News/Stats/Studies

The Alliance for Global Good, a grant-making organization in Greensboro, N.C., is starting a fund to promote innovation in philanthropy. While the exact size of the fund hasn’t been decided, organization officials say it is likely to be in the $10-million range. The alliance hopes that the fund will draw attention to charities that have found new approaches to tough problems and provide money to help them expand their work, says David M. Brand, the organization’s chief executive.

The nonprofit world is going viral. New media — Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube, vivid photography and interactive content — is quickly becoming part of the effort to educate and win donors.

Organizations such as Make-A-Wish, the Florida Youth Orchestra and Jewish Community Services, to name a few, are taking full advantage, with assistance from tech-savvy companies like Content Creators and colleges like St. Thomas University.

The Foundation of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey announced a $1 million gift from the Wakefern Food Corp. to support university research, scholarship or community service programs.

The gift, to be donated to the New Jersey Health Foundation and its affiliate, the Foundation of UMDNJ, establishes the Dean Janeway Endowment to Advance Healthcare Excellence in honor of the retiring Wakefern president and chief operating officer.

This week, the Washington Post launched “On Giving,” a new section devoted to coverage of corporate giving and social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, charitable actions and personal finance. The section features original Washington Post reporting and guest contributions from philanthropists, global development leaders, social entrepreneurs, academics and researchers.  

Starting at midnight on Nov. 9, nonprofits around Washington, D.C. started raising money as part of Give to the Max Day — a one-day online fundraiser created by Razoo and supported by supported by several major partners, including Care2.

At the end of 24 hours, $1,886,584 had been donated to 1,285 different nonprofits. Top nonprofits were also eligible for prize money donated by various partners and that brought the total raised to $2,034,584. Over 17,000 donors participated in the day’s fundraising challenge.

World Food Program USA has put into place a new leadership team to help expand upon the organization’s mission to build support in the U.S. to end global hunger.

More than 12 million Americans from 44 to 70 years old would like to start nonprofits or businesses that solve social problems, according to a new study by Civic Ventures, a think tank in San Francisco. The report, which was supported by the MetLife Foundation and compiled by Penn Schoen Berland, a marketing-research firm, also found that more than half of those 12 million Americans say it is very likely they will start such an organization within the next five to 10 years.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced that it made a donation of $25,000 to USANA Health Sciences’ “Ace Out Hunger” program, a charity that raises money for some of the world’s neediest children. All of the funds raised for “Ace Out Hunger” will go to Children’s Hunger Fund, a global nonprofit organization fighting hunger in impoverished regions around the world.

Tides has launched a new Tides Fellows program focused on research-based approaches to increasing innovation and capacity in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. The inaugural cohort of Tides Fellows includes three distinguished sector leaders, who will each pursue a unique set of projects to support a broad progressive agenda.

• Anthony Jewett, co-founder of the National Center for Global Engagement
• Gara LaMarche, former president and chief executive officer of The Atlantic Philanthropies
• Sonal Shah, former deputy assistant to the president and director of the first White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation

DMW Direct, a leading direct response advertising agency, today announced that effective January 1, 2012, Debbie Merlino will be appointed President of DMW Direct Fundraising — a division of the company which serves non-profit organizations nationwide in support of their fundraising and membership-building programs. Current President Tom Hurley will continue to play a key role, serving as a Senior Advisor to the business.