Charitable giving by the mega-wealthy echoed the performance of a volatile but ultimately rising stock market, as America's top fifty donors gave a total of $10.4 billion, up from $3.3 billion in 2010

Goldman Sachs cut its charitable giving by more than three-quarters to $78-million last year while reducing compensation at a far lower rate The banking giant, announcing its annual results Wednesday, said its total compensation bill, including salaries and bonuses, declined 21 percent in 2011. Goldman reported profits of $4.4-billion, a 4.4 percent drop, and planned to hand out $12.2-billion in bonuses, down by 26 percent from 2010.

 

Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities give larger shares of their income than whites according to a new study by the W.K. Kel­logg Foundation. The majority of their gifts go to or­gan­i­za­tions and causes that affect members of their minority group.

Al­most two-thirds of African American homes make char­i­ta­ble do­na­tions, giv­ing 25 per­cent more of their in­come than whites. A

63 per­cent of La­ti­no house­holds do­nate to char­i­ties. 

 

 Craigslist Foundation will close its doors by the end of March.  In a letter on its Web site, the foundation's president and CEO Lynn Luckow described the organization's intention to "find appropriate homes" for its three key programs, the Nonprofit Boot Camp, an annual conference designed to help organizations network and grow;LikeMinded, a platform for sharing information on social change; and Alliance Building, an effort to create a network of community builders.

The foundation has posted an FAQ to provide some answers about its decision and will continue to share current podcasts, videos, and other online resources through 2012. The decision has no effect on craigslist, Inc. or craigconnects.org, an initiative launched by craigslist founder Craig Newmark in 2011 to empower disadvantaged communities through technology.

 

Nearly $30 billion in total assets were under management by donor-advised funds in 2010 and the grants from these funds  exceeded $6.1 billion! (from the National Philanthropic Trust)

Compared to this time last year things haven't really  gotten any better in the fundraising world, so saith the Nonprofit Research Collaborative. You can download the report here: Nonprofit Research Collaborative Summer/Early Fall 2011(38 pages, PDF)

Here is the skinny: for the first six months of 2011, 

• 44 percent of respondents saw a year-over-year increase in charitable contributions  BUT
• 25 percent reported that contributions were flat;
• 30 percent saw contributions fall; and
• 1 percent said they were unsure.

The NRC 2010 year-end survey found that 43 percent of organizations raised more money than they had in 2009; 24 percent raised about the same; and 33 percent raised less.

Startiing with our own... from The Chronicle, written by Rick Moyers

1. Raise the issue.

Foundations can send a strong message that they believe boards are important by simply asking a few questions about the board during the application process or during face-to-face meetings. This may seem rudimentary, but many grant makers don’t do so or they ask only perfunctory questions.

2. Lose the checklist.

Asking thoughtful questions about the board and governance does not mean whipping out a clipboard and running through a checklist about compliance with “best practices.”

While checklists have their place—and do demonstrate a level of due diligence—they generally fail to illuminate whether the board is actually doing a good job. Having a conflict-of-interest policy, term limits, or a governance committee doesn’t automatically produce a high-performing board.

A few probing questions tailored to the organization, its stage of development, and its most pressing challenges will yield better information than a one-size-fits-all checklist.

3. Communicate high expectations.

Foundations need to do much more than talk about boards. We should have high expectations of the boards of grantees, and we could certainly do a better job of being clear about what those expectations are. If we expect 100-percent board giving, for example, we should say so. If a weak board was a factor in turning down a funding request, we should provide that feedback—and in specific rather than general terms, if possible.

4. Consider governance when making funding decisions.

Talking with grantees about their boards helps elevate the importance of boards, and communicating high expectations helps grantees understand what the foundation is looking for.

However, if board issues go unaddressed after many conversations, or if the problems are too big, foundations may need to discontinue funding. This can be particularly difficult, since some grantees with weak boards do good work and have charismatic and persuasive staff leadership.

Foundations need to consider carefully the circumstances under which a weak board might lead to a grantee losing its funding. Foundations that profess to be committed to building strong boards while supporting organizations with weak boards that are making no effort to improve undermine their own credibility and risk creating the impression that they are only paying lip service to the need for stronger boards.

