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Category: Nonprofit Fundraising

Hmm, Maybe a Scoreboard Wasn’t Quite What This Donor Thought He Was Funding

Hmm, Maybe a Scoreboard Wasn’t Quite What This Donor Thought He Was Funding

Here’s one you can file under, “Complying With the Letter of the Law Won’t Necessarily Keep You Out of Trouble.” The University of New Hampshire seems to have been, legally speaking, properly handling a testamentary donation when it used one fourth of the $4 million that thrifty library cataloguer Robert Morin saved and left to the college for–are you ready?–a football scoreboard. Mr. Morin had, it appears true, made a mostly unrestricted gift. By law, a nonprofit that receives such a gift must simply put…

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New Edition of “Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits” Hits the Shelves!

New Edition of “Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits” Hits the Shelves!

Nolo’s all-around guide to raising money for small to mid-size charitable organization has been a success since it was first published, not only becoming a resource for not nonprofit staff, but used at many universities to teach fundraising principles. We’re please to announce that the book has just been released in its fifth edition. Like every Nolo book, we take pains to update and freshen it up before issuing a new version. This latest one features: Detailed new advice on running a…

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Charity Navigator Eases Pressure on Nonprofits to Show Minimal Overhead

Charity Navigator Eases Pressure on Nonprofits to Show Minimal Overhead

A back-end change to the rating system metrics used by a watchdog organization for nonprofits may not sound like a big deal, or make for snazzy headlines. But the recent announcement by Charity Navigator that it is “upgrading” the way it evaluates charities and ultimately decides how many “stars” each one merits (one a one to four scale) represents a huge change in attitude, and one that will hopefully trickle down through the entire philanthropic community. The main change to…

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Yes, Even Charitable Organizations Must Abide By U.S. Trademark Law

Yes, Even Charitable Organizations Must Abide By U.S. Trademark Law

Planning a fun theme for a special charity event is an opportunity to exercise one’s creativity, attract a new audience, and . . . receive future nasty letters from lawyers. Just ask Newmindspace, a Toronto-based nonprofit dedicated to organizing free, fun, all-ages events in places like subway cars and city streets. The organization had to change the theme of its popular lightsaber battles to the “Cats in Space Tour” after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the attorneys at Lucasfilm (owner of the Star Wars brand). At…

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Forty Cent Difference Between 2016 Business and Charity Mileage Deductions

Forty Cent Difference Between 2016 Business and Charity Mileage Deductions

The IRS actually lowered the amount per mile that a business owner can deduct for vehicle use in 2016. (See 2016 Standard Mileage Rates for Business, Medical and Moving Announced.) The standard mileage deduction went from 57.5 cents for 2015 to 54 cents. The amount that a volunteer using a car for charity can deduct in 2016 stayed right where it’s been for years, at 14 cents per mile. So relatively speaking, the volunteers are a little better off than they were last…

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