Have the organizations you work for/with or volunteer on behalf of been doing election scenario planning? I hope orgs are more prepared than this and other research I've seen suggests...

Fast Company: Philanthropy and nonprofits must be prepared for political upheaval. Many aren't.

"What risks, threats, or changes are looming? To start, if Donald Trump were to return to the Oval Office, that would likely trigger major policy changes, forcing many nonprofits and impact-driven startups to pivot their strategies. Results would vary by issue areas and focus of work, but many organizations would immediately feel a heightened sense of urgency and need around their services or programs, especially in the legal, direct services, and program advocacy spaces. 

New or midsize nonprofits will struggle to weather the storm, as they may lack the financial reserves or diversified funding streams necessary to adapt quickly. These organizations could also face challenges in scaling up their operations to meet surging demand while simultaneously navigating an unpredictable regulatory environment that may reduce access to government grants or other forms of support...

...During the previous Trump administration, organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union had to constantly defend civil liberties and hard-won legal protections. The ACLU famously took legal action against the administration’s travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries, arguing that it violated constitutional protections against religious discrimination. It also fought back against the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border, a policy that sparked national outrage and led to numerous lawsuits aimed at reuniting children with their parents.

If similar policies return, nonprofits will need to reallocate resources to protect immigration programs like DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and affordable housing initiatives. Healthcare- and social-services-focused nonprofits dealing with everything from reproductive care and housing insecurity to post-incarceration reentry services and mental health support could face renewed attempts to restrict funding and impose stricter regulations. As local, municipal, state, and federal funding drops, it may fall on foundations, corporate philanthropies, social entrepreneurships, and even high-net-worth individual donors to stem the gaps—creating excess demand and competition for an even smaller pool of resources.

The risks are still present even if the map of support and donations can shift to help stem the gaps created by a change in administration. While socially minded businesses, solo donors, and social entrepreneurs can leverage their platforms and resources to address pressing social and environmental issues, they’re more limited by market forces, personal preferences, and brand alignment, all of which restrict their ability to address systemic issues in the long term."

Hey All!

I just spun up this site as a proof-of-concept and I wanted to get some input. The general idea is for bored rich people to live vicariously through their donations. Excitement and happiness are contagious, so what do ya'll think?

Source: https://passionloans.wordpress.com/

On Monday evening (October 21), Megan Thee Stallion was presented with the 2024 genLOVE Award for Outstanding Philanthropy at the 18th Annual Golden Heart Awards in New York City. Anna Wintour and Michael Kors, chairs of God’s Love We Deliver, a nonprofit providing medically tailored meals to individuals living with severe illness, organized the event.

https://thesource.com/2024/10/22/megan-thee-stallion-honored-with-2024-genlove-award-for-philanthropy/

A two-decades-long drop in Americans’ participation in charitable giving accelerated during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the average amount given by donors increased, according to new research from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University Indianapolis.

The report, “The Giving Environment: Giving During Times of Uncertainty,” provides the latest data on U.S. household giving and examines how the first year of the pandemic affected charitable giving. The study is part of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s ongoing series “The Giving Environment,” which uncovers giving rates and average giving amounts over time. The report is based on research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

https://news.iu.edu/live/news/38127-philanthropy-report-explores-pandemics-impact-on

MusiCares, an organization that helps music professionals who need financial, personal or medical assistance, will honor the Grateful Dead as its 2025 Persons of the Year.

MusiCares announced Wednesday that it will recognize original members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir for their philanthropic efforts, their unique ability to foster community through concerts and for their impact on American music on their 60th anniversary.

https://www.komonews.com/news/entertainment/grateful-dead-named-musicares-persons-of-the-year-for-philanthropy-and-music-impact-mickey-hart-bill-kreutzman-phil-lesh-bobby-weir-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-rex-foundation-jerry-garcia

Hi, I have a wide array of nonprofit development and communications experience for small nonprofits, including as an ED for some advocacy organizations, as a communications coordinator and associate director for nonprofit human milk banking, and most recently as a development coordinator for a democracy-focused, faith based group.

