Long Beach Press Telegram (4/20/13):

Rich Archbold: Public Television Returns to Long Beach with Former Mayor's New Show

The article is about the new public access television show hosted by former Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill focusing on the work and contributions of LBNP member nonprofits in our community.

Long Beach Business Journal (4/23/13):

Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership Presents New Leadership Programs

An article on the two tracks of the LBNP Nonprofit Leadership Institute and how they are addressing building a leadership pipeline for a strong and vibrant nonprofit sector.

You can download the 2013 Editorial Calendar here.

Another great tool to help you fill that calendar is a useful post from Razoo that links to all types of calendars from International Holidays to Sports Calendars:The International Holiday Calendar

Happy Calendaring!

Background
The mission of the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership (LBNP) is to impact the Greater Long Beach community by strengthening nonprofit organizations through leadership, education and collaboration. The LBNP is committed to assisting nonprofit organizations as they seek to increase their organizational capacity and improve their performance.
Through working closely with numerous organizations, the Partnership has come to recognize many of the challenges organizations face as they seek to become more effective. Assessments would focus on one of the following:

• Board Development: Assessing a working board structure; understanding the essence of board governance, roles and responsibilities.
• Fund Development: Assessing the effectiveness of the organizations approach to granting, individual giving, endowments, planned giving programs and capital campaigns.
• Financial Systems: Assessing the financial systems that accurately track financial activity and properly inform decision makers.
• Human Resources Management: Assessing the procedures currently in place to legally comply with HR laws as well as developing a sustainable workforce.

Eligibility – Who Can Apply?
The LBNP will provide capacity development assistance to nonprofit organizations providing services to children and youth that have valid tax-exemption status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and are classified as a public charity and not as a "private foundation" under Section 509(a). Individuals, for-profit organizations, government and public agencies are not eligible for these service awards through the LBNP Capacity Development Support Program. The LBNP encourages all nonprofit organizations in the Greater Long Beach area to submit an application if interested in being considered for assistance.

Priority will be given to nonprofit organizations that meet the following criteria:
· Operate with an annual organizational budget of $1,000,000 or less
· Reflect the cultural diversity of Greater Long Beach
· Clearly identify a capacity development priority for their organization
· Commitment and approval from applicant’s Board of Directors (demonstrated by the signature of the Board Chair/President) Service Awards

[NOTE: An “LBNP service award” is not a cash award or grant. It’s a commitment to provide capacity development services in the form of assessments to award recipients.]

Submission of Applications
All applications are to be submitted to LBNP. Please send completed Application no later than March 8th, 2013 by e-mail to rbuckley@lbnp.org.
Limited number of awards will be granted. Applications will be considered on a quarterly basis.

If you must mail your application please mail to:
LBNP: 2012 Capacity Development Support Program
4900 E. Conant
Long Beach, CA 90808
Attention: Rebecca Buckley
Application Review and Service Award Selection
All proposals received, as specified, will be evaluated by LBNP staff in accordance with the proposal criteria. During the application review period, LBNP may require an on-site visit and meeting with the organization in order to better understand the proposed capacity development activities.

Organizations selected to receive support from this program must be a member of the Partnership prior to the service award being granted. If you are interested in becoming a member, please contact us for more information.
LBNP Service Award Grantees will be notified in writing within 30 days from submission.
Click Here for Application

Click Here for application

Leadership Long Beach (LLB)  and the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership (LBNP) are happy to announce the official debut of the BoardMatch Program linking LBNP Member Organizations to Leadership Long Beach alumni who are interested in serving on nonprofit boards. This is a pilot program.

What is involved:

Participating LBNP Member Organizations and interested LLB alumni will need to take separate three-hour workshops covering Board roles and responsibilities. The workshop for organizations is scheduled for December 11 from 3 to 6 pm and is called: The ABC's of High Functioning Boards The workshop for LLB alumni will be scheduled for January 2013.

LBNP Member Organizations are encouraged to bring a team of board members along with the Executive Director and/or Board President to this training. The flat fee of $100 covers training for up to four people and each organization is required to bring a minimum of two.

Once training is finished LBNP Member Organizations will complete a BoardMatch Interest Form to be included in the pool of organizations to be matched with interested LLB alumni. As this is a pilot program we cannot guarantee that all nonprofits will secure a match. The only cost to organizations and individuals will be the cost of the workshop.

Criteria for Nonprofits to Participate:

Nonprofits must send a minimum of two board members and/or Executive Director and one board member to the three-hour board development workshop offered on December 11. Nonprofits must agree to follow through by reaching back to potential board candidates within a specified time frame and must meet the following criteria:

• Is an LBNP Member Organization
• Been in operation for a minimum of three years 
• Conducts board orientation for new members
• Has six or more board members
• Has terms of office for board members
• Meets regularly (minimum of six times per year)
• Has Directors & Officers insurance
• Registered with Guidestar
• Has appropriate documents in place: 501(c)3 status, By-laws, Articles of Incorporation
  

Time Frame:

The matching between nonprofits and individuals will begin in February 2013.

Please click on the organization name to go to their websites and learn more!

Arts and Services for the Disabled, Inc.
Autism Society Greater Long Beach/San Gabriel Valley
Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach
CASA of Los Angeles
Century Villages at Cabrillo
City of Lakewood-Recreation & Community Services Dept.
City of LB - Animal Control Services
City of LB - Dept of Parks Recreation & Marine
CoachArt
Committee of 300 of Long Beach, Inc.
Compton Jr Posse
Cultural Alliance of Long Beach
Disabled Resources Center, Inc
Dramatic Results
Food Finders Inc.
Found Animals Foundation
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles
GO-FAME Youth Theatre Company
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles
Harbor Community Clinic
HPP CARES
Independence at Home
Institute of Art Music and Science
Jewish Family and Children's Services Long Beach
Jordan Softball Booster Club
Long Beach AIDS Foundation
Long Beach Playhouse
Long Beach Ronald McDonald House
Long Beach Time Exchange
Love In The Mirror
MADD L.A.-Ventura County Chapter
Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles
Meals on Wheels of Long Beach
Museum of Latin American Art
New Hope Grief Support Community
New Life Beginnings
Partners of Parks
Pathways Volunteer Hospice
POWER 4 Youth Mentoring
Providence TrinityCare Hospice
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)/ Elbow
School on Wheels
SS Lane Victory
St. Mary Medical Center
Success in Challenges
The Heart of Ida
Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum
Urban Community Outreach
Woodcraft Rangers
Zhena Folk Chorus

See you at next year's event scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, 2013!

