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2012More Money for Good, More or Less
A post by James V. Toscano In a recent posting on “Apples or Oranges,” I suggested a number of problems with Charity Navigator’s methods in trying to combine measures of financial health and of transparency and accountability into some kind of measure of effectiveness. There are number of other organizations besides Charity Navigator attempting to guide donors on the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations, including Hope Consulting, Guidestar, Foundation Center, Better Business Bureau and our own Charities Review Council, to name but a few in a crowded field. Ultimately, at least for now, the holy grail is the attempt to measure and report…
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2012Useful Fundraising Mnemonics
A post by James V. Toscano mne·mon·ics: the process or technique of improving or developing the memory. While fundraising is a complex process, there are certain devices that jog the memory when working in specific situations. Over the years, I have developed a number of these memory-jogging simplicities to ensure sophisticated processes. Here are two: the 3A Rule and the 4P Rule. The Three A Rule: 1. Ask: It’s amazing how much planning, scenarios and time are spent in setting up cultivation of a prospect that never results in an ask. Until you ask. you are an empty shell, an…
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2011Being Thankful
Post by Dania Toscano Miwa I apologize that the post for last week is a bit late. I’ve been trying to put in to words what it is I’m most thankful for. It’s been hard for me to find words that encompass a mission driven sector. Many who’s staff and volunteers spend most of their waking hours not thinking about how to make money, but how to stretch every last dollar the farthest it can go to make the biggest impact.
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201110 Best Federal Government Revenue Sites
Post by James V. Toscano The federal government has made great strides in the past decade in clarifying the incredibly complex webs of funding streams emanating out of Washington. 1. The single best site is grants.gov. Managed by the Department of Health and Human Services it is an up-to-date repository of current sources of the fed’s largesse. The site helps you find opportunities and then helps you apply for them. There are many other features that make this a frequent stopover. Government benefits, loans funds and small business opportunities are covered elsewhere. 2. The Federal Register is the daily encyclopedic…
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2011The New Nonprofit
Post by James V. Toscano We often hear of Creation Myths. Genesis has two; most southwestern tribes’ creation involves turtles; and Asians attribute their origins to complex deities. In the U. S., we have creation and creator stories, such as presidents who can’t tell a lie, clearly ancient history. Mythologies of the American Dream, streets paved with gold, two chickens in every pot, and, more recently, high tides raising all boats motivate us to specific actions. Idealistically, we could frame “Destination Myths” about where we would like to go as a society. What does the future hold for us and…
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2011Probabilities
Post by James V. Toscano Almost forty years ago, I was just settling in to the position of Vice President for Resource Development and Public Affairs at the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, then parent to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the College of Art and Design and the Children’s Theatre Company. An intercom from my secretary told me of my first visitor, whom she ushered politely into an office not quite furnished. As we stood among the packing cases, this older gentleman beamed as he handed me a check for $2.2 million, told me how happy he was to do so, and…