Report says donations to charities soared by 9% last year, to $175-billion Donations to charity rose nearly 9 per cent last year, according to the new edition of Giving USA released last week. Gifts totaled $175-billion, according to the report, ALSO SEE:Report’s Numbers Are No True Measure of…
By Marilyn Dickey and Domenica Marchetti
On-Line Grocery Solicits Food Gifts for the Needy
A Web site that gives on-line grocery shoppers a chance to donate food to the hungry got 84 credit-card gifts from 75 donors in its first five days. The donations totaled $4,000 worth of food. NetGrocer, based in North Brunswick, N.J., is collaborating on the donation effort with Second Harvest, a…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
Long used to seek small donations, the phone becomes a major-gifts tool When the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, in Detroit, began its $100-million capital campaign last fall, it was clear the non-profit group did not have enough staff members or volunteers to solicit all of its potential…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
Adventures in Joint Fund Raising
More charities are working together, but approach has limits, experts say One day each September, visitors to the Sacramento (Cal.) Zoo are treated to the spectacle of dancing animals. ALSO SEE:Philip Morris Program Encourages Arts Patrons to Help Food Banks The “animals” are members of the…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
Philip Morris Program Encourages Arts Patrons to Help Food Banks
Grant makers often urge charities to collaborate on fund-raising and other activities to save money and become more efficient. But the Philip Morris Companies have taken non-profit collaboration to another level. ALSO SEE:Adventures in Joint Fund Raising Last year, Philip Morris started its “Arts…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
* The Gilbert Center, a Seattle organization that provides technology help to charities, has created an e-mail discussion list on topics related to non-profit “intranets” -- private, internal computer networks that can be used only by people associated with a particular organization. “Extranets,”…
By Debra E. Blum, Marilyn Dickey and Holly Hall
Company Offers Big Award for Creative Web Sites
A telecommunications-equipment maker plans to offer $250,000 in cash and in-kind services to non-profit organizations that come up with creative ideas for new Web sites. Ericsson, which is based in Sweden and has nearly 170,000 employees worldwide, will this month introduce the first annual…
By Debra E. Blum, Marilyn Dickey and Holly Hall
Report Says Charities’ E-Mail Is Unlikely to Sway Congress
Charities increasingly have been using e-mail as a way to try to get their messages into the hands of members of Congress. But a new report says electronic messages may not pay off as much as charities had hoped. The report, “Speaking Up in the Internet Age,” was published by OMB Watch, a…
By Debra E. Blum, Marilyn Dickey and Holly Hall
Report Reveals Increases in Non-Profit Theaters’ Income
Two-third of the nation’s non-profit theaters ended last year with a surplus -- the first time in a decade that a majority of theaters were operating in the black, according to a new study. ALSO SEE:Non-Profit Theaters: a Statistical Profile Total income for the theaters came to $565-million in…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy
Fund-Raising Group Clarifies Ethics Policy on Bonuses
The National Society of Fund Raising Executives has changed the wording in its code of ethics to clarify when it is appropriate for fund raisers to receive performance-based compensation. According to the code, fund raisers may not receive bonuses, finders’ fees, or commissions on revenue that is…
By Marilyn Dickey
Senior Editor, Copy