A special Thank You to the Steering Committee who made this year's event such as success and to the 49er Shops of CSULB for their generous donation of tote bags.

Steering Committee 2012

Diane Johnson, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program
Chris Palzer, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program
Merideth Joyce, Long Beach Unified School District
Terri Eggers, City of Long Beach-Parks, Recreation & Marine
Jamie Deaton, City of Long Beach-Parks, Recreation & Marine
Brad Lara-Gagne, Urban Community Outreach
Jaylene Westfall, Century Villages at Cabrillo
Randy Zarn, Partners of Parks
Christine Manvi, Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

Many thanks to CSULB Interns Claire Chang & Christine Thayer for their support.

Vote with Your Mission is a new campaign to have 100% of eligible nonprofit staff, board members, and volunteers vote. We call on nonprofits in California to sign on to the Vote with Your Mission campaign.

Why sign on?

To increase the number of people voting with the ideals and values that bring them into the nonprofit sector.  To increase voting by staff, volunteers, board members and constituents of nonprofits.

To raise the issue of staff/volunteer/constituent voter encouragement to nonprofit organizations and institutions of every size and from every community.  To re-frame nonprofit staff as a significant segment of the voting public.  To provide a vehicle for nonprofit leaders to take the issue of voter encouragement and education to boards, management teams, coalitions, and donors.  To inspire others to take up similar activities

What does it mean to sign on?

When signing up to participate in Vote with Your Mission, a nonprofit agrees to do two or more of the following:

• Ask all staff, board members, volunteers, and constituents to vote.
• Adopt the slogan,"Vote with Your Mission," with the tagline, "Nonprofits are led by ideals and values for changing the world.
• Vote with the ideals and values that lead you."Provide on-site nonpartisan voter registration materials for staff, board members, volunteers, and constituents.
• Add to the organization's list of responsibilities for its board of directors: "Voting in every election while you are on the board."Allow up to two hours of paid staff time to vote on Election Day.
• For non-voters, the time can be used to help co-workers or neighbors get to the polls, or to participate in "get-out-the-vote"activities(for any cause or candidate).
• Post the Vote with Your Mission poster in your lobby, on your door or window, in your clinic, in your newsletter, and elsewhere,or create your own poster.

See the Full Website for More Details!

by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator

Looking to hire an intern this summer? More and more businesses are planning on it. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), employers plan on hiring 8.5 percent more college students in 2012 for summer internships than they did last year.

Internship programs are a smart recruitment strategy for small businesses, allowing you to nurture and feed your full-time hiring efforts. A separate study by NACE found that nearly 90 percent of students who took part in internships said they would accept an offer of a full-time job from their internship employer.
Here are six tips to help guide you through the process of setting up an internship program, and information on a new government initiative – the Summer Jobs+ Bank – that can help:

1. Review Your Needs
Remember, an intern will be looking for good experience, so be sure your needs match those of the interns.

Ask yourself the following questions:
How can an intern help you with your business goals? Do you have enough work to support an intern? Think about short-term and long-term assignments. Who will supervise and mentor your intern? What ramp-up and ongoing training can you provide? Do you have available office space and other resources? What about seasonal highs and lows? Could you use an intern beyond the summer months? It will take several weeks to recruit and hire an intern, so the further in advance you plan, the better.

2.The Recruitment Process
Hiring an intern requires similar steps to hiring a full-time employee. You’ll need to write a job description with real work assignments and defined objectives. Decide in advance how the intern will be supervised and mentored, and how the student will benefit financially and experientially from your program.

There are several options for searching for interns:
Online via the Summer Jobs+ Bank – This summer, the government is stepping in to help connect small businesses with young people seeking internship and other employment opportunities via the Department of Labor’s Summer Jobs+ Bank. Businesses can post internships directly with any internet job site that is participating in the Jobs+ Bank (these include Internships.com, AfterCollege.com, or LinkedIn).

Check out information for employers for details about the program. School/College Career Services Offices – Many schools and colleges operate internship programs through their career services offices (in exchange for student credits). Getting registered with one of these programs can provide a level of accreditation as well as access to a pool of motivated and screened talent. You can also get one step ahead by seeking an advocate or reference for your business from college professors or staff members. This is why it often makes sense to approach colleges that you know or have attended.

4. Paying Interns (and the Legal Lowdown About Unpaid Interns)
If you are serious about attracting the right talent and creating a program that nurtures your future workforce, then your compensation needs to reflect this (the average hourly rate for paid bachelor degree-level interns is currently $16.21).

Can’t quite afford that? Unpaid internships are a legal option; however, there are many limits on the work unpaid interns can perform:

Unpaid interns cannot do any work that contributes to a company's operations. This includes any tasks that help you run your business, like documenting inventory, filing papers, answering emails, etc.

Unpaid interns can shadow other employees and perform duties that don't have a business need. For example, a bakery may allow an apprentice/intern to decorate a tray of cookies that will not be sold to customers. Because the task was only a training exercise for the apprentice/intern and the bakery did not receive any benefit from that work, the bakery would not have to pay that student worker for that time. For more information on what exactly unpaid interns can do, according to the Department of Labor, read The Truth Behind Unpaid Internships.

5. Other Benefits You Might Want to Offer?
Some of the more common benefits offered to interns include social activities, paid holidays, and recognition of education time as service time if they are hired to a full-time position. Other benefits to consider include scholarships, flex time, and one-on-one formal mentoring (take your intern on business trips, let them accompany you at strategic meetings, be immersive).

