Inc. to build a materials tracking system. The not-for-profit aims to provide a centrally located retail outlet for existing local reuse programs with extended hours, warehouse space and streamlined administrative support.
- $4,800 for Alternatives Community Ventures, a not-for-profit development corporation affiliated with Alternatives Federal Credit Union, to fund a community tax education program for low-income households and to educate participants about reducing debt.
- $1,500 to Challenge Industries to offer computer access and literacy and skills training for job seekers with disabilities.
"I was very proud of them," Florino said to me. "One of the things we talked about in the course was nonprofits developing their own capacity. We talked about not falling into the trap that funders often fall into — only funding new programs — and understanding that nonprofits themselves need to be sustainable and sufficiently funded. …
"They were very consistent in their grantmaking, which frankly, some big foundations are not. They had guidelines and they duly stuck with them. It was fascinating to see students become champions of one requestor or another. You saw a lot of leadership develop among the students as they argued among their peers on behalf of one organization or another. I got way more out of this course than I gave."
It’s a lesson for all funders, not just those sitting in a classroom in upstate New York. | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 14th, 2008
Gasoline, as you may have heard, is getting more and more expensive, a tough burden to bear as commutes to work become ever more torturous.
Bicycling is a terrific way to kick up your cardiovascular regimen without stressing your knees.
Put them together and you have the annual Bike-to-Work Day, which, for 2008, is today, the culmination of Bike-to-Work Week, a part of National Bike Month. The events are presented by the League of American Bicyclists, an advocacy and educational nonprofit whose mission is "to promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America."
Hmm. I’ve gotten back into running, but am now thinking it might be time to drag my bike out of the basement and give it a tune-up … | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 14th, 2008
When I was a kid, staying home sick from school meant certain things:
Eating grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Gulping down St. Joseph chewable aspirin.
Watching The Electric Company on PBS.
At a time when everything old is new again, perhaps it’s not surprising that the old ’70s chestnut will be revived. Movie theaters are rife with sequels and remakes, most of them junky, so why not bring back something with educational value? Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces Sesame Street, is behind the revival; the new Electric Company is set to debut in January with weekly episodes. As it was 30 years ago, the show’s focus will on reading and literacy, perfect topics for kids too old for Sesame Street and whose parents aren’t ready to expose them to Hannah Montana. I can’t wait to see what the new effort brings. | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 13th, 2008
A couple of promising new nonprofit communications resources are worth checking out:
- Blue Avocado is an electronic newsletter distributed via e-mail every two weeks; it’s also a website where updates are posted between issues. The publication is devoted to "nurturing the community organizations movement." Recent posts have explored how boards and staffs can show appreciation to one another, how to deal with a troublesome employee blog, and the link between a free press and a healthy nonprofit sector.
- Podcasts are a great way to keep up with the latest counsel. You can download them and listen to them on the train or in your car or when you’re just puttering around the house. Nolo, which provides legal information for consumers and small businesses, has launched a new series of podcasts about fundraising, in which experienced, accomplished fundraisers offer their thoughts on the field.
Trade publications will always have a place in doling out advice, but, as these new options show, online initiatives hold a great deal of promise to help us do our jobs better. | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 12th, 2008
In tonight’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, a fave in the Durso household, Marshall set up a website to help Lily sell her clothes so that they could pay to fix the floor of the apartment they’re moving into. (It’s a long story. Just go with it.) Later in the episode, Marshall changed the site to help Lily sell her paintings. After the ep had ended, actors Jason Segal and Alyson Hannigan appeared on screen to tell viewers to visit lilyandmarshallselltheirstuff.com, which jumps to an online charity auction site, where viewers can bid on items that have appeared in the show; proceeds will go to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
Pretty cool, huh?