I'm preparing to interview for the position of development officer for a rather large regional health system. I'm excited about the leap for various reasons and want to put my best foot forward. My first interview is a screening phone call with HR.

Does anyone know the hospital development world and have time to chat with me about it? The interview is Tuesday. Thanks!

It's a good time to remind everyone that there are many signs that a nonprofit or philanthropic endeavor is suspicious and perhaps even fraudulent:

• Does not list any board of directors on its site. Any legitimate philanthropic endeavor would have the full names of the board of directors on the web site.

• Does not list its annual budget and funding sources. How much money did it spend last fiscal year, and on what, and where did that money come from?

• Seems to be a one-person operation: the messaging is mostly about or by the founder, which no other staff or volunteers featured (or rarely featured).

• Founder has no training or experience doing what that person claims to want to do for others. If the person did have such training, it would be detailed in that person's bio.

• The social media messaging and web site uses mostly clipart; has few or no RECENT photos of program participants, and if it does have photos it says are program participants, they look like they were just stopping by a table that the "founder" happened to be standing at.

• Charges volunteers to participate, yet has no testimonials from volunteers who have participated about their experiences, why volunteering was worthwhile, etc. Or charges people for its list of suggested grantmakers.

• There are no credible nonprofits or government agencies that are working in partnership with this entity, or that ever refer to this entity's work.

• Posts angry social media posts regarding personal vendettas.

• Social media posts are rarely liked or shared by others, and when they are, it's usually a social media account that's obviously been created by the same person.

Be particularly suspicious, people outside the USA, of nonprofits who claim to be operating in the USA and claim to be able to set you up with a work visa, or to create networking or contact opportunities for you in the USA.

Also be particularly suspicious when the nonprofit founder is a man, who uses lots of clipart of women, and claims to help women and girls in some way - but has no list of women working at his organization and has references regarding his previous work regarding "women's empowerment."

https://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/auction-meet-paul-rudd-with-2-vip-tickets-to-his-annual-3035503
Or just buy a ticket to his benefit next week: https://say.org/ruddbowling/

Hi, does anyone have access to the 2024 GSB salary and benefits report from Council on Foundations that they’d be willing to share? My org isn’t a member and it’s $550 for non-members to download, which feels extortionate.

Please message me if you do!

Software Engineer 20 with years of experience. I'm looking for domestic US charities to contribute to around homelessness, integrating convicts back into society, natural disasters, or any organization with displaced people.

After a disaster, fraudsters target the public through phone calls, texts, social media, email, door-to-door collections, flyers and mailings, trying to gain their money by pretending to fundraise for victims.

To avoid falling prey to such fraudsters, particularly in the wake of Hurricane Helene, the government offers these guidelines:

• Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
• Do not be pressured into making contributions as reputable charities do not use such tactics.
• Do not respond to any unsolicited communications, like emails and texts. And NEVER click links contained within those messages because they may be targeting your personal information, such as your bank and credit card account information, date of birth and Social Security number.
• Rather than clicking on a purported link to a charity, verify its legitimacy by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming whether the organization is a valid charity.
• Beware of organizations with copycat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
• Avoid cash donations if possible. Pay by credit card or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
• Know that legitimate charities do not normally solicit donations via money transfer services, and their website will normally end in .org rather than .com.
• Be cautious of emails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• If you suspect an organization is involved in disaster fraud, or have been the victim of such fraud, the Department of Justice urges you to report this online atwww.justice.gov/DisasterComplaintForm. You can also call the National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at 866-720-5721.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/10/08/hurricane-milton-disaster-scam-fraud/75570216007/

Hi everyone! I’m an early-career professional fundraising for a top-ten university. While I am thankful for my work and love it, I’m aware that I want to transition out of development work to work for a company and not fundraising. Does anybody know of any industries/career paths that others have taken to transition out of development?

Right now, this fundraising work is my most serious career experience. So any next career transition would most likely lean on my fundraising experiences running an annual giving program.