6. Important Workplace and Labor Laws to Consider
Many of the labor laws that apply to employees, such as workplace discrimination laws, also apply to interns. You must also ensure you comply with workplace health and safety laws. Some states also require that you carry workers’ compensation insurance for interns.

See Full Article

Link to the Full Article Here

A new study by Millennial Branding, of 225 employers usingExperience Inc.’s data pool of over 100,000 US companies, uncovers the student employment gap, skill requirements, and sources of hire for the class of 2012. 91% of employers think that students should have between one and two internships before they graduate, yet 50% haven’t hired any interns in the past six months. Students that have the required internships haven’t received job offers from companies since 79% of employers have hired 30% or fewer interns into full-time positions. Furthermore, 87% of companies think that internships should last at least three months for students to gain enough experience when most internships last around two months long. This employment gap is one of the reasons why half of all recent grads are jobless or underemployed as reported by The Associated Press.

Highlights from the Student Employment Gap study: The entry-level job market. Overall, 87% of employers are going to hire more recent graduates this year. This is great news for the 1.7 millioncollegestudents who are graduating. 86% hired 25 or fewer recent college graduates in the past six months, but 50% haven’t hired a single intern during the same timeframe. 79% of employers hire 30% or fewer interns for full-time positions.The types of students who are landing jobs. 34% of companies are recruiting engineering and computer information systems majors and 30% are recruiting liberal arts majors. Only 18% are recruiting finance and accounting majors combined.

Of the companies that compete for STEM talent(Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), 75% said it’s hard or very hard to compete against other big brands.The skills that employers are looking for. Employers view communication skills (98%), having a positive attitude (97%) and teamwork skills (92%) as being important or very important when hiring for entry-level positions.The sources employers use to hire.Only 16% of employers recruit on social networks all of the time or most of the time, while 48% use job boards and 44% use employee referrals. Also,only 35% of employers use social networks to conduct background checks in the online hiring process.

Out of those employers, 42% use LinkedIn, 40% use Facebook, 15% use Google+ and only 2% use Twitter when reviewing candidates profiles.The ways students can stand out in the hiring process. 69% of managers think that relevant courses are either important or very important when reviewing candidates. 65% say a referral from a previous boss or professor, and 50% say leadership positions in on-campus organizations. 29% are looking for entrepreneurial experience.Employer internship expectations. 91% of employers think that students should have between one and two internships before graduating and 87% feel that internships should last at least three months for students to gain enough experience.

Employers entry-level job expectations. 42% of employers are turned off by how unprepared students are in interviews and 26% are turned off by their bad attitude. 92% have an interview process of two months or less for entry-level positions and 62% have two rounds of interviews on average. 62% conduct in-person or phone first round interviews despite new technologies like Skype.Employers talent needs. 65% of employers feel that their talent needs have changed over the past two years, and of those, 26% haven’t communicated those changes to the student marketplace. 100% of employers perceiving that college prepares students for the workplace and 81% having updated their job descriptions to reflect current talent requirements.

Infographic:
Quotes: “The expectation that having an internship can lead to a job no longer exists. Employers should hire their interns into full-time positions to save recruiting and training costs. Students should strive to have as many internships as possible before graduation and not rely on a single employer for a job offer.”
- Dan Schawbel, Founder of Millennial Branding, Gen-Y Expert & Bestselling Author of Me 2.0
“Of all the things employers look for when hiring entry-level talent, it’s the so-called ‘soft skills’ that are valued most: communication, teamwork, flexibility and positive attitude are by far the most sought-after skills. Employers understand that everything else can be taught, so they look for the most promising raw material to work with.”
- JenniferFloren, Founder and CEO, Experience, Inc.

Contacts: Millennial Branding (Spokesperson): Dan Schawbeldan@millennialbranding.com
Experience.com (Survey Data): Veronica L. Clarke vclarke@experience.com
About Millennial Branding: Millennial Brandingis a Gen-Y research and management consulting firm based in Boston, MA. Millennial Branding helps companies understand the emerging Gen-Y employee and consumer by providing constant information through our research, training, and advisory services. As representatives of Gen Y and advisers to management, our goal is to provide research and insights that will make you more profitable, grow your market share, help you understand your Gen-Y employees, and turn you into an industry leader.
About Experience: Experience has been the leading provider of career services for colleges and universities since 1996. Today, 5 million students and recent graduates use the Experience network to find entry-level jobs and internships, and to access information that helps them bridge the gap between school and the professional world. Over 3,800 colleges and universities are in the Experience network, connecting students and graduates with over 100,000 employers and recruiters that use Experience to connect with the best, qualified entry-level talent.

Click to See Full Article

Then participate in our new collaboration with the City of Long Beach's Environmental Services Bureau. Sign up to be part of the LB-Exchange and start getting notified! It is fast and easy and available exclusively to LBNP Member Organizations!

Register at LB-Exchange

On April 12, 2011, the California Supreme Court issued its long awaited opinion inBrinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, a class action lawsuit filed against several related restaurant operating companies on behalf of 60,000 hourly employees which alleged that the employees had been denied rest periods and meal periods, and had been required to work off the clock during meal periods.

In Brinker, the Court addressed a number of key questions for California employers: Is an employer's duty simply to make meal periods available to non-exempt employees? Must an employer ensure that its employees actually take such breaks? When during the workday must meal and rest breaks be taken?How many must be provided?

As to the issue of providing the employee with a meal period, the Court concluded that an employer's duty is satisfied "if it relieves its employees of all duty, relinquishes control over their activities and permits them a reasonable opportunity to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break, and does not impede or discourage them from doing so." (Slip Op. at 36.)

