A very visible, if somewhat basic, call to arms. | The Huffington Post
The sad state of nonprofit jargon. | The Chronicle of Philanthropy
New Jersey’s Blue opts to turn green. | NJBIZ
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The notion among the general public that nonprofits should be able to operate successfully while maintaining absolutely bare-bones operations is not only annoying, says a California SPCA official, it is also dangerous. Writing in the Palm Springs Desert Sun, Fred Saunders offers a very cogent reason why:
These are misconceptions that hinder the growth of the organization and become obstacles to achievement of the organization’s mission. The nonprofit organization must be run as if it were a serious business if it is to be successful and continue to exist in a competitive market. To do this, the notion that a nonprofit …read more

The world’s most unlikely nonprofit, the National Football League, is blitzing against new IRS regulations that would require it and other NPs to reveal on their Form 990 filings the salaries of way more key personnel than it currently does. The NFL is asking Congress to allow it to keep secret the names of its executives, with the exception of the league commissioner, who earn more than $150,000 annually.
Joe Browne, the N.F.L.’s executive vice president for communications and public affairs, said league lobbyists had not yet found a Congressional sponsor for their proposal.
“I’ve been here 40 years,” Browne said. “I …read more

The last time Canada enacted legislation governing nonprofits, reports the Law Times, “Henry Ford’s Model T was still making inroads, coal was king, and business was a paper-intensive exercise.”
Federal and provincial governments in Canada are now considering bringing nonprofit law into the digital age, and not a moment too soon.
That change is needed is accepted by all parties, [William Pashby, partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP,] says, noting the current process of simply registering is vaguely defined and encumbered by a series of policy statements which are out of context with the law as written and subject to dispute.
The plan, …read more

Wall Street may like layoffs, but show me a corporate executive who truly enjoys dropping the ax on thousands of people at once and I’ll show you a person whose dead soul will get him banished to the most punitive circle of hell.
Cutting jobs is a sad necessity, but IBM, anticipating a day when the large salaries and health-care burdens of its aging Boomer workforce will cause it to ready the pink slips, is trying in advance to help those folks and society at large. Big Blue recently announced that it would join with the nonprofit strategy firm Bridgespan Group …read more

The importance of policies encouraging and protecting nonprofit whistleblowers. | All Things Fundraising
What?! A nonprofit consultant might have something to teach to — gasp! — the for-profit sector?! | Getting Attention
A terrific primer for what to do when your organization’s CEO gets outta Dodge. | The NonProfit Times
The growing M&A trend among nonprofits. | Corporate Dealmaker
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Operating under the theory that a strong regional economy helps everyone, nonprofits are springing up around the country to fund start-ups that would have trouble attracting capital from more traditional investors. The starring role in today’s New York Times trend story is played by the Cleveland-area nonprofit Jumpstart Inc.
Like a venture capital firm, Jumpstart identifies companies to invest in and advises them on their next steps.
But unlike a venture firm, Jumpstart relies on charitable donations, many of them from the private sector, for its financing and does not return a share of profits to those who provide the investment dollars. …read more

Red-blooded Americans are not the only ones recoiling in horror that before long, each case of Budweiser they buy will dump money into the coffers of a Belgian company.
Nonprofits in St. Louis, where Anheuser-Busch’s headquarters are located, are worried that the brewer’s new owner, InBev, may not provide the kind of support they’ve come to depend upon over the years.
Anheuser-Busch gave $13 million to charitable causes in the St. Louis region last year. At least 70 local organizations got money from A-B. Carlos Brito, the chief executive officer of InBev, has said his company would maintain a St. Louis civic …read more

The inaugural effort of Pro Publica, a new, nonprofit investigative journalism initiative funded by a California philanthropy, gets a thumbs-down from a journalism ethics professor. Writing in the Miami Herald, Edward Wasserman of Washington and Lee University points out that Pro Publica’s collaboration with 60 Minutes on a piece detailing the many flaws of a U.S.-funded Arab-language news network in the Mideast is hardly the kind of independent-minded investigation originally envisioned.
First, Wasserman notes, having to link with CBS’ flagship newsmagazine dilutes Pro Publica’s brand, and second, at almost the same time that the 60 Minutes piece was airing, the Washington …read more

In addition to brewing a hell of a beer, Sam Adams’s Jim Koch is linking with a nonprofit to help entrepreneurs get off the ground. | Boston Globe
The nonprofit appeal of Barack Obama. | Blue Avocado
The difficulty in laying down mission-based metrics. | The NonProfit Times
The Federal Housing Administration casts a sharp eye at nonprofits loaning money for mortgage down payments. | National Public Radio
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