Does anyone know of a good training resource/certificate program that is free or affordable (less than $100)? So many of the ones I've found cost upwards of $250-$800!

I am looking to start a scholarship fund at my alma mater in honor of my uncle who graduated from the same school. My plan is to start a a virtual fundraising campigan amongst family and friends. I am aware of platforms like gofundme, but are there any other platforms that you all recommened that you all have had sucess with? Thank you in advance for all recommendations.

Each year I try to donate a certain percentage of my income to charity. A while ago I decided to do that percentage from my income after deducting taxes and pension payments. To me, that way it better reflects a percentage of "my" momey, than my gross pay does. However I've been debating whether I should consider gift aid on my donations as contributing towards the total amount I'm aiming to donate. E.g. If i earned 100,000 and donate 5,000 to charity should I also consider the 1,250 gift aid that the charity collects towards my target?

I appreciate there is no "right" answer here, it's entirely subjective, but I'm curious to hear what other people think.

Penn alum alleges University misused his donation intended for underprivileged business students

https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/02/rosenthal-sues-university-trustees-upenn

Canyon Crest Academy students release report on alleged misuse of donations to support student clubs

https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/canyon-crest-academy-students-release-report-on-alleged-misuse-of-donations/509-6bc60c0d-3612-4521-b477-b6a26181d04c

Fundraisers spend countless hours trying to suss out what will motivate a wealthy donor to become a long-term giver of big gifts. They might talk to a rich donor about how good it will feel to donate a large sum or how that donation will transform the charity’s work. But a new book suggests what motivates rich philanthropists is often far more complex.

Making big gifts has a profound effect on rich donors’ psychological well-being and changes how they view themselves, according to Meaningful Philanthropy: The Person Behind the Giving, written by Jen Shang and Adrian Sargeant.

https://www.philanthropy.com/article/big-giving-changes-wealthy-donors-identities?

Steph and Ayesha Curry’s Plea to Philanthropy: Don’t Let Pandemic-Era Tutoring Programs End

The Currrys are committing $25 million to Oakland schools so all students have the same opportunity.

Article free with registration.

https://www.philanthropy.com/article/steph-and-ayesha-currys-plea-to-philanthropy-dont-let-pandemic-era-tutoring-programs-end?

During an impact summit held in Sunnyvale, California, Google.org, the tech giant’s philanthropic arm, announced it is refocusing its mission and philanthropy around three key areas where it believes A.I. can make the most impact. The first is knowledge, skills and learning; the second is scientific advancement; and the third is resilient communities.

This shift represents a significant evolution from Google.org’s origins. As Google went public back in 2004, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin envisioned a foundation that would ultimately “eclipse Google itself in terms of overall world impact by ambitiously applying innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world’s problems.” In the years since, Google.org has tackled a mishmash of causes, from criminal justice reform to climate change, portioning 4 million pro bono and volunteer hours from employees.

In the last 10 years alone, Google.org and Google employees have made a hefty $6 billion in cash funding. By comparison, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported nearly $74 billion in net income for 2023 and has an overall stock-market value of about $2 trillion.

In other words, as Google has become more A.I.-centric, with CEO Sundar Pichai announcing the company would be “reimagining all of our products” to include A.I. last May, so too has Google.org.

You have to register to read, but registration is free:

https://www.philanthropy.com/article/two-decades-in-google-org-reimagines-its-role-in-the-a-i-era

A supporter of Habitat for Humanity complains that the national organization's fundraising material sent by mail is deceptive, meant to look like it's a letter from the government and needs to be opened urgently:

https://preview.redd.it/2e2fe2mjmkpd1.jpg?width=1115&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf7f6734f1eea4d082923fb1668b0c2b623b0b71

What’s in a Name? The Ethics of Building Naming Gifts

Philanthropically-minded individuals through the ages have chiseled their names on buildings as expressions of civic responsibility, prestige, and power.

Today, nonprofit fundraising and especially large capital campaigns emphasize naming opportunities to attract seven-, eight-, and nine-figure donations from high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). Naming gifts provide donors with reputational and market value, what legal scholar William Drennan refers to as “publicity rights,” and beneficiary organizations and their constituents with financial and mission-driven value.