Consequently, employers do not have to "police" meal breaks to ensure that the employees perform no work during the break. The Court warned, however, that an employer may not pressure employees to omit meal breaks without being liable for premium pay, or schedule employees in a way that makes taking meal breaks extremely difficult. It also noted that where an employee voluntarily chooses to perform work during a meal break, the employer still may be liable for straight pay when it knew or reasonably should have known that the employee was working "off the clock" through the authorized meal break:

The employer that refuses to relinquish control over employees during an owed meal period violates the duty to provide the meal period and owes compensation [and premium pay] for hours worked. The employer that relinquishes control but nonetheless knows or has reason to know that the employee is performing work during the meal period, has not violated its meal period obligations [and owes no premium pay], but nonetheless owes regular compensation to its employees for time worked. (Slip Op. at 35, n19.)

Throughout its decision the Court emphasized the importance of thorough employee time and record keeping policies, and having a written employment policy, as Brinker did, prohibiting employees from performing "off the clock" work.

With respect to the timing of meal breaks, the restaurant workers contended that the governing law obligates an employer to provide a 30-minute meal period at least once every five hours. Brinker countered that no such timing obligation is imposed, and an employer satisfies its meal period obligations by providing one meal period for shifts over five hours and two meal periods for shifts over 10 hours. The Court held that Brinker's practice of scheduling meals near the beginning of an employee's shift, but then having the employee work more than five consecutive hours without another meal break, did not violate the law. The Court, however, did find that employers must provide a meal break prior to the end of the first five hours of any shift of more than six hours. It also held that a second meal period must be provided for shifts of more than ten hours no later than the end of an employee's 10th hour of work.

On the issue of rest breaks, the Court held that an employer must provide a 10-minute rest period for each four hours or "major fraction thereof" that an employee works, except that employees who work less than three and one-half hours in total need not be provided with any rest breaks. It defined "major fraction" as meaning a two-hour period. The Court therefore concluded that "[e]mployees are entitled to 10 minutes' rest for shifts from three and one-half to six hours in length, 20 minutes for shifts of more than six hours up to 10 hours, 30 minutes for shifts of more than 10 hours up to 14 hours, and so on." (Slip Op. at 20.)

The restaurant employees also asserted that employers have a legal duty to permit their employees a rest period before any meal period. The Court rejected that argument and held that employers are simply "subject to a duty to make a good faith effort to authorize and permit rest breaks in the middle of each work period, but may deviate from that preferred course where practical considerations render it infeasible." (Slip Op. at 22.)

In light of the decision in Brinker, employers should review their policies and procedures regarding meal periods and rest breaks to make sure they are consistent with the Court's ruling. For example, an employer may choose to clarify its policy on the breaks by perhaps even quoting the precise language of the opinion. Employers who previously believed they needed to ensure that nonexempt employees take meal breaks through measures such as the threat of disciplinary action may decide to relax that posture. At a minimum, it would be wise to undertake a training for managers and supervisors on the proper administration of meal period and break rules.

Fast Facts

■ 6.2 million clients annually served 

■ 6 percent of all jobs in LongBeach (1 in 17)

■ 13,027 nonprofit jobs in Long Beach (direct)
■ 22,300 jobs (direct and indirect)

■ 50 percent plus of nonprofitworkforce live in Long Beach

■ 90,000 volunteers

■ 4.1 million volunteer hours

■ 84 percent of income is spent on program services

■ $459 million in payroll

■ $536 million in payroll including volunteers attributed value

■ $1.8 billion in expenditures (direct)
■ $3.0 billion in expenditures (direct and indirect)

Many Nonprofits Include Social Security Numbers on Public Documents, Study Finds Enlarge Image By Noelle Barton

Nearly one in five nonprofits publish private Social Security numbers on public tax documents, potentially exposing their supporters and employees to identity theft and other privacy breaches, an examination of federal tax forms has found. Identity Finder, a company that specializes in security and privacy software, reviewed more than three million informational tax returns, known as Form 990s, filed from 2001 to 2006 and found that more than 132,000 charities had published at least one Social Security number on their tax forms.
Most of the Social Security numbers the charities revealed were those of donors, trustees, employees, directors, and scholarship recipients. Slightly more than a third of the Social Security numbers were those of the individuals who prepared the documents, the study found.

“Unlike a credit-card number, Social Security numbers cannot easily be revoked,” Todd Feinman, chief executive of Identity Finder, said in a statement. “Given the seriousness and ubiquity of identity fraud, tax preparers should avoid including [Social Security numbers] on Form 990s.”The disclosures have been made by some of the nation’s largest charities. A Chronicle review of the tax forms of the 12 top groups on its Philanthropy 400 ranking of charities that raise the most from private sources found three organizations that published the Social Security numbers of at least one individual: Food for the Poor, Schwab Charitable Fund, and the Task Force for Global Health.

Schwab Charitable released the Social Security numbers of six people, while Food for the Poor and the Task Force for Global Health each included the number of one person.

For the Task Force for Global Health and Food for the Poor, the published numbers were those of the tax preparers, those organizations told the Chronicle. Schwab Charitable’s tax return is handled by the accounting company Deloitte, and the Social Security numbers revealed on their documents are also those of the tax preparers themselves.

“Schwab Charitable has never disclosed any private information for any of its donors, employees, or board members, and in fact protecting privacy is of course of the utmost importance to them,” said Kerstin Osterberg, a spokeswoman. “They take protecting privacy very, very seriously, and it’s something that they’re focused on at all times.”

Liability for Charities Grayson Barber, an advocate for privacy issues, says charities should exercise extreme care in protecting personal information about employees and supporters, in part because they could be liable if that information gets into the wrong hands.

“Having access to confidential information like Social Security numbers imposes obligations on all corporations, including charitable organizations, to protect sensitive personal information,” Ms. Barber says.
The Internal Revenue Service does not require organizations to include Social Security numbers on the Form 990. Tax preparers are required to provide their personal tax-identification numbers in the form’s signature block, but the instructions state that they should not provide their Social Security numbers in that space.
IRS Urged to Step In Identity Finder says the IRS should inform nonprofits that Social Security numbers are not to be published on Form 990s. It suggests that the tax agency redact any such numbers on the documents before they are released to the public.

