Fund Raising Guide

Back to Basics: How Charities Are Thriving in Hard Times

A return to the basics is helping many nonprofit groups increase donations and cut their fund-raising costs.

In Tight Times, Gratitude Becomes as Important as the Pitch 

Putting some thought and originality into thanking donors can result in a more heartfelt message -- and a more fruitful response.

A Hike Up Mount Kiliimanjaro Puts Doctors In Their Patients Shoes, and Raises $113,000 

• Charity Offers Donation ‘Sales' With Foundation Help 

  DonorsChoose.org, the online education charity, has found a way to increase donations by slashing the "prices" for the classroom projects it asks donors to support.

• New Retirement Option Holds Charitable Benefits 

  A new retirement-savings option for affluent people is now available, and giving a charitable contribution can make it easier for donors to take advantage of the retirement...

• Historic Site Seeks Donations From Visitors 

  The 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, in Washington, turned the small arts organization into a national historic site that many people today...

• New Studies on Generosity Get a Generous Grant 

  Fund raising and charitable giving are the subject of a growing body of research by economists, psychologists, and other scholars.

   

  About Fund Raising

  People Skills No Longer Sufficient for Fund Raisers 

  Globalization, changes in demographics and technology, and new demand for entrepreneurial tactics will transform the fund-raising profession, experts predict.

  
  

  More Charities Enlist Staff Members to Pitch In With Fund Raising 

  • Fund-Raising Job Market Starts to Thaw 

  • About Managing

    • New Health-Care Law’s Benefits Are a 'First Step’

      The legislation to overhaul health care in America could have sweeping implications for charities, both as employers and as providers of medical and social services.

    • For Many Nonprofit Groups, New Health-Care Law Means the Work Begins Now 

      Passage of the health-care bill marks the beginning of a massive effort by charities and foundations to explain and track the complicated new law.

    • Health Centers, Hospitals to See Changes Under Law 

      The new health-care law will bring big changes to nonprofit hospitals, but even bigger ones to community health centers.

    • What the Health-Care Law Means for Nonprofit Groups: Key Provisions 

      A summary of how nonprofit groups will be affected by the new health-care law, both as employers and as service providers.

    • As a 40-Year-Old Organization Topples, Its Seeds Take Root 

      The community-organizing group Acorn may be closing its doors, but many of its local offices plan to carry on the mission under new names.

    • Facebook Co-Founder Starts Social-Networking Site to Promote Philanthropy

      Facebook's co-founder hopes his new charity site, Jumo, will make it impossible for people to say they would like to help but don't know where or how to do so.

    • Charity’s Text Campaign Draws Complaint 

      An innovative text-messaging campaign has run afoul of one of the large cellphone carriers.

    • Federal Plan Could Aid Online Advocacy 

      In its new National Broadband Plan, the Federal Communications Commission offers recommendations on how high-speed Internet service can be used to get people involved in...

    • Turning a Toy Into a Reading Tool 

      The Education Development Center, in Newton, Mass., has received $1.2-million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a two-year project to create hand-held games...

    • Using Good Design to Promote Good Causes 

      A new book shows the power of great design and showcases how nonprofit groups have used it to attract more support for their causes.

       

      About Giving

      • By the Numbers: Is College Giving a Bellwether? 

        A New Group Seeks to Organize Giving by Secular Donors 

        Foundation Beyond Belief tries to promote the kind of giving that people do in church -- but it leaves out the religious part.

        New Grant Seeks to Help People Find Accurate News Online 

        A new foundation grant seeks to help an organization teach readers to find credible journalism online.

        $30-Million Pledged to New York's Metropolitan Opera 

        The family of a late publisher is making the donation with no strings attached.

         

        Opinion and Letters

        Why Foundations of All Kinds Should Promote Internet Access 

        Many of this country's aspirations hinge on decisions being made now that will influence universal, high-speed Internet access many years into the future, writes the Ford...

        A Threat to Technology Innovation in Fund Raising 

        When cellphone companies dictate what nonprofit groups can say in text messages, it robs charities of their right to free speech, says Vince Stehle, a Chronicle...

         

        Making Fund Raising a Real Profession: Next Steps 

        The process to accredit fund raisers should be based on a rigorous set of knowledge, argues Adrian Sargeant, an Indiana U. professor.

         

        • Fund Raisers Should Focus on Generosity’s Dividends 

          Fund raisers need to find ways to treat donors as equal partners and stop looking at them as targets.

        • Sex Education: Why More Grant Makers Need to Help It Spread 

          Foundations should move quickly to help charities expand sex education, especially now that pregnancy rates among teenagers are growing.