But naming gifts often serve as marketing or reputation enhancing vehicles for donors that overshadow sincere charitable intent.

More from Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) :

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/ethics-of-building-naming-gifts

The county auditor found that Multnomah County Animals Services in Oregon is misusing donation money.

Animal Services has been under scrutiny for the last several years amid concerns about safety, staffing, facilities, and more.

According to the shelter, they "restricted use donation accounts" that are meant to help supplement services for animals.

The auditor says that money is not meant to replace general fund support.

https://www.katu.com/news/local/multnomah-county-animal-services-accused-of-misusing-donation-funds

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2024/08/multnomah-county-animal-shelter-still-misusing-earmarked-donations-one-year-after-scathing-report-auditor-says.html

i’m a reporter at my local newspaper and i’m doing a story on a man who recently passed away. his family set up a memorial fund at his place of work where he was a crisis interventionist and i was wondering how to get in contact with the university he’s an alumni at to see if they would like to donate. the funds from the memorial fund go to giving people in my county the means to access healthcare. i am also currently a student at the university, not sure if that complicates things. thanks for your help!

Philanthropy, Corruption, and Dave’s Volunteer Journey in the Dominican Republic

Natalia Garcia ’23 graduated with a major in economics and minor in international business and was a 2022-23 Hackworth Fellow with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. While volunteering in the Dominican Republic, Dave discovered that the non-profit he had partnered with was exchanging his donor money on the black market, prompting him to navigate a series of complex decisions with significant ethical implications. 

A case study from Aug 10, 2023 from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/philanthropy-corruption-and-daves-volunteer-journey-in-the-dominican-republic/

Under U.S. laws, nonprofits are not allowed to donate to people in combat, said New York attorney, Daniel Kurtz, a partner at Pryor Cashman.

“You can’t support war fighting, can’t support killing people, even if it’s killing the bad guys,” he said. “It’s not consistent with the law of charity.”

But Kurtz doubts the IRS will examine donations to Ukraine — in part for reasons of capacity, but also because of the political support for Ukraine’s government.

Story from February 2023.

https://apnews.com/article/technology-united-states-government-business-a14805645c3135bdff261dba7a2ec8cc

I'm doing well in life. Not rolling in money, but my needs are met and there's surplus. I got very lucky buying my house in 2008 after the drop, had a stable career, etc.

I feel for the next generation coming up and how wages generally haven't risen commensurate to housing price hikes. No need to blame anyone on that or quibble over percentages.

Once I was helping some friends move, and our pastor mentioned offhand an idea about older ppl in the church financially helping younger people in the church buy houses. It seemed like he was talking about an equity stake. This is southern California, so presume a $1M house, another established couple (long-since mortgage-free) contributes $300-400K into escrow, and then the buyer who will live in it only needs to come up with a smaller down and procure a small mortgage (also saving PMI). It could theoretically then be repaid upon one-day sale of that house.

I've moved away and haven't been able to flesh the idea out more with him, but had the idea to crowd-source it here.

Some issues on my mind:

-better to stick with equity, or should it be a loan? a loan seems problematic since loan payments on the smaller mortgage would still tap the young buyer's budget and make paying two loans difficult.

-if this ends up being a forever home, is there an expiration on the investment? I.e., does it convert to a loan when the primary mortgage is repaid?

-what happens if any party in this dies? does their share revert to natural heirs, or other parties in the transaction?

-how do you handle gain/loss on sale of the house? split it pro-rata, or is their some guaranteed annual % return on the investment of the older couple (money would have been in the market or a bank, right?), or is an ROI only allocated if there's profit on sale and not a loss?

-any exit/callable clauses (divorce of residents, letting the house go to ruin, not maintaining mortgage payments, etc.)?

I'm asking because I have the heart and desire to do this, but I want to be wise. We're probably not there financially yet, but we're on a good track to be able to. I would welcome any thoughts to nail this down better and avoid hurt/pain over unmet expectations one day when this is offered.