Important Legal Ruling Impacts Planned Giving Marketing

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued an opinion in a case involving Robert Dillie, who operated a fraudulent foundation, that was actuality a ponzi scheme which issued $55 million in gift annuities to over 400 donors, sold through investment advisers who were receiving commissions on the sales of new gift annuities. He is now serving 121 months in prison for his crimes but the legal fallout from his nefarious operation lives on.

Full-text article by Jonathan Gudema, Esq. via On Philanthropy, 8.27.09.

Las Vegas Forms Nonprofit Umbrella Group to Champion Green Energy

Lawmakers and business leaders in Las Vegas have created Green Chips, a nonprofit group intended to draw investment into “green” energy while promoting the region as environmentally sound.

Full-text article by Alan Choate is available via Las Vegas Review-Journal, 8.19.09.

State funding for the arts is on the rise

While arts funding is declining in most states, the Texas legislature presented the Texas Arts Commission with a spike in funding, bring its total funding for the next two years to about $16 million from just over $10 million.

Full-text article by Douglas Britt via Houston Chronicle, 8.12.09.

Daddy Givebucks: Lessons Learned When Warren Buffett Hands You $1 Billion

With $1 billion grants from their father and advice on how their foundations should manage them, billionaire-investor Warren Buffett's three adult children are adjusting to running high-dollar philanthropic organizations.

Full-text article by Jeff Bailey is available via Fast Company, September 2009.

University of Pennsylvania Endowment Beats Harvard With Stocks

The University of Pennsylvania beat Harvard University’s endowment by choosing the right stock pickers, investing in credit strategies and boosting its Treasury bonds.

Full-text article by Gillian Wee is available via Bloomberg News, 8.13.09.

Community foundations get standards board

The Council on Foundations launched a board that will provide accreditation for community foundations in the U.S. based on standards created in 2000 and updated in 2008.

Full-text post is available via Philanthropy Journal, 8.11.09.

Fundraisers’ outlook remains gloomy

The current fundraising mood in the U.S. is depressed, with professional fundraisers reporting their lowest levels of optimism in over a decade, a new report says.

Full-text post is available via Philanthropy Journal 8.10.09.

A Nonprofit Push for Change

As the public debate over health care grows increasingly combative, a host of nonprofit groups is working to ensure that an overhaul of the system is successful.

Full-text article by Suzanne Perry is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.20.09.

Fees Vary Greatly at Organizations That Operate Donor-Advised Funds

Organizations that manage donor-advised funds charge widely differing fees for administering the funds.

Included with the article:HOW TO TAP INTO DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS

Full-text article by Noelle Barton and Ben Gose is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.20.09.

Dwindling Reserves

GIFTS FROM DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS totaled a median 23 percent of the funds' assets in 2008, a higher share than in recent years,according to the latest Chronicle survey, but gifts to the funds declined.

Full-text article by Noelle Barton and Ben Gose is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.20.09.

Lawmakers Asked to Weigh Overhaul's Impact on Charities

Charity leaders are pressing lawmakers to consider how various provisions of the health-care legislation now before Congress will affect nonprofit organizations.

Full-text article by Ian Wilhelm is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.20.09.

Recession taking a toll on philanthropy, too

We may be hearing lots of gloomy news about how companies in the auto and other industries have downsized or gone bankrupt in the United States, but one of the less publicised aspects of the impact of the economic recession is how it has affected non-profit foundations and museums in America.

Full text post is available via The Nation, 8.23.09.

Recession Means Fund Raisers Have to Re-Assess Each Donor's Wealth

The recession is keeping the fund raisers who conduct research on potential donors busy. Profiles are based on information about potential donors, such as the value of their homes, their stock holdings, and their charitable giving, all of which are likely to be down.

Full text article by Nicole Wallace is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.18.09.

How the National Wildlife Federation uses social media

The National Wildlife Federation has been a leader in the use of social media over the past year. A major reason for that success has been Danielle Brigida's work within the organization as well as outside, interacting with supporters and putting a human face on the institution.

Full text article and video of interview by J.D. Lasica are available via Socialbrite, 8.6.09.

New corporate structure could give social entrepreneurs new funding stream

A new Illinois law that recognizes for-profit businesses with a strong social bent was signed last week by Gov. Pat Quinn. The measure, set to take effect at the start of 2010, creates a new designation for low-profit, limited-liability companies, or L3C’s — for-profit ventures with a social mission. Such firms would be able to seek capital, with a possibility of returns for investors, rather than depending on grants and donations.

Full text article by Ann Meyer is available via The Chicago Tribune, 8.10.09.

Online Game Site Seeks to Spur 'Maximum' Donations for Selected Charities

A new Web site lets people play free online games and raise money for charity at the same time. GamesThatGive, as the site is called, is now in beta testing and is expected to formally start operations next month to benefit up to 16 charities selected by creators of the site.

Full text article by Holly Hall is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy,8.12.09.

WSU's Ripple Effect pushes frontier of education philanthropy

Washington State University is known for its agricultural expertise, knowledge that it spreads around the world through a dozen international development projects. Now it's linking those programs with online giving in a new initiative called Ripple Effect, which gives donors a direct way to support WSU's mission and improve the livelihoods of people in developing countries by purchasing items such as trees, treadle pumps, stoves, seeds for crops, goats or honey bees.

