Welcome to the Nonprofit Partnership E-News

In this Issue

	April, 2008
	How the Public Sees Nonprofits Today
	Don’t Miss Our Upcoming Education Sessions
	More Educational Opportunities – Save These Dates
	Since It’s Tax Time....
	And Since It’s Also Election Time...
	Do You Accept Donations Online?
	Seven Tips for Staying Sane About the Board
	The Grantsmanship Center in Erie: August 11-15, 2008

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April, 2008

How the Public Sees Nonprofits Today

Two recent studies indicate some alarming things about the way the general public views nonprofits. This should serve as a wake-up call.

A New York University study showed that 48% of people had only a fair amount of confidence in nonprofit organizations. Seventy percent felt that charities waste a great deal or fair amount of money, and only 10% said charities were very good at spending money wisely. Only 17% of the respondents felt that charities are very good at running programs.

Another study by Ellison Research found that 62% of all Americans believe the typical nonprofit is spending more than a reasonable share of its money on overhead. According to the respondents, organizations should spend no more than 22% on overhead, but those polled believed that on the average organizations actually spend 36 cents of each dollar on overhead.

These findings square with the research findings of Public Agenda and the Independent Sector where it was felt that the public wants to see nonprofits and their leaders as frugal and saintly. Any hint of wasteful, slick marketing or excessive compensation sets off alarms.

What’s to be done? Measure and report on the results of our work and communicate that regularly to the public, says NYU’s Paul Light. Public Agenda suggests that nonprofits not be mesmerized by the focus on transparency – our work is about passion and emotion and that has to come through in all of our communication.

Sources: Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 3, 2008; www.elllisonresearch.com/releases/20080213.htm; www.publicagenda.org

Don’t Miss Our Upcoming Education Sessions

If you’re tired of the human resources revolving door and want to do more to retain your most valuable assets-your best employees- join us for Keeping Your Keepers: Recruit, Reward, and Retain. Human Resources Management Consultant Gay Catania will share practical, low-cost practices you can adopt to keep your best in place, growing on the job, and contributing to your organization:

Thursday, April 24 from 9:00 to 11:00 am at
Jordan Room at Knowledge Park Center
5240 Knowledge Parkway@ Penn State Behrend, Erie, PA

The Art and Science of Financial Oversight.  Join us for the latest look at the changing landscape regarding principles for good governance and financial oversight, including:
• Essentials for responsible financial oversight of the organization
• Responsible fundraising practices
• New auditing standards that affect nonprofit organizations
• The new 990 – what’s changed with respect to the annual IRS filing
Vincent Halupczynski, CPA from Malin, Bergquist & Co. will be with us to offer this mandatory one-stop learning opportunity for all that’s new in financial oversight.

Tuesday, May 13 from 8:30 to 11:00 am at
Gertrude A. Barber National Institute
100 Barber Drive, Erie, PA

RSVP to Amy Eisenberg at 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org

More Educational Opportunities – Save These Dates

The first full-day educational session offered through the Erie Capacity-Building Collaborative will be on Board Development and Best Practices in Nonprofit Governance. Join us to go through the entire Board of Directors toolkit in one very informative day:

Wednesday, May 14 from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC) – Main Conference Room
18 West 9th St., Erie, PA

The Endowment Toolkit, Part II, focusing on the legal and contractual elements of an organization’s endowment will be presented by Karen Jackson of Results In Giving, Ltd. on

Tuesday, May 20 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at
Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies
40 Holland St., Erie, PA

This year’s Nonprofit Leadership Forum will feature members from The Public Conversations Project who will present an interactive forum, Conversations in the Boardroom: From Divisions to Distinctions to Decisions. Leaders will use structured exercises, group discussion, and presentation to build the skills that contribute to constructive conversation, robust discussion, and great Board meetings that create lasting engagement.

Tuesday, June 3 from 9:00 to 11:00 am at
Yehl Ballroom in the Waldron Campus Center
Gannon University, Erie, PA

 RSVP to Amy Eisenberg at 454-8800 or tnp@thenonprofitpartnership.org

Since It’s Tax Time....

No newsletter could be complete without an announcement that you are now able to file your IRS Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N (the new e-postcard for organizations with revenues less than $25,000), or request for extension electronically with the IRS using the new National Center for Charitable Statistics service at the Urban Institute – Form 990.org. The system automatically calculates totals and creates the schedules and attachments you need. The service is free for organizations with less than $100,000 in gross receipts, and a sliding fee scale up to $75 applies for larger organizations.

To check it out, go to http://form990.org

And Since It’s Also Election Time...

Election 2008: Dos and Don’ts for Nonprofits

There are now only six months to go as we count it down to the 2008 election. Although 501 (c) (3) organizations are prohibited from participating in any partisan political activities, there are many ways to participate in the election process. Organizations may help citizens (and staff!) register to vote, inform candidates for office about our important work, convene candidate forums, and the like. Green and red lights are outlined below:

You may:

• Conduct voter registration and nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts
• Educate the public on issues and encourage public participation in the political process
• Educate all candidates and parties on your issues
• Conduct or participate in a nonpartisan candidate forum
• Work on behalf of a ballot measure
• Continue your normal lobbying activities on issues
• Rent or sell mailing lists to candidates at fair market value if made available to all

You may not:

• Endorse or oppose a candidate – implicitly or explicitly
• Coordinate activities with a candidate
• Contribute money, time, or facilities to a candidate
• Set up, fund, or manage a PAC.

For more information, see the Independent Sector website at www.independentsector.org
 

Do You Accept Donations Online?

A new study of over 3,500 donors conducted by Sea Change Strategies found that affluent people are increasingly likely to use the Internet to make their charitable donations. – over half of the respondents made their gifts of over $1,000 online and expected to be doing so to a greater extent in the future. The most telling news in the study, however, is that nonprofits damage their long-term relationships and prospects by continuing to besiege donors with unwanted e-mail. Donors explained that they liked receiving:
• Year-end tax receipts by e-mail
• E-mail updates on how the donation was spent, overall finances, and the results the organization is seeing.
On the other hand, donors do not like:
• Urgent-toned requests for repeat giving.
• Messages about other organizations or causes sent by your organization.
The best advice is to give donors control over the e-mail they receive from you. Ask them what types they want to receive and how often and carefully maintain your lists accordingly.

Source: “Online Giving Appeals to the Wealthy,” The Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 3, 2008.

Seven Tips for Staying Sane About the Board

1. Accept the 20-60-20 rule when it comes to fundraising and the Board. Twenty percent will be involved, 60 percent will be neutral, and 20 percent will want nothing to do with it.
2. Recognize that your Board members are volunteers who are giving you the gifts of their time and attention – perhaps even more precious than money.
3. Know that your Board members are looking to you to steer the fundraising process and make requests of them as needed.
4. Treat each Board member with the care and respect you offer your best donors.
5. Thank your Board members sincerely and promptly for every little thing they do. A quick e-mail or voice mail “thank you” will do the trick. It lets them know they are not taken for granted.
6. Meet with each Board member once a year to be sure you understand what interests them about the organization. Then do your best to fulfill those interests.
7. During those individual meetings, have a concrete list of ideas for how that Board member can best serve the organization.

Source: Terry Axelrod, Raising More Money.
 

The Grantsmanship Center in Erie: August 11-15, 2008

By all accounts, we are entering one of the most intensive crunches in nonprofit funding history.  Cutbacks at every level of public funding, coupled with increased pressure on the healthcare dollar, a lackluster stock market, and a bad economy will conspire to make the next few years the most competitive time for funding we have ever seen.

Time to get your game on and build your grantwriting skills so that your proposals are as competitive as they can be.  The world renowned Granstmanship Training Program is coming to Erie for a full week this summer, August 11-15, 2008.  Reserve the week now and watch for the application in May from The Nonprofit Partnership.