5. Strengthen our own boards.

The medicine we so freely prescribe for grantees should also improve the health of foundation boards, which have the same basic responsibilities and face many of the same challenges. It’s unreasonable to ask our grantees to do things we’re not willing to do ourselves.

Even though banks are making tons of money - profits have never been higher for many - most have cut back on their charitable giving. One exception is Goldman Sachs. Read the New York Times.

Toms Shoes, the social enterprise that gained international prominence for donating a pair of shoes for every one purchased, is expanding into eyewear, The for-profit firm will apply what founder Blake Mycoskie called its “one-for-one” model to hand-painted sunglasses, which went on sale in stores Tuesday for $135 to $145. For each pair of shades purchased the company will donate eye care, surgery, or prescription glasses to a person in need in the developing world. The medical treatment will be administered by the Seva Foundation, a California charity that works to treat and reduce blindness and visual impairment worldwide. Since its founding in 2006, Toms has sold more than 1 million pairs of its signature canvas footwear and donated a like pair of shoes in the United States, Argentina, Ethiopia, and South Africa. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Vulnerable Children and Families: Innovative Approaches for Individual Philanthropists and Small Family Foundations
This new report by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors shares ideas about how to approach an issue strategically, build productive relationships, utilize established foundations' resources, and partner with the government to bring effective interventions to scale. Includes case summaries and resource list.

Down by 20% according to new data from the IRS.  The numbers may were using were from a study by Giving USA, but that methdology was flawed by an increase in huge gifts from a few individuals. The decline is far sharper than experts had expected—and much more substantial than in previous downturns. This means nonprofits have a much steeper hill to climb in 2011 than we thought. Read the Chronicle's article here.

You read that right. Hundred of housands of nonprofits will have their tax exemption revoked. Are you on the list? Are you finding agencies that are? GuideStar's new report, "What Automatic Revocation of Nonprofit Tax Exemptions Means for You: A Review for Nonprofits, Grantmakers, and Donors." 

• outlines the reasons behind the revocations;
• analyzes by organization type the nonprofits the IRS has identified as being at risk;
• defines how the revocations will affect different audiences; and
• lists resources where readers can get more information.

Looks good! Foundations expect to increase their giving in 2011 and may catch up or go past what tjhey gace pre-recession according to  a new report from the Foundation Center. Other highlights:

• A slight majority of foundations increased giving last year - and 45% said they gave less than before.
• Giving by independent and family foundations remained flat, at an estimated $32.5-billion in 2010, less than 1 percent under 2009’s total.
• Corporate foundation giving was also flat
• Giving by community foundations dropped 2.1 percent in 2010, to an estimated $4.1-billion, the first consecutive-year decline the annual survey has ever recorded.

Online giving is the fastest growing fundraising channel for nonprofits, while online engagement and legislative advocacy are assuming an expanded role in the sector, a new report from fundraising software provider Convio finds.

Drawing on data from nearly six hundred nonprofits with 2010 fundraising revenue totaling more than $1.15 billion, Convio's annual Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index Study (48 pages, PDF) found that online fundraising increased by 40 percent year-over-year in 2010, with 79 percent of the organizations responding to the survey reporting an increase in revenue. The improved performance is due in part to an 88 percent rise in the number of donations received and an average increase of $8 per donation.

That is how the Minneapolis Tribune described a 10 year, $200 million anti-poverty initiative funded by the Northwest Area Foundation. The Foundation has published a report on the activites, and it is a great example of transparency. "I do think that foundations ought to commit to the long haul to things they are committed to. But I think the way the foundation did it was too inflexible....It tied up a lot of money in long-term relationships."

Download the report here

Ordinarily, when the word hacking is associated with computers, the connotation is negative. But 17-year-old Mountain View High School senior Zach Stay is changing that by using his computer skills in putting together a conference to fight poverty.

Stay's Hacking Poverty Conference will take place today from 3 to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mountain View High School, 665 W. Center St. in Orem. The conference is free to attend, and open to the public.

"Hacking refers to breaking into something, figuring out how it works, and changing it," Stay said. "We are focusing on that aspect of hacking, not on destroying computer programs."

In fact, the purpose of the conference is to bring together people interested in creating computer programs or applications that will help the poor. Companies or organizations that have committed to send representatives to the conference include i.TV, Maxsam Partners, Perfect Search Corporation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and Mountain View High School.

