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Not For Profit

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Guide Star has released its June 2010 Survey “The Effects of the Economy on the Nonprofit Sector”.The survey consisted of more than 7,000 respondents, composed of various nonprofit sector leaders such as CEOs, executive directors, vice presidents and presidents of non-profits. The survey measured the impact of the current economic environment and its effect on the nonprofit sector. The survey produce some interesting results:

* 40 percent of participants reported that contributions to their organizations dropped between January 1 and May 31, 2010, compared to the same period a year earlier.
* 63 percent reported a total increase in demand for their organization‘s services between January 1, 2010 and May 31, 2010, compared to the same period a year prior.
* 80 percent indicated that their organizations were in imminent danger of closing.
* Among organizations that use volunteers, 17 percent used one or more in what had formerly been paid positions.

To read and download the complete report click here:“The Effects of the Economy on the Nonprofit Sector”

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today announced the addition of a new portfolio of software, services and consulting grants to respond directly to the needs of local non-profit organizations to improve their effectiveness.
These new IBM Trailblazer Grants open up IBM’s innovation technology and the deep expertise of its employees and make them available to the local non-profit sector. Through consulting and technology tools in areas such as social networking, project management, strategic planning, leadership and collaboration, IBM’s Trailblazer Grants will help local non-profit groups to reach farther into their communities, connect with populations in need, and more efficiently and effectively manage their organizations.
These new localized software, services and consulting grants leverage IBM’s expertise in the communities it engages, and mirror the type of assistance it provides to its clients. In a pilot phase, these grants have been distributed to 30 non-profit organizations and schools in the United States with 150 more groups around the world set to receive grants in 2010. These new grants enable local, non-profit organizations to receive for free some of the same services and tools that for-profit businesses routinely are able to obtain, allowing them to operate more efficiently in the current economic environment and position for future community stability and growth.
“In a tough economy, non-profit organizations have the dual challenge of shrinking budgets and increasing requests for help from people in need, particularly in the case of local groups that are part of the social safety net,” said Stanley S. Litow, vice president of IBM Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs. “IBM has a long history of commitment and engagement with communities as a local, good corporate citizen. These grants respond to the very real challenge of helping community agencies improve their productivity and effectiveness.”
These IBM Trailblazer Grants help recipient non-profit organizations to build up their IT infrastructure and their leadership, management and technology skills. The solutions were developed with non-profit partners, and designed to help them enhance their ability to meet the needs of their communities. By leveraging IBM’s strength in these areas, the new grants align closely with the needs of small-to-mid-sized non-profit and educational organizations. Some of the early recipients of these grants have offered perspective on the relevance and impact these offerings can have:
“The extent to which IBM has helped us to think more strategically through the Strategic Assessment grant is the extent to which we will be better able to improve public education and to help students, teachers, families, community members, and teachers in the Philadelphia community, so that all of our students have access to college and careers.” – Carol Fixman, Executive Director, Philadelphia Education Fund
“We’re using the social media tools we gained from this grant in order to both reinforce key financial aid information delivered during our in-school advising sessions and reach out to new students in need of guidance about how to afford college. We learned from IBM how to employ tools like Facebook and Twitter to create a network that will connect us with these students and help them form a community with each other as well – this will keep them engaged from their freshman year of high school all the way through to successful completion of college.” – Kevin Mitchell, Development Director, ACCESS, Boston
“This grant helped us build skills at Safe Horizon for better management of some of our most complex projects in serving victims of violence in the New York City area. Our mission is to provide support and prevent violence for victims of crime and abuse, their families and their communities. With improved management, we’ll be better able to coordinate and execute on projects across our organization, from facilities management to legal contract reviews to operations.” – Ariel Zwang, Chief Executive Officer, Safe Horizon, New York
“At Greenlights, we are working to connect the Central Texas community and enable local non-profit groups to manage their business and governance issues. In tough economic times like these, small groups that have the passion to do good work may not always have the business tools and skills they need to stay afloat. With the knowledge and tools we’ve received through our project management consultancy grant, we’re helping our local community nonprofits to do more with less, serve the increasing numbers of local populations in need, and thrive in a tough economy.” – Ann Starr, Director of Education, Greenlights for Nonprofit Success, Austin
The IBM Trailblazer Grant offerings include a range of services, software and technology including project management, social media, leadership and collaboration and strategic assessment. As well as data back up, resiliency and hacker vulnerability services, along with donation of key software tools such as LotusLive and Lotus Foundations.