The company also advises nonprofits to warn those whose Social Security numbers have been published that they might be at increased risk for identity fraud.

See original article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy

Long Beach Community Action Partnership
3012 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach CA 90807
Wednesday, May 2nd, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.

*To Register - Click Here*
The Long Beach Community Action Partnership will host this Healthy City Presentation. Join us to learn and discuss!

How will changing demographics impact my community, our local resources and services? Healthy City will present an analysis of demographic changes in the north Long Beach region using GIS mapping. The presentation will include both an overview of the analysis AND a hands-on training to use the online data and mapping tool, HealthyCity.org.

See the Flyer Here

Reprinted from NonprofitMarketingGuide.com

Saying thank you to your donors, and saying it well, is only polite, right? The truth is that good thank yous are much more than good manners: they are a very smart and savvy fundraising strategy.


Donors are Testing Nonprofits, and Nonprofits Are Failing Sixty-five percent of first-time donors don’t make a second gift. That’s what Penelope Burk’s donor-centered research tells us. Donors want something quite simple: a prompt, meaningful thank you letter and additional communication that explains how the donation was used. That’s it. Eighty percent of donors say that would convince them to make the second gift.
And yet the typical thank you note that many nonprofits send is more like a transaction receipt that speaks to a donor’s inner bookkeeper more than a donor’s inner angel. Let’s speak to that angel! Here are nine clever approaches to thank yous.


1. Write a Greeting Card, Not a Business Letter The best nonprofit thank yous feel friendly, warm, and personal. And yet they are still relatively short. Even if your thank you appears on stationery, think of a good Hallmark card as you write (not the ones with four paragraphs of flowery script, but the shorter ones that lay it all out there in under 30 words). They feel personal, even though we know they were written for thousands of others.


2. Share Recent Progress, However Small Your supporters want to know that they matter. So give them little gems of progress that show that with their support — and directly because of that support — you are bringing about some kind of change, or making life easier for someone, or advancing the cause. Maybe it’s a short anecdote, or a telling testimonial, or an impressive statistic.


3. Add an Invitation – But Not to Something that Requires Another Donation! You want your supporters to stay on with you, so invite them to do so, without asking for another financial donation. Invite them to your next free event, a behind-the-scenes tour, or a special conference call with a staff expert. Mention any volunteer opportunities, and ask them to follow you on Facebook or Twitter.


4. Use a More Creative, Personal Opening Forget “On behalf of” or “Thank you for” and start your letters with a more creative and personal opening. Try something like, “You made my day” on one line by itself. Then jump into a story: “Your donation crossed my desk today and . . .” Explain how the money will be used. Or start with, “I have a great story to share with you.” Launch right into a success story and then talk about how the donation will create even more happy stories.


5. Include Results-Oriented Photography Including photos, either in the body of the letter or stuffed in the envelope, will make an instant connection between your donor and your work. A photo of a client or smiling people making a difference out there in the world will light up your donor’s day. Get a group of people who your organization helps together and take a photo of them holding a big banner that says “Thank You.”


6. Record a Video Message One of my favorite thank-you emails came from The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with a link to short video. The video features real TNC scientists around the world — not polished spokespeople — in their own countries, speaking in many different accents, saying “Thank you for helping to save (whatever natural area they work on).” It’s so genuine, and yet so easy to duplicate!


7. Send a Postcard from Behind-the-Scenes Several digital photo apps let you turn your photos into instant postcards (see Postagram or Touchnote, for example). What if your program staff took some photos during the course of their everyday work out of the public eye, and turned those into personalized postcards for your supporters? It’s hard to get more timely and personal than that.


8. Be Specific About How the Gift Is Being Used Very quickly but clearly describe a specific program where the gift will be used. If you are fundraising for specific programs this will be easier than if you are fundraising for general support. But even then, you still need to give supporters a sense for what you’re doing with the money. You can use anecdotes as examples for how the money is being spent, or you can assure donors that their gifts are going to “where the need is greatest.”


9. Change Who’s Saying Thank You If you have clients who benefit from programs funded by individual donations, ask a few clients to explain in their own words how your organization has changed their lives and to thank the donor for making it all possible. They write the letter, but you send it. Or ask board members to send a separate hand-written thank you note or even an email, as a follow-up to your “official” thank you letter.
Get more of our tips on writing thank you letters at NonprofitMarketingGuide.com/thankyou

To ensure that the event is beneficial for your organization, we ask that all attending organizations bring at least two representatives, including Executive Director/CEO and Development Director and/or a board member. If you have any questions, please contact the California Community Foundation at 213.413.4130.

Click Here to Register

with Darian Rodriguez Heyman and Ritu Sharma

March 22nd,  9-3pm

Hosted by the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

Don’t miss this chance to hear from the experts and take your social media strategy to the next level. Join us for a day full of practical tips and tools, and learn how social media marketing can catapult your fundraising efforts.
Topics and interactive workshops to include:

An introduction to Social Media Strategies Recruiting Volunteers & Board Members Campaign Measurement & Optimization Challenges and Pitfalls of Social Media Maximizing Your Facebook Presence Fundraising with Social Media Creating Killer Content This conference is perfect for nonprofit professionals with varying degrees of experience and comfort with social media.
For more information and registration please visit:

www.lbnp.org or call 562.290.0018

Continental breakfast & lunch will be provided
Cost: $95 LBNP Member price
$135 Not-Yet-Member price

Summit Agenda

8:30-9am: Registration

9-9:15am: Welcome- Darian Rodriguez Heyman

9:15-10:15am: Social Media Marketing Strategy- Ritu Sharma
Top-level overview of best practices, pitfalls, & the difference between social platforms

10:15-11:15am: Fundraising With Social Media- Darian Rodriguez Heyman

11:15am-12:30pm: Executive Roundtables (AKA “Solution Salons”)- Darian Rodriguez Heyman

12:30-1:15pm: Lunch

1:15-2pm:Breakout I
Big Group (Beginners):Maximizing Your Facebook Presence- Darian Rodriguez Heyman

