ECFA Commission Concludes No New Rules Needed on Unreasonable Nonprofit Compensation

ECFA Commission Concludes No New Rules Needed on Unreasonable Nonprofit Compensation: About two years ago, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, asked his staff to investigate media-based ministries and make recommendations about how to address self-dealing and questionable executive compensation levels and practices. Their recommendations were pretty dramatic: change which organizations are given nonprofit status by IRS, expand penalties on self-dealing, and establish new regulations to make sure that that nonprofits, particularly religious organizations, did not reward their leaders in an extravagant and excessive manner.

Rather than press for these legislative and regulatory changes, however, Senator Grassley asked the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (EFCA) to seek solutions that relied on self-regulation and not new laws. ECFA, in turn, formed the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations and broadened the focus to the entire nonprofit sector. About 80 representatives of the nonprofit sector were members of the commission and various committees. The committee produced a report, Enhancing Accountability for the Religious and Broader Nonprofit Sector, in December 2012.

Giving Black | Stanford Social Innovation Review

Giving Black | Stanford Social Innovation Review: When Liberty Hill Foundation first asked me to conduct a study on philanthropic giving and motivations of African American donors in Los Angeles, I approached the idea with a lot of curiosity. We know that African Americans give in comparable percentages to other groups, but there have been precious few studies that focus on African American giving. I was eager to contribute.

University of Michigan News Service | Corporations favor elite nonprofits

University of Michigan News Service | Corporations favor elite nonprofits: The study asked how locally headquartered corporations influenced the growth of two different types of nonprofit organizations—those oriented to the elite and those focused more broadly on social welfare—in the largest 100 U.S communities from 1987 to 2002.

Number of Volunteers Reaches Highest Level Since 2005 - Volunteers - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Number of Volunteers Reaches Highest Level Since 2005 - Volunteers - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: More Americans volunteered in 2011 than in any year since 2005, a new study finds. Approximately 64.3 million Americans volunteered at charities last year, providing 7.9 billion hours of service valued at $171-billion.

Showing Impact is Key Nonprofit Challenge | Business 2 Community

Showing Impact is Key Nonprofit Challenge | Business 2 Community: We recently conducted an online poll with 100 nonprofits to better understand their current view of marketing and how the discipline can help address key challenges they are facing. Here’s the blow by blow of what we found:

A STRATEGIC DEFICIT

According to survey respondents, nonprofits are not fully convinced that marketing is, or should be, a priority for their organization. Nearly 40% said marketing doesn’t rate as a strategic imperative for their cause, while the overwhelming majority of respondents admitted they do not have a formal marketing plan. More than 90% of respondents reported spending less than 5% of their budget on marketing.

One in six charities think they might close in the coming year, survey finds

One in six charities think they might close in the coming year, survey finds: John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, says public spending cuts and increased demand for services is having a 'shocking' effect on many charities

One in six charities believe they could face closure in the coming year amid public spending cuts and falling donations, according to a new poll.

The online survey of 252 senior level charity workers, carried out between 18 September and 1 November and commissioned by the Charities Aid Foundation, also showed that nearly half of charities dipped into reserves over the past year to maintain their work.

Corporate Philanthropy: The Latest Snapshot of Giving Trends

Corporate Philanthropy: The Latest Snapshot of Giving Trends: The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) and The Conference Board released their Corporate Giving Standard (CGS) survey this week. Over 200 Fortune 500 companies participated in the survey including 62 Fortune 100 firms. With these companies together donating almost $20 billion total in 2011, the report reveals current trends in corporate giving. To the detractors of corporate philanthropy, or those worried that companies are doing less, this survey shows that reports of corporate giving’s demise are greatly exaggerated. Last year, 60 percent of the surveyed companies gave more than they had donated in 2009, showing that despite the global financial crises large corporate gifts are on the upswing.

Some of the more interesting findings in the survey include:

Grateful patient philanthropy and the doctor-patient relationship

Grateful patient philanthropy and the doctor-patient relationship: Grateful patient philanthropy and the doctor-patient relationship

December 10, 2012 in Other

Physicians associated with "patient philanthropy" – financial donations from grateful patients to a medical institution – are concerned with how these contributions might affect their own behavior and attitudes, and how they might impact the doctor-patient relationship. A new study by Scott Wright, MD and Joseph A. Carrese, MD, MPH of Johns Hopkins University, and colleagues, explores this topic. The paper considers the perspectives of internal medicine physicians working in an academic medical center who have had experiences with these situations. Their findings appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, published by Springer.

Give as you Live research identifies six online charity supporter profiles | Third Sector

Give as you Live research identifies six online charity supporter profiles | Third Sector: Polly Gowers, chief executive of the direct donations website, says its research would help charities choose the right digital channels

Online charity supporters can be grouped into six different types, such as "industrial heartland Clive" or "wealthy professional Jacqueline", emerging research indicates.

Give as you Live, a website that allows online shoppers to direct donations, which are made by retailers, to the charity of their choice, is carrying out research asking charity donors about topics including what inspired them to give, how they spent time online, their online giving habits and their general lifestyle.

Philanthropy study funded by $5 million grant

Philanthropy study funded by $5 million grant: How do you study philanthropy? Through philanthropy, apparently.

UW-Madison and two other colleges are sharing a $5 million grant to explore the motives behind philanthropy and what strategies can be developed to get the most dollars.

