Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards delivered a stern reply on Thursday to a controversial undercover video that purports to show the reproductive health organization profits from selling tissue from aborted fetuses. In her video response posted to YouTube, Richards said the “heavily edited” footage was intended to make “outrageous claims” about the nonprofit’s programs to…
The Oregon Department of Justice has filed an unusual state bar complaint against prominent Republican activist Kevin Mannix, charging that the lawyer violated ethics rules when he represented a veterans charity that funneled $1.1 million to his political and business activities. The bar complaint says that Mannix, the 2002 GOP nominee for governor and a…
At last week’s Bridge conference, I was struck (again) by the many choices facing today’s fundraiser. Having a robust direct mail program and major gifts program, with a little planned giving and maybe an event tossed in, is no longer enough. Now, we need a website that is informative and optimized for mobile, and that has a user-friendly donation page. We have to frequently update our Facebook page and post a steady flow of videos on YouTube...
We ask a lot of nonprofit boards of directors. We want them to be deep thinkers about strategy and mission, vigilant providers of oversight, rainmaking fundraisers for our work ... the list goes on. But where some have called for a narrowing of the board’s scope, today BoardSource did the exact opposite. With the release…
The executive committee of the Boy Scouts of America has unanimously approved a resolution that would drop the group’s blanket ban on openly gay leaders, a key step that puts the organization on the verge of its second historic shift in three years. While the proposed change stops short of requiring all Scout units to allow gay…
I had the opportunity to speak with the marketing director of a federated health-related charity in Australia last week. Claire reached out to me to ask about jumpstarting donor acquisition in her organization. She told me of recent changes in her national organization. A number of individual local chapters were recently combined in a federated arrangement under a national umbrella...
We have limited resources in fundraising. A key to success it to have a staff culture of philanthropy where your colleagues across the organization understand the importance of philanthropy and the valuable role that they can play to further the success of your organization...
One of the world’s largest restaurant chains is weathering a public relations storm. Last week, authorities raided the home of Subway spokesman Jared Fogle in connection with a child pornography investigation. Fogle famously dropped 245 pounds on a diet of Subway sandwiches and made more than 50 commercials for the company over 15 years. Since…
If the June cyber attack that affected an estimated 18 million government employees tells us anything, it's that cybersecurity is now more important than ever. We've seen that small nonprofits are at risk, but now it's clear that no organization, large or small, is invulnerable to hackers...
Take a look at your nonprofit’s branding strategy. If it’s an afterthought—or even if it’s already high priority but in need of a refresh—it might be time to make it an integral part of your donor engagement strategy. It might be time to rebrand. Here’s what you need to know before you do...