Small Group (Advanced): Creating Killer Content Across Platforms- Ritu Sharma

2-3pm:Breakout II
Big Group (Beginners):Recruiting Volunteers & Board Members Online (includes LinkedIn)- Darian Rodriguez Heyman

Small Group (Advanced): Evaluating Your Efforts: Campaign Measurement & Optimization- Ritu Sharma

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Assistant Director

Position Summary

Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership, a premier provider of services to strengthen nonprofit organizations in the greater Long Beach area, seeks an exceptional individual to serve in the capacity of Assistant Director.  The Assistant Director oversees all of LBNP’s individualized consulting services, responsible for business development, consultant recruitment, and oversees matching LBNP Affiliate Consultants with client requests for management consulting and executive coaching assignments.  S/he serves as LBNP lead professional in the absence of the Executive Director and works closely with the Program Manager.

Major Responsibilities

Business Development

·         Conducts and manages client development activities for consultation program, including:

o   client recruitment

o   oversees client assessment and determination of match with LBNP services, in particular with an LBNP Affiliate Consultant

o   development of project scope and contract (and proposals/responses to RFPs as required)

o   close coordination with Program Manager, particularly regarding leads/follow-ups

·         Explores and develops new earned income revenue streams for LBNP

·         Assists with grant writing and donor cultivation

Consultant Recruitment & Engagement

·         Manages Affiliate Consultant recruitment activities:

o   Manages/oversees  Affiliate Consultant outreach, assessment, and intake processes

o   Tracks all Affiliate Consultants to ensure our professional reach meets the needs of our clients

·         Develops and maintains an on-going Affiliate Consultant affinity group that is responsive to the needs of this group of professionals.

·         Works with Program Manager to ensure best client and consultant outcomes

Program and Administration

·         Responsible for billings and collections for all individualized consulting projects

·         Tracks payables for Affiliate Consultants to ensure they are paid in a timely fashion

·         Assists in the development of new programs and special projects

·         Staffs Board Committees as appropriate

Qualifications

·         Bachelor’s required, master’s degree in a related field strongly preferred

·         Relevant nonprofit experience required, including at least five years each in program management and staff supervision and a minimum of three years in senior management

·         Significant experience in both volunteer management and nonprofit capacity building (at a minimum internal consulting, though experience in traditional consulting highly desirable)

·         Background or strong interest in sales with an overriding customer service orientation

·         Highly organized with superior attention to detail; administratively self-sufficient

·         Flexible and able to juggle multiple responsibilities while meeting deadlines

·         Strong judgment, problem-solving skills, diplomacy, and commitment to confidentiality

·         Affinity for working both independently and in collaboration with staff and volunteers 

·         Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, including facility with all common office equipment, software, and modes of communication

·         Experience with database systems

·         Ability to represent LBNP in the community to stakeholders, including donors

·         Deep commitment to the nonprofit sector

Competitive compensation and benefits, excellent work environment.  EOE.

 Send cover letter and resume to:

 LBNP-Personnel

4900 E. Conant Street

Long Beach, CA 90808

Or email to:

jross@lbnp.org

By the principal consultants of WolfBrown,with Joanna Woronkowicz

Historically, sustaining an arts organization meant generating enough earned and contributed revenue to fund current operations. With so much continued change and turmoil in the arts industry, WolfBrown set out to reconsider what sustainability means in 2011.

Why are some arts groups able to persevere – and even thrive – when they are chronically “under-capitalized” and perpetually on the brink of extinction? On the other hand, why are well-established, large institutions with sizable endowments filing for bankruptcy?

What, besides strong finances, does sustainability require? Is it possible that financial securityactually deters sustainability?

Reflecting back on several decades of work with funders and arts organizations, we propose a more nuanced and multi-dimensional view of sustainability – one that encompasses and transcends the current dialogue on capitalization, adaptive capacity and other elements of good management. In our view, sustainability requires a balancing act with three interdependent but sometimes competing priorities:

Together, these elements give organizations the ability to excel in a permanent state of flux, uncertainty and creative tension.

Click Here for the full PDF

In our efforts to provide you with the information and resources you need to be most effective in administering and growing your organizations, The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership has developed The Learning Network. The Learning Network will be an important step forward toward our goal of being the ‘first stop’ for nonprofit professionals looking for nonprofit educational resources online.

This free resource on the LBNP website will provide access to the most helpful no-cost resources available online. The Learning Network will consist of a compilation of white papers, sample forms, suggested websites and webinars, organized in a clear and efficient manner for ease of use. These resources will accompany an enhanced facebook presence and open forum discussions to support and bring together nonprofit professionals.  In addition, The Learning Network will be fluid and updated on an ongoing basis to provide you with the most current information available.

The learning network will begin by focusing on 7 nonprofit core competencies: Fund Development, Marketing, Volunteer Management, Board Development, General Nonprofit Management, Technology and Human Resources. As a nonprofit professional, you will be able to access resources pertaining to each of these core competencies in one easily navigated menu instead of relying on general internet search engines to find the information you need.

In addition, you can feel confident that our professionals have scoured the internet to compile a reputable, clear and useful library dedicated to your needs.

The Learning Network is Live! Give us your feedback. Thanks!

By Rick Moyers

The more effort nonprofit leaders put into supporting their boards, the happier they are with the board’s performance—but few leaders spend enough hours working with trustees to make a difference.

That insight comes from a report calledThe Board Paradox, byCompassPoint and the Meyer Foundation, where I work. It’sthe last in a series of three briefs that report on a national study of more than 3,000 nonprofit executive directors.

The briefs present survey results that were not included in the recent Daring to Lead 2011 report, which was released last month. (I am a co-author of the main report and the sole author of the brief on executives and boards.)

The online survey for Daring to Lead asked executives a series of questions about their boards. We asked about their relationships with their board chairs, how much time they spent working with and supporting their boards, and whether they were getting help from board members in key management areas.