The Science of Philanthropy Initiative (SPI) is a collaboration among UW-Madison, the University of Chicago and Georgia State. The $5 million grant is from the John Templeton Foundation.

IU report: Nonprofit jobs and wages have grown in Indiana arts and related industries: IU News Room: Indiana University

IU report: Nonprofit jobs and wages have grown in Indiana arts and related industries: IU News Room: Indiana University: BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- As the end of the year approaches with its holiday shows and events, a new report from Indiana University finds that employment and wages in Indiana's nonprofit arts, entertainment and recreation industries are growing but trail more rapid growth in for-profit employment and wages in these industries.

Charitable giving by family foundations falls slightly in 2010/11, report shows | Third Sector

Charitable giving by family foundations falls slightly in 2010/11, report shows | Third Sector: Giving by the UK’s 100 largest family foundations increased by 6.2 per cent in 2010/11 if the Wellcome Trust, the biggest foundation, is discounted, a new report shows.

The Family Foundation Giving Trends survey, which is in its fifth year and is produced by the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy and the Pears Foundation, found that there was a 1.8 per cent fall in giving among all the top 100 foundations compared with the previous year.

Wealthy young philanthropists focus on gap between rich and poor | UK Fundraising

Wealthy young philanthropists focus on gap between rich and poor | UK Fundraising: Wealthy philanthropists aged under 30 are more concerned with the gap between rich and poor people than philanthropists aged over 45, according to research for Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

A survey of 1,428 wealthy philanthropists in six countries revealed that nearly half (44%) of those under 30 surveyed cited this issue, compared with 16% of over 45s surveyed. The latter preferred to give to causes supporting the older generation.

The survey by wealth consultancy Scorpio Partnerships covered donors with an average net worth of more than �1.5 million in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Singapore and Malaysia.

Arts and heritage organisations need to get better at asking for legacy donations, culture secretary says | Third Sector

Arts and heritage organisations need to get better at asking for legacy donations, culture secretary says | Third Sector: Maria Miller responds to report published yesterday by the campaigning group Legacy10

Arts and heritage bodies need to get better at asking for legacy donations, according to Maria Miller, the culture secretary, in a statement issued in response to a report by Legacy10, called Removing Barriers to Legacy Giving, published yesterday.

Quick Practical Lessons from NTEN’s Donor Engagement Study - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly

Quick Practical Lessons from NTEN’s Donor Engagement Study - NPQ - Nonprofit Quarterly: NTEN’s recent study documenting the dynamics of donor engagement, though based on a small sample, is worth a look as you do your own fundraising this year. The study can be obtained here (PDF). The behavior of 1,022 donors was examined not just for their giving but for their volunteering, issue advocacy, and event participation. We’d love to hear any arguments you have with the findings, based on your own experiences.

Among the findings: Although 78 percent of donors gave to more than one charity only 12 percent gave to more than seven and these donors tended to be older. Still 47 percent of those surveyed say that a majority of what they give each year goes to the organization to which they feel most connected … We repeat, “TO WHICH THEY FEEL MOST CONNECTED.”

Houston's a philanthropy powerhouse; $10B given so far this year - Houston Business Journal

Houston's a philanthropy powerhouse; $10B given so far this year - Houston Business Journal: When it comes to philanthropy, Houston is a powerhouse in terms of its giving and the performance of local charities, HBJ's 2012 Giving Guide and Philanthropy Report found.

Accounting for donations through the third quarter, $32.1 billion has been given in Texas so far this year, with $10.2 billion of that coming from the Houston area, reports Dallas-based The Atlas of Giving.

'Deeply worrying' �2.3bn fall in individual giving

'Deeply worrying' 2.3bn fall in individual giving: Fewer people are giving to charity and those that do are giving less, resulting in a �2.3bn real terms fall in total donations in the last year, according to the latest barometer of individual philanthropy in the UK.

The UK Giving Report, released today, has reported a 20 per cent fall in the amount of money donated to charity between 2010/11 and 2011/12 to �9.3bn – a cash fall of �1.7bn (before inflation). It is the first time the total level of donations fell below �10bn since 2004/05.

summary report
http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sites/default/files/uk_giving_2012_summary_report.pdf

Wealthy keep giving in downturn, plan to give more � Philanthropy North Carolina

Wealthy keep giving in downturn, plan to give more � Philanthropy North Carolina: Averaging giving as a percentage of household income among 700 wealthy households held steady at 9 percent between 2009 and 2011, says the 2012 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy.

The study, prepared through an ongoing partnership with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, is based on surveys with households with net worth of $1 million or more, excluding the value of their home, or with annual household income $200,000 or more, or both.

Rocky Markets Rattle Nonprofit Endowment Returns - Endowments - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Rocky Markets Rattle Nonprofit Endowment Returns - Endowments - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas: Endowments at the nation’s charities and foundations are on pace this year to record lackluster investment returns similar to those they achieved in 2011, a new Chronicle survey finds. (See all the data.)

Sector's uniqueness under threat from professionalisation and marketisation, research suggests

Sector's uniqueness under threat from professionalisation and marketisation, research suggests: There is little empirical evidence to demonstrate why the voluntary sector is unique or distinctive, according to a new discussion paper.

Is the third sector so special? What is it worth?, published today by the Third Sector Research Centre, is the third of five discussion papers being produced as part of its Third Sector Futures Dialogues series.

Each paper is intended to start a debate about the big issues facing the voluntary sector in England.