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Growth almost 10% on Foundation investments
June 4, 2008
From Chronicle of Philanthropy: Despite a slowing economy, American foundations reported an average annual return on investments of 9.9 percent for 2007, a rate that was down from the year before but higher than the average of what foundations said they had hoped to achieve, according to a report by the Commonfund Institute scheduled for release today. Click title to read on...
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Young staffers seek to improve the Nonprofit work force
May 16, 2008
From Chronicle of Philanthropy: As nonprofit groups increasingly compete with business and government employers to attract young workers, many people in their 20s and 30s are pressing charities to improve salaries, offer greater opportunities for career development, and do more to promote the diversity of their work forces. Read more by clicking the title above...
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Universities Try to Serve a Generation of Those Who Seek to Do Good
April 4, 2008
According to an article in today's The Chronicle of Higher Education,: The young adults choosing careers today watched as the Twin Towers fell, as Katrina swept onto land, and as the Asian tsunami left devastation in its path...
Those same young adults — many of them college students — have seen nonprofit organizations step in to help during times of turmoil. Combine that with service-learning requirements and a rise in volunteerism during high school, an extraordinary increase in the number of charities created over the past two decades, and the anticipated retirement of baby-boomer nonprofit executives, and it adds up to high demand for undergraduate programs in nonprofit management. Read more by clicking on the title above. |
The Young and the Restless
March 6, 2008
Concern about a leadership void at nonprofit organizations has been mounting in recent years... A new report indicates how difficult recruiting for nonprofits will be over the next decades. Many of the 6,000 potential nonprofit leaders interviewed for the new study look at older leaders working 60-to-80-hour weeks and think, 'I don't want that.' |
Nonprofit Pay Increasing
February 1, 2008
According to a study published today by Total Compensation Solutions, an independent human resources consulting firm based in LA and NY, The average salary adjustment for staff positions in nonprofit organizations increased by almost 4.0% from 2006 to 2007... |
Microfinance Challenges - NYT Magazine
January 27, 2008
According to this NYT Magazine piece, the nonprofit org, Kiva (web site, Kiva.org), is experiencing problems in finding enough recipients of "microloans" to satisfy the appetites of the site's users/donors. Kiva is "a nonprofit that lets users make interest-free 'microloans' to entrepreneurs in low-development (that is, poor) countries all over the world..." Click title above for more. |
For Modern Kids, 'Philanthropy' Is No Grown-Up Word
December 30, 2007
Front page Washington Post story that points to the spreading of the philanthropic way of life to kids. "We've globalized technology, we've globalized commerce, but we haven't globalized compassion..." |
The Greatest Givers (BusinessWeek)
November 26, 2007
Many of this year's top U.S. philanthropists are keeping their money close to home. That's the subtitle of this year's BusinessWeek report on philanthropy. In the story: ...Sixteen of the 50 U.S. philanthropists on our list gave north of $100 million this year, nine donated $200 million or more, and one towered above them all with $723 million in gifts. Click title above to read more... |
The Nonprofit Workforce Crisis: Real or Imagined?
November 8, 2007
Interesting info from a new study out recently from Johns Hopkins and conducted in cooperation with a number of nonprofit associations. ...what seems clear is that, despite their drawbacks,
nonprofits have many advantages as places of employment. While this is no reason for nonprofits to ease up on their recruitment and retention efforts, it does provide some comfort... |
Form 990 Overhaul - be informed
October 18, 2007
On Wednesday, October 24, at noon Eastern time, two legal and regulatory experts will discuss what the changes proposed by the Internal Revenue Service to the Form 990 could mean for nonprofit groups, as well as how they can influence the final version of the form and prepare to meet new reporting challenges.
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Creating High Impact Nonprofits
September 5, 2007
Conventional wisdom says that scaling social innovation starts with strengthening internal management capabilities. This study of 12 high-impact nonprofits, however, shows that real social change happens when organizations go outside their own walls and find creative ways to enlist the help of others. |
2007 CEO Comp Study - out today!
August 1, 2007
There is quite a bit of interesting information from the not-for-profit sector in a new study out just today. According to the Charity Navigator over 5,000 top leaders of the largest charities in America earn an average salary of $145,2702. This represents a modest pay raise of 2.34% over the previous year studied. Click the title above to read on... |
How do you manage what you know?
July 14. 2007
Never in recorded history has the fountain of knowledge flowed so vigorously and voluminously. In the world of academia and for profit businesses/ corporations, knowledge management has been a huge topic of interest and multiplier since the 90s. Are you thinking about this? Many in the nonprofit arena have not caught on... |
Reading List for Nonprofits (WSJ)
June 15, 2007
Nonprofit organizations have their own set of management challenges. They must pursue dual bottom lines: financial sustainability and their larger mission. And they must typically do so with more limited resources than for-profit businesses, placing extra pressure on managers.
Most savvy leaders are able to balance the business aspect of their organization while adhering to their core mission, "but it is important to consider that executives who focus exclusively on profitability could very well be under-serving their constituents," says Tangie Newborn, executive director and chief executive of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. Adopting sophisticated and strategic operating models is absolutely crucial to the prosperity of the sector, she says... |
Trends in the Social Sector
May 30, 2007
The mission of the Fieldstone Alliance in Minneapolis/St. Paul is to strengthen the performance of the nonprofit sector. "The nonprofit sector in the United States has demonstrated remarkable success and persistence over the last thirty years, and is often emulated by other countries. But the continued healthy existence of the nonprofit sector is not a sure bet..."