Stay drew his inspiration for the conference from an event he read about, called "Random Hacks of Kindness" -- a developers' conference that made applications to help during natural disasters. The conference was sponsored by big names in the technology industry such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo, and one Twitter application that was developed by the group was reportedly widely used for communication in the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Haiti.

Stay said he had been thinking for some time about what he personally could do to make a difference in the world, and when he read about "Random Hacks," he and his father, Tim Stay, investigated to see if there was a similar conference dedicated to alleviating poverty. They did not find one, and Zach Stay went forward with his plans for the Hacking Poverty Conference.

Tim Stay is CEO of Perfect Search Corporation, an Orem-based technology company, but also has experience in outreach to Third World countries as co-founder of Unitus (pronounced "unite us"), a non-profit organization that has specialized in helping the poor through micro-finance projects.

Zach Stay contacted Fraser Nelson, executive director of the Community Foundation of Utah, for help in contacting hundreds of non-profit organizations to get their ideas for software applications that would help those groups.

Nelson called the idea of the conference "wonderful," and said she was glad her organization could be of assistance.

Other feedback has come from Tim Stay's company, Perfect Search.

"We are participating," said Ken Ebert, chief technology officer of Perfect Search, "because we think it is an important part of our company culture to give back. We are thrilled that a conference like this has been created, and we hope to see it grow from year to year."

One idea of about a half-dozen that Zach Stay will have on the table for work at the conference is the creation of a "fighting poverty applications store" to allow people from around the world to upload phone applications that benefit the poor in some way. The applications would be available for free download.

Another idea is for an application to allow humanitarian aid workers to use phones to record basic information abut clients they serve, and where they live. When the information is uploaded using Twitter, global positioning satellite coordinates are sent with the client information, and appended to a Google map.

In much of the developing world, no address system exists, so it has sometimes been difficult for humanitarian workers to locate the clients they serve, according to a write-up on Zach Stay's conference website. The information could also be critical in the event of natural disasters, where entire sections of villages can be wiped out. The application, or similar ones, could help rescue workers trying to find the missing, or trying to most effectively direct resources.

Zach Stay's mother, Dalita Stay, said that in her husband's travels with Unitus, Tim Stay has seen that perhaps one person in a village has a phone, and becomes the "resident cell phone holder." Zach Stay noted that cell phones are becoming more affordable, and do have more computing power, and even one cell phone in a community can make a difference.

Participants in the conference are encouraged to bring a laptop computer, ideas they might like to see developed, and any required programming tools.

At conference sessions, participants will be organized into groups with project managers to head up the work on the different proposed applications. BYU professor Warner Woodworth, a founder of many non-profit organizations, will be a speaker. When Saturday's work sessions conclude, the managers will report, and follow-up assignments will be made.

"My main hope is that we either create something that is useful to those in poverty, or that we help raise awareness that technology can help fight poverty," Zach Stay said.

Dalita Stay said that Zach is a "peacemaker" in the family, and one who is eager to use his skills to help others.

"We're proud of him," she said.

For more information on the conference, contact Zach Stay at (801) 734-9782 or visit,http://www.hackingpoverty.org.

SALT LAKE CITY — Fourth Street Clinic, a nonprofit organization that provides health care to Utah's homeless, is launching an endowment campaign in an effort to improve the reach of its services.

"Homelessness affects our entire community’s quality of life,” said Allan Ainsworth, executive director of the clinic. "We hope this $5,000 seed money is the beginning of securing Fourth Street Clinic's long-term financial position and ensuring that future Utahns who fall into homelessness will always have access to health care."

The clinic currently turns away 15-20 patients each day, many of whom end up going to emergency rooms, according to a news release.

Fourth Street Clinic opened its endowment through Community Foundation of Utah, a public charity that will invest the endowment's principal.

The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona (CFSA) has put information on its website about the Christina Taylor Green Memorial Fund and other charitable funds created as a result of the recent tragedy. You can learn more by accessing the CFSA website at www.cfsoaz.org.

Nearly Half of Americans Say They Are Giving Less in 2010
Only 8 percent of donors said they would increase their giving in 2010, a new poll finds, and many donors say that the bad economy will continue to cause them to hold back on contributions in 2011.