To supplement this survey data, 70 executive directors participated in focus groups in San Francisco and Washington, DC. In all five focus groups, executives spent much of the time discussing their relationships with—and in many cases their frustration with—their boards.

In analyzing this information and putting together the brief, two things stood out.

First, many executive directors don’t spend all that much time working with their boards. More than half of survey respondents said they spent 10 hours or less per month supporting their boards. Ten hours may sound significant, but that is just 6 percent of a full-time executive director’s time. Maybe even less, since many executives work more than 40 hours a week.

Second, executives who spend more time on their boards are more satisfied with their boards’ performance. As an example, among executive directors who said they spent less than five hours a month supporting the board, just 13 percent said they were very satisfied with the board’s performance. Among those who spent five to 10 hours per month on the board, 34 percent were very satisfied.

Taken together, these two findings suggest that many executives may be under-supporting their boards—and suffering the consequences.

And that, in part, is the paradox referenced in the title of the brief. Some executive directors view their work with the board as an unwelcome distraction from their “real” work. For that reason, they spend as little time on the board as possible, at the same time wondering out loud why the board can’t be more self-sufficient and why it doesn’t give them more help.

However, this “neglect and grumble” strategy doesn’t improve board performance. To get more out of their boards, executives need to invest more time.

I recognize that this is a tough sell for overextended executives. But our evidence suggests that it pays off.

Read original article at: http://philanthropy.com/blogs/against-the-grain/executive-directors-should-invest-more-time-on-their-boards/27845

SpaceFinderLA.org: Creative Spaces for Creative People is a new Web site that can help you find the space you need or help others find your space. Whether you are looking for rehearsal space orthat “wow” location foryour meeting or fundraiser, SpaceFinderLAoffers the ability to search by dozens of criteria and an inventory of over 300 venues in LA County and growing!

This service is free for both renters and seekers and currently lists more than 250 film locations, 210 special events spaces, 200 dance studios, 200 theatres, 150 audition spaces, 160 concert halls, 60 sprung floors, 40 screening rooms, and 20 orchestra pits!

· We strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to test drive this new resource!

· If you have a space to rent, list it! It takes only a few minutes and it's free.

· If you know colleagues with spaces to rent and/or space needs, please forward this email to them.

The success of this program relies on you. If you have comments or questions about SpaceFinderLA, please contact our friends at LA STAGE Alliance at info@lastagealliance.com or call 213.614.0556. Your feedback and comments will help to make the site stronger and more useful to the LA County arts community.

SpaceFinderLA is a partnership of the LA County Arts Commission, Fractured Atlas and LA STAGE Alliance.The Arts Commission is leading the partner engagement and marketing effort. Fractured Atlas is providing the back end programming and infrastructure for the database, which is based on the system created for NYC and sibling sites in Austin, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC. LA STAGE Alliance is providing the ongoing management, marketing, maintenance and customer service for the project.

SpaceFinderLA is made possible, in part, by support from The Angell Foundation, Arts Council for Long Beach, California Community Foundation, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division, City of Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, MusiCares Foundation, and Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.

The two previous studies in the series, released in 2001 and 2006, found that three-quarters of executives planned to leave their jobs within the next five years and that finance, fundraising, and weak boards contributed to burnout and turnover. The most recent study, Daring to Lead 2011, was conducted in the aftermath of a deep recession that continues to have a profound impact on nonprofits and their leaders.

More than 3,000 executive directors in 11 regions throughout the U.S. completed the online survey for Daring to Lead 2011, making it the largest study of executive directors conducted to date. The survey asked executives about their career paths, likely tenure, partnership with the board of directors, and the impact of the recession on their organizations. To supplement the survey, 70 executives participated in focus groups in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

The percentage of respondents who said they were leaving their job within five years—67%—was somewhat lower than the 75% who said they planned to leave within five years in both previous studies, with executives' responses suggesting that the recession may have temporarily slowed executive departures. Nevertheless, a large majority of respondents continue to anticipate their departure within five years, making executive turnover and transition an ongoing concern for nonprofits, their boards, and other stakeholders.

Other significant findings:

Almost half of respondents (45%) said their boards had not reviewed their performance within the past year, and only 18% said that their performance review was useful.

Most respondents—84%—reported negative organizational impact from the recession, with one in five reporting significant negative impact.

Nearly half of respondents (46%) said their organizations had operating reserves of less than three months of expenses, even though three months is the minimum level of reserves suggested by most experts.

Executive coaching was ranked highest by respondents as a very effective professional development strategy, but just 10% of respondents were working with a coach.

The complete 20-page report can be downloaded at www.daringtolead.org.

Three briefs—Leading Through a Recession, Inside the Executive Director Job, and The Board Paradox—report additional findings. The interactive Daring to Lead website includes information about methodology, executive director demographics, and additional data.

Time:
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PDT

Register now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/673315386

This webinar training will demonstrate how to use HealthyCity.org to enhance your grant proposals and reports with visually impactful and relevant data, maps, and charts. Learn how to access data that highlights the needs and opportunities within your communities of interest and how to make the case that your program will make a difference. In this training you will learn how to:
- Gather data for your particular area of interest by creating your own community boundaries.
- Create maps and charts that provide the visual evidence to demonstrate both the need and potential within your community.
- Report your results - make the case that your program or project has had a positive and measurable impact.

Big donors like David H. Koch and George Soros may owe taxes on their millions of dollars in contributions to nonprofit advocacy groups that are playing an increasing role in American politics.

The Internal Revenue Service confirmed on Thursday that it had sent letters to five donors, who were not identified, informing them that their contributions may be subject to gift taxes.

These groups have been drawing more and more criticism, from President Obama as well as others, as they have proliferated and funneled vast sums of money in support of campaigns and causes, without having to publicly disclose their donors. During the midterm cycle, for example, groups like Crossroads GPS, which has ties to the Republican strategist Karl Rove, and Americans for Prosperity, backed by Mr. Koch and his brother Charles, were heavily involved in politicking, spurring campaign finance watchdogs to complain that they were largely unregulated and flouting election and nonprofit laws.