Source-PRNewswire

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Uh-oh. I hope I’m not going to get in trouble with this post.

The truth is, I’ve noticed a few reoccurring themes about nonprofits through the course of my career. Some of them are truly inspiring. Some of the themes are quite frustrating.

So I offer the following observances about nonprofit culture not as an indictment about this extremely important and absolutely vital sector of our economy. Rather, they are suggestions for a starting point about how focused strategy and effective management can help nonprofits achieve their purpose quicker and more cost-effectivel Read More

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Earlier this month, IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE) Director of Rulings and Agreements Robert Choi discussed some of the big tax changes facing nonprofit organizations in the year ahead. Changes in Form 990 and 990-EZ
In addition to changes to the form itself, eligibility requirements for the Form 990 will change for 2009 tax year filings. If your organization’s assets total less than $1.25 million and gross receipts total less than $500,000, your organization is eligible to file the Form 990-EZ. Read more

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Ever since Barak Obama managed to raise $6.9 million out of $25 million through small donations on the web, 92% of which were $100 or less, many involved in the non-profit world started to understand the potential of crowd sourcing small “micro-donations” instead of, or in addition to, the traditional approach of getting small numbers of large donations. Micro-donations are generally under $10 per person, with the idea being to crowdsource very large numbers of donors. A good example of an organization that maximizes the potential of micro-donations is Kiva. Kiva’s fund-raising activity takes place almost exclusively on the web, where it allows donors to make small donations to finance small businesses in developing countries. Kiva uses the web and social media brilliantly (their email newsletter is one of the best I’ve seen), and their emphasis on the fact that donations are “person-to-person,” and the transparent nature of their enterprise succinctly represents the personal culture that users of social media expect and appreciate. Reas More

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In a not for profit organization management is a very important aspect. The existence of the organization is primarily defined by its purpose. So the management is required to establish realistic goals and objectives that are in conformation with the mission. It should accord with the said organization’s capability for implementation and achievable within a pre-decided time limit. Since accretion of profit for self indulgence is not the objective of the organization, so it becomes essential to build up a sense of ownership of the organizational members towards the developed plan.
The management needs to focus on the optimum use of the organizational resources while efficiently maintaining the principle priorities. Efforts should be made to converge the best and the reasoned efforts of each member and building up of a consensus. Further, a concrete base needs to be built on which a measured mechanism can be established for progress of the organization and even invoke changes in policies as and when required.
Majority of the challenges faced by the non-profit organizations pertain to the management of the finances can be effectively solved when the diverse principles of strategic planning is practiced.
Management in not for profit organizations are varied in terms of perspectives, approaches and models. The style and approach followed by a particular organization is dependant upon culture of the said organization, the nature of the organization’s leadership, the size of the organization and the complexity of the structure of the organization. The management strategies adopted are based on goals, issues and the organic scenario.
Management approach that is based on goals is the most practiced one. It initiates with fundamental focus on the mission and the values that the organization stands for. Strategies are devised to accomplish those goals and missions. When the management focuses on issue based strategic planning, the board keeps itself busy with the issues that are faced by the organization. Strategies are devised to formulate an action plan that examines those issues and effectively meets them. When the organic aspect is the main concern of the management, the organization’s visions and values are further articulated and plans that adhere to those values are worked upon.

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