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"Downshifting" a career?
May 1, 2007
Increasingly, we get calls and emails from senior leaders across the nation who say, I have had a great career, but I think I have painted myself into a corner from which I cannot escape. That 'corner' is the lack of balance in their lives that has resulted from a laser-focused approach to work alone. As you can see in today's Wall Street Journal, nonprofits are a potential refuge for those seeking to continue to make rewarding and valued contributions with their leadership and experience.... |
How Nonprofits Get Really Big
April 14, 2007
Since 1970, more than 200,000 nonprofits have opened in the U.S., but only 144 of them have reached $50 million in annual revenue. Most of the members of this elite group got big by doing two things. They raised the bulk of their money from a single type of funder such as corporations or government – and not, as conventional wisdom would recommend, by going after diverse sources of funding. Just as importantly, these nonprofits created professional organizations that were tailored to the needs of their primary funding sources... |
Foundation giving above $40B according to report
April 3, 2007
Giving by foundations soared to more than $40-billion last year and broke the $36.4-billion giving record set in 2005, according to estimates by the Foundation Center, The New York Times reports.
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Executive Pay
March 22, 2007
The IRS considers new penalties to crack down on charity officials who are paid too much and those who approve such compensation--including Board members.... |
The difference a Board Chair can make
Feb 21, 2007
Chairing a nonprofit Board is a demanding job. If one is going take on such a role, then he or she surely seeks to be the most effective Chair possible. To do so takes a great deal of study and skill. There are lots of resources on the internet; read on for one blog with some ideas for increased effectiveness...
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Other leaders reading our site?
December 7, 2006
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy one speaker at a recent BoardSource conference was quoted saying, "The board has to take accountability for making sure nonprofit groups have, the right people in the right job at the right time..."
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How Rusty Leonard Watches Over Donors
October 30, 2006
Front page Wall Street Journal article this fine Monday morn. If you are not familiar with Rusty Leonard and Wall Watchers you should be. |
What Business Execs Don’t Know -- but Should -- About Nonprofits
October 5, 2006
The world of business is different from the world of nonprofits. However, there is lots of overlap. Helping business leaders understand the nonprofit arena is a worthy cause since "business leaders play vital roles in the nonprofit sector -- as board members, donors, partners, and even executives. Yet all too often they underestimate the unique challenges of managing nonprofit organizations. In this article, 11 executives who have played leadership roles in both for-profits and nonprofits reveal the critical differences between the two, and suggest ways that business and nonprofit leaders can use this information to create a more effective social sector."
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The Leadership Deficit
September 5, 2006
[This article was originally picked up for the Leadership Blog, but we have also posted it here under Non-Profit News to make sure no one misses it!]
One of the biggest challenges facing nonprofits today is their dearth of strong leaders – a problem that’s only going to get worse as the sector expands and baby boom executives retire. Over the next decade nonprofits will need to find some 640,000 new executives, nearly two and a half times the number currently employed.
To meet the growing demand for talent, the author offers creative ways of finding and recruiting new leaders from a wide range of groups, including business, the military, and the growing pool of retirees
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Do you have a healthy staff?
July 26, 2006
Back in the 1980s, corporate America got into the fitness thing. Companies created work out areas and bought all sorts of exercise equipment. Though healthy life styles are always important, this trend just faded away. Or did it? Seems that it is coming back. How do you or your nonprofit approach these matters? |
Are you up to speed on what constitutes political activity & the IRS interpretation?
July 22, 2006
"Our concerns derive mainly from the lack of a bright line rule defining what is partisan and what is not..." Here is one of the latest reports (July 2006) from a watchdog outfit in DC that was formed in the 80s--OMB Watch.
"The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) new approach to enforcing the ban on partisan activities by charities and religious organizations has raised serious questions about the agency's interpretation of the law..." |
Good to Great: Social Sectors
July 12, 2006
It was a year ago this month that Jim Collins put out a monograph "to accompany Good to Great." If you are not familiar with this document, you should be. Read on for an introduction to his thinking... |
Nonprofit board governance: Strong leadership is key
July 6, 2006
Here's a non-faith-based piece from the Boston Business Journal that addresses Board leadership. Sadly, the author cites data that "only 10 percent of those surveyed strongly agree that charitable organizations are honest and ethical." Additionally, this article cites the need for Board cohesion - this is another one of those aspects of life where Christian organizations must be setting the example... |
Is the government providing funds for your senior level search?
June 13, 2006
While this specific situation may not apply to your organization, there are some interesting places to find funding for all sorts of projects, including executive search and succession planning. Read on and see what the President's Office of Faith-based & Community Iniatives and Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) are offerring... |
Transforming Life
May 2, 2006
Retailer creates venue for sharing stories of life transformation...
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Ministry Leadership from a Christian Worldview
April 26, 2006
Francis Schaeffer wrote, "The primary threat to the church is the tendency to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than the Spirit.” Excerpted from Nancy Pearcey's book, Total Truth, read this essential alternative for every ministry leader.
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Principled Governance
April 18, 2006
Board governance matters! It should be intentional, not accidental. It should be purposeful, not passive... |
How to Lower the Risk in CEO Succession
Summer 2000
Ever since the board of General Motors ousted CEO Robert Stempel in 1992, boards of directors have been more willing to act when a CEO falters. The demands on CEOs are ever increasing... |
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