Full text post by Kristi Heim is available via The Seattle Times, 8.11.09.

Charity Industry Gets Some Needed Scrutiny

A new kind of equity analyst, the "charity analyst," has emerged in the past few years to meet the needs of people who want their charitable dollars used efficiently and effectively. As a natural consequence of this sort of research, effective charities can be expected to prosper and ineffective charities can be expected to perish.

Full text article by Neil Reynolds is available via The Globe and Mail, 8.14.09.

In the Arts: Magazine Pins Museums' Woes on Bursting 'Bubble'

The wave of layoffs and cost cuts at museums are a byproduct not just of the recession but also of a “museum bubble” built on risky investments and outsize revitalization projects, arts magazine Artnet argues.

Full text post is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.12.09.

Tanking Contributions May Accompany a "Jobless Recovery"

A so called "jobless recovery" likely means very bad news for charitable giving. Joblessness that is predicted to extend well into the economic recovery along with increased rates of saving fueled in part by economic insecurity result in less disposable income, and that likely will or is already showing up in declining donations by individuals.

Full text by Rick Cohen is available via The Nonprofit Quarterly, 8.7.09

A Board Member Helps Introduce Fund Raising to a Think Tank's Culture

A chair of the board of the nonprofit United States Institute of Peace explains how he introduced fundraising to the think tank's culture.

Full text post available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.7.09.

Ranking Your Alma Mater On How Much You Make

Americans are suckers for a good ranking. Give people a copy of the annual U.S. News & World Report on the country's best colleges and you'll have them gloating, sulking and arguing over the results for hours. But for all the college rankings floating around, there's still one area students and parents can't find much concrete info about: how much an undergraduate degree will pay off.

Full text article by Rebecca Kaplan is available via Time, 8.17.09.

Americans' Spending Unlikely to Rebound Anytime Soon, Survey Finds

Economists and politicians are pointing to signs of recovery in the stock market and other economic arenas. But a new survey suggests that Americans’ discretionary income and purchases—as well as their charitable giving—are unlikely to return to pre-recession levels anytime soon.

Full text article by Holly Hall is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 8.7.09.

Businessman Meyer remains devoted to philanthropy in Waco

His philanthropy in McLennan County totals more than $200,000 a month. Yet many local residents don't know much about Paul J. Meyer. Certainly, most couldn’t pick him out of a crowd.

Full text post by Cindy V. Culp is available via wacotrib.com, 8.2.09

'Cash for clunkers' hurting charities that use car donations

While "cash for clunkers" has been a huge hit with car buyers, some charities that rely on vehicle donations for funding say they’re receiving fewer cars and trucks.

Full text post is available via The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8.8.09.

Giving circles pool money to make a bigger difference for charity

In these groups, people are gathering with like-minded contributors, pooling their money and deciding which charities should benefit from their cash.

Full text post by Eric Aasen is available via The Dallas Morning News, 8.9.09.

Voices of recovery – In their own words.

" . . . we are certainly seeing a real boom in health care in our area. . . Well, we in the health care industry aren't recession-proof but we're recession resistant.”

Full text post is available via Idaho Business Review, 8.3.09

Charitable giving declines in poor economy (8/6/09)

John Connell, chief financial officer with the Stern Center for Language and Learning, located on Allen Brook Lane in Williston, said foundation endowments have disappeared and grants have been cancelled.

“It’s been a difficult year for everyone,” Connell said. “We’re very much going to have to ride out the funding lull.”

Full text article by Tim Simard is available via The Williston Observer, 8.6.09.

Navigating New (Media) Frontiers

Nontraditional news sites and social networking present challenges that campus PR officers couldn't have imagined a few years ago.

Full text article by Kristine Maloney is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 8.10.09.

Economy Pushes Fund Raisers' Confidence to New Lows

Confidence in the fund-raising climate continues to be at or near record lows, according to the latest biannual survey of fund raisers conducted by Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy.

Full text article by Holly Hall is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy,8.3.09.

The Problem of Too Many Potential Donors

Wealth-screening services can leave fund raisers with a welcome but still challenging task of how to prioritize a list of too many potential donors, speakers told participants in Boston at APRA’s annual conference.

Full text article by Nicole Wallace is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 7.31.09.

Charity Founders Win Presidential Medals

Muhammad Yunus, whose nonprofit Grameen Bank pioneered the practice of micro-lending to benefit small businesses in the developing world, and Nancy Brinker, who founded the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity for breast-cancer research, are two recipients of President Obama’s first Presidential Medal of Freedom awards.

Full text press release is available via The White House,7.30.09

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Musicians Agree to Extend Pay Cuts

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has been hit badly by the financial climate, with a 21 percent decrease in revenue from single-ticket sales and, even more critically, a 21 percent decrease in the value of its endowment. Although the total number of individual donations rose 26 percent last season, the amount of each donation decreased: More people are giving less.

Full text by Anne Midgette is available via The Washington Post , 7.31.09

Philanthropy outlook upbeat, but not for religious charities

Giving by the rich to charitable causes seems to be rising as younger donors get more active in the field. Faith-based charities face falling donations because they’re not in step with this new generation of philanthropists.

Full text blog by Tom Heneghan is available via FaithWorld, 7.30.09.