Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Nonprofit Sector Reacts to ‘Worst Charities’ Exposé

Nonprofit Sector Reacts to ‘Worst Charities’ Exposé: "The nonprofit sector has responded with a mixture of both alarm and calls for action to the investigation that uncovered unsavory practices by the “50 worst” charities in America.

In the meantime, Oregon has become the first state to crack down on charities that fail to spend enough of their donors’ contributions on mission."


The Specter Of Death Makes People Less Charitable - Real Time Economics - WSJ

The Specter Of Death Makes People Less Charitable - Real Time Economics - WSJ: mpending death usually raises the issue of having to give away one’s possessions. But according to a new study, the prospect of passing away may make individuals less charitable.

In a new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, economists Jonathan Meer of Texas A&M University and Harvey Rosen of Princeton University used charitable-giving data from an anonymous university to examine end-of-life giving patterns

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Positive Trends in Arts and Culture Funding—At Least on the Surface - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Positive Trends in Arts and Culture Funding—At Least on the Surface - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: On the heels of the Giving USA finding that arts and culture was America’s fastest-growing philanthropic cause in 2012, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) has reported an uptick in business support for the sector. The latest edition of Giving USA cites an estimated 7.8 percent increase in arts and culture funding to $14.44 billion in 2012, compared with 2011. This exceeds the pre-recession peak of $13.7 billion in 2007 (not adjusting for inflation). AFTA’s BCA National Survey of Business Support for the Arts reports an increase of 18 percent in business giving to the cultural sector from 2009 to 2012, after downward trends in 2006 and 2009.

The BCA Report 2013 is based on a survey of 600 businesses, ranging in size from less than $1 million to more than $50 million. While the recent resurgence in arts funding by businesses was led by the largest companies, more than 80 percent of contributions reported came from small and mid-sized businesses.

Workload forces sector managers to skip holidays

Workload forces sector managers to skip holidays: Managers in the charity sector are forgoing their annual leave because they are afraid they will fall behind with work, according to a survey of 106 sector managers.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) carried out an online survey of 838 senior staff among its members, including 106 from the voluntary sector, in May this year.

Half of people give up when trying to donate by mobile

Half of people give up when trying to donate by mobile: It takes givers too long to navigate the donation process, delegates heard

More than half of people who try to donate to charity online by using a mobile device never get as far as making the donation, delegates at the convention heard yesterday.

Monday, July 01, 2013

The Blackbaud Index: Overall Charitable Giving Grew 1.1% in May, Online Giving Was Up 15.2% | Blackbaud News

The Blackbaud Index: Overall Charitable Giving Grew 1.1% in May, Online Giving Was Up 15.2% | Blackbaud News: The Blackbaud Index today reported that overall charitable giving increased 1.1% and online giving increased 15.2% for the three months ending May 2013 as compared to the same period in 2012. As reported in the recently released Charitable Giving Report, overall giving grew approximately 2% for the full year 2012 and online giving grew by about 11% in 2012 compared to 2011.

Fundraisers optimistic about major gift income over next two years | UK Fundraising

Fundraisers optimistic about major gift income over next two years | UK Fundraising: Research by Good Values and the Institute of Fundraising suggests that fundraisers are optimistic about the state of major gift income. Indeed 95% of the 88 fundraisers surveyed expected to see an increase in income from this source over the next two years.

The survey covered charities with a major gifts programme and those that we just starting out. Of those actively seeking major gifts, almost one third said that they had raised over �1 million from this source in the last financial year. Their average return on investment was 1:9.