Charity linkages are nothing new for Hollywood, though typically they’re tied to specific needs: natural disasters, for example. Rarely do we see an entertainment enterprises raising money for a nonprofit as part of its standard operations. I’d like to see more shows jump on board. | 501(c)
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May 11th, 2008
- Canada tries to inject ethics into fundraising. | Toronto Star
- Three little letters to guide nonprofit media pitching. | Nonprofit Communications
- A nonprofit professional finds herself on the other side of the fundraising relationship … and doesn’t like it. | Nonprofit Congress Blog
- Nonprofits join retailers in making a pitch for the government’s lame attempt to bribe taxpayers economic stimulus payments to taxpayers. | Lafayette, Ind., Journal & Courier
- James Madison University approves a new doctoral program in strategic leadership of nonprofits. | The Daily News Record
- It’s wicked easy to subscribe to 501(c) Files feeds: Just click here and follow the simple instructions. As always, thanks for reading! | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 10th, 2008
The federal law prohibiting nonprofits from supporting specific electoral candidates is about to get challenged by churches, according to a Wall Street Journal report:
A conservative legal-advocacy group is enlisting ministers to use their pulpits to preach about election candidates this September, defying a tax law that bars churches from engaging in politics.
Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale, Ariz., nonprofit, is hoping at least one sermon will prompt the Internal Revenue Service to investigate, sparking a court battle that could get the tax provision declared unconstitutional. Alliance lawyers represent churches in disputes with the IRS over alleged partisan activity.
Supporters of the law say it helps to ensure separation of church and state, and while I am a hearty advocate of that vital split, in this case it seems to me to bump up against free-speech concerns. I have to confess I find the linkage between political engagement and tax status pretty damn fuzzy; then again, if you can’t make it clear whom you’re supporting through innuendo and coded speech that falls well within the guidelines, maybe you shouldn’t be in the business of changing hearts and minds to begin with. | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 9th, 2008
Nobody wears a ribbon to raise awareness about depression.
There are no 5Ks for bipolar disorder.
A-list actors aren’t participating in suicide-prevention telethons.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and while there are a wealth of nonprofits devoted to assisting those with mental illnesses, they have, for the most part, remained in the second tier of health advocacy groups. There is still considerable public doubt that those with mental troubles are, in fact, ill — too many people still think these sufferers should just will themselves into feeling better. Never mind that medical science has done so much to explore the biochemical aspect of mental health; insurance companies still don’t cover therapy to the degree they ought to, and government and the private sector have failed to keep up with what the evidence shows. Schizophrenia is just as much an illness as cancer. We need to recognize that and begin dealing with it in the same way.
Organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association have done terrific work in beginning the conversation. I’d like to see them reach out even more to legislators and major companies — not simply the pharmaceutical manufacturers, which are producing some amazing medicines, but to the country’s leading corporate voices, to partner with them in recognizing the value of mental health and how, with appropriate treatment, people can regain their emotional equilibrium and return to contributing to their organizations, and to the country at large.
Mental illness may be all in the victim’s head; that doesn’t mean it’s still not an illness. It’s time for us to join the 21st century and realize this. | 501(c)
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By Tom Durso -- 0 comments
May 8th, 2008
You wouldn’t expect to celebrate the closing of a nonprofit described as "a model of charitable giving."
But the news that the Survivors’ Fund, the largest charity set up to assist Washington-area victims of the September 11 attacks and their families, is closing its doors has a laudatory aspect to it, and the reason has everything to do with its unique approach, as reported by the Washington Post:
Although some leading charities cut large checks to the families of victims, the Survivors’ Fund followed a unique approach to giving, establishing a long-term personal trust of sorts for the victims, their families and first responders. Using a model similar to the one used after the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, the Survivors’ Fund hired professional case managers to work with families one-on-one to help them move beyond their grief and on with their lives. That meant paying household bills for families who fell behind and guiding survivors to medical care and mental health counseling. If a family’s primary breadwinner had been lost, the charity helped other family members return to school and find jobs.
While other charities blew through their donations quickly, the Survivors’ Fund’s long-term approach and its recognition that the attacks enacted a terrible emotional as well as financial toll helped to get victims and families back on their feet. My fervent hope is that in closing up shop, the fund is sending a signal that the healing is well on its way. And in shutting down so publicly, with a 44-page report presented the other day at a global philanthropy summit in Washington, it is offering template for how to conduct such efforts in the future. | 501(c)
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