The organizations in question were established as nonprofit corporations under a section of the tax law, 501(c)(4), and the rules governing them say their primary purpose cannot be political. Unlike contributions to charities, however, donations to these groups have always been subject to a gift tax. But tax experts and campaign finance experts say the I.R.S. had not enforced that rule, until now.

The timing of the agency’s moves, as the 2012 election cycle gets under way, is prompting some tax law and campaign finance experts to question whether the I.R.S. could be sending a signal about big campaign donations to these groups in an effort to curtail them.

“There are a whole heck of a lot of people misusing (c)(4) groups as a means of getting around campaign finance regulations, and we lack a coherent system of laws to deal with that,” said Donald B. Tobin, a legal expert on the intersection of campaign finance and tax laws at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. “Now here’s a stick, frankly, that says there are consequences for doing that.”

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Michelle L. Eldridge, a spokeswoman for the I.R.S., said that the inquiries were initiated by agency employees, not Obama administration officials, “as part of their increased efforts in the area of nonfiling of gift and estate tax returns.”

And while tax lawyers who learned of the investigations have been issuing warnings to clients of potential trouble on a broader scale, the I.R.S. statement denied casting a wider net: “These examinations are not part of a broader effort looking at donations to 501(c)4s.”

The White House would not comment.

If the I.R.S. were to enforce the tax rule broadly, experts are sensing that it could act as a counterweight to tamp down donations on one side, as another anticipated set of big corporate, union and like-minded political contributions flood campaigns through the barriers lifted by last year’s Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case.
Both major political parties and candidates have benefited from these types of organizations, but the Republican groups grew in force and size after the 2008 election, partly in recognition of Mr. Obama’s proficiency at fund-raising.

For example, Mr. Rove’s group, one of the best known from the 2010 midterm cycle, raised $70 million. Americans for Prosperity, a libertarian group that provides a training ground for Tea Party activists and is opposed to many of President Obama’s policies, has been generously financed by David Koch, a billionaire.
But Democrats have embraced the model, too. Bill Burton, Mr. Obama’s former deputy press secretary, has been skewered by critics of these groups for announcing last month the creation of Priorities USA Action to help Democrats. In 2009 and 2010, Mr. Soros, the billionaire investor, donated more than $12 million to advocacy groups working on a variety of issues.

Whether Mr. Soros and other prominent donors have paid taxes on their contributions to such groups is unknown. A spokesman for Mr. Soros declined to comment. Representatives of the Kochs did not respond.
In general, individuals incur gift taxes of 35 percent on any amount exceeding $13,000 in a single year, while couples have to pay taxes after donating $26,000. Currently, there is a lifetime exemption that covers $5 million in gifts — which is scheduled to be reduced to $1 million in 2013 — but tax experts say many wealthy donors are likely to have already used that benefit in their estate plans.

The I.R.S. definitively declared these gifts taxable in 1982, but that rule has rarely been enforced, tax lawyers said. “That was their last word on it, so these letters just look like a sort of trap for the unwary, which is not fair,” said Ofer Lion, a lawyer who has written about the issue.

Last December, after the 2010 midterm elections, the I.R.S. division that oversees tax-exempt organizations did say that this year it would pay closer attention to them and to labor unions and business associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which also were more politically active than in the past.

But officials of that division who attended a meeting of the American Bar Association’s subcommittee on political and lobbying organizations last Friday were surprised to find out that their colleagues in the estate and gift tax unit, typically regarded as a backwater at the agency, also had an increased interest, according to lawyers who were there.

“I don’t know how extensive this effort is, but I have one such client and I’ve spoken with others with clients who have received similar letters,” said Gregory L. Colvin, a lawyer specializing in nonprofit law. Ellen P. Aprill, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, noted that the gift tax division also had been asking states to provide records of property transfers between family members. “It could just be part of a general enforcement of the gift tax that is catching some of these donors,” Ms. Aprill said.

Other groups rarely entice gifts big enough to subject their donors to the gift tax, which is why many of them have established affiliated charities. Charities, unlike almost all other tax-exempt organizations, offer their donors a tax deduction and so attract the largest gifts.

Big donations to a previously popular category, the largely unregulated 527 groups that were influential in the 2004 election cycle, are not subject to the gift tax. “Congress specifically exempted donors to 527 organizations from the gift tax in 2000, but it didn’t exempt contributions to (c)(4) groups because there wasn’t an issue at the time,” said Alan P.

Dye, a lawyer who represents a number of conservative advocacy groups. “Citizens United has now made it an issue, and I think it’s going to be really interesting to see how this plays out in Congress or the courts.”
In the meantime, Marcus S. Owens, a lawyer who represents nonprofits and who formerly headed the I.R.S. division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, predicted that the tax agency’s moves would be watched warily by contributors. “The lack of clarity and the potential for not-insignificant taxation on these gifts will cause many of the biggest donors to think twice,” he warned.

Read the original posting at the New York Times website
 

More than 11,000 nonprofit professionals filled out this year'sNonprofit Social Network Benchmark Survey, sponsored by NTEN, Common Knowledge, and Blackbaud, generating a veritable cornucopia of data.

One of our favorite stats: more than half of nonprofits have no formal budget for commercial social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, making it all the more impressive that 30% of the organizations that have raised more than $100,000 on Facebook have budgets under $5 million.

Other highlights:
Nine out of 10 respondents(89%) report having a presence on Facebook in 2011.

Nonprofit industry sentiment toward social networks remains very positive with 4 out of 5 (82%) nonprofits indicating that they find their commercial social networking efforts valuable.

The community size of nonprofit house social networks (HSNs) is on the rise with an average of 5,967 members in 2011, a 70% increase year-over-year.

Over half (55%) of nonprofits who have a house social network report that the role of their community is for Program and Service delivery, eclipsing Marketing (49%) for the first time as the primary purpose for charity house network.

Click Here to go to N-Ten website to download the report