March 7, 2011

Those are among the findings from more than 500 foundations participating in the Council on Foundations 2010 Foundation Management Series, which provides a snapshot of governance practices and administrative expenses. The Management Series, prepared in cooperation with the Foundation Center, comprises three reports: “Board Composition and Compensation,” “Administrative and Investment Expenses,” and “Fiscal Oversight.”

Some of the key findings include:

* Respondents indicated that the majority of board membership is male (nearly 62 percent).
* Approximately three-quarters of board members (74 percent) are over age 50, followed by 18 percent who are age 40 to 49. Family foundations reported the largest share of board members under age 40 (16 percent).
* A significant majority of board members are white (85 percent), with African-Americans making up 7 percent, Hispanics 4 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islanders 2 percent.
* Some 16 percent reported having at least one lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender board member while 29 percent reported having a written policy regarding board diversity.

More than 86,000 nonprofits are now using GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com to earn funds with virtually every search of the web and purchases at 1,300 top stores! 100 new nonprofits are joining daily! Success stories include:
- The ASPCA has earned $31,000
- The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has earned $12,000
- Save Darfur has earned $11,000
Read more about GoodSearch and GoodShop in the NY Times, Oprah Magazine, CNN and more..

Creating a plan for a nonprofit’s future and executing it without any issues can be challenging. One way to chart the future is with strategic planning that is based on an environmental assessment of the current and foreseeable future that is driven by needs, issues and priorities.

Successful planning is based on realistic judgments and decisions and to focus on outcomes, Bill C. McGinly, President and CEO at the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, said during the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy International Conference. Other options to consider having a successful planning process are to integrate all activities toward achieving clearly understood and measurable directions and strategies, and assure feedback and the monitor’s implementation.

McGinly suggested these basic principals of planning in an eight-step process for strategic planning:

* Definition (key stakeholders are your greatest resource along with values, vision, mission, directions)
* Environmental analysis (SWOT- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
* Key issues (SWOT- specific to each directions)
* Focus
* Action (Tactics, operational plans, budgets)
* Alignments (the plan drives all parts of the organization)
* Feedback and monitoring (monitor implementation and outcomes; exceptions reports)
* Refresh the plan. Review focus and set new priorities

Finance …
Earmark is not a dirty word (generally)

It took only a few days for U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, who represents Arizona, to garner a big earmark for his state, after being part of the Republican group declaring, loudly, an end to them.

It remains to be seen if the ban that is no ban on earmarks remains in effect, but, despite the bad name they have gotten recently, earmarks do in fact serve a purpose.

That was the thrust of a presentation given by Mark McIntyre of Russ Reid at the 47th AFP International Conference on Fundraising. As McIntyre pointed out, earmarks help to create jobs, cure disease, educate people, protect people, house people and feed people.

McIntyre offered advice for nonprofits hoping to benefit from a congressional willingness to do good somewhere in the world (if there is such a thing) with its 2011 appropriations. He offered several pointers.

• Research. Match your needs with the priorities of Congress.
• Preparation of materials. Develop the case statement.
• Pay attention to congressional meetings.
• Follow through. The first rule in appropriations is Follow up …Follow up… Follow up.
• Remember that there are various types of nonprofit organizations. Actually, remember that members of Congress might not remember that there are many types of nonprofits, including colleges, hospitals and organizations at the local, state, regional, national and even worldwide level.

Staying connected is an abiding concern for many people nowadays, as more people become convinced that the center cannot hold.

Speaking at the DMA Nonprofit Federation New York Nonprofit Conference, Attorney Errol Copilevitz of Copilevitz and Canter, LLC and Maggie Haynes of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) discussed the relevance and implications of social networking for both the WWP and the nonprofit sector in general.

Specifically:

* 94 percent of WWP alumni identified that they would want to be part of an online community site to connect and communicate with fellow warriors, family and friends.
* Alumni identified email, chats, blogging, photo sharing, job board, activity calendar and contact directory as the most valuable components to be included in a proposed Web site.
* 96 percent prefer to get information about the organization through online resources.
* 93 percent thought it would be valuable to network with other alumni.
For social networking overall:
* The 2009 Nielsen Online report show that social networks and blogs are now the fourth most popular online activity, ahead of personal email.
* Online membership communities are visited by 67 percent of the global online population, accounting for almost 10 